“A rare Scottish sheep that subsists entirely on seaweed, and whose meat is highly revered, has officially become the first Slow Food Presidium in Scotland.” 

Many of you will know that we started growing our own vegetables, salads and herbs at a Georgian walled garden on the outskirts of Edinburgh in 2017. Fred has been working hard to bring a beautiful, but rather neglected, garden back to life with the help of the owner Mary. Last summer and autumn both restaurants were using an impressive amount of produce grown just a few miles away. Here’s a quick update from Fred, who’s been busy preparing the garden for this year’s crops.

There is nothing quite like the anticipation we feel for the third Thursday in November. For that is the day we welcome the arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau. Come along to help us celebrate!

Since March, I have been growing and harvesting fresh salad leaves, herbs and vegetables at Newton Walled Garden, just outside Edinburgh. It is one of the most satisfying things that I have done as a chef. At the height of the summer, the garden was supplying both escargot restaurants with all of our salad leaves and a little more than 50% of all the herbs we need. 

Late last year, my favourite type of email dropped into my inbox. It was a completely unexpected email from a farmer in Perthshire who had somehow accidentally acquired some pure breed Mangalitsa pigs.

So, recently, we packed a lunchbox for our Head Chef Tom and put him on a plane up to Shetland to meet Richard and his lambs. Tom went out with Richard to gather the sheep from the hill before they were sent to the abattoir. What struck Tom was how relaxed the animals were. Roaming free on the open hill, they have a good life. There is nothing intensive or industrial about the way they are reared.

I have just had a fantastic day at Campbells Prime Meat in Linlithgow. Under the watchful eye of Gerry Neilson, one of Campbells' senior butchers, I had gone there to break down a Wagyu beef carcass. Now, I'm a chef not a butcher. But I had already been out to Campbells a few times because I want first-hand experience of how the experts prepare carcasses for the kitchen.