Witness the Magic of Royal Scotland with Darren Mcgrady - Former Chef to H.M
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Culinary Excursion From July 31 – August 7, 2015 Witness the magic of Royal Scotland with Darren McGrady - former Chef to H.M. Queen Elizabeth II and Diana, Princess of Wales. You are invited to join 'The Royal Chef" Darren McGrady on his ninth culinary trip as he returns to the breathtaking Scottish Highlands and Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. Share Darren’s personal, unique insight into the day-to-day life of Britain’s royal family with his personal tour of Balmoral Castle and Britannia, the Royal Yacht. Highlights of the tour include: • Tour Balmoral Castle where Darren cooked for the Queen, and the ballroom where Darren danced with Princess Diana • Luxury Land Rover Safari Tour through the Balmoral Estate • Hands-on cooking class with Chef Darren using local produce • Private tour and dinner aboard Her Majesty’s Yacht Britannia in ‘The Royal Dining Room’ • Enjoy gourmet restaurants and dinner show with Scottish dancing Southlake Travel Where Dreams Become Reality The Trip Where We Visit Day 1 – Friday, July 31 Welcome to Aberdeen, Scotland’s “Granite City”! You are met upon arrival at Aberdeen Airport and whisked away into the beautiful Scottish Highlands to the The Hilton Craigendarroch Hotel in the village of “Victorian” Ballater. Set within the stunning Cairngorms National Park, the Hilton Craigendarroch hotel offers spectacular views across the Dee Valley. Gather tonight in the antique filled Drawing Room around the log fire for a glass of wine to renew friendships and meet new friends, before heading into the Keiller Brasserie restaurant for dinner while watching the sun setting over the Craigendarroch. Hotel: Hilton Craigendarroch Hotel, Ballater Meals: Dinner Balmoral Castle Day 2 – Saturday, August 1 Our day today starts early, with a short drive to Balmoral Castle where we will spend the day. Set in the shadows of Lochnagar, lie the 50,000 acres of the Balmoral Estate. In her journals Queen Victoria described Balmoral as "my dear paradise in the Highlands" and once you have visited, you can see why. Darren talks about the “magic” of Balmoral and throughout the day he will share memories from the eleven years he visited… Meeting the Queen for the first time, chased by the royal corgis, Royal Tupperware parties in the hills, Princess Diana locked out of the Castle, making picnics for William and Harry to take to the ‘beach’… and so much more. But we begin with a Luxury Land Rover Safari tour of the amazing estate through HMY Britannia the heather clad hills and ancient Caledonian woodland. After lunch, we’ll step into the beautiful Balmoral ballroom where Chef Darren twirled and danced with Princess Diana year after year at the ‘Ghillies Ball’. Tour the vegetable gardens that supply the royal table and visit the Garden Cottage where Queen Victoria would take breakfast each day. Evening at leisure to explore the many fine restaurants and craft stores of Ballater. Hotel: Hilton Craigendarroch Hotel, Ballater Meals: Breakfast and Dinner Day 3 – Sunday, August 2 After a hearty Scottish breakfast, our journey today starts with a visit to Lock Scottish Dinner Show Muick, and have a lovely Picnic Lunch among the River Muick, with beautiful vistas. Later this afternoon, we will travel to the beautiful Kincardine Castle for a spot of Afternoon Tea, and take a stroll through their lovely gardens their chef is so proud of. After our tour of the gardens, we will depart this evening for Edinburgh. Hotel: Apex International Hotel, Edinburgh Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Afternoon Tea Southlake Travel Afternoon Tea Where Dreams Become Reality Day 4- Monday, August 3 Where We Stay Today is your FREE day to spend as you wish. However, we know from past experience, that Chef Darren always finds these amazing “activities” to add that he surprises us with just before we leave… Hilton Craigendarroch, Ballater Our dinner tonight will be “The Taste of Scotland”, an evening with Scottish music, costume, bagpipes, fiddles and dance in the magically historic setting of Prestonfield House in Edinburgh. Dance the ‘Gay Gordons’ with the Royal Chef as we enjoy local beef, salmon, haggis and rumbledethumps and bring the evening and trip to a close with “Auld Lang Syne”. Hotel: Apex International Hotel, Edinburgh Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Day 5 – Tuesday, August 4 Our adventure starts today by visiting the seaside village of Dunbar. One of East Lothian's most beautiful and popular seaside towns, it is known locally and internationally as the birthplace of John Muir, naturalist and conservationist. Some of us may play golf, go to the beach, or simply do a little shopping in their antique shops and galleries. But oh, we can’t depart this seaside Town without first stopping for Fish & Chips on the marina. Once back in Edinburgh, we must drop by the famous Chocolate Lounge at Harvey Nichols. No culinary tour is complete with doing a little chocolate tasting and sampling…we might even pick up some for our Cooking class. We will dine tonight at the famous “The Kitchin” restaurant. Tom Kitchin is Scotland’s youngest Michelin starred chef proprietor, receiving this award only 1 year after opening in 2006. Amazing. Hotel: Apex International Hotel, Edinburgh Apex International Hotel, Meals: Breakfast, Dinner Show Edinburgh Day 6 – Wednesday, August 5 Today we start gathering our ingredients for our fabulous Cooking School tomorrow. First, with some Strawberry picking at the Bellhaven Fruit Farm and then to the James Dixon Fish Curer Shop. We’ll stop in the quaint 12th century Haddington Village for lunch We have a special dinner planned tonight at Carberry Tower in Musselburgh. This stately home dates back to the mid-15th Century, Mary Queen of Scots surrendered here in 1567 to her rebellious nobles and more recently it was the former home to Lady Mary Bowes-Lyon, sister of the late Queen Mother. Hotel: Apex International Hotel, Edinburgh Meals: Breakfast, Dinner Southlake Travel Where Dreams Become Reality Day 7 – Thursday, August 6 We start our day at the Coulston Cookery School, a renowned cooking school in Edinburgh. Chef Darren McGrady will delight us with a 3 course meal he prepares with local produce and specialties. This interactive class will show us “best practices” techniques for the chef in all of us, while sampling his wonderful Scottish recipes and fine wines. This evening, it’s ‘all aboard’ The Royal Yacht Britannia as our party takes over Her Majesty’s ‘floating palace’ for our Finale evening. You will be piped aboard and experience an exclusive tour of the yacht with Champagne and canapés and access to areas not usually seen on their tour, including a peek into the kitchens where The Royal Chef prepared banquets. In the Queen’s Royal Dining Room ‘The Royal Chef’ will share memorabilia and anecdotes of his trips on Britannia including how he served Kings, Queens and Presidents as we enjoy a very special four-course dinner with wine. Hotel: Apex International Hotel, Edinburgh Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 8 – Friday, August 7 Depart for Edinburgh International Airport for your flights home. or OPTIONAL: Stay this night with tickets to the Military Tattoo (Hotel included, and transfers to airport next morning). The Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle. This colorful military musical spectacular celebrates its 65th season this year including highlights such as Massed Pipes & Drums, the Massed Bands of the Royal Air Force, along with Highland dancing, and the haunting notes of the Lone Piper. Bring your cameras for this one! Coulston Cookery The Military Tattoo Southlake Travel Where Dreams Become Reality The Details Southlake Travel Where Dreams Become Reality Start: Ballater, Scotland Finish: Edinburgh, Scotland ABOUT US What’s Included: A highly-personalized travel - All accommodations on a shared twin/double room basis concierge service that arranges - Daily breakfast at hotel memorable trips, cruises, exotic - Daily dinner at hotel: Hilton Craigendarroch, Ballater vacations and travel for those - Initial transfer from Aberdeen Airport with discriminating taste. - Return transfer to Edinburgh Airport - Entrance and tour of Balmoral Castle So, whether you’re looking for - Land Rover Safari tour of Balmoral Estate a private jet to Paris, - Hands-on cooking class with The Royal Chef a villa in Tuscany, tickets to the Grand Prix in - Dinner at The Kitchin - Michelin Star Restaurant Monaco, golfing at St. - Two lunches and six dinners Andrews or an island - Afternoon tea at Kincardine Castle escape to the Caribbean, - Visit to city of Dunbar we can arrange every detail. - Tickets to World Famous “Taste of Scotland Dinner Show” - Entrance, tour and dinner on Her Majesty’s Yacht Britannia For more information on Chef Darren McGrady, Nota Bene: We build all of our itineraries as exhaustively as possible; however, we visit his website at also leave room for the spontaneity of the group, the creativity of the guide, and the www.theroyalchef.com unpredictability of the elements. Thus, all itineraries are subject to modest modification, dependent on local weather, new opportunities, and the desires of the group. AVAILABILITY Dates & Prices This exclusive culinary tour DURATION: 7 NIGHTS / 8 DAYS with The Royal Chef will be DATES: July 31 – Aug 7, 2015 limited to 15 – 20 participants; PRICES: $5495.00 USD (per person, dbl. occupancy sharing)* with a minimum of 15. SGL SUPP: $955.00 To avoid disappointment OPTIONAL: August 7 - Military Tattoo ticket + 1 night hotel – (and the inevitable waitlist), Apex International Hotel = $ 375.00 per person^ please book early. (^Single Supplement Additional) * Prices are based at $ 1.603 to one GBP. Final price will be adjusted on April 20, 2015. BOOK YOUR TRIP CONTACT: Getting There Karen M. Dawson 630 E. Southlake Blvd #50 Flights: Southlake, TX 76092 We generally encourage our travelers to arrive the day before the trip starts on Day 1, as [email protected] your flights will probably arrive early in the morning, and check-in for the hotel is not Phone: 817.657.9866 until 3pm.