Food and Drink
Producer’s Corner: Charlie Aitken, Rum Cay
Charlie Aitken grew up listening to stories from his grandparents about their time living near the island of Rum Cay in the Bahamas, during the 1970s. The Aitken family, including Charlie’s father, spent much of their life living and working there, and it gave them a fresh perspective on life. When they eventually returned to…
Read MoreReview: Bonnar’s, The Scott Hotel
This year has been one characterised by pleasant surprises, but few have come more out of the blue than this cracking little restaurant inside a hotel on Edinburgh University grounds just off Salisbury Crags, says Richard Bath. It’s almost a year old, and is one of the best kept secrets in Edinburgh. The Scott…
Read MoreIn A Nutshell, George Colebrook: ‘My customers wouldn’t know but I trained as a clown in Paris for two years.’
London native George Colebrook’s love of cooking stems from his childhood, as he was introduced to the importance of produce by his grandfathers – who worked as a butcher and dairy farmer respectively – and was taught by his mother to appreciate the beauty of simple cookery. In 2024 George co-founded Arete with Neil Paterson,…
Read MoreFor The Love Of Chardonnay – Here’s our top five Chardonnays to try
By James Robertson Some time ago I was on the train returning from three days at a trade show in London when I heard the waitress asking two fellow travellers if they wanted a drink. Of course they did, it takes away the strain of the journey north. ‘We would like a white wine’,…
Read MoreIn A Nutshell, Neil Paterson: ‘I ate fermented shark meat in Iceland once – I can’t possibly comprehend how anyone could enjoy it’
Born in the Scottish Highlands, Neil Paterson’s career in hospitality began by accident as he took a second job as a kitchen porter while working as a snowboard instructor in the Alps. After opening a restaurant in Berlin he moved back to Scotland and in 2024 co-founded Arete, a culinary service specialising in bespoke dining…
Read MoreAberdeen Cocktail Week: The cocktails we loved from the event
As Aberdeen Cocktail Week’s first appearance for 2025 draws to a close, we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to highlight some of the delicious and innovative cocktails that we tried during the event. We couldn’t try them all, but of those that we did here are six venues and their stand out concoctions……
Read MoreIn a Nutshell, Craig Nelson from Ox and Finch: ‘I love to listen to classical music in the car, but I don’t enjoy music in the kitchen’
Originally from East Kilbride, Craig Nelson began his culinary journey at Lanarkshire Catering School. In October 2020, he moved to London and worked at the renowned Harwood Arms, London’s only Michelin-starred pub. Having started his career at Ox and Finch in Glasgow he decided to return to their kitchen as Head Chef as they re-opened.…
Read MoreArdbeg Smokiverse explores a new high gravity dimension
Islay-based Ardbeg Distillery has unveiled Ardbeg Smokiverse – its new limited-edition release to mark Ardbeg Day 2025, which takes place on Saturday 31st May as the finale to Feis Ile (Islay’s globally-renowned ten-day Festival of Music and Malt). Ardbeg Smokiverse experimental malt has been crafted using high gravity mashing. Utilising a series of unconventional distilling techniques,…
Read MoreReview: W Lounge, Edinburgh
I’ve had a few pleasant restaurant reviewing surprises recently, but few more than the new, surprisingly affordable W Lounge. So here’s my verdict: What is it: With its 360 degree panoramic views over the whole city from its city centre site, the five-star W Edinburgh hotel, recently named Scottish Hotel of the Year 2025,…
Read MoreReview: Fallachan Kitchen, Glasgow
My meal at Fallachan Kitchen was without a doubt, one of the most surreal and memorable meals of the many hundreds of reviews I’ve done over the past 25 years. The food was also borderline incredible, and we’ll come onto that in due course, but if I’m honest it wasn’t the epic menu that will…
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