Ralph Porciani

General Manager Trump Turnberry, a Luxury Collection Resort, Scotland

Ralph Porciani, General Manager at Trump Turnberry, began his hospitality journey in Dumbarton, in his family’s 85-year-old fish and chip shop business. He considers his father and grandmother to be his greatest influences as they taught him the ethics of customer service and hard work.

Inspired by his father, he applied to the Glasgow College of Food & Technology where he planned to begin his career as a hotelier. However, as part of his course, he stepped into the kitchen and from the moment he first put on a chef’s jacket he discovered a passion that stayed with him until this day.

Ralph completed his training at Le Méridien Piccadilly in London and Le Maison Talbooth in Dedham, Essex, before becoming Executive Chef at the Craigendarroch Resort in Scotland, where he achieved both AA and Michelin recognition for The Oaks Restaurant. At 26, Ralph became Scotland’s youngest five star Executive Chef at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh.

In 1994, Ralph returned to London to head some of the city’s finest kitchens including The Four Seasons Regent Hotel (now the Landmark), The Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park and the prestigious Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane.

Whilst in London, Ralph was elected Vice Chairman and Director of Training for Master Chefs of Great Britain, which hosts over two hundred members from some of Britain’s finest hotels and restaurants. During this time, he designed and launched a modern apprenticeship syllabus.

Ralph joined the team at the iconic Turnberry resort in 2004 as Executive Chef. Here, he designed a Cuisine Creative menu which made the best possible use of fresh local ingredients. Ralph’s exceptional skills were further recognised in 2005 when he was promoted to Executive Chef in charge of Food & Beverage at Turnberry, a position that he held for six years.

In 2011, Ralph was then promoted again to Director of Operations, this was partly due to the key role he played in the repositioning of Turnberry when the resort moved from the Westin brand to Luxury Collection (2008). During his tenure, he was instrumental in driving forward operational innovation projects at Turnberry and also increasing guest service experience through management of operational teams including housekeeping and front office.

Ten years after arriving at the resort, Ralph came full circle to fulfil his hotelier dream when he took on the role of General Manager of Trump Turnberry. Utilising his extensive experience and expertise. In 2015 Ralph led this historic resort through an exciting period of renovation and repositioning, working closely with the owners, the Trump Organization to make Turnberry the finest resort in Europe.

For further information on Trump Turnberry, a Luxury Collection Resort, Scotland, please telephone 01655 331 000 or visit turnberryresort.co.uk