Bonnie & Wild Food Hall appoint general manager and begin recruitment drive for 50 new jobs within St James Quarter

The impressive new food court which is set to open within Edinburgh’s St James Quarter, Bonnie & Wild, has begun recruiting front of house staff for its Scottish Marketplace, its newly appointed general manager has announced.

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Kate Russell, who took up the general manager position on Monday, said her priority was to now build a highly trained team who were passionate about promoting Scottish food and drink.

The food court is due to open on June 24 alongside much of the stores at St James Quarter The Edinburgh site is one of Scotland’s largest food and drink venues and will contain 15 units consisting of three bars, eight food stalls and four speciality retailers, with open-plan seating for around 400 people.

Bonnie & Wild is due to open on June 24 alongside much of the St James Quarter. The Edinburgh site is one of Scotland’s largest food and drink venues and will contain 15 bars, food stalls and speciality retailers, with open-plan seating for about 400 people.

Ms Russell, who comes from the multi-award-winning Edinburgh restaurant group Loudons, said she was in the process of interviewing for assistant manager roles, with a sales and events manager to follow, before recruiting front of house and service staff.

She said: “One of my main objectives is to ensure staff share Bonnie & Wild’s passion for Scottish food and drink. We want our staff to be the welcoming face of Bonnie & Wild’s Scottish Marketplace, but also to champion Scotland’s wider food and drink industry.”

Along with about 50 new Bonnie & Wild staff, the food hall venue will also lead to jobs being created for each of the 12 concessions, with some key roles already advertised on the Fuse website.

Ms Russell added: “The number of jobs being created at Bonnie & Wild is expected to be close to 100.

Kate Russell has been appointed as Bonnie & Wild's general manager

“There’s nothing like Bonnie & Wild in Scotland. We will have a high quality food offering from multiple providers, including some very well known names such as Masterchef winner Gary MacLean. Within this amazing food hall setting, guests will be spoilt for choice.”

Last week Bonnie & Wild revealed additional details of its venue, including its flexible events space that contains a private dining area, demonstration kitchen and intimate bar.

It followed news of the partnership with the Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards, which will see award-winning images of Scotland exhibited throughout the venue.

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