Scotch Gregg
WALLACE SPENDS A WEEKEND SAMPLING THE FOOD AND FUN OF EDINBURGH
CONSIDERING that Gregg is in Edinburgh this time and the weather is hardly balmy, it’s amazing how many times we see him shirtless.
Nonetheless, don’t let that put you off tuning in to this latest of his enthusiastic weekend jaunts.
“Whenever I’m here, it always strikes me how different it feels to anywhere else in the UK. It feels special,” he says.
On a mission to uncover what makes Edinburgh unique, he begins his three-day break – naturally – with food.
He visits a confectioner that makes Scottish tablet, which for non-Scots seems to be a lot like fudge, but with a tougher texture.
It’s a chance for Gregg to make his famous yummy noises. “Look at that, an enormous tray of happiness,” he grins.
Later he’s beyond excited to see the private royal quarters on board the Royal Yacht Britannia, a place where apparently Princess Diana would head down to the lower deck to hang out with the crew.
“What are the chances of a London greengrocer wangling an invite?” he asks as he tours a
dining room that has welcomed presidents and royalty. “Slim,” comes the reply.
And of course, there’s some top notch fayre on offer. Gregg enjoys a feast of grouse and langoustines, cooked up by top chef Tom Kitchen. For extra tourist points he gets to grips with the bagpipes and is fitted out for a kilt.
And he joins some of the hardy locals for a bracing early morning dip in the North Sea – warmer than usual at a balmy 13oC.
His enthusiasm ever so slightly waning for just a splitsecond, he says: “Scotland, you’re madder than I thought.”