New food experiences

Made in Scotland New Year, New Resolutions, New Experiences

By Wendy Barrie Scottish Thistle Award Regional Ambassador (2018/19) for Central, Tayside & Fife Director of Scottish Food Guide

Whether exploring self sufficiency or delving into a new hobby, mastering essential skills is a great start. Lockdowns and economising has certainly changed the way many of us look upon our lifestyle and shopping habits. Petroleumbased gifts we can live without replaced with experiences offering fulfilment – or at any rate a pleasant distraction from the stresses and strains of everyday life! Recent shortages of yeast and flour highlight the surge in home bakers; yarns and needle sales herald the boom in natural knits, whilst tents have vanished from the shelves only to pop up by Loch Lomond and across rural Scotland!

So setting aside non-culinary pursuits, unless you have granny or grandpa handy who can pass on their skills, you will need an expert guiding hand and there are many producers and chefs willing to offer just that! From fish and filleting to breeding goats, Scotland has it all!

The Cook School by Ballintaggart has a variety of courses available at their beautifully designed kitchen with resident chef proprietor Chris Rowley at the helm to lead you through a range of knife techniques, imaginative recipes with meat and seafood, fascinating pastry skills and a selection of desserts to expand your repertoire. Set amidst stunning Perthshire countryside this rural idyll has nature on the doorstep and hens clucking in the yard so immerse yourself in country life – you can even take part in seasonal foraging. https://ballintaggart.com

If bracing sea air is more your style then look no further than East Neuk Seaweed where Jayson Byles will take you on his culinary adventure on the edge of the high seas that pound the shores of Fife! His enthusiasm is contagious as you explore the rockpools and tideline for such sea plants as bladder wrack, dulse and sugar kelp. A professional chef and forager, Jayson will not only show you where to find it but what to do with it. You will never look at a beach the same way again. Return home safely – no need for the RNLI – with knowledge of a range of foraged ingredients to create a banquet fit for Neptune. Jayson also hosts interactive online courses if you live farther afield. https://www.eastneukseaweed. com/ontherocks/#on-the-rocks Fife is also home to Scotland The Bread, Winner of BBC Food & Farming Innovation Award 2021 for their Flour to the People initiative. Scotland The Bread is a community benefit society and registered charity, currently crowd funding for further projects part of which will include future bread workshops so watch this space. https://scotlandthebread.org

Someone whose log-fuelled furnace is fired up and ready to go is the amazing John Castley, aka Sourdough John, who creates multi-award-winning breads and enriched doughs at his Wild Hearth Bakery in an up-cycled WW2 Nissen hut, nestled amongst a string of eclectic enterprises and a plentiful array of allotments, one of which is home to John’s heritage grains that he is growing as part of a project with Comrie Primary School. Passionate about sourdoughs, John won not one but two Scottish Bread Championship Supreme Champion Awards at the Royal Highland Show 2021 and there’s a steady stream of wannabe bakers loafing (sorry) in his direction to attend his popular workshops. With classes on the fourth Saturday of every month, there are various levels and mouthwatering themes including festive breads, pizzas or viennoiserie. A great way to improve your dough know-how including comprehensive notes and lunch. https://www.wildhearthbakery. com And if you would like to make your own cheese for that sourdough sandwich, then The Ethical Dairy will sort you out with a cheesemaking course at their lovely dairy near Gatehouse of Fleet. https://www. theethicaldairy.co.uk

Many are still surprised by the number of exceptional artisan cheeses produced right here in Scotland. One way to explore these distinctive and flavoursome cheeses is to join a Cheese Champion Day at Scottish Food Studio where Kathy Biss of West Highland Dairy co-hosts for a wonderfully absorbing day of cheese: the science and nature, process and styles, characteristics and comparative tasting. Scottish Food Studio also offers day experiences on Slow Food Ark of Taste and Hygge Scandi Cooking. https://www.wendybarrie.co.uk/ courses-1

Butchery is another valuable skill becoming increasingly popular. Farmers are interested in exploring added value for their products, chefs seek to develop skills or send along their less experienced staff, and foodies are hungry for knowledge about the food they consume. We quite rightly should be concerned about our food systems and it is gratifying to see such a growing interest in the processes surrounding food production. As food producers endeavour to shorten their supply chain, some sell whole animals, generally heritage sheep, direct to the consumer in which case a few home butchery skills don’t go amiss! Peelham Farm is one such family business providing this service. Their craft butchery course covers how to cut-down a whole sheep and a whole pig. With small numbers of participants and experts on hand you are assured an in-depth experience including the different cuts, sausage-making, and the basics of air-drying and curing. https://www.peelham. co.uk/courses.html

For animals lovers looking to raise a few goats, look no further than Elchies on Speyside who will be running a goat kidding course early in the year for the Scottish Crofting Federation, perfect for future goatherderscum-midwives! They will also be running an online course on how to start a farmers’ market. https://www.elchies.co.uk Over on the misty Isle of Skye is the renowned Kinloch Lodge, where the Macdonald family celebrate its Golden Anniversary next year. They certainly put Skye on the map as a food tourism destination and their own guide, The Skye Ghillie will share with you his knowledge of the history, flora and fauna, tailored to your interests, including fishing for wild salmon or brown trout, stalking deer or foraging for ingredients – all of which could end up on your menu. https:// kinloch-lodge.co.uk

Last but by no means least, if you are seeking spice in your life, Praveen Kumar has the answer at his Indian Cook School. His restaurant Tabla is a popular venue in Perth, whether for dining in or takeaway but he also shares his secrets so you can try some of his dishes out for yourself. This husband and wife team, Praveen and Swarna, give classes in the fundamentals of Indian cuisine, using herbs and spices grown at the family’s home in Southern India, combined with the best Scottish produce. How about it for an exciting start to 2022? https://www.indiancookschool. co.uk