Food & drink

Recipe for trout from Fyfe Smokery, Dunfermline

This week we have a recipe for trout from Elaine Hardie at the Fyfe Smokery, Dunfermline. ‘This recipe is suitable for trout or Char. Locally many people fish for trout as a hobby, and most trout is farmed. But the season for wild sea trout is right now, so ask your fishmonger to source some for you. Wild sea trout are bigger than river trout, as they have an abundance

Royal Highland Show – new gin bar with gin tastings

One of the new bars at this year’s Royal Highland Show is The Botanical Garden run by Edinburgh catering company Hickory. There will be talks and tastings by mixologists, 13 Scottish gins for sale such as Isle of Harris, Rock Rose, Arbikie and Pickering’s and a range of gin-based cocktails.  The Show is open until 8pm today, Saturday 25 June and 6pm tomorrow, Sunday 26 June.

11 Brunswick Street; boutique hotel & restaurant in the centre of Edinburgh

No11 Brunswick Street was opened in 2012 following a £900,000 refurbishment to the grand town house by husband and wife team Hamish and Susan Grant. The boutique hotel and restaurant is in the centre of Edinburgh, close to The Playhouse and down a quiet street just off London Road. Originally built in 1822, the Georgian Town House was designed by the famous architect William Playfair. In the 1930s the building

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,

Mackerel California-style; recipe from the Fyfe Smokery

Here is our latest recipe from Elaine Hardie at the Fyfe Smokery, Bruce Street, Dunfermline. Mackerel is a sustainable choice of oily fish, found all around the coast of Scotland and is abundant in health benefits and flavour. Try this Californian style recipe, made with common store-cupboard ingredients, and dream of sunshine…. Mackerel California-style Serves 2-4 2 fillets of mackerel 115g butter 2 tsp paprika 1 ½ tsp salt ½ tsp

Lebanese Wine, by Paul Rudge, Reubens Wine Store

Here is the latest feature on wine from our wine columnist, Paul Rudge of Reubens Wine Store in Dunfermline, Fife. This week he writes about Lebanese wine. Lebanon is said to be the ancient home of the vine and it is quite certain that wine production has played an important role in the indigenous culture for centuries. Lebanon is a paradise for grape growing with its limestone soils, high altitude

New Italian restaurant, Incontri, opened in Dunfermline

Cristiano Guarnacci, the chef pictured above, has been creating Italian food for diners in west Fife for many years; first as the owner of Italian restaurant, Taurasi, and then, as a chef at Ciao Italia. His latest venture, Incontri, also in Dunfermline, opened on 23 March. The Bruce Street restaurant is a joint venture with Paul and Nicola Mitchell; Nicola manages front of house while Cristiano runs the open plan

Boathouse cafe & restaurant, Loch Leven, Kinross

The owners who took over the Boathouse  cafe and restaurant in Kinross in early 2015 have succeeded in making the venue an all-year round destination. With the addition of lamps, candlelight, fairy lights and sofas, the cafe is now a cozy winter venue. Under the previous ownership the opening hours in winter were intermittent and all the focus seemed to be on the decked seating area outside; admittedly the deck

Latest seafood recipe from Fyfe Smokery

Here’s the latest recipe from Elaine Hardie at the Fyfe Smokery in Dunfermline, Fife. She’s chosen local ingredients where possible such as Puddledub bacon and De Brus beer. Mussels Cooked in Ale and Bacon Scottish Mussels are plentiful, cheap and sustainable, as well as being easy to cook. Buy them fresh and eat the same day if possible, scrub them and remove any barnacles and beards first. Serves 2 as