What's the Boeuf ?

Food Drink& What’s the boeuf ? French chef Fred Berkmiller serves his verdict on Scottish produce See pages 6&7 THINKING WINE FOR THE FESTIVE SEASON? Picture: Scott Taylor Think “Henderson Wines” for the largest collection of interesting beers, wines and spirits under one roof in Scotland! From the economical to the extravagant we’ve got it covered. Free delivery in the Edinburgh area. Special Christmas Day delivery service. 109 Comiston Road, Edinburgh, EH10 6AQ. 0131 447 8580 www.hendersonwines.co.uk 2 Food & Drink A gastronomic tour de force IVEN that Scotland’s natural larder is stocked Scotland’s superb produce is so abundantly with some of the finest beef, Gvenison and seafood in the world, now matched by its eateries the quality of venues for enjoying all that glorious local produce has for quality, says Robin McKelvie historically sometimes been disap- pointing. But there’s been a seismic shift in recent times and Scotland are now said to be worth more than The quality of Scotland’s produce now boasts an eclectic array of top £5 billion a year to the Scottish is in little doubt and it is no surprise notch outlets to match the coun- economy, with food exports rising that France – often hailed as having try’s superb ingredients. a staggering 63 per cent between the world’s finest cuisine – is one of Whether you want to savour 2007 and 2011 alone. Scotland’s largest export customers. your scallops pan-fried at a stall More than 300,000 people are The French and many other coun- by the sea, pop into a farm shop now thought to be employed in tries know all about the quality of for some organic goodies with the this booming sector, the success of Scotland’s salmon, beef and lamb, family, or indulge in a Michelin star which is built on simple founda- but also now about the previously have long known about Scotland’s ing annual festivals and create new feast, there is plenty on offer today tions: good provenance, proper lesser-known superb soft fruits, whisky, but they are just learning – events too. in Scotland. Join us for a tastebud- sourcing and, above all, quality all crustaceans and molluscs. They as are many Scots – about the first- Look out for highlights such as tingling tour of a country with a the way from farms, right through rate boutique ales and ciders the May’s Whisky Month, which com- growing reputation around the to intermediate producers and nation now boasts. bines the existing whisky festivals world for its food and drink. ultimately chefs and waiting staff. Next year marks one of the big- of Speyside and Islay with new We will take you to all corners of Scotland has come a long way. gest years in Scotland’s his- events, plus an ambitious attempt the land in search of high-quality Once, the idea of the country being tory. Politics aside, the to stage the world’s largest ever sit- ingredients, thoughtful sourcing a foodie destination would have year-long festivities of the down lunch in South Queensferry and, most importantly, reveal a rich been laughed off with tales of deep massive Homecoming in September, as part of the Forth smorgasbord of venues where you fried confectionery and other culi- 2014 will have food and Bridges Festival. can enjoy the produce. nary disasters, but Scotland today drink as one of its five cen- Also on the menu during Home- The food and drinks industry in is a gastronomic oasis with no tral pillars. There will be coming 2014 will be the likes of Scotland has always been impor- fewer than 16 Michelin-starred dedicated foodie events Dundee Flower and Food Festival, tant, but these days it is seriously restaurants, five of them in the up and down the country, Gastrofest and Flavour Fortnight. big business. In fact, food and drink capital alone. designed to augment exist- So join us now on this gastro- ADVERTISER PROFILE BURN STEWA RT The multi-award winning available in a select number Bunnahabhain is the flagship of specialist retailers with malt whisky from Burn Stewart an RRP of £1,999. Distillers, and is exported to Every drop of the more than 30 countries. un-chillfiltered limited Its taste is quite malt Tobermory 15 has different to the traditional been perfected using a smoke-biased Islay single dual-location maturation malts, thanks to the use of process: first transferring ii FELIZ NAVIDAD!! un-peated malted barley the spirit into Gonzalez and water sourced from Byass Oloroso Sherry casks Margadale Spring, which and then moving each ii CELEBRALAS CON NOSOTROSS!! rises through the fertile cask from the mainland, green valley only a mile to where the whisky matures, Christmas Lunch Christmas Dinner the north of the distillery. back to Islay for its final 2Courses £18.95 2Courses £24.95 Its quality is further enhanced Bunnahabhain 40-year-old undisturbed year. Its natural by the practice of taking only is a one-off release of colour and high strength – 46.3 3Courses £22.95 3Courses £29.95 a very narrow cut from the 750 individually-numbered, per cent – ensure the essence second distillation, with the hand-signed bottles presented of Tobermory authenticity is New Years Eve spirit casked and stored in the in bespoke packaging. The encapsulated in every bottle. 6Courses with wine £50.00pp distillery’s warehouses. casks had been maturing for Uniquely blown glassware The 18-year-old Islay single more than four decades until is gift-boxed in dark-gold oak, 6Courses without wine £30.00pp malt was re-introduced in 2011 Master Distiller Ian MacMillan with the bottle hand-wrapped and is at a higher strength discovered them listed in the in tissue with an illustration by Iggs Restaurant, 15 Jeffrey Street, of 46.3 per cent. The bottle distillery ledgers. The label painter Sonas Maclean. Final Edinburgh, Mid Lothian, EH1 1DR is presented in a quality created by illustrator Iain touches include the Master gift carton containing an McIntosh reflects this journey Distiller’s tasting notes and a Tel: 0131 557 8184 •www.iggs.co.uk information booklet. of discovery. The 40-year-old is gift card with bay imagery. SPECIAL FEAturE 3 fine fare Scottish salmon and, inset left, Scotch whisky are appreciated the world No more heroes? Not the case over. Picture: Thinkstock EvEry revolution needs its heroes and heroines, and Scot- land’s recent food and drinks ren- aissance is no exception. It’s been led by a small army of inspired innovators, from the visionaries who saw a gap in the cheese mar- ket and then radically changed the whole industry, chefs who have eschewed simple sourcing in favour of a stringent quest for 100 per cent sustainable seafood, and others still who saw the poten- tial in a remote, half derelict croft HaiL TO THe CHefS for an establishment that would Shirley Spear, top left, become recognised as one of the Roy Brett, left, and Tom Kitchin, Scottish stars in top 50 restaurants in the world. the foodie firmament Starting off with our croft- converting super chef, self-taught Shirley Spear is as real a food her- Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Fish Fight selling cookbook author, and the oine as you could wish for. When campaign, and Ondine has been man behind two Michelin star she apologises for not everything named the UK’s Fundraising res- restaurants, his eponymous Kitch- at her Skye restaurant, The Three taurant of the year by the Fisher- in and Castle Terrace, not to men- Chimneys, being local, she simply men’s Mission. tion this year’s new gastropub, means that they have had to bring Another big growth area in Scran & Scallie. in some white fish from Mallaig, recent years is cheese. No longer Kitchin’s rise has been a mix- across the water. is Scottish cheese a poor relation ture of steady, meteoric, and in- nomic tasting tour. We have an ar- Borders. We then head north into Shirley may be taking a bit of a to its French or English coun- exorable. After studying catering ticle on Scotland’s drinks offerings Fife, Perthshire and Tayside for our backseat from the kitchen these terparts. This is in no small part at Perth College he trained as an as an aperitif, moving on to swing main courses, discovering the com- days, but her uncompromising due to I.J. Mellis, who has done as apprentice at Gleneagles, before you around the country, kicking mon charms of each, such as high commitment to the local ethos much as anyone to nurture the working in the kitchens of some off with some amuse-bouche sur- quality soft fruits and a rich choice still shines, from tiny wild flow- growth of Scottish cheeses. of the great three Michelin star prises in the Lothians, Glasgow of restaurants, as well as their dis- ers through to seafood caught After 15 years in the industry, chefs, including Alain Ducasse and beyond, before heading south tinct attractions such as Arbroath by fishermen who she is on first he started offering farmhouse and Guy Savoy. to Dumfries and Galloway and the Smokies and Scotland’s only two name terms with. cheese to consumers and the res- It is no small accolade that the star Michelin restaurant. Seafood superstar roy Brett, of taurant trade from his specialist seminal restaurateur, Albert roux, “Scotland today is a Our tour draws to a close with Edinburgh’s Ondine, is not one to shop in 1993, displaying great bestowed on Kitchin when he de- the seafood of Argyll and Bute, settle merely for local produce.

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