Hotels and kitchen gardens

Enjoy those Field to Fork Flavours on Holiday… Scotland’s Finest Hotels with a Kitchen Garden

by Janice Hopper

The agricultural community grows much of Scotland’s larder, so when farmers go on holiday, the desire for quality produce, fresh food and low food miles travels with them. To ensure you can dine in the style you’re accustomed to, we’re showcasing the best Scottish hotels with renowned kitchen gardens. Plus, visiting such venues allows farming guests to seek inspiration and see new business models for showcasing their own rural experiences and produce.

The Torridon, near Achnasheen thetorridon.com The Torridon is a ‘farm to fork’ resort — its kitchen gardens and Torridon farm are a key part of the offering. Head Chef, Paul Green, works closely with Head Gardener Bryony Doig. The pair meet weekly to discuss what’s growing well and what will be available for the kitchen, and Paul takes daily walks in the kitchen gardens to get inspiration for the day’s menu.

The farm rears Highland Cattle and Tamworth pigs. The pigs are sourced locally, bred in Wester Ross, and reared for around 5-6 months before slaughter. The entire animal, from trotter to snout, is put to good use. The Torridon’s fold of 15-20 Highland Cattle turn the heads of many guests, but the ultimate goal is to provide diners with some of the finest beef in the land. Combine luxury with fine food in this 18-bedroom castle hotel, set in a 58-acre estate at the end of a magnificent sea loch. Nearby Farming Attraction - The wild red deer that live on the mountains of the National Trust for Scotland’s Torridon estate can be pretty hard to spot so, for the last five decades, the trust has kept some deer on its farm for visitors to get close to. nts.org.uk

Rufflets, St Andrews rufflets.co.uk Before Rufflets was transformed into a private home in 1924, the ten acres of land was used for agricultural purposes. Rufflets became a luxury hotel in 1952 and, today, gardening masterclasses and garden tours are available at this refined Fife country house that offers two AA rosette dining. A Centenary Garden Project is also underway to mark Rufflets’ hundredth year in 2024.

Rufflets’ new Garden Pantry is stocked with seasonal fruit and veg grown in the kitchen garden, fresh flowers from the formal gardens, and hearty pies (including Beef Bourguignon and fish pie). Visitors will be able to buy Rufflets honey and eggs, as well as cuttings to take home. Guests can also visit the hotel chickens - the birds aren’t destined for the table but the eggs make for wonderfully fresh Eggs Benedict at breakfast.

Nearby Farming Attraction - Horse riding at Barbarafield Farm near Cupar. Classes available for beginners, children and skilled riders alike. barbarafield.co.uk

Glenapp Castle, Ayrshire glenappcastle.com The Earl of Orkney, who first created the Glenapp Estate, was an avid collector of trees and plant life. Another historic owner was May Stock, a wealthy aristocrat, philanthropist and keen horticulturist. In modern times Glenapp Castle is a 21-bedroom hotel, which is launching its Azalea Glasshouse & Bothy Restaurant in May 2022. Venture into the castle’s walled garden to take a seat and dine within the Mackenzie and Moncur Victorian Glasshouse, one of only a few remaining in Scotland, including a similar

glasshouse situated on the Queen’s Balmoral Estate.

Visitors order from the menu, surrounded by an array of vines, fruit trees and plant life. The Azalea Glasshouse offers five dining compartments: including the Fruit Room that features fig and peach trees; the Vine Room that contains 100-year-old vines that still produce succulent grapes; and the Pond Room that showcases a calming goldfish pond.

The concept of Glenapp’s three AA rosette restaurant is to blend horticulture and dining, and this kitchen-garden relationship is echoed in the menus. 80% of the herbs such as curry plants, marigold leaves and rhubarb, are grown a few feet away. Guests can join the Head Gardener for a tour around the gardens designed by Gertrude Jekyll and Sir Robert Lorimer. Foraging and beekeeping experiences are also available.

Nearby Farming Attraction - Head to Ayr to follow in the footsteps of one of Scotland’s most famous farming sons, Robert Burns. Visit the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum and drop by Burns Cottage. nts.org.uk

Douneside House, Royal Deeside dounesidehouse.co.uk Douneside House was once the home of dynamic landowner and cattle-breeder, Lady Rachel Workman MacRobert, who laid out the elegant gardens in the early twentieth century. The gardens are vast, including seventeen acres of lawn, terraces, an arboretum, pools, a walled vegetable and fruit garden, and an ornamental glasshouse. Run by the notfor-profit MacRobert Trust, Douneside funds horticultural trainees and apprentices, plus it’s been recognised as a Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Partner Garden.

The team of four gardeners and six trainees are ably led by Stephen McCallum, the former Head Gardener of the famous Beechgrove Garden television series. Produce that makes it way to the kitchen include scorzonera, red-veined sorrel, black tuscan kale, kohlrabi, red-hearted chicory, uchiki kuru winter squash and Jerusalem artichokes. The kitchen is known for getting inventive — when a glut of beetroot was harvested the chefs created a surprisingly tempting beetroot ice cream!

Once guests have admired the Deeside gardens and countryside, and dined in the three AA rosette restaurant, they can hit Douneside’s pool or spa.

Nearby Farming Attraction - Meet farmer Grace Noble’s herd of Highland Cattle at the Aberdeenshire Highland Beef experience. aberdeenshirehighlandbeef.com

Argyll Hotel, Iona argyllhoteliona.co.uk For an island escape head to the Argyll Hotel on Iona. This organic garden has been producing fruit and veg for over 150 years, and its basalt soils are enhanced in the traditional Hebridean way, utilising seaweed from the beach. In the greenhouse look out for tomatoes (Ailsa Craig, San Marzano, green zebra, beefsteak), broccoli (belstar), sugar pea (norli and Progress No 9), beetroot (cylindra, golden Detroit, chioggia and rhonda), kale (red winter and blue Scotch), celery (green Utah) and fennel (finale), including heritage varieties. The polytunnel offers up purple sprouting broccoli, mixed Japanese leaf greens, parsley, kale, purslane and chard.

As well as homegrown fruit and veg, local suppliers include Neil Jardine’s seafood from his boat Amaranth, Inverlussa Mussels, Tobermory Smoke House, Iona Hogget and Iona Lamb, Isle of Mull Ice Cream and Isle of Mull Cheese. Garden tours can also be arranged.

Nearby Farming Attraction - Learn more about the island’s fishing and crofting community at the Iona Heritage Centre. ionaheritage.co.uk

Fresh, green produce at Rufflets

St Columba Hotel, Iona stcolumba-hotel.co.uk Green-fingered visitors are spoiled for choice in Iona. St Columba Hotel’s organic kitchen garden also produces vegetables, salad leaves, herbs, seasonal soft fruits and flowers that make their way to the hotel tables. Also look out for St Columba Gin, distilled from botanicals grown at the hotel’s organic garden.