When planning my holiday in Scotland, I simply knew that I could not go north of the border without spending time at Ondine, arguably the finest seafood restaurant in the UK. If I lived in Edinburgh, I think I would be at Ondine constantly, since I don't, I try to get there when I can, though I have been somewhat tardy of late. Accordingly, I was super excited to return.

At the helm of Ondine is a brilliant chef and a brilliant man, Roy Brett, and it is his integrity and his values that run through Ondine: the best product, ethically sourced treated with respect. I cannot say it better than Roy himself who notes on the Ondine website:

Our emphasis is on the fishermen who provide us with the freshest and most sustainable produce, which we celebrate with knowledgeable yet satisfying cooking.

And that they do. I am rather annoyed at myself in terms of this blog post because on the first night of my stay in Edinburgh (and first of three visits to Ondine) I didn't take my camera and accordingly I have far fewer pictures of the amazing food than I would like, and even when I returned and did take my camera, at dessert, greedy me demolished it before realising that I had forgotten to take any pictures. It's like that Ondine, the food is so compelling that you just dive straight in, because this is food that makes you happy.

The langoustine at Ondine really are the very best langoustine you could hope to get in the UK, absolutely massive, and when on the first night a plate of six of them arrived at our table, it caused every other table around us to stop and stare for the dish is indeed a showstopper. Not ordered on this occasion, but the same is true of the Roasted Shellfish Platter which is simply seafood paradise. Another dish taken on the first night which I wish I had a picture of is the grilled scallops with spicy sausage and garlic butter. The scallops are hand dived off the Isle of Mull by Guy Grieves of The Ethical Shellfish Company and again, you simply wont get better. And Roy's philosophy is that when you have ingredients this good, keep the cooking simple and let the quality shine.  

And being like throughout, I could go down the menu and say the same things about so much: the oysters, the salmon and even the beef which is on the menu for those who are not so much seafood fans.

But above and beyond the food, what I like so much about Ondine is twofold: the atmosphere and the hospitality. Ondine is a restaurant to enjoy food, not a restaurant of hushed tones and stiff ambiance. It buzzes with the sound of enjoyment, it's as simple as that. This means it's a place that you want to go to and spend time in, just hang out. And on the hospitality, it is the friendliest of places, staffed by a fabulous team. What was so nice was seeing so many familiar faces on the staff, despite me not having been up there for a while, people like Julia, James, Craig, Anna and Danny. That continuity ensures the highest level of consistent service, but more than that, it builds the customer relationship that means I always feel at Ondine like I am returning to see old friends, and that in my book is the pinnacle of hospitality.

Ondine then offers the diner a full house of achievement: the best product, ethically sourced, cooked brilliantly, great atmosphere and ultimate hospitality. It's little wonder that I should love it so much, leaving me to end where I started: no trip to Scotland is complete without stopping by Ondine. See you there.

I love Scotland, and I love Skye. I love Scotland's larder, and I love the chefs who cook with respect and understanding of it. And I love Michael Smith.

Two and a half years ago, we made the trip to Skye to sample Michael's food. We had heard so much about him, all good, and within the industry, his reputation is second to none. He's both a chef's chef, and a chef that makes every meal a genuine pleasure. At that time, he was cooking at The Three Chimneys, and we had the best of times there. The food was without doubt spectacular, but what stays in my mind even more than the food was the hospitality we received from Michael and his team. Such heartfelt warmth takes the restaurant-guest relationship to a new level and we were smitten.

Well, for those who don't follow Skye News, things have changed somewhat and Michael is no longer at The Three Chimneys but has opened his own restaurant on Skye alongside Loch Bay on the Waternish peninsula on the north-west part of the isle. It's appropriately named Loch Bay Restaurant. Some things are quite different from his old gaff, the restaurant for example has only about 20 covers, is almost a neighbourhood restaurant in feel and the food sits in both style and price point more appropriate for that vibe (with no white table cloths in sight). But there is also much that is familiar: a celebration of local produce, exquisite cooking and hospitality as warming as a Talisker on a cold winter's night. And Michael is not the only familiar face you'll see from the Chimneys either, as Izzy (pastry) and Graeme (FOH) have made the journey with Michael also. Yet despite the restaurant only opening this year, it already feels a happy place, and it already feels a place with soul derived from a chef and a team with a sense of purpose rooted in the local community.

Menu-wise, there's an a la carte option (£37.50) that offers on both starters and mains a choice between a fish dish, a meat dish and a vegetarian option. There's also a seafood tasting menu (£55) drawing upon the fact that in Skye, nowhere is more than 6 miles from the sea and the local produce from those clear waters is as good as it gets. You should also be prepared to dust down your Scottish, especially come dessert as you perhaps decide between Cranachan and a Clootie Dumpling. For the quality of the produce used, and the quality of the cooking delivered, the menu is without doubt a bargain making repeat visits not only viable but an absolute no brainer if you're staying on the island for week as we were. And the menu does change daily such that over three meals there, as well as the varying fish course, we also enjoyed partridge, hare and mallard as main course options. I should add at this point also that the wine list is as easy on the wallet as the food.

The food is smart but also comforting, so you might choose to start with a comforting Smokey Bree (that is Brew/Soup of crustaceans) or a crab risotto with razor clams, fennel and chilli (see pictures below for our Friday night menu). And with the restaurant being a small intimate affair, the kitchen is similarly scaled, so it will be Michael himself who has personally added that vital ingredient - love - to each of your hot dishes. The outcome is, no surprise, perfection in every dish. Oh, and you must try the Clootie Dumpling for your pudding at least once during your stay, it's a masterpiece.

I always used to say back in the heyday of the blog, if you want to know which restaurants bloggers really like, see which restaurants they return to eat at. On the first occasion of eating Michael's food and receiving his hospitality, I was so sad when it was time to leave that I knew I would return despite the restaurant being, well, let's say not local to me. And so deciding this year where to spend my holiday, I chose Scotland, and I chose Skye, and I chose Michael, and with the holiday now over, I can say that the journey was most certainly well worth it and we were amply rewarded with good food, warm hospitality and now happy memories. 

Further information: Loch Bay Restaurant website

Additional thoughts: Loch Bay is open for lunch and dinner (check the website for details). If you are looking to visit Skye for the day by car, a nice loop might be: arrive via the Skye Bridge and visit Skye's main settlement of Portree in the morning, which is a beautiful harbour town, then take a short drive to Loch Bay Restaurant for lunch, after which a visit to Skye's only whisky distillery (Talisker) rounds out the day nicely and leaves you well placed for returning to the mainland again via the bridge.

The menu style is unchanged, that is, a ten course tasting menu with three ‘snacks’ to start, and sweet treats to finish. I should say however for those who might feel daunted by such a tasting menu, the portion sizes are in my view perfect, and take you to where you want to be - full, but not uncomfortably so. Tasting menus are only dangerous in the hands of those who don’t normally or regularly do them, but the tasting menu has been the standard at Casamia for some years now and they have the style down to perfection.

There are pictures of the dishes below, but they don’t really do it justice despite the presentation always being a thing of beauty in its own right (just look at that winter root vegetable salad). The food always exceeds expectations, even when you know what's coming. At times, a simple idea is just taken as far as it can go. One of the pre-menu snacks is Cauliflower with 36 month Parmesan, taking cauliflower cheese to a whole new level. And there’s always some clever cooking somewhere in the dish so even the humblest dishes are never quite as simple as they might sound. Nothing can be taken for granted at Casamia and the simple menu descriptions belie the technical brilliance that is behind each and every dish.

​Elsewhere, there’s the ‘flavour bomb’, that is, a small unassuming dish with an unassuming name that, when you taste it however, delivers such intense flavours that you can hardly believe it’s possible. You’ll find many examples of this across the menu and a great example (and my dish of the day) is the ‘Crab, seaweed’. Sounds simple enough? But no. Take a classic crab bisque, reduce for intensity, make in to a gel; include also a Dashi jelly from kombu dashi and dress fresh Cornish crab with soy and lime and, finish with a garnish of seaweed and sea lettuce powder. Among other things, it's a mind blowing hit of umami, but it is also so much more. The small bowl it arrives in betrays nothing of what's about to hit you. 

And then there’s the way that they cook the fish and the meats to perfection so that they lift Rainbow trout to a new level before ending the hot savouries with Fallow deer rolled in the ash made from the green tops of parsnips, and cooked on the ever popular Green Egg. These dishes might be more recognisable than the earlier wizardry but they are crafted with the same meticulous care and depth of underlying technique. Their skill with meats is something remarkable in itself. 

Having eaten at Casamia many times now over the years, and over the seasons, I have seen the food evolve, and each time, each meal, it gets a little bit smarter, a little bit more self assured, but never at the expense of enjoyment. While the team at Casamia certainly produce clever food, that’s always second to producing enjoyable food and when you finish a meal at Casamia, what you feel is satisfaction, for every dish is created and then cooked with love. It really does show.

In Casamia’s new location at The General, the food has now got the restaurant it deserves while the new kitchen is likely to allow the team to grow creatively with fewer limitations than the old. Despite the remarkable standard of where they already are, my view remains unchanged from three years ago: Casamia continues to have a remarkable future ahead of it and the journey is likely to be incredibly exciting, with food that just keeps getting better. And with the new location, it is likely to find a whole new and appreciative audience, totally deserved.
​

* * * * * * *

While it was a joy to be back at Casamia, it also came with great sadness too. In November 2015, Jonray Sanchez-Iglesias lost his battle with cancer, aged just 32.  I feel lucky in the extreme that I was able to call Jonray a friend these past three years, and like all who knew him, I am devastated by his passing. He was truly a beautiful person and never let the cancer define him, but was driven by contagious passion and love for food, for the restaurant, and for all the people in his life, from family, to friends to customers. And you didn’t need to know Jonray for months or years to understand this, from the moment I met him I loved him, it was impossible not to. Always with a smile, such a lovely smile, and so generous in spirit, he inspired me to be a better person. Jonray, you are massively missed chef.


Donations can be made in Jonray's memory to help end cancer by clicking on the link: https://www.justgiving.com/jonraysanchez/
 

With 2 Michelin stars, Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud must be considered Ireland's finest restaurant. Located in the Merrion Hotel in Dublin, it has been open for over thirty years and describes its food as 'contemporary Irish with classical roots'. Aiming to deliver 'an impeccable dining experience', they achieve their goal and the meal was faultless from start to finish. The food is of the highest standard, the presentation precise and appealing, the flavours full while being superbly balanced such that each dish leaves you thinking there is little to nothing that could have been done to make it better. This is very fine modern gastronomy indeed.

Service matches the food and as you would expect with a 2 star restaurant, your every need is catered to. It is a restaurant to be pampered in. Meanwhile, the wine list is not a list, it's a book and is seriously impressive. The downside however to them carrying so much choice is the applied mark up and drinking here is an expensive affair: our pre-lunch glass of champagne was €25 per glass and you should expect to pay €100+ for whatever bottle of wine you eventually settle for. Admittedly, it's probably in line with restaurants/hotels at this level.

Overall, we were impressed by Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud and it's clear why they are so well regarded. They aim for the very best in all areas and succeed, making it very much a world class restaurant.

When Roganic closed its doors last year, exactly to the day it said it would two years previously, London's food scene was diminished, the UK's best chef, at least according to the Good Food Guide, had gone. So much for London-centricity.

With a trip to Manchester, while no bad thing itself even if somewhat inconvenient, the minimum then required for us Londoners to eat Simon's food, like the retirement of Concorde from trans-Atlantic travel, progress seemed to be moving in reverse. Hark the herald then when it was announced that Simon Rogan would be taking over the dining room at Claridge's, and now even that wait is over, it's open.

The room itself is transformed, lighter, airier and gone are the table cloths. But this is not a gimmick to fashion as it is elsewhere (no names), since the dining room for those familiar with L'enclume and The French is intrinsically Rogan, with just a little extra sparkle in the mix, this is after-all Claridge's.

The food too is unmistakably Simon Rogan, though the addition of an a la carte option is a nod to the requirements of this particular market, but the signature menu is alive and well also and comes in both shorter and longer format. And what a treat that menu is: it starts with snacks, more than half a dozen, where the quality already outshines what most restaurants could reasonably aspire to: stewed rabbit here, pea wafer there, and Winslade, potato and duck heart to be scooped up and savoured knowing all the time that the 'real' menu hasn't even yet started. It feels indulgently naughty. 

But when the menu kicks off in earnest, the food is both new yet familiar. It starts with raw beef, but if you were expecting that with coal oil (L'enclume/The French), you're wrong footed as here it comes with smoked broccoli cream, scallop roe and acidic apple juice. The self imposed L'enclume restraint of only Cumbrian ingredients is shed also (though noting that many ingredients are still sourced from Rogan's farm in the Lake District on a justifiable belief that his home grown stuff is simply better) but it does mean that a dish can now highlight Scottish prawns (from Gairloch) that is as good as any we can recall. It's hardly a brain teaser after all: if L'enclume can rate #1 restaurant in the UK using only Cumbrian ingredients, what can be achieved if that restraint is dropped? The answer is something quite stunning, but something that never loses its way in the new found ample opportunity: it's Rogan for sure.

The 'main' course will make Roganites sit and swoon: Herdwick hogget; simply fantastic and a signature if ever there was one. It's just so typically Rogan. Oh yeah, that comes with pickled tongue. Just so typically Rogan; did we mention that? Deserts are equally typical with baked yoghurt, beetroot and buttermilk, and rhubarb in the offering, not a chocolate fondant in sight. 

For those familiar with Rogan's outfits, there's many a familiar face to be seen buzzing around both the dining room and kitchen. Rogan benefits now from the group's breadth and what is termed across industries (borrowed from sporting lingo) a 'deep bench'. The outcome of course is the quality that runs throughout the experience, from the greeting on the door to the food on each and every plate and the farewell as you depart. Only a week old, it's hard not to be impressed. What's more, Simon Rogan, of course, there for the early days, could be seen personally delivering food to every table and melting customers accordingly. The dining room in Claridge's now feels a thousand times less austere than its previous incarnation yet the quality throughout the offering is of course second to none. 

Claridge's signed Simon Rogan presumably because they considered him the best of British, and in delivering a contemporary, stylish menu that relies on quality of ingredients, uniquely understanding flavour combinations and cooking it all brilliantly, it's hard to argue with that view. In numerous blog posts over a period of years, we have reiterated time and again that Simon Rogan is in our opinion the UK's best chef; each time we eat his food, it simply reinforces that opinion. So nothing's changed then, except we no longer have to travel a couple of hours to Manchester (or a few more on top of that to Cartmel) to eat his food; this then, is a most welcome return. 

Need it in three words? We loved it. Need it in two words? Just go. Need it in one word: Rogan. 

Disclosure: we were guests of the restaurant.

Kinloch Lodge is a small luxury hotel on the Isle of Skye. Located in an area of outstanding beauty, the hotel is lovely, the guest bedrooms turned out to a very high standard and the communal areas and sitting rooms welcoming with real log fires. Staff throughout our short stay there were all very friendly and hospitable. What's more, the location is ideal if the next day, like us, you're taking an early morning ferry to Mallaig, but the other big draw for Kinloch Lodge is that it also has a Michelin starred restaurant. 

Sadly the meal was a huge disappointment. While the main thread of the ingredients are local produce, salmon, scallops, venison, none are allowed to shine. At the point of ordering the venison main, the waitress said it came medium rare, was that okay? Yes of course, perfect, but sadly when it arrived it was at best medium well rendering it chewy and flavourless. Nothing can save a venison dish when the venison is cooked this poorly but nothing else on the plate was close to approaching that role anyhow.

The venison however had got off lightly compared to the salmon. We had to stifle an near audible gasp of disbelief as the plate was set down in front of us for the salmon had been entirely smothered in a bright pink sauce. If you have a beautiful piece of salmon, why would you possibly do this to it? Where's the subtlety, where's the finesse, where's the love? This is after all a Michelin starred restaurant (and The Three Chimneys is not)? Even if the sauce had been any good (it was not), this in our opinion is no way to showcase one of Scotland's finest ingredients for under all that sauce, it's impossible to get any essence of salmon. What a waste.

Scallops fared only a little better, at least they were visible on the plate, but here a peanut sauce and Parma ham is thought necessary to make a West coast scallop shine. Again, we beg to differ.

There seemed little point in dessert. Located in an area surrounded by some of the finest ingredients in the world, all were taken to the point of ruin. We retired early, surprised and saddened.   

Even after you leave the mainland and cross the bridge to Skye, The Three Chimneys is still over an hour's drive in a broadly North West direction, Skye is a bigger place than you might think. Accordingly, it is unlikely that you will ever just be 'passing by' or visit the restaurant on a whim unless you already live on Skye. On our previous trips to Scotland, we had been unable to fit a visit to The Three Chimneys into our schedule but the strength of their reputation and the high praise afforded to Chef Michael Smith personally from other great chefs we know and respect meant that we have been aching to go there for some time and we pretty much planned our recent Scottish adventure around our stay there.

With a two night stay in their on site accommodation (The House Over-By) and consecutive dinners booked in the restaurant, we really hope we are going to like it or things could get a little awkward for everyone. Expectation too can be the enemy of experience and we had been looking forward to our Skye holiday for some time. Fortunately, there was no need to worry, The Three Chimneys is absolutely fantastic, the food, everything you could ever wish for on a plate, and all the people there so lovely that when it was time to leave, even though it had been just two days, we felt that we were saying goodbye to old and dear friends. 

Dining options at The Three Chimneys centre on two menus, an a la carte and a tasting menu (Taste of Skye), both of which can be enjoyed in the cosy front restaurant, while the tasting menu can also be taken at the Kitchen Table, which here, is exactly that, a table in the kitchen with space for up to six people. But this is more than just a chefs table experience peering into the kitchen form a favourable vantage point, for all guests at the kitchen table are invited to get up from the table between courses and be a part of the kitchen, stand at the pass if you like, talk to the staff and generally be involved. On our part, after a few queries of 'really?' and 'sure you don't mind?' to Michael, it was clear that it is a genuine invitation to join the kitchen family and we soon lost all inhibitions to wander freely around the kitchen at will. And to be clear on this point, this is their normal practice and not simply an invitation extended to us as bloggers. Without doubt it is one of the friendliest and most welcoming kitchens we have ever stepped in. 

The menu they offer is heaven and includes everything you would hope to find when going north of the border: oysters, crab, lobster, prawn, scallop, lamb, venison. As the menu name suggests, Taste of Skye, this is a very local affair so that oysters are from just over the way, the crab from Loch Bracadale on Skye, the lobster from Loch Dunvegan on Skye... you get the idea. A splash of Talisker also finds its way onto the menu just in case the penny has still not already dropped.

We love the Scottish larder and this is a beautiful Scottish affair. Chef Michael clearly has a deep affinity with the local area and that translates into a massive respect for the ingredients. There are nods to heritage so the meal starts with tiny bowl of Scotch broth that is hearty and comforting and leaves you wanting more (which we fabulously got the next day for lunch). Colbost Skink comes with Stornoway black pudding (Marag Dubh) and a drizzle of Talisker, perfect for a Hebridian February night (was raining cats and dogs outside).

Other big flavours come for example with the lamb rib where Talisker again lends smokiness to the deep and sticky BBQ sauce, but Michael also displays much lighter touches where required. The early seafood dishes such as the crab, lobster and scallop are all well judged affairs, nicely enhanced with the additions on the plate but never gilded, so the point of the dish is never lost and the principal ingredients shine; it's Scottish seafood heaven. 

The other special mention must go to The Three Chimneys famous marmalade, an allowable exception to their local ethos. The marmalade pudding has been on the menu for 30 years and is unlikely to ever come off and it is absolutely fabulous, while serving it with Drambuie custard then moves it on a step further to pudding nirvana. On the tasting menu it is sightly transformed into an orange marmalade souffle, but really, don't go all the way to Skye and leave without having eaten this pud.

This was a glorious meal, fun to eat but serious in execution, and a beautiful celebration of local ingredients. If Robbie Burns is Scotland's national poet, Michael Smith must surely be a candidate for their national chef (and he is @kiltkuisine on Twitter after all). For us, spending a night at the Kitchen Table, enjoying this food, being a nuisance in the kitchen yet still being so warmly embraced there, not only was a it a highlight of the holiday, it was as much fun as we can remember having in a restaurant since starting the blog. It made us happy then and it makes us happy now simply remembering. 

The Three Chimneys is 633 miles from our house but is without doubt worth every mile of the journey. We are already plotting our return.

Roy Brett is one of Scotland's finest chefs, proprietor of Ondine Restaurant in Edinburgh (which won the AA's Restaurant of the Year award for Scotland 2013/14) and an absolutely top notch fella to boot. Recently, he has also taken on the position of consultant chef at Loch Fyne, and given our love of the Scottish larder, we jumped at the opportunity to spend a few days with Roy and the folks at Loch Fyne to learn more about what they are up to. Given that Loch Fyne is famous for both its smoked salmon and oysters, we arrive hungry.

Day 1

Our first stop is the Restaurant & Oyster Bar which remains located on the original site overlooking the loch. Inside however has enjoyed a recent refurb and the menu of course is overseen by Roy Brett. A dozen oysters that have traveled no more than a mile to our plate give us a Loch Fyne welcome and they truly are fabulous. Loch Fyne has exceptionally pure water and the oysters deliver intense salty freshness that is as good as it gets. Roy is in the kitchen today and the food keeps on coming. Smoked salmon is clearly a must and that too is of the highest quality. Four amazing scallops with venison sausage are delivered while Roy's hot seafood platter that is one of many triumphs at his Edinburgh restaurant is also delivered to the table here and leaves us delighted, but by the end, beaten. Indeed, it wasn't till day three that we could even approach dessert, for me a Glengoyne Whisky Tart that has also made its way from the Ondine menu. 

To balance out our lunch, a bracing walk along River Fyne in the afternoon with Virginia Sumison, head of marketing and events at Loch Fyne and niece of founder John (Johnny) Noble filled us in on the wonderful history of her family and the origins of Loch Fyne as an oyster business. Johnny sadly passed away in 2002 but was surely the type of person all of us wish we could know. In the obituary published in The Guardian it states:

He ate in his own restaurant several days a week... anonymous to the coach parties that surrounded him... he had a gentle manner but a loud whisper, which got him into difficulty. Once, in his restaurant, a woman luncher overheard him discussing another, obnoxious luncher with a member of his staff, and asked that he be removed. Noble left obediently with the words "fair enough"'

But as the article also observes early on:

His largest achievement was the prosperity and optimism he brought his own small community in Argyllshire.

The result is that in Cairndow where Loch Fyne's operations are based, there are more jobs than there are people such that Loch Fyne is as much a community as it is a business and that was demonstrated by the warmth and pride of the many people we met during our time there.

As if we weren't already lucky enough to be at Loch Fyne, we must say a huge thank you to the Sumison family who let us stay at their remarkable family home, Ardkinglas, a house that is simply breathtaking as it first comes in to view as you proceed up the driveway. See the pictures below to view just how fabulous this house is and for anyone visiting the area, it is possible to have a private tour of the house, a wedding, or even stay there as we did (details available on the Ardkinglas website.)

Day 2

Sunshine. Blue skies and a walk down to the loch before breakfast. It's little wonder we love Scotland so much.

Later that morning we visit the oyster farm and Andre talks us through the process. Despite our years of food blogging our oyster knowledge (beyond eating them) is somewhat (embarrassingly) sparse and we're amazed to learn that oysters are bred initially in hatcheries (not on site) after which it can take up to three years for an oyster to grow to the size that is served in a restaurant. We're amazed too at the number of oysters packed off each day by Loch Fyne, and that each and every oyster is checked (for being alive) by tapping the shell (dead ones have a hollow ring) and that this is done by just two people, Andre and his colleague Alistair. What's more, despite Loch Fyne having pure enough water to serve oysters without purification, that's done anyway but with Loch Fyne water so that the essence is never lost. It goes without saying that despite the volume of oysters shipped, Loch Fyne Oysters is a sustainable business.

Andre was amazing and yet another perfect ambassador for the Loch Fyne community and of course, put us in the mood for another dozen oysters at the Restaurant and Oyster bar where some crab also seemed like a good idea.

Three men and a boat. And us. 

Sea legs for the afternoon as we board a RIB and head out to Loch Fyne's IMTA site to see first hand the very latest developments in sustainable aquaculture. IMTA stands for Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture and the ever useful Wiki describes it thus:

Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) provides the by-products, including waste, from one aquatic species as inputs (fertilizers, food) for another. Farmers combine fed aquaculture (e.g., fish, shrimp) with inorganic extractive (e.g.,seaweed) and organic extractive (e.g., shellfish) aquaculture to create balanced systems for environment remediation (biomitigation), economic stability (improved output, lower cost, product diversification and risk reduction) and social acceptability (better management practices)

Put another way, Loch Fyne has salmon farms and that leads to a concentration of certain factors in the water surrounding these farms. Can this be balanced out by the encouragement of other native species around the farms for improved environmental practices and enhanced sustainability? Yes is the current best thinking on the topic and therefore alongside the salmon farms marine biologist David Attwood is overseeing the cultivation of seaweed, mussels, oysters, scallops and even sea urchins providing a win-win for the business and the environment. 

We got so see the tiniest baby Queen Scallops alongside the bigger versions. It was really something to see David and Iain bring up some sea urchins from the loch also, though perhaps the highlight was to pull up the oysters and shuck them while still wet out the water. A bottle of Chablis had even found its way on board to be enjoyed alongside the oysters, but this was a highly educational trip and our thanks to David, Iain and Richard for spending time with us to explain what is very much a leading edge research project.

Day 3

Can't be lucky forever and it's raining again on Day 3 but Ardkinglas looks lovely in all weathers. Fortunately our activities are mostly indoors today.

If you visit the Deli at Loch Fyne and look through a window behind the counter, you might see a machine delivering perfect sides of salmon. This is the smokehouse where all of Loch Fyne's famous salmon is smoked. Donning our shoe covers, white coats and hair nets, Production Manager Raymond MacAffer walked us through the process of one of Scotland's most famous food products. Again, to see, smell and later taste the finished product (which we of course eagerly did many times during our stay) allows for a much greater appreciation of food that is all too easy to take for granted. 

With so much going on, we didn't even have time to visit Fyne Ales for the brewery tour (next time!) before it was time to move on, but we left Loch Fyne not only with a deep appreciation of the food they produce and how they produce it, but of the people behind all of this and how Loch Fyne Oysters has brought people together as a community, colleagues and friends. To be welcomed into that family for the duration of our stay was very special. 

Our thanks then to all those mentioned above as well as Campbell and Bruce with whom we enjoyed a very pleasant dinner, learning more about Loch Fyne from the top down view, as well as Martin, Richard, Alastair and Moyra in the restaurant and deli who looked after us so well every day and kept those oysters coming. And three years from hatchery to plate: never again will we take oysters for granted.


Disclosure: we were guests of Loch Fyne

At Casamia, menus change for each season, not just as others do by the use of a seasonal ingredient here or there, but rather a menu that in its entirety seeks to capture what the season means such that every dish on the menu plays a role in evoking the seasonal spirit. Even the pictures on the wall change. It does mean that when Winter comes, at least there is something to look forward to beyond inclement weather. Indeed, having 'discovered' Casamia in spring 2013, so taken were we by the food in the restaurant, and the seasonal emphasis, we were at that time instantly determined to return to Bristol to sample each of the seasons and this, the winter menu, represents the final meal on our twelve month journey. At Casamia, winter comes alive with duck and cardamom, cottage pie and rainbow trout with cabbage and cumin. 

On my first visit to Casamia, I noted how the final hot savoury, a lamb dish, delivered a taste sensation because unlike so much lamb served elsewhere, it really did have flavour, bags of it. Here, in winter, the venison dish again highlighted how good venison can be (and how poorly it is done elsewhere). It's what they do there, bringing conversation stopping depth of flavour to ingredients that elsewhere pass by unremarkably; well, that together with imagination, invention, understanding, pairing drink, matching ingredients, exceptional cooking, flawless presentation and, most importantly, making you the diner feel happy.

Almost a year after we first published on the spring menu and said that something very special was happening at Casamia, our (many) subsequent visits have reinforced that belief and we continue to expect that brothers Jonray and Peter will be increasingly be celebrated as two of Britain's most brilliant young chefs. And having to got to know them both during our visits there, they so thoroughly deserve it for the hard work and passion they exhibit, their tenacity in persevering with their own thing and because they are two of the nicest people in the industry.

We've said it endlessly, but it's worth repeating: if you want to know where bloggers really like eating, see where they return to eat. It may be three hours away but Casamia is the M starred restaurant that we frequented most in the past 12 months. It could well be for the next year also.

To see our previous posts on Casamia, click on the links below:

Casamia Spring

Casamia Summer

Casamia Autumn