Nature’s larder
Scotland can offer more than deep-fried Mars bars, haggis and shortbread. Steph Abbot finds that foodies who visit Edinburgh – which has more Michelin stars per head than London, plus thriving food markets – will be spoiled for choice
Deciding where to eat while on holiday can often seem like a complicated task, and it’s a challenge that’s amplified when you find yourself in a city awash with dining choices representative of almost every corner of the globe. Scotland’s capital is lucky enough to boast both quality and quantity, with no less than four Michelin-star restaurants. Diners with more modest budgets need not worry: there are eateries galore, offering a range of prices as wide as your waist might be at the end of the trip.
One way of taking in a chunk of the foodie treasures within the city is by completing the Edinburgh Food Heritage Trail which takes you on a journey from a 17th-century merchants kitchen in Gladstone’s Land, through the various market sites scattered across the city to restaurants like Contini, set within impressive pieces of architectural history. For hundreds of years, residents would buy all of their food from the markets held in the city, signs of which remain today, such as Fishmarket Close and Fleshmarket Close. Now
locals and visitors can continue the tradition of market buying if they head to the Edinburgh Farmers Market on Castle Terrace on the first Saturday of each month. With over 40 specialist producers, you’ll find cheeses, venison and traditional clootie dumplings – a true celebration of Scotland’s fantastic produce. ( www.edinburghfarmersmarket. co.uk). There’s also a thriving farmers market in Stockbridge every Sunday, plus markets in Leith, the Grassmarket and Potterrow ( www.stockbridgemarket.com).
For those who like to try before they buy, there are lots of tasting workshops to whet the appetite. I.J. Mellis Cheesemonger offer monthly cheese and wine tastings in both Stockbridge,
"Scotland’s capital is lucky enough to boast both quality and quantity“
Morningside and Victoria Street (www. mellischeese.net/stores/) while those with a sweet tooth can head to the Chocolate Tree in Bruntsfield to sample their award-winning craft chocolate. ( www. choctree.co.uk)
If you fancy a bit more bang for your buck then Lothian Wine School offer wine tasting days set in the beautiful Hotel du Vin and include champagne and a two-course lunch. This mini course offers expertise on which wines best match particular foods and is a fun beginners introduction to wine tasting. ( www.lothianwineschool.com)
If you want to get your hands dirty, there is a huge range of mini courses and workshops on offer across Edinburgh and the Lothians. The New Town Cookery School ( www.entcs.co.uk) offers outstanding courses, as do the Edinburgh School of Food and Wine ( www.esfw.com) and The Cook School By Martin Wishart ( restaurantmartinwishart.co.uk).
Just outside Edinburgh, set within the beautiful estate of Coulstoun House in East Lothian, arguably the oldest house in Scotland with over 900 years of history, is Coulstoun Cookery School. Courses range from bread making and Italian cooking to foraging and bee keeping. Manager Allison Henderson, who designs and runs the courses, said ‘Classes tend to have five pupils for every one teacher so there are lots of opportunities to ask questions and what’s unique is that it’s set on a country estate. The Coulstoun ethos is simple: focusing on the quality of ingredients grown ourselves or locally sourced.’
For anyone keen on learning much more than how to bake a fluffy sponge cake, Coulstoun gives students a chance to understand where ingredients come from and to celebrate the rich and varied natural Scottish larder. Those taking part in the foraging course will spend the morning in the grounds of the estate picking anything from salad leaves to wild flowers before sitting down to a gourmet lunch of elderflower champagne, wild sushi or perhaps a pizza topped with wild garlic pesto.
Perhaps the most distinct course available at Coulstoun, is
“It’s so important to see the effort that goes into growing something; you value it more
bee keeping. It’s an opportunity to be a bee keeper for a day and Allison says the purpose of their on-site hives isn’t about having easy-to-access honey.
‘It’s very topical because the bees are so important to our ecosystem and food system. It was a strong belief that we wanted to do what we could to help the bee population. We take a minimal amount of honey to cause as little disturbance to the bees as possible.’
The school welcomes people of all ages and abilities, often hosting couples, parents with older children, food bloggers and absolute beginners.
The foraging course is the most popular. ‘The value of where your food comes from has been lost a lot with easy access to lots of cheap food, but now people are much more receptive and concerned about the source of ingredients,’ Allison said.
For anyone keen to give foraging a go, Allison emphasised the point that ‘it’s a fun day out, demystifying cooking and making it accessible for everyone.’ ( www. colstoun.co.uk/the-cookery-school)
For the green-fingered among us, the Edible Gardening Project at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh offers mini workshops aimed at teaching people about the range of fruit and veg that can be grown in Scotland. Project leader Jenny Foulkes said, ‘We want to show people how to start from the basics of growing fruit and veg and then they can start to experiment.’
There are drop-in sessions on Mondays and Tuesdays where people can hone their horticultural knowledge. The focus of the team is on conserving and looking after plants and has a particular emphasis on limiting food waste. ‘It’s so important to see the effort that goes into growing something; you value it more,’ said Jenny.
What better way to celebrate this and all things foodie in the autumn than at Harvest Festival? The event takes place on 17 and 18 September, featuring fun family activities, veg advice and a chance to taste some of the garden’s produce. ( www.rbge. org.uk/whats-on/ediblegardening)
Even the locals would have a hard time checking off all the great places to eat in Edinburgh and the Lothians, but if you’re keen to delve a little deeper into your favourite dishes then this is the place to tuck into.