Meet the family behind Taste Perthshire in Bankfoot

Most TV shows depicting life within a family-run business are equal parts glamour and drama. With a bit of crime thrown in.

But the family behind Taste Perthshire – a shop and restaurant in Bankfoot near Perth – couldn’t differ more from the characters we see in Succession or Keeping up with the Kardashians.

The business, owned by childhood sweethearts Jane and Calum MacLellan, has been a staple all-round stop on the A9 for years.

The husband and wife team took full ownership of Taste Perthshire in May 2015, having purchased it from Jane’s aunt and uncle, Wilson and Catriona Girvan.

And now, with their two sons Connor and Brodie on board and a renewed focus on growth, it is quickly going from strength to strength.

We caught up with the family to find out what it’s really like to work with each other.

Connor, 28, joined Taste Perthshire last summer after six years travelling the world in the yachting industry.

Younger brother Brodie, 25, joined just six months ago, after a similar four-year career on private boats.

They work in the business development side of the company with a focus on growing it.

The brothers, who attended Pitlochry High School until S4 and then Breadalbane Academy in Aberfeldy until S6, live together in Edinburgh.

Have they always known they wanted to work in the family business?

Connor, of Taste Perthshire, during his boating career. — Connor during his boating career.

Connor, who studied sports science at Stirling University, said: “I think it was an expectation from ourselves for ourselves that we would probably end up working in the business and it was always an exciting prospect.

“Working on the boats was hard but rewarding work, so I stuck at that for a number of years.

“But in my late twenties I wanted to come back and get a grounding back home again.

“Then the opportunity arose to come and help mum and dad with the business, so it felt like a win-win for everyone.”

Brodie said: “When I studied business at Napier University I always had an interest in entrepreneurship and I always looked up to dad in that regard.

“I did have an expectation to be involved in the business some way down the line.”

‘There’s no brother rivalry – not yet!’

Sister Riona, 23, who is currently working on private boats abroad (there is theme here) also has ambitions to join the family business one day.

When I ask how the family works together without jeopardising their relationships, Conor says it is a matter of setting boundaries.

He said: “At the start, we acknowledged we would be working in close proximity to one another.

“We decided that work is work and we would try to leave it at the door.

“And it has worked out really well.

“Everyone knows everyone’s strengths, and who would be good at what job.

“We are able to easily delegate using that foundation of knowledge.

“We all trust each other as well.”

Connor and Brodie add some decorations to the centre piece Christmas tree at Taste Perthshire. Image: Kim Cessford/DC Thomson

Brodie said: “Me and Conor have always spent a lot of time together, we have always had the same friend group.

“So not much changed in terms of seeing each other all the time.”

He added that they complement each other well. “We are very different. Conor is analytical, whereas I’m more of a people person.

“There is no brother rivalry. I don’t think we’ve locked horns. Not yet!”

Family also run luxury Perthshire lodge

It is clear that Calum and Jane, who met at 16 and have been married for more than 30 years, are happy to have their boys home.

Calum, 57, said: “It can be intense and is not necessarily easy, but the mechanics have worked fine for us.

“I think that comes down to the four of us having respect for each other and our space and we have our own roles.”

Working together is not a foreign concept for the family, who also run the luxury 15-bedroom Craigmhor Lodge in Pitlochry.

Jane, 55, says the kids were brought up to muck in.

Calum and Jane of Taste Perthshire. — The couple took full ownership of Taste Perthshire in 2015. Image: Kim Cessford/DC Thomson

She said: “When they were at an age where they could help, it was great for them to be there to say hello to guests and show them in.

“It was very good for their social skills, none of them are shy.

“I think that is a good sign in today’s environment because so many children don’t have social skills.

“It was important to me they were around hospitality from a young age.”

When the kids were growing up, Jane managed the guest house while Calum focused on Taste Perthshire.

Balancing parenthood with running a business

She says that running the lodge – also the family home – meant she could spend more time with the children.

She said: “I was very fortunate to be home when the kids were coming in from school.

“I would have pancakes ready for them coming in.”

Calum added: “When you put your mind to it like Jane did, it is very workable and manageable to work family life around a guesthouse business.”

Enjoying hot chocolate during a skiing holiday in France.

The company, which employs more than 50 people, has worked hard to develop a team of longstanding staff.

Indeed, some have worked at the business since before Brodie was born.

Conor said: “There are people there who knew mum when she was pregnant with Brodie.

“It is a proper nice extended family culture.”

Growing the Taste Perthshire business

Now that Connor and Brodie have come on board, Calum says the company is in a much stronger position to expand.

It has been a busy period for Taste Perthshire as it has implemented new amenities, including a fuel station, electric vehicle charging points, a new playpark, a wider restaurant offering and a larger takeaway service.