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Business Excellence James's long-term commitment to the industry was recently recognised with an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List 2005 for his services to Hospitality and to the Scottish Tourism Industry. Promoting Hospitality and Tourism Excellence An active ambassador for Scotland, James vigorously promotes the best of the Scottish hospitality industry. A founder member and past Chairman of the Edinburgh Restaurateurs Association, member of the Edinburgh Tourism Action Group and member of the British Hospitality Association Scottish Executive Committee he also works on the steering committee of the Scottish Culinary Excellence Awards/Federation fo Scottish Chefs. Previously a member of the BHA National Restaurant Panel, he is now Vice-Chairman of the recently merged BHA/Restaurateurs Association Committee. James works closely with several public and private sector organisations including the Scottish Enterprise Innovation Group, the Scottish Borders Tourist Board and the National Museums of Scotland to improve the standards of Scotland's hospitality products and to raise our customer care to a world-beating standard. An enthusiast for Disney's world-renowned approach to customer care, he has encouraged a range of tourism business to learn from the best including leading study tours to the Disney Institute in Florida. He often speaks on the lessons that can be learned from Disney approach and encourages his staff and others to learn from the best. In 2002 in conjunction with other partners he launched Castlehill Christmas, a joint initiative to bring business to local tourism businesses at what was a traditionally quiet time of the year for tem with a dramatic architectural lighting installation and a programme of events focussed on Castlehill. James is a key memeber of the finance committee raising over £300,000 ins sponsorship to bring the prestigious Meeting Planners Internation Conference to Edinburgh in 2004, an international event that will bring huge benefits for the city and Scotland. Industry Involvment A strong believer in rewarding and recognising the very best has led him to sponsor the Scottish tourism "Oscars" - the VisitScotland Thistle Awards, for the last three years and also to sponsor the Caterer.com Best Tourism Website Award in the recent Caterer.com Web Awards. Frequently asked to lend his expertise to others in the industry, he has judged the Caterer Hospitality Week Innovations Awards over recent years as well as being a regular judge in the Thistle Awards. A role on the Advisory Board of the award-winning Sheraton Grand Spa is possibly not such a huge chore? As an industry leader he frequently speaks publicly to promote tourism and hospitality issues and his restaurants maintain a high media profile in Scotland and worldwide. He has written a food column in The Herald newspaper and speaks often at industry events. By making the Tower, Witchery and suites available to the media his restaurants continue to promote positive quality images of Scottish hospitality in dozens of publications including Vogue, Hello, Elle, Cosmopolitan and the New York Times as well as on TV around the world and on the world wide web. Nurturing Talent Encouraging talent into an exciting industry is a personal crusade. James supports and funds a number of educational initiatives at primary, secondary and further education levels, including supporting students in both George Herriot's and Liberton High schools with cookery competitions, training with our chefs and work experience within his restaurants. Recently he was delighted to see a student from Liberton High School reach the Scottish final of the Future Chef of the Year. In 1999 he endowed the James Thomson Award for Outstanding Customer Serivce that recognises and financially assists a student who has shown outstanding commitment to excellence in customer service during their studies at Edinburgh's Telford College each year. He continues to be a significant sposor of an annual exchange trip between Edinburgh students and the Francois Rabelais College in Lyon, giving up to 20 students and lecturers hands-on experience in Michelin-starred restaurants in France's culinary capital. His activities continue to encourage a number of promising students to join the hospitality industry and works closely with the Hospitality Industry Trust. Staff Development Thomson is strongly committed to the development of staff skills at every opportunity. Following the first of several visits to Florida's Disney Institute, the acknowledged world leaders in customer care, he instituted a new mindset in the company, encouraging staff to constantly seek to exceed guest's already high expectations. Staffs are now empowered to deal with any guest request and are personally responsible for delivering each guest's total satisfaction. James encourages his team to develop rewarding long-term careers within his dynamic and growing Company so staff turnover is significiantly below the industry norm and many of his staff have been with him long-term. Unusually a large proportion of staff have returned to work with him again after periods gaining experience with other organisations at home and abroad. The first independent restaurant to be accredited as an Investor in People in 1998, this commitment to staff development has been furtheer recognised with the recent re-accreditation of the Witchery and the inclusion of its sister Tower Restaurant with this recognised industry standard. He has implemented an innovative internal awards scheme, The Witchery Wow! Awards to recognise and reward exceptional efforts or results by staff at all levels of the company. These frequently take the form of an opportunity to enjoy some of the Thomson hospitality product as either restaurant diner or suite guest, but can include a foreign study tour of trip. Community Involvement Supporting the wider community, especially in Edinburgh's historic Old Town, has a place too. James acts as a Trustee of the Old Town Charitable Trust, A memeber of the Board of the Queen's Hall and supporter of the advisory group of the local homelessness initiative, the Edinburgh Streetwork Project. Through the Tower Restaurant he supports an under-10 football team, whilst the Witchery supports a local community football team and the National Judo Academy. The innovative Just for Starters scheme that James pioneered as a collaborative venture brought a number of people with difficult backgrounds into the industry by harnessing the resources of a number of public and private sector organisations including BT, the police and Army together to support, educate and mentor them in the transition from homelessness to employment. As sole shareholder, James is able to commit to returning a significant proportion of the Company's profits back to the community through ongoing support of charities including the Hospitality Industry Trust, Crusaid, Shelter, The Army Benevolent Fund, St Columba's Hospice, Save the Children and the Royal Lyceum Theatre. Another scheme sees an even wider range of charities supported with regular donations of dining or accommodation vouchers from the restaurants for organisations to use for their own fundraising purposes. Background Born in Edinburgh, James was educated at George Heriot's School where he is now an active Governor. This gave him an early love for Edinburgh's historic Old Town, an area he has since made his own. A Saturday job at the Edinburgh firm of Crawford's Tearooms was his introduction to the hospitality industry and was an alternative to a paper round (where the early mornings did not suit!) The hospitality industry was then held in low esteem, but it quickly became a passion for James and following some experience abroad, he became Scotland's youngest licensee with the creation of the Witchery by the Castle in 1979. Founding the Witchery 1979 Established by James in 1979, the Witchery quickly grew into Edinburgh's best-known restaurant developing a worldwide reputation for exceptional food, wine and service within the most unique and atmospheric of settings. Always a favourite haunt of celebrities and visitors to the city, the Witchery is highly regarded by its fiercely loyal local clientele. In opening the Witchery in a near-derelict sixtenth century building close to Edinburgh Castle James was instrumental in the revival of a previously barren area of Edinburgh, where the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh Internation Festival, Edinburgh Military Tattoo and the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre have now joined the Witchery as neighbours within an increasingly vibrant and historic district. Creating the Secret Garden 1989 By 1989 it became obvious that demand from guests to dine at the Witchery was so great that it could not be accommodated, so James commissioned a second restaurant to be built on a derelict schoolyard adjacent to the Witchery. Incorporating a wealth of salvaged architectural material, including an early sixteenth century doorway from the Duke of Gordon's House and a spectacular sixteen-century Scottish vernacular painted ceiling, the Secret Garden soon won The Sunday Times RIAS Regeneration Award for it's sensitive and imaginative use of an historic site. Rapidly becoming one of the most popular restaurants in Scotland, the Secret Garden was described as the prettiest restaurant ever by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and was named the Domecq La Ina Most Civilized Diningroom in Scotland. The Secret Garden and Witchery continue to be the most popular desination restaurants in the city with weekend tables frequently booking up weeks in advance. Developing the Witchery Suites 1991-2003 To satisfy guest's demand for a longer experience in such magical surroundings and house his growing collection of antiques, James has created some spectacularly opulent suites within the Witchery's historic Castlehill buildings. Starting with the atmospheric Inner Sanctum, then later the Old Rectory, this fascinating collection of unique suites now number six are destinations for visitors to the city who are keen to avoid the bland uniformity of hotels and are frequently the Edinburgh residence of visiting celebrities. Such is the demand for these spectacular and opulent suites that guests frequently book a year in advance in order to stay! So unique and visually stunning are the suites as a world-class hospitality experience, they have generated a mass of worldwide publicity for Edinburgh and Scotland, on TV, the web and in many publications including Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Hello, Elle and the New York Times. Named as one of the seven wonders of the hotel world by Cosmopolitan Magazine, and as Scotland's Most Romantic Hotel and by Men's Health Magazine as the most romantic destination in the UK, they have recently been judged the sexiest hotel suites in the Hotel of the Year Awards. Costumed Walking Tours Aware that visitors to Edinburgh were looking for more information about the historic but neglected Old Town, James supported the creation of the Caddies & Witchery Tours, the city's first costumed walking tours. Two decades later they still lead tours leaving from outside of the Witchery every evening and have become a memorable part of thousands of visitors Edinburgh experience. They have been instrumental in establishing similar costumed tours in locations throughout Britain and beyond. The Rooftop Tower Restaurant and Terrace 1998 By 1998 both the Witchery and Secret Garden were providing hospitality to over 100,000 guests annually and were close to capacity when James became aware of another unique site nearby. The landmark Museum of Scotland then under construction was entirely contemporary in style, but it took its inspiration from the Old Town that James had done much to regenerate. Opening on St Andrew's Day 1998, the Tower rapidly became Scotland's most talked about restaurant, received widespread critical acclaim, and was named the hottest table in Edinburgh by critic AA Gill. Instantly a favourite of celebrities, politicians, visitors and locals alike, Thomson has continued to surpass all expectations. The Tower has followed the Witchery's trend, gathering an impressive array of awards including the AA Wine Award for Scotland, a Michelin entry, a Good Food Guide listing and Wine Spectator Awards of Excellence and has already become an Edinburgh institution. Innovation Thomson's basic concept of giving the diner a magical dining experience where each of the elements of food, wine, service, location and decor all combine to create truly magical dining experiences was innovative when he established the Witchery and constant innovation has been a hallmark ever since. He was ahead of other restaurants installing specialist EPOS systems to process diners orders and bills discreetly and uniquely has established a state-of-the-art mini call centre to allow all guest enquiries for his restaurants to be dealt with centrally by a highly skilled team using specially developed reservation software. For guests looking to book online he was an early investor in websites that have given the restaurants and suites a 24-hour worldwide presence with approaching an average of 1000 visitors each day to the Witchery and Tower sites. These became one of the first restaurants in the UK to offer real-time table reservations online using his reservations database. Using the latest technology to provide a truly old-fashioned level of service has been the key and ongoing investment continues to enhance guest's experiences. Other Activites James has also used his talent for creating exceptional dining experiences within the events and banqueting sector, creating visually and memorable gastronomic feasts for high-profile corporate clients including the Herald & Zurich Financial Services annual televised Politician of the Year Awards, the Guardian and the New York City Ballet. He leads a team that have produced bespoke events for up to 1500 guests at prestige venues throughout Scotland and beyond including Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Museum, The National Gallery, Edinburgh International Conference Centre and Glasgow's Bute Hall. He has also undertaken consultancies for other Company's in the industry.
A truly stunning new addition to the Scotlands array of hospitality destinations, within months Prestonfield recieved a coveted 5- star rating, became AA Hotel of the Year and was named as one of the Best 101 Hotels in the World by Tatler/Abercrombie and Kent. Originally built as the grand baroque home of Edinburgh's Lord Provost by the Architect Royal, James Thomson acquired this historic 17th century mansion, which had already been a hotel for fifty years in 2003. The purchase realised a long held ambition. For, while still a student at catering college, Thomson had worked at Prestonfield as a banqueting waiter. He fell in love with the magical place, and dreamt of one day becoming its owner. As one might expect from the man responsible for creating some of the most unique and exciting hospitality destinations in the country, this marvellous old house has been distinctively re-styled to provide the ultimate retort to minimalism. The patina of age has been gently brushed away, and its long forgotten splendours re-gilded. Walls have been covered in opulent velvets or brocades. And, in addition to Prestonfield’s existing collection of fine art and antique furnishings, Thomson has added a wealth of suitably grand, precious and quixotic finds culled from the auction rooms of Now, as the lights dim of an evening, log fires roar once more in the original hearths, and Diptyque’s beguiling tuberose fragrance fills the air. Candles are lit throughout the house, and the atmosphere becomes gloriously decadent. Guest bedrooms and suites have state-of-the-art technology discreetly located amid their antique splendours. All are air-conditioned, with Swisscom high-speed wireless internet access, Bose sound systems, DVD players and flat screen televisions. Bed linens by Frette, luxurious bathrobes, fresh flowers and exclusive toiletries complete the pampering experience. James Thomson says: “I am proud to have thrown the doors open once more at Prestonfield after a project that has been a true labour of love. I wanted, of course, to restore the house to the glories of its heyday. But I also hoped to create at Prestonfield a compelling alternative to today’s plethora of bland and unexceptional hotels. The chosen style of décor is every bit as rich and colourful as the history of the house itself.” Current James lives in Edinburgh where he is restoring a sixteenth-century apartment as a home for his ever-growing collection of antiques, paintings, militaria and clothes. His passion for the buildings of the Old Town continues having just completed a huge restoration project for the Witchery that has included the revealing of external sixteenth-century stonework long-hidden under layers of decaying cement render. A keen traveller, he makes regular trips abroad to be inspired by the best the worl can offer and constantly evaluates locations both here an abroad for possible addition to his growing collection of unique properties. Should you require any pictures or further information on the Witchery Restaurant, James Thomson or the Witchery please contact Mark Rowley on + 44 (0) 131 225 0976 or email
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