IN this week's SME Focus an enterprising chef tells how he built his own business drawing on the confidence he gained working at one of Scotland's most famous hotels.

Name?

Andrew Hamer.

Age?

47.

What is your business called?

Wilde Thyme Ltd.

Where is it based?

Comrie, Perthshire.

What does it produce, what services does it offer?

Fabulous food, with our reputation built on creating menus using fresh, local, seasonal produce. Whether it is for a luxury picnic for two, a party for 100, a wedding for 200 or a gala dinner for 800, we provide the same level of catering. We also offer a party design service and a full range of event management services.

Who does it sell to?

Wilde Thyme's core business is split between leisure and corporate and boasts clients such as Ralph Lauren, Armani, PWC, Alliance Trust, Porsche, Chivas Pernod Ricard, Diageo, Ernst & Young and many high profile attendees from the world of showbiz, business and royalty.

What is its turnover?

Two million.

How many employees?

We have 20 full time employees and up to 150 staff when we're working at events.

When was it formed?

Wilde Thyme became a limited company in 2005. I joined my former partner as the Catering Director and co-owner of Wilde Thyme - a business that has seen its turnover treble in five years. Wilde Thyme moved to its current location at Cultybraggan in early 2010. The site itself is steeped in war time history being originally a POW camp during World War II. Following World War II the site was used as an army training camp. The site is now run by The Comrie Development Trust and a number of small local business have now rented areas within the site. The Trust aims to develop the site as a model of sustainable development for rural communities across Scotland.

Why did you take the plunge?

Spending nine years at Gleneagles Hotel, including five years as the Executive Chef, taught me all about organisation and business management. This experience gave me the confidence I needed to start thinking about managing my own business and in 2005 I decided to go for it and Wilde Thyme was born.

What were you doing before you took the plunge?

I was born in London and following my studies at Westminster Catering College, I finished my training in London at Langan's Bar before moving to the Chanel Islands where I met my wife. I moved to Scotland in 1989 where I worked in various hotels in Ayrshire and latterly for William Costly at the Lochgreen House Hotel. I was soon approached for a position at the world famous Gleneagles Hotel. I was delighted to be working at one of the leading hotels in the world, catering for the international well-travelled and discerning guests. As Executive Chef at Gleneagles I was in charge of all kitchens and food outlets including restaurants, banqueting and room service throughout the resort. My time at Gleneagles allowed me to develop my international cuisine coupled with managing a kitchen brigade of over 100, and serving an average of 600 covers per day.

How did you raise the start-up funding?

The business was self-funded.

What was your biggest break?

When I became the majority shareholder of Wilde Thyme in 2010. Being the face of the business gave me the flexibility to drive the business in the direction that I wanted.

This was closely followed by winning the 'Best Event Caterer Award' at the UK Event Awards in London in 2013.

My biggest career highlight with Wilde Thyme would have to be when I was back at Gleneagles last year providing the catering for the world renowned Ryder Cup. I was extremely proud to be back on the course but this time with my own business. We took charge of one of the most prestigious of the hospitality enclosures, having pride of place on the 18th fairway and allowing us to cater for a host of national and international VIPs over the golfing week.

What was your worst moment?

As I'm sure it was for many businesses, the recession had to be the worst moment for us. Although we were luckier than a lot of businesses, we saw a fairly significant drop in certain sectors of our corporate business, but we managed to maintain the private business levels. This in turn meant that we managed to retain all of our staff during this difficult period. I am very happy to say that our current business levels now exceed pre-recession levels in all sectors of our business.

What do you most enjoy about running the business?

Absolutely everything from meeting new clients, both private and corporate, to driving the business forward and also getting to work with my talented and passionate internal team members every day.

What do you least enjoy?

If I'm completely honest, there isn't anything I don't enjoy doing. Yes I am most relaxed when I'm in my chef whites in the kitchen but to be able to successfully manage your own business you have to love all parts of the business and more often than not, be prepared to be in more than one place at once.

What are you ambitions for the firm?

Over the next few years I'd like to see Wilde Thyme continue to grow organically and to exceed an annual turnover of four million. I also want to continue showcasing Scotland's natural larder through our work with our valued suppliers and producers but most importantly, I want to continue making our existing clients happy with our services.

What are your top priorities?

The customer is the king (same goes for my wife!); looking after all my staff and ensuring they have all they need to do their jobs; the culinary and service experience for our clients; sales and repeat business; showcasing Scotland's natural larder.

The New Year started with a bang for Wilde Thyme as we won the contract for the Glenturret Distillery, 'Wilde Thyme at Glenturret'. As expected, this is taking up a huge amount of time to get the product offering right. However we've been extremely encouraged by the local support and the range of local produce available and we're excited to see what the future holds for us at Glenturret Distillery.

What could the Westminster and/or Scottish governments do that would help?

I think the Scottish Government is doing a good job. I especially like how much they're promoting Scotland's Year of Food and Drink. I suppose the biggest issue for most small/medium-sized businesses is being able to access funding for expansion to enable the business to grow. This I suspect is the same for the vast majority of small businesses wishing to expand.

What was the most valuable lesson you learned?

From my experience I've learnt that you've always got to challenge everything you do to make things better. In this industry you never stop learning.

How do you relax?

When I get some time off I like to spend it with my family and friends.