St Andrews and East Neuk

The Cheesy Toast Shack St Andrews

If you’re looking to break up lockdown walks with a takeway then The Cheesy Toast Shack is open for business at East Sands, St Andrews. If you’re on a beach and it looks like a scene from Chariots of Fire then you’re on the wrong beach.  Get your coordinates right and you’re also closer to Janetta’s ice cream for dessert. Open 10am until 4pm at weekends and 10am until 2pm

Bowhouse Food Weekend, Fife, 23 & 24 September

Bowhouse Food Weekend, St Monans is this Saturday and Sunday, 23 and 24 September. Free to attend, the two-day event will showcase the produce that the harvest season brings in the East Neuk. Hosted in a beautifully restored barn, the market will also host regular tastings, talks and demonstrations from chefs and producers. Children’s activities, as well as information on local walks, and a chance to see a selection of the

The Cheesy Toast Shack, Kingsbarns beach, nr St Andrews

It’s a long way to go to sell a toastie but the Cheesy Toast Shack, which is usually pitched on Kingsbarns Beach, near St Andrews, is off to Glastonbury.  The shack will be on the beach for a week beginning 10 June before joining Stormzy and Radiohead at Pilton. In the meantime they’ve been at Montrose Festival, DUSA Street party in Dundee and the open day at Leuchars. Appearing at

The Ship Inn, Elie Fife

The Ship Inn, Elie, Fife Graham and Rachel Bucknell, owners of the Fife pub, The Ship Inn in Elie have been busy since they bought the business back in 2015. They renovated six bedrooms and refurbished the pub. Replacing the traditional bar with a more modern look may have had detractors amongst the regulars but hopefully they have been won over by a standard of food that boasts some of

Piccadilly Lilly, clothes & jewellery shop in Elie, Fife

A Christmas tree dress is such a simple but clever idea for this window display at Elie shop Piccadilly Lilly.  Mia Gonzalez-Noda, who opened the shop in July 2016, has friend and stylist Bridget Sneddon from Through the Looking Glass Events,  to thank for the window display. Since the age of 21, Mia, now 41 had wanted to own a clothes shop. With two young children it was the 70

Buy locally-caught langoustines and lobster in Pittenweem

Locally landed lobster, crab and langoustine caught in the Firth of Forth, with no food miles, is now on sale to the general public at a brand new Seafood Kiosk in Pittenweem Harbour, where the shellfish are landed. The new initiative is led by the Fisherman’s Mutual Association (Pittenweem). The outlet, which will be open every day until the end of August and run by local fishmonger, George Allan, has

Impressive line up for Byre in the Botanics this summer

Some great outdoor concerts, film screenings and family events are lined up for the summer season at St Andrews’ lovely Botanic Garden. Programmed by the Byre Theatre St Andrews, Byre In The Botanics features live shows from Les Miserable‘s Samantha Barks, Dunfermline’s own Barbara Dickson and the brilliant Rab Noakes, Capercaillie and Jacqui Dankworth, plus a double bill from OperaUpClose, ballet from Berlin’s JSLN Dance and Bard In The Botanics’

Craig Millar@16 West End Restaurant, St Monans, Fife

On a clear sunny day, the terrace at Craig Millar’s restaurant, 16 West End, St Monans, Fife feels like it’s overlooking the Mediterranean rather than the Firth of Forth. The short brasserie menu had three fish choices, including fish pie, haddock and chips or cod on a saffron and gnocchi broth and the two meat options included slow cooked ox cheek, all of which around were around the £15 mark,

Father Christmas is a Fifer: introducing the Avocado Sweet local Christmas shopping guide!

Now here’s a challenge. Is it possible to buy all your Christmas presents locally? Many people might try to buy local the rest of the year but probably assume it can’t be done at Christmas. In Fife, like many parts of the country, there are interesting shops, food and drink producers, artists, designers and makers that can help you with your Christmas list. Over the next couple of weeks Avocado

China says cheers for Fife gins

Eden Mill distillery and brewery has signed a Chinese distribution deal that means their Fife gins will be sold in bars and hotels throughout China. The company, which is based just outside St Andrews, already has some experience of the Chinese market after launching their craft beer business there two years ago. All five gins are part of the export drive; oak, hop, love, original and golf and Eden Mill