Perthshire Larder

Larder GUIDES

Perthshire

THE GUIDE TO THE FOOD & DRINK OF PERTHSHIRE

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Provender Brown, Perth with Summer Harvest

Surrounded by Scotland’s Larder, there isn’t a better place to grow your business than Perth.

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Introduction GUIDES

The Perthshire Larder Part of The Larder series of food and drink publications thelarder.net Editor Donald Reid, eat@list.co.uk

Editorial assistance Paul McLean, Claire Ritchie Writing & research Catherine Brown, John Cooke, Hannah Ewan, Malcolm Jack, Sandy Neil, David Pollock, Keith Smith, Jay Thundercliffe Additional reviews Jane Allan, Brenda Anderson, Margaret Craik, Hilary Lloyd, Luke Milner, Andrea Pearson Photography Stephen Robinson, motionandstills.com Cover Honey comb from Steve Bruce, Tenandry, Killiecrankie.

Photography by Charlotte Runcie.

Publishers Robin Hodge, Simon Dessain

Larder Director Peter Brown

rom the shores of Loch Leven to the heather-hued uplands of the southern Highlands, Perthshire is a region with deep traditions of good food and drink.

From the days of the cattle drovers and the first whisky distilleries to groundbreaking innovations in crop research, food and drink has a place not just in the agriculture and business of Perthshire, but also its culture. The area has nurtured a number of Scotland’s top chefs and led to the rebirth of the country’s farmers’ markets over a decade ago, providing a vital showcase that has allowed local producers to flourish and grow.

This guide aims to paint a picture of the food and drink of Perthshire in all its diversity and richness. It tells you about the food and drink grown, reared and produced in the region and, just as importantly, where to get hold of it – from farm shops and markets to engaging local cafés and restaurants. Independently compiled to reflect the best of Perthshire’s food culture, this is above all a guide to help you find, appreciate and enjoy great local food.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

©2013 The List Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of The List Ltd.

The guide has been developed by The List working with Perth & Kinross Council and Tayside Food & Drink Network. The editor would like to to thank Suzanne Cumiskey, Anna Dickinson, Nikki Jennings, Andrew Hodge, Kathryn Hawkins, Kirsty Hallifax, Rachel McAulay and Stephanie Clarke for their support, insights and assistance.

Published by The List Ltd 14 High Street Edinburgh EH1 1TE 0131 550 3050; list.co.uk Extensive efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication, however the publishers can accept no responsibility for any errors it may contain.

EDITORIAL SELECTION: The editorial content of all guides in The Larder series including the Perthshire Larder is independently researched, written and produced by The List. As consumer-oriented guides to local food and drink, all the businesses and organisations covered are selected

by The List on the basis of their editorial merit and relevance. No entry in The Larder’s national and regional guides pays to be included, none is obliged to advertise and none is given sight of its coverage before publication.

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STEPHEN ROBINSON

Deputy Editor Jay Thundercliffe

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Contents

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GUIDES

What’s in The Perthshire Larder?

RHET/EILIDH ROBERTSON PHOTOGRAPHY

There’s plenty packed into these 48 pages. Here are a few of the highlights

Pupil Power

Read about the history – and the future – of these Perthshire icons on page 6.

Local initiatives are inspiring school pupils about good food and farming. For more see page 16.

STEPHEN ROBINSON

The Berry Fields

Where to Buy

Hive of Activity

From butchers and bakers to farm shops and delis, our listings start on page 22.

Honey from the heathery uplands of Perthshire is one of the great local foods. See page 17.

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Contents

Marketing Specialists

Where to Eat

Perth was the place where modern farmers’ markets were born in Scotland. See feature on page 8 and information on page 46.

The best places to find local food on the menu. Listings begin on page 33.

The Pie Life STEPHEN ROBINSON, MOTIONANDSTILLS.COM

Find out how two new artisan piemakers are putting local food into bite-sized packages on page 13.

Introduction

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Features

Chef’s Choices Perthshire chefs select their favourite local produce and suppliers. See panels from page 27.

6–21

Where to Buy

22–32

Map

24–25

Where to Eat

33–45

Food Events & Farmers’ Markets

46

Index

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Soft Fruit

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A story ripe for the telling As jam pulp or superfood, raspberries have coloured the agricultural history of eastern Perthshire. John Cooke takes up the tale n France, they talk about ‘terroir’, the unique interplay of climate, soil, tradition, and human touch that gives a region’s products its very distinctive identity.

But as Perthshire’s famed raspberries prove, that ‘terroir’ is never quite set in stone, as the interplay of nature’s complexity and man’s demands can lead to significant changes and challenges to those who make their living from these delicate soft fruit.

Along with Fife and Angus, the east of Scotland provides a fertile mix of conditions for raising fruit. Loamy soils that warm up quickly and enjoy good drainage, coupled with long summer daylight hours, a climate that’s drier than the west coast, along with relatively moderate temperatures – all played a role in making the growing of raspberries, strawberries and blackcurrants a commercial proposition.

Local solicitor James (or JM) Hodge, was one of the first to see the commercial potential of the raspberries in and around Blairgowrie. In the early decades of the twentieth century he persuaded locals to rent land purely for growing raspberries on a much larger scale.

At the same time, his astute marketing eye did a lot to develop outlets for the berries, principally as jam pulp, connecting up with jam ‘barons’ such as Sir William Hartley.

As the size of the crops expanded during inter-war years, the number of pickers grew too, ‘tinkers fae aa the different pairts an folk fae the toons’ as one picker recalls.

Special accommodation was built for them in Essendy, about 3½ miles from Blairgowrie, nicknamed the ‘Tin City’ after its tin roofs. Picking was paid at the rate of ½p per pound and it was

STEPHEN ROBINSON

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Soft Fruit

> THE GROWING ZONE

claimed that good pickers could earn up to 15p per day.

Fast forward many decades and the pickers are more likely to be coming from eastern Europe, and be working inside the poly-tunnels that have spread so dramatically across the landscape – extending the growing season and protecting the crops from damage.

The widespread adoption of tunnels means production now runs from late May to late October, while the other major difference is that raspberries these days are more likely to be picked for supply as fresh fruit to the supermarkets.

Even still, raspberries are facing the dual threat of disease and commercial pressures that’s seen their numbers tumble from 2593 hectares of cultivation in 1982, down to under 400 hectares in 2012, with only half that number grown in the open field.

The yield-improving cultivars developed by the Scottish Crop Research Institute (now the James Hutton Institute) at Invergowrie in the 1960s, 70s and 80s have shown to be susceptible to raspberry root rot, and consequently breeders are looking to develop new varieties

offering not just disease resistance, but the size, colour, shape, yield and shelf life demanded by the supermarkets.

With such influences there’s always the fear that taste gets squeezed out of the equation, something the researchers resist manfully. Nikki Jennings, raspberry breeder with Mylnefield Research Services, a commmercial affiliation of the James Hutton Institute, identifies Glen Fyne in particular as a berry which grows really well under a polytunnel.

More importantly, it has ‘a fantastic flavour, way better than Glen Ample.’

Coupling decades of experience and groundbreaking techniques such as molecular marking, Scottish scientists remain at the forefront of research and development not just in raspberries, but a range of other fruits too. For even as the colour fades a little from the raspberry market, canny local berry farmers are grabbing opportunities to diversify their growing skills, with gooseberries, blueberries and even cherries now finding a home in the berry fields of Blairgowrie and Strathmore.

Perthshire’s terroir still has rich pickings to offer.

It’s not just soft fruit that thrives in Perthshire’s fertile soil. For Scotherbs founder Robert Wilson the elevated Braes of Gowrie have been so successful they now grow their culinary herbs on 250 acres. ‘I wouldn’t move anywhere else,’ he says. ‘There’s no other area that could do better.’

Fields of oil seed rape are destined for a relatively new product: luxury coldpressed rapeseed oil.

This has a distinctive flavour, according to Summer Harvest’s founder, Mark Bush: ‘The long daylight hours we get mean consistent growing conditions. We have fairly mild springs and summers, and Strathearn is renowned for its soil conditions.’ Wine expert Tom Forrest has told him that the region is comparable to the conditions in Marlborough, New Zealand, famous for its sauvignon blanc grapes.

■ summerharvestoils. co.uk; scotherbs.co.uk

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Farmers’ Markets Reborn

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The Market Solution

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Food historian Catherine Brown recounts the stirring tale of the rebirth of farmers’ markets in Scotland, all thanks to a Perthshire shepherd

rices have hit rock-bottom for beef and lamb.

Farmers are in despair. It’s 1998 and BSE has shattered consumer trust while government advice is that they must ‘market their way’ out of the crisis. But how? They are not retailers.

Disheartened and angry, Jim Fairlie, a Perthshire sheep farmer, packs the camping gear and goes to France for a holiday with his family. He hopes to come back restored and relaxed. He returns instead with a ‘fire inside’ which has been lit by visits to local French markets. It’s a eureka moment: Scotland’s farmers must sell their own produce in their own markets.

His wife calls him ‘obsessional’. He thinks he’s just determined . . . and maybe a wee bit obsessional at times. What is certain is that to make this revolutionary leap back, to a time when every town in Scotland had its own produce market in the square, would be an extraordinary feat – if it could be done.

Though he was born a ‘tounie’, after 20 years as a shepherd he had become a ‘teuchter’. He saw

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that tounies needed to know the truth about what the teuchters were selling. What had gone so badly wrong, in the industrialised food industry and multipleretailing revolution, was the culture of deceit and rip-off which had developed. Trust had to be restored.

Who better to restore it than the primary producers?

The downside of being born a tounie was that Fairlie didn’t really know a lot of teuchters. A stall in the middle of Perth with him selling his own lamb would not make a market. Some teuchters were cautiously encouraging. A band of stalwarts, including Ian Millar of Jamesfield Organics, Irene Alexander of Bellfield Organics and Andrew Johnston of Hilton Wild Boar stood by him.

He negotiated with the council and environmental health. Dug his heels in against ‘event markets’. It had to be a monthly farmers’ market if it was to become an integral part of Scottish life. In April 1999, Scotland had its first farmers’ market.

■ Read more in Beyond the Gate at jimfairlie.com

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Cairn o’ Mohr

Hidden away in the Carse of Gowrie is a quirky little fruit winery that operates by its own rules. Keith Smith discovers more t all started in the late 80s when a friend gave me a book about fruit wines,’ recounts Ron Gillies, who runs Cairn o’ Mohr with his wife Judith. ‘I was into making herbal teas and was always out picking things. At first we just made it for ourselves. We started taking it to parties and found we were making more and more. At the time no one was selling it and we thought, well, why not us?’

Sourcing berries from nearby farms and foraging from local hedgerows and woodlands, the couple became recognisable fixtures at markets up and down the country, drawing browsers in to taste their oak leaf or gooseberry white wines, bramble and elderberry reds, and Great Taste Awards gold winner Strawbubbly.

A chance encounter with a busload of tourists saw them begin to offer organised winery tours; an on-site shop and café at their base near Errol followed. Now they welcome thousands of visitors annually to experience Cairn o’ Mohr’s gently

IMAGES: STEPHEN ROBINSON

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eccentric, homespun appeal. There’s a fairytale quality to the set-up, aided in no small part by the carved wooden statues and bright murals that adorn the walls of the buildings.

The oddness is something Gillies revels in. ‘I called a buyer once and he said “ah, you’ll want my colleague who deals with the strange wines” and I thought, actually, that about sums us up.’

But those ‘strange wines’, along with their Scottish ciders and non-alcoholic sparkling elderflower, have proved enduringly popular, and can now be found everywhere from small independents to high-end retailers like Jenners and the gift shop shelves at Balmoral Castle.

The unconventional approach extends to their willingness to experiment too, regularly producing limited edition batches using everything from roots to wild flowers.

‘Sometimes I get a phone call. “Can you do anything with beetroot?”. And I think, well, we’ll give it a go.’

■ cairnomohr.com

> IRON AGE DIET COURTESY CRANNOG.CO.UK

Drinking the Landscape

‘Fish, encased in clay and baked, served with a sorrel sauce, accompanied by fresh bread rolls spread with cloudberry jam, washed down with a dandelion cordial.’

While that might sound like a tempting menu option in a trendy restaurant, it is, in fact, a taster of 2500-year-old cookery you might be able to sample at the Scottish Crannog Centre by Kenmore, a heritage attraction that brings existence in the crannogs – Iron Age loch dwellings – to life.

As well as an interactive exploration of the crafts and technology of the time, the centre hosts a variety of food-themed events throughout the year. These feature demonstrations of ancient cooking techniques using clay ovens and open hearths to prepare the sorts of meals, from meat stew to nettle soup, which fed our ancestors.

■ crannog.co.uk

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Farm shops

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Where Farm and Food Meet In an era of supermarkets and brand-led consumerism, farming can seem disconnected from the food on our plates. Sandy Neil met a family doing some joined-up thinking riving to Gloagburn Farm Shop at Tibbermore from nearby Perth, past its duck pond and free roaming goats, and into its car park surrounded by fields of cereals, sheep, pigs and horses, you see the beautiful simplicity of Ian and Alison Niven’s family business: their 1000 acre farm, their log-cabin farm shop and café, and their ivy-covered farmhouse. There’s no need, or space, here for middlemen.

Gloagburn is an uncomplicated machine – farm, shop, home – powered by the Niven family’s pride and values, and, ten years on, it’s pulling folk in their droves. This thriving enterprise seemed dauntingly distant during the poor grain harvests and low prices of 2001, when third-generation farmers Ian and wife Alison fretted about how to keep it afloat, and pass it on to their four children, if any

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of them saw a future in it.

‘We were treading water,’ Ian says, at the mercy of inconsistent crop prices year to year: ‘We wanted to put some life back into the farm.’ The couple were helped by another driving force in the family: their 26-year-old son Fergus, who began selling eggs from his 12 free range hens in the garden shed 15 years ago. The flock multiplied as he supplied village shops, butchers, restaurants, and then the Nivens’ own farm shop and café when it opened in 2003. Today the hens number 4600, fed on wheat grown by Ian, and not surprisingly their eggs are a big ingredient of the baking for the café.

Over the years the farm shop and café expanded from its 15 tables and a menu of soup, sandwiches and cakes, to a spacious new extension fitting 100 covers and employing 35 staff. ‘As a family we

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Farm shops

> PERTH’S FOOD AND DRINK PARK

expect to work hard, pull together, and operate as a team,’ explains Fergus. ‘It has to work,’ adds Ian. ‘The customer is the focus: we need to get people out of their house, in their car, and drive here for a cup of coffee that would cost them next to nothing at home.’

The Nivens, it seems, have hit the sweet spot. While Ian runs the farm day to day, Alison and Fergus stock homegrown, local and artisan produce that looks good and tastes good: the treats you don’t mind paying a little extra for as gifts for others or yourself. ‘We have control of the end price, and the inputs,’ Ian says, while their reliable cooks bring ‘the same customers back every week, for the same thing.’ Clearly, the Gloagburn set-up possesses both heart and a shrewd head: a canny combo to keep customers happily coming back, at the same time securing the farm for the next generation of Nivens.

Just as Perthshire led the way in Scotland for farmers to reconnect with their customers through farmers’ markets, so Gloagburn was something

of a trailblazer for integrated farm shops and cafés showcasing the food of the land around. Successful ventures can now be found in other farming heartlands such as Fife, Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire. Loch Leven’s Larder near Kinross opened in 2006, where a farm shop, café and burgeoning gift shop connect not just with the surrounding Channel Farm, but also the Loch Leven Heritage Trail around the shores of the loch.

Back at Gloagburn wooden crates brim with potatoes, turnips, parsnips, and other local, fresh, seasonal veg and Perthshire berries, while a white-tiled Gloagburn Butchery displays the farm’s own beef, lamb and pork cuts, next to their bags of wholesome oats, and boxes of free range eggs laid within 200 yards.

Showcased like this, it’s hard to disagree with the premise that the natural place to eat, enjoy and source good food is within sight of the fields which produced it. Reconnecting with the land can do wonders for the appetite.

■ gloagburnfarmshop.co.uk; lochlevenslarder.com

With a turnover currently estimated at £280 million, the strength of Perthshire’s food and drink industry has prompted a £3.5 million investment from Perth & Kinross Council.

Plans have been drawn up for the development of Perth Food and Drink Park: in a region that’s always had a strong farming sector, the idea is to build production and demonstration facilities in which food companies can manufacture using local produce.

The park will offer business support as well as premises: ‘incubator’ units will be built for new companies not ready for large production space, and businesses should benefit from logistical and distribution support.

The plans are part of a more general inward investment scheme called Invest in Perth which aims to attract new businesses to the area, as well as further developing Perthshire as a food and drink tourist destination.

■ investinperth.co.uk

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Whisky

> SILVERY TAY

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Small Shiny Stills of Strathearn Down on a Perthshire farm a micro-distilling revolution is on its way, as David Pollock discovered erthshire is a place to keep whisky statisticians busy. It’s home to Scotland’s reputed oldest distillery, Glenturret by Crieff – which also happens to be the most visited, with its visitor centre based around the internationally recognised Famous Grouse blend. Perthshire claims the origins not just of Grouse, but also the well known Dewar’s and Bell’s blends.

The region is also home to Scotland’s smallest distillery, for a long time reckoned to be Edradour, an attractive wee distillery in the hills above Pitlochry.

That’s a title now claimed by the tiny Strathearn Distillery between Perth and Crieff.

‘We’re following a joint dream to have our own distillery, which amazingly we have now realised,’ says David Lang, co-owner alongside Tony ReemanClark, David Wight and other smaller investors, who have been engaged in the set-up process for almost three years.

‘We foresee a micro-distilling revolution coming to Scotland.’

They’ve been building on Bachilton

P From the mid-1700s to 1996, salmon netting on the River Tay was big business, hand-in-hand with the towering reputation of the river and its tributaries for fly fishing. Dwindling stocks led to a 99-year ban on netting, yet the Tay Salmon Fisheries Company, established back in 1899, remains as one of Scotland’s largest salmon and trout rod fisheries.

These days it is focused squarely on sustainability – fishing is now for leisure rather than exports.

‘Spring used to be what the Tay was famous for,’ explains fishery manager Simon Clarke.

‘Our 100% catchand-release policy for spring salmon will certainly have helped, but it’s more about how long salmon stay at sea. It tends to go in 15-20 year cycles, so we’re hoping for a few more years of excellent fishing.’

(Hannah Ewan) ■ taysalmon.co.uk

Farm near Methven in rural Perthshire for the best part of 2013, opening officially in August that year.

Lang expresses his desire to take whisky ‘back to its roots’ by reviving the area’s farm distillery heritage of the 1700s. At the moment, however, they’re only producing gins – the light Heather and Rose and the Old London-meetscitrus-style Caledonia Classic are the first released, with the fruity Afta Dinha Jhin to follow. Their own Ooskie whisky will follow in mid-2014, while it’s expected that a range including ‘a lighter nonpeated single malt, a heavier peated single malt and something special in between’ will be up and running within four years.

‘We’re using traditional alembic copper stills and approximately 50-litre small-octave casks,’ explains Lang, emphasising the small-scale elements of their operation. Everything will be done by hand and only single cask runs will be bottled. The new ways, it seems, have much in common with the old ways: simple, small and manageable.

■ strathearndistillery.com

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Perthshire Pies

Pies great and small

STEPHEN ROBINSON

Meat pies are a stalwart of butchers and shops across Scotland, but recently two specialist piemakers have set up beside the Tay. Keith Smith found out more

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ose Martin is busy explaining why the Wee Pie Company hand-fill every one of their idiosyncratically named pies. These include Baa Baa with its chunks of mutton, Poacher’s Pocket with wild rabbit and pancetta, and Wee Black containing venison and black pudding. ‘You can’t get the right balance otherwise,’ she says.

For Martin, everything must be local and sustainable too, a lesson learned during her time managing a remote island estate with her husband. They were required to be virtually self-sufficient, re-establishing oyster beds, nurturing wild deer herds and growing their own vegetables.

They also oversaw some self-catering cottages, and tourists would often come ill-prepared for island life. ‘We started to sell basic provisions, and that’s when the pies were born.’

They were such a hit that when they returned to Perthshire in 2011, there was no question about what to do next. By the following year they had opened a dedicated kitchen and shop in Glencarse to cope

with demand from locals as well as farmers’ market grazers.

Meanwhile, across the mouth of the Tay at Jamesfield by Abernethy, it would be hard to describe Robert Corrigan’s savoury cold meat pies as anything other than substantial. Aware of producers’ frustrations about chefs not using the more obscure cuts of meat, he put in a bulk order for pig trotters and started making a go of the pie business, going straight to the top to learn the ropes with a spell at Melton Mowbray.

Corrigan’s chunky 500g cold cutting pies with their thick, crisp pastry and clear pork jelly feature fillings like classic pork, ruby veal, mutton and capers, and piggy black – pork with black pudding. Known as Acanthus Pies until early 2013, the company was renamed Mr. C’s Hand-Crafted Pies – and the awards have rolled in, with the game pie collecting the prestigious Richard III Prize (‘Pie fit for a King’) at the British Pie Awards in 2013.

■ theweepiecompany.co.uk; @Acanthuspies

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Beef

GUIDES

IMAGE COURTESY HIGHLANDDROVERS.CO.UK

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New directions on the droving road Cattle once came in droves to Perthshire; now some come in test-tubes.

John Cooke looks at the past, and future, of cattle country hey were the cowboys of Scotland, driving their cattle for mile after mile down from the Highlands or across from the islands.

From as early as the 14th century, and growing to a peak in the 1800s, the drovers brought their black Highland beasts to market along pathways that traversed some of the most difficult landscapes in the country. The herds that plodded southwards were destined for the major markets where dealers from the Lowlands and England came to buy the beef that was so much in demand by growing urban populations.

Up until the end of the 17th century, the autumn ‘tryst’, as the market was known, was held in Crieff. Every year, the town swelled with the arrival of tens of thousands of cattle, drovers, dealers and a host of others, from pedlars to gamblers, singers and jugglers, all plying their different trades. Noisy and riotous,

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but vital for the Perthshire economy, both the trysts and droving remained an annual feature of the local landscape until modern roads, steamships and railways meant that the English dealers could venture north to buy cattle direct, while the fatter, less hardy breeds of the 19th century could travel south in relative comfort.

Today, you’re more likely to find mountain bikers and hikers taking to the ancient drovers’ roads, while the cattle of Perthshire have taken some very distinctive modern turns.

On the 25,000 acres of Blackford Farm that sits astride the A9, there’s a cattle enterprise that has its roots in Japan, but its eyes fixed on an ambitious European target. Farmer Mohsin Altajir is not your regular Perthshire cattle breeder. Part of the family that owns mega-brand Highland Spring mineral water (which flows from the hills overlooking the

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Beef

farm and is bottled in Blackford village), he is on an ambitious mission to breed the most expensive beef in the world, the legendary Wagyu, in the country he believes has the finest reputation for beef in the world, Scotland.

This extraordinary breed from Japan is famed for its extreme fat marbling, which makes for a heightened level of taste and tenderness, commanding headline-making prices of up to £200 a kilo for the prime cuts.

Certainly, this is an aggressive undertaking, with a stated goal of being the European centre of Wagyu breeding and production within five years.

This doesn’t mean that local breeds are taking a back seat. In fact, quite the opposite. Highland, Shorthorn and Angus cows are acting as surrogate mothers to produce the Rolls-Royce of beef. All the cattle are living well, with nearly 10,000 square metres of brandnew, state-of-the-farming-art sheds their home in winter. Besides pasture, meal times feature pre-cut hay, seaweed and omega oils.

Mohsin and his wife Martine have plans for an on-farm butcher, and a range of Wagyu sausages and burgers are in the pipeline. For now, this pricey breed turns up in up-market restaurants, with orders also arriving from gourmet butchers in places like London.

Wagyu on Blackford Farm

Following a very different path, and a somewhat more accessible one, is the beef enterprise of Hugh and Sascha Grierson. Their Newmilns farm is around eight miles west of Perth and went organic in 2000. They joined the growing band of farmers who have found selling direct to the public the only way to make small-scale farming pay. That has meant a careful breeding programme raising pure-bred Angus, and an on-farm butchery where butcher Moray MacDonald works four days a week, cutting and packaging the farm’s beef (and its lamb, poultry and pork).

Other than from their farm shop and online outlet, you can buy Grierson Organic fresh meats at Perth Farmers’ market on the first Saturday of every month, along with the tasty all-organic beef burgers that keep shoppers well fed.

Of course, the gentle atmosphere of a farmers’ market is a long, long way from the rough-and-ready trysts of the cattle drovers’ days, but it’s still a chance for locals to meet up with the people who actually rear their food. The Crieff trysts may have been one of Scotland’s original food festivals, but there’s still plenty to celebrate today when farmers bring their beasts to town.

■ blackfordfarms.co.uk; hughgrierson.co.uk ■ See also Chef’s Choice page 39

Hugh Grieson

> LOV-ING IT

Ross Brown and Fraser Potter were sitting on a beach in Byron Bay in Australia when the inspiration for Lovsushi struck.

‘There was a tiny unit there – just a 2m deli counter, really – making fresh sushi, and it sold out every day,’ explains Brown.

Back home, and despite having no catering background, they set about training with experts while tracking down top-notch ingredients, utilising suppliers including Scotherbs and George Campbell & Sons.

Now stocked by stores such as the Scottish Deli and Aberfeldy Farmfresh, their sushi stall appears at numerous events across the country too.

The next venture from the Bankfootbased duo is Lov Beef; small packs of Perthshire beef mince cured with an Asianinfluenced marinade ready to be flash-fried and used in salads or with noodles.

■ lovsushi.com

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RHET/EILIDH ROBERTSON PHOTOGRAPHY

Classroom Cuisine Hannah Ewan finds out how Perthshire’s schools are finding imaginative ways to engage local pupils with the food and farming that surrounds them uch is made of the decline in curriculum cooking lessons, and of teenagers unable to make a bowl of soup. Blairgowrie High School tells a different story; one in which over half the 850 pupils in the school pass through the home economics department in an academic year, with significant numbers going on to take formal hospitality qualifications.

The school is unusually well-equipped, with a teaching kitchen as well as Aspirations, the campus restaurant where students’ creations are put to the test.

Directed by dynamic home economics teacher Lynn Smith and Willie Little of Little’s seafood restaurant in Blairgowrie, lunch was served recently to a delegation of Indian education specialists, in the country to observe how Scottish schools prepare young people for work.

In a region with such strong tourism, food and farming industries, it makes sense for schools to encourage pupils to become skilled in these areas. Little is one of a number of the school’s business partners, and takes a proactive attitude to the role. In April 2013, he and Seafish hosted a trip to Peterhead Fish Market where pupils watched the morning’s catch being landed, toured the trawlers and learned how fish is sorted,

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processed and sold. A few months later they took over Little’s restaurant for a night, tracing the journey to the plate by serving 40 customers.

Education is an area the Scottish Government is keen to encourage, backing initiatives such as Chefs @ School (launched at Gleneagles in 2013). The Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET) also has a local scheme that organises milking demos with Daisy the life-size (fake) cow, school farmers’ markets and interactive farming days. There were 25 farm visits and 90 classroom talks in session 2012/13, giving pupils across Perthshire an insight into the practicalities of a working farm.

As Little explained when he organised the Peterhead trip: ‘Fishmongering appears to be a dying trade and the majority of customers visiting my shop are on average 50–90 years old. The eight pupils from Blairgowrie are 15–17 years old, with an interest in the fishing industry.’

By engaging pupils’ interest now, Scotland’s food industries can ensure they are supported by enthusiastic and knowledgable professionals in years to come.

■ blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/pk/ BlairgowrieHighSchool; littlesrestaurant.co.uk; rhet.org.uk; chefsatschool.org

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Honey

Land of bees and honey Despite the many pressures on their industry, Perthshire’s beekeepers are upbeat about the future. Hannah Ewan discovers what the buzz is all about eather Hills honey farm’s founder Athole Kirkwood was attracted to Blairgowrie in the 1940s by the great swathes of raspberry blossom the region was famed for. Mark Noonan has run the farm now for over 20 years, and explains that, though much of the raspberry blossom has disappeared since Kirkwood’s heyday, the diversity of nectar still brings the bees back to the hive ‘like jet fighters’.

‘The great thing about Perthshire is it’s the start of the Highlands and the heather’s just a few miles away,’ he says. ‘Heather honey is seen as the premium honey, and it’s a distinctively Scottish product.’

Heather honey is a mono-floral honey, meaning it comes predominantly from just one plant’s nectar.

This gives it its distinctively strong, rich flavour.

Getting to the heather, however, doesn’t just require work from the bees.

‘Beekeeping is very labour intensive,’ says Noonan, who currently has 750 live hives over a 100 mile stretch of farmland (he lost over 30% in 2013’s spring – the worst he’s ever seen). ‘You get blossom honey from May to June, and then the hives are moved to

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heather in July. They need checking once every ten days; they swarm if the hive gets too full, taking their honey with them.’

Noonan and Andrew Scarlett, owner of Perthshire’s other major honey brand Scarletts (Scotland), both maintain that the weather has far more impact on bee survival rates than pesticides. Currently unable to keep up with demand for their honey after five years of bad weather, they believe the cycle is due to swing in their favour and production will start going up again.

As wild honey bees have died out, it’s Scottish producers that have kept Scotland’s bee population healthy. ‘Local honey keeps the producer going, keeps the species going, and keeps the pollination going,’ says Noonan. ‘Buy from the packer, and one day he’ll have no producers to buy from.’

‘It sustains jobs and supports Scottish agriculture,’ adds Scarlett, ‘as well as ensuring provenance and quality. Our bees’ pollination is worth hundreds of millions of pounds to farmers, yet without them, we wouldn’t be in business.’

■ heather-hills.com; scarlettshoney.co.uk

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Chocolate

list.co.uk

GUIDES

The Contrasting Chocolatiers On the banks of the Tay are two of Scotland’s finest chocolate makers. Malcolm Jack took a trip along the river to unwrap their story

y chance they’re based just a few miles apart and they founded their businesses at almost exactly the same time around 2005. But the paths of Perthshire’s finest chocolatiers Charlotte Flower and Iain Burnett rarely cross.

‘It’s funny, we only seem to meet each other at events in London,’ says Flower while she heats a vat of molten chocolate in the spare room workshop of her old schoolhouse home at Acharn by the banks of Loch Tay, using a tool no-moresophisticated than an old hairdryer.

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Burnett makes the same point sitting at the boardroom table of his Highland Chocolatier headquarters in Grandtully, a pair of his award-winning, luxury velvet truffles warming to optimum sampling temperature on a plate in front of him.

In any case, their shared proximity is sufficient to support the notion of the Tay as the chocolate river of Scotland. Elsewhere locally you’ll find other quality chocolatiers such as Perth’s Wicked Chocolate and Cocoa Mountain in Auchterarder, along with newcomer Rainbow Organic Chocolates

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Chocolate in Milnathort. But Flower and Burnett’s products are leaders in their respective couverture specialisms – even if much about their businesses and backgrounds could hardly be more different.

Where Flower taught herself in her own kitchen after being inspired by a box of Pierre Marcolinis brought back from Brussels by her husband, Burnett trained under master chocolatiers of the Belgian, Swiss and French schools. While the former has a single part-time assistant, the latter employs eight co-chocolatiers, each of whom took or are taking three years to train fully. And where Flower uses basic tools including the above-mentioned implement easily purchased from Argos, Burnett’s glistening kitchen is equipped with elaborate-looking, custom-made machinery shipped from Germany, Italy, France and the Netherlands.

‘If it’s not absolutely perfect, if it’s got a tiny air bubble, or the tiniest fleck, we don’t use it, we don’t even sell it,’ explains Burnett, whose esteemed customers include Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London, Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles and Albert Roux’s various Chez Roux establishments around Scotland. ‘One chocolate like that to Gordon Ramsay and,’ he claps his hands, ‘end of contract.’

It’d be easy to assume there’s something snobby about a chocolatier who caters chiefly for the dining elite, but far from it – anyone is welcome to drop by Burnett’s relaxed café and visitor centre to watch him work, learn about artisan chocolate craft and shop for a box of his finest creations. His artisan training, boffin-like understanding of chocolate

chemistry and innate perfectionism drives him to make products of the finest quality – and his exquisite Velvet Truffles, 300-plus variations and counting in the perfecting, have few rivals. To support this ambition he needs to supply the finest of restaurants.

Flower’s operation is more downto-earth – she’s ‘the foraging queen’, as Burnett puts it. Her fresh chocolates are flavoured with everything from forest fruits to herbs, Scots pine, sea salt and other seasonally changing ingredients drawn directly from nature.

‘If they’re not wild, or from my garden or from a friend’s garden, I’ll buy them from a shop in Aberfeldy,’ she says.

‘The landscape literally goes into my chocolates. Literally.’ All sales are done direct to customer, or via local shops such as Aberfeldy Farmfresh, and she can never make enough product to satisfy demand.

Burnett too draws from the local larder: Scottish apiaries and fruit farms are among the very best he reckons, while a blind taste test of creams from as far afield as France found the best to come from, of all places, just down the road at D&D Dairies in Crieff (‘it was like comparing sour milk to yoghurt with honey’). A business of the Highland Chocolatier’s calibre could be based anywhere in the UK and probably should be closer to London, but Burnett chooses to stay rooted in a tiny out-of-the-way conservation village against financial prudency because, well, they like it that way. ‘It’s a lifestyle choice,’ he says.

■ highlandchocolatier.com; charlotteflowerchocolates.com

> WATERPOWERED LOAVES

Save for a period of disrepair and disuse between 1929 and the mill’s restoration in 1976, Blair Atholl’s Watermill has produced stoneground wheat and oat flour since at least the early 17th century. Perthshire native Kirsty Cohen and her husband Rami moved from Israel to take over the business – which also includes a bakery, tearoom and baking classes – from her parents in 2001.

Rami quickly learned stonegrinding, a process which helps retain the nutritional benefits of grains as well as producing a distinctive, nutty flavour. Meanwhile his flair for baking (using their own flour, naturally) has seen the tearoom inside the mill flourish and local demand for their artisan loaves surge.

(Malcolm Jack) ■ For more on the bakery and tearoom, see pages 31 and 42

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Perthshire Food Round-up

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GUIDES

A Perthshire Menu Looking to discover a taste of Perthshire? This round-up by Donald Reid and Hannah Ewan introduces you to what’s grown, reared, made and brewed in the region Further details on the businesses with their own retail outlets can be found listed in the Where to Buy section of this guide.

FRUIT & VEG

erthshire’s famously fertile soil is historically strong on fruit.

Growers mainly grow soft fruit both for supermarkets and top restaurants, with businesses including Bruce Farms, Peter Marshall and Thomas Thomson prominent. The latter has recently diversified into energy fruit drink Berry B. Broadslap Fruit near Dunning is one of the few remaining venues also offering pick-your-own, while the area’s farmers’ markets are one place to buy jams, preserves and sauces using locally grown produce from outfits such as Kitchen Garden Delights and Dalchronzie Fruit Farm.

Syruplicious, from Crieff, also make use of the local harvest, and Scottish Preserves’ chutneys are packed with Blairgowrie’s raspberries and strawberries. Allan’s Chilli Products, based in Abernethy, specialises in spicy jellies and sauces.

Fruit and pollinating bees are a crucial partnership, and Heather Hills Honey Farm and Scarletts Scotland’s honey relies on the blossom from raspberries, as well as oil seed rape, fields of which are planted by Summer Harvest for their gourmet cold-pressed rapeseed oil (see page 7).

Much of Scotherbs 250 acres of herbs and salad leaves on the Braes of Gowrie will make it to a supermarket near you, but you’ll need to head to Forfar, Montrose or Coupar Angus farmers’ markets to buy Myreside Organics’ salads and veg – or order it and collect from the market garden by Meigle. Bellfield Organics are based near Abernethy on the Perthshire/Fife

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This Perthshire food round-up is supported by Think Local, championing local food and drink across Scotland

border, but their box scheme delivers across Perthshire.

Greenvale AP and Taypack are large scale potato growing and packing businesses in Strathmore, with Taypack supplying the main ingredient for Mackies crisps, made in Errol.

BEEF, LAMB, GAME AND OTHER MEAT f you’re into serious, properly raised and butchered meat, Perthshire can provide. Highland Drovers’ aged Highland beef, Hebridean lamb and native breed pork are reared on Borland Farm in Glenshee and butchered at their own cutting plant in Perth. Adam & Wilson supply rarebreed organic beef and lamb from their smallholding in the Perthshire hills – buy from the farm or they offer deliveries to the Perth and Edinburgh areas. Hugh Grierson Organic are a one-stop shop for organic beef, lamb, poultry and pork, with farm and online shops and a stall at various farmers’ markets. Jim Fairlie @ Logiealmond’s lamb is a core element of Perth Farmers’ Market (see page 8), along with other market stalwarts including Hilton Wild Boar and the farmed deer of Seriously Good Venison. At the most serious end of the scale are Blackford Farm’s Wagyu cattle (see page 14); reared alongside Shorthorn, Highland and Aberdeen Angus, Blackford’s beef isn’t sold direct to the public.

Game is big business for Perthshire’s estates, and a clutch of companies have built up reputations for providing the best.

I

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Perthshire Food Round-up

thinklocalscotland.co.uk You’ll find Monarch Deer Farm’s venison at Perth Farmers’ Market and Hubertus Game of Pitlochry attend markets from Edinburgh to Elgin with their wild venison and wild boar burgers.

Taking all this first class meat and turning it into something even more distinctive is Rannoch Smokery, dedicated to meat and game. Many local shops and restaurants stock their products including smoked duck, handpressed game terrines, cold smoked beef and dry-cured wild venison. Mr C’s Handcrafted Pies (see page 13) have won medals for their wild venison and game pies, among others – they sell from independent shops and butchers across Scotland. The Wee Pie Company (see page 13) also specialises in artisan pies, primarily wild game, and sell from Fife, Perth and Edinburgh’s Stockbridge farmers’ markets.

(see pages 18 and 19) are in Highland Perthshire, Rainbow Organic Chocolate is a newcomer based at Kinross, and Wicked Chocolate has a small workshop in Perth.

For a healthier snack, Perthshire Oatcakes, handmade near Crieff, are at various local farmers’ markets and stocked extensively in delis and good food shops. Kenmore Bakery supply Auchterarder-based fine foods wholesaler Ochil Foods, so though they remain a kitchen bakery, you might find their oatcakes, biscuits, shortbread and tablet further afield than you expect.

FISH

DAIRY

espite the rivers running through it, Perthshire’s main fishing is for leisure.

Get involved with the Tay Salmon Fisheries Company, who offer fly fishing courses, and at their sister trout fishery Willowgate by Perth. Fishing permits can also be hired from Loch Earn Fishings at Drummond Trout Farm. Dunkeld Smoked Salmon sell their highly rated product from the smokehouse, their online shop or Perth Farmers’ Market.

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BREAD, CAKES & CHOCOLATE

read doesn’t get much more artisanal than that from Blair Atholl Watermill (see page 19), one of the last in Scotland to stonegrind wheat and oats. They sell flour and baking from their website, on-site shop and café. Bread handmade by the residents of Corbenic Camphill Community is sold from the Corbenic Café Shop in Dunkeld and at Logierait

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Market, and the Rannoch Bakery in Kinloch Rannoch serves local restaurants and the village shop.

Perthshire is home to an unfair number of Scotland’s best chocolatiers. Iain Burnett the Highland Chocolatier and Charlotte Flower Chocolates

tewart Tower Dairy are the biggest name, selling 200 flavours of gelato-style ice cream from their own café and elsewhere.

Giacopazzi’s make traditional Italian ice-cream in Milnathort, while the milk round is taken care of by local dairies Robertson’s Dairy, located in eastern Perthshire, and D&D Dairies from their base near Crieff.

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■ For further details on the highlighted producers go to thelarder.net

> PERTHSHIRE’S DRINKS Perthshire is home to various famous whiskies: Famous Grouse was born in Matthew Gloag’s grocery in Perth and now has a base at Glenturret Distillery

by Crieff, while Bell’s (at Blair Athol Distillery), Dewar’s, Tullibardine and Edradour all have popular distillery visitor centres. Tiny Strathearn Distillery (see page 12) is so new the first whisky has just been casked; you can try their gin while you wait.

The region has three craft breweries. The largest is Inveralmond (see page 23), with Strathbraan’s beers made near Dunkeld, while the micro Moulin Brewery is found just behind the Moulin Inn (page 44).

Cairn o’ Mohr (see page 9) make fruit wines in the Carse of Gowrie, and the Scottish Liqueur Centre at Bankfoot produce a range including Columba Cream and Bruadar.

The Ochil Hills are home to Highland Spring mineral water, one of Scotland’s most recognisable brands, while coffee is roasted by Glen Lyon Coffee, the Bean Shop in Perth and Highland Coffees in Comrie.

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Where to Buy

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WHERE TO BUY Entries are grouped into five geographical areas, beginning in the city of Perth and then moving clockwise around the region.

Within each area entries are sorted alphabetically.

George Campbell & Sons

PERTH & AROUND Ann Davidson Butchers 31 Perth Road, Scone PH2 6JJ 01738 551313 Mon–Sat 8am–5.30pm. Closed Sun.

When she took charge of her butcher’s shop in Scone, Ann Davidson was the first woman in Scotland to do so. She now has a second branch in Coupar Angus to her name. All the beef, lamb and pork she sells is from Scotland – some from her family’s own farm – and game can be ordered in. A mobile van visits Aberfeldy, Dunkeld, Blairgowrie and Kinross.

The Bean Shop 67 George Street, Perth PH1 5LB 01738 449955, thebeanshop.com Mon–Sat 9.30am–5.30pm.

The Bean Shop stocks a staggering selection of gourmet coffee beans, roasted on site and sold whole or ground. Coffees range from the familiar to the exotic, and there are also special blends and decaffeinated options. Tea jennies are not left out, however, with an extensive range of brews from Ceylon silver tip to Japanese bancha. You can also order beans online.

>WHERE ELSE TO BUY In addition to the shops listed here, Perthshire produce can be found at local farmers’ markets (see page 46) or obtained directly from producers featured elsewhere in the guide.

Cairn o’ Mohr East Inchmichael Farm, Errol PH2 7SP 01821 642781, cairnomohr.com Mon–Sun 10am–5pm.

Supplied by local berry farmers, harvesting from their own elder orchard and foraging from nearby hedgerows, husband-and-wife team Ron and Judith Gillies have been producing all manner of fruit wines since 1987. Tours are available on Wednesdays and Sundays during summer (or by prior arrangement).

The shop and café are open throughout

GUIDES

the week or find them at many farmers’ markets. For more see page 9.

Drovers 91 South Street, Perth PH2 8PA 01738 580680, highlanddrovers.co.uk Mon–Sat 9am–5pm.

Highland Drovers was founded in 1996 to create an identity for the Highland cow, and achieve recognition for its excellent beef. Drovers opened their first butcher’s shop in Perth in December 2012, selling beef that has been traditionally hung for between 21 and 28 days. Hebridean lamb and native-breed pork is also sold, alongside other speciality meats, puddings, bakes, eggs and oatcakes.

You can find them regularly at various farmers’ markets and their products can be ordered online.

Exel Wines 47 South Street, Perth PH2 8PD 01738 629979, exelwines.co.uk Mon–Wed 11am–6pm; Thu 10am– 7pm; Fri/Sat 10am–6pm. Closed Sun.

This treasure trove of fine wines and spirits is owned by a Frenchman with a background in the restaurant trade and connections in the world of French wine.

Founded just three years ago, Exel stocks an impressive range of wines – many sourced direct from the vineyards. There are Scottish gins and whiskies too and Scottish craft beers from the likes of Loch Fyne Ales, Knops and WEST brewery.

George Campbell & Sons 5/8 Whitefriars Street, Perth PH1 1PP 01738 638454, georgecampbellandsons.co.uk Tue–Fri 7.30am–4.45pm; Sat 7.30am– 2pm. Closed Sun/Mon.

George Campbell opened for business in 1872, hoping to create a reputation for providing the finest fresh and smoked fish and shellfish in Scotland. Four generations of Campbells have followed, and today supply top-notch restaurants and hotels throughout Scotland. The shop is also open to the public, with the aroma of smoking salmon and haddock from the kilns serving as an appetising backdrop.

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Where to Buy

Glendoick Garden Centre Glendoick, Perth PH2 7NS 01738 860265, glendoick.com Mon–Sun 9am–5.30pm.

While the main draw might be the plant nursery and impressive estate gardens, this garden centre also boasts a small foodhall with a decent stock of local and Scottish produce. As well as foodstuffs from further afield there are plenty of local treats including fruit wines from Cairn o’ Mohr, preservesand fruit from neighbouring farms. Fresh baking from the accompanying café makes for a good excuse to linger.

Gloagburn Farm Shop Gloagburn, Perth PH1 1QL 01738 840864, gloagburnfarmshop. co.uk Mon–Sun 9am–6pm.

Inveralmond Brewery 22 Inveralmond Place, Perth PH1 3TS 01738 449448, inveralmond-brewery. co.uk Mon–Fri 10am–4pm. Closed Sat/Sun.

After the closure of Wrights in the 60s, Perth had to wait more than 30 years for a beer to call its own. Inveralmond, opened in 1997, combine Perthshire’s clear spring water with hops, yeast and Maris Otter malt to produce six beers, including the CAMRA award-winning Ossian, plus four seasonal brews. Weekdays offer tours and an on-site shop, and there’s a licensed bar every Friday afternoon.

DG Lindsay & Son 15 North Methven Street, Perth PH1 5PN 01738 621496 Mon–Sat 9am–5pm. Closed Sun.

This award-winning family butcher was established in Perth in 1863, and has

continuned on p26

▲

Gloagburn is a friendly and well-stocked farm shop, selling a variety of homemade produce which also appears in their very popular café. They also impress with home-produced beef and lamb as well as Hilton wild boar and Hugh Grierson’s

organic lamb and beef. See also feature on page 10 and café listing on page 33.

THE LABELS YOU CAN TRUST For guarantees of farm assurance, taste and quality, it has to be Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb and Specially Selected Pork.

Look out for certified Scotch Butchers Club members throughout this guide by looking for the Scotch rosette.

To find your local member, visit www.scotchbutchersclub.org

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© CR CRO OWN W COPYRIGH RIGH HT AND AN N DA DATAB TABA T BA ASE RIGHT GH S 20 GH 2 13 3 ORDN O R RDNANCE ANC A NCE N E SUR UR RVEY E 1 1000 100 001697 1697 16 697 71

Highland Perthshire

Strathearn

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East Perthshire

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Kinross-shire

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Where to Buy

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GUIDES

continuned from p23

been run by successive generations of the Lindsay family. Meat is sourced from Perthshire farms, slaughtered nearby and hung in the shop’s basement. An old-fashioned operation in the best sense, the large premises on Methven Street is packed with pies, pasties, sausages, burgers, joints and all the cuts you’d expect from a quality butcher.

Provender Brown

Provender Brown 23 George Street, Perth PH1 5JY 01738 587300, provenderbrown.co.uk Mon–Sat 9am–5.30pm. Closed Sun.

Diane Brown’s licensed deli might be small, but it’s packed with all kinds of goodies, from the local (Scottish cheese, preserves, smoked salmon and breads) to the not-so-local (Spanish olives, Italian gorgonzola and German spiced cookies).

The focus is on the artisanal, and boutique chocolates and locally roasted coffee beans share shelf space with handmade oatcakes from Pittenweem and flours from Golspie Mill. Lunchtime brings local workers looking for soup and a sandwich or a takeaway coffee.

Simon Howie Butchers 270 High Street, Perth PH1 5QJ 01764 684332, thescottishbutcher.com Mon–Fri 7am–5pm; Sat 7am–4.30pm.

Closed Sun.

>ONLINE LISTINGS Extended write-ups of all venues, with individual location maps and links at each entry, can be found at thelarder.net Accessible on all devices including smartphones and tablets, thelarder.net features additional listings within Perthshire and search functions for food and drink venues across Scotland.

This branch of the thriving Scottish butcher is the original, operated by a team of craft butchers who even give cooking advice. The range might seem overwhelming, so they make the selection process easier by offering a number of deals, goodie bags and breakfast packs.

They might supply over 200 restaurants around the country – not to mention all the major supermarkets – but they still dry cure their bacon by hand.

expanded to 11 retail shops in Perthshire, Angus and Clackmannanshire, selling bread, butteries, muffins, pies and bridies.

Many items are still made by traditional non-mechanised methods, including farl bread, a soda-style bread made with brown flour and without yeast.

The Wee Pie Company Unit 4, Main Street, Glencarse PH2 7LX 01738 861091, theweepiecompany.co.uk Tue–Fri 9am–5pm; Sat 9am–4pm.

Closed Sun/Mon.

Rose Martin’s wild venison pies started as emergency rations for forgetful holidaymakers on a remote island and became big business when she decamped back to Perthshire. Along with venison variations featuring haggis and black pudding, the pies also come filled with other ingredients including rabbit, wild boar and buffalo, all sourced from the hills and fields nearby. See page 13 for more.

Wicked Chocolate 4 Whitefriar Street, Perth PH1 1PP 01738 444876, thewickedchocolatecompany.co.uk Tue–Sat 10am–4pm. Closed Sun.

The Wicked Chocolate Company came into being one evening when a minister at a wedding looked at a seven-foot chocolate fountain and declared: ‘That’s just wicked!’ The name stuck, and Elaine Forrest’s business has now expanded to include a shop for both retail and wholesale customers, and a growing trade online too. Whether for cooking, baking or drinking you’ll find it here: from chocolate buttons and bars to handmade truffles and cremes, hot chocolate, cocoa nibs and even traybakes.

EAST PERTHSHIRE

Tower Bakery 283 High Street, Perth PH1 5QN 01738 563333, towerbakery.co.uk

Angela and Sandy McKinnon have been at the heart of Tower Bakery for over 25 years, taking over the bakery in Abernethy in 1981 and moving to Perth ten years later. The company has since

Ann Davidson Butchers 12 George Street, Coupar Angus PH13 9DH 01828 627325 Mon–Sat 8am–5pm. Closed Sun.

Butcher with a second branch in Scone, plus a mobile van service. See page 22.

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Where to Buy

Blairgowrie Farm Shop

HW Irvine

14–16 Reform Street, Blairgowrie PH10 6BD 01250 876528, blairgowriefarmshop. co.uk Mon–Sat 8.30am–5pm (Jun-Sep & Dec also Sun 11am–3pm).

17–19 Perth Street, Blairgowrie PH10 6DQ 01250 872477 Mon–Sat 8am–5pm. Closed Sun.

Husband and wife Colin Steele and Jennifer Hustler-Steele opened Blairgowrie Farm Shop in 2007 to bring Perthshire’s fruit and vegetables to its townsfolk. ‘A hub for fresh and local goods, to help other local businesses and the local economy,’ is how they describe their shop. The couple deliver veg boxes every Friday and Saturday within a 10mile radius, plus Perth and Dundee, and they take orders via their website.

This place looks and feels like an oldschool, traditional butchers shop – clean white tiles, a wooden bench for folk to wait for their pound of mince, and a window dressed with strutting pheasants and a Scottish Steak Pie Championship cup won by proud owner Kenny Allan.

Meat is sourced at Stirling market and there’s seasonal Perthshire game too.

They also cure and smoke their own Ayrshire bacon in one of Scotland’s oldest smokehouses at the rear of the premises.

D & A Kennedy Cornerstone Deli 23 High Street, Blairgowrie PH10 6DA 01250 798151, cornerstonedeli.co.uk Mon–Sat 9am–5.30pm. Closed Sun.

James Macfarlane reinstated Blairgowrie’s old-fashioned high-class grocer, selling superior foods and wines by small, artisan producers that you can’t find in superstores. The deli stocks specialities such as Dunkeld Smoked Salmon, Inverawe smoked trout, Rannoch smoked duck and venison, as well as charcuterie from France, Italy and Spain. The back of the shop is a vintner proffering 170 wines, sherries, champagnes, ports and dessert wines.

MJ Dorward 5 Commercial Street, Alyth PH11 8AF 01828 632303 Mon/Tue & Thu–Sat 7.30am–5.30pm.

Closed Wed & Sun.

MJ Dorward sells Perthshire and Angus reared meat including marbled, rich, pink Duroc pork from Arbroath, cured and smoked as their own bacon, plus cuts of beef and lamb reared on Perthshire farms. Owner Alan Kennedy also operates Blairgowrie butcher D&A Kennedy and three more in Monifieth, Carnoustie and Forfar. Wild, seasonal, shot game is sourced from nearby Glen Clova estates.

36 High Street, Blairgowrie PH10 6ET 01250 870358, kennedybeef.com Mon–Sat 7am–5pm. Closed Sun.

See entry for linked butcher MJ Dorward (this page).

McDonalds Cheese Shop Westfields, Balmoral Road, Rattray PH10 7HY 01250 872493, mcdonaldscheeseshop.co.uk Tue–Sat 9am–5pm. Closed Sun/Mon.

A specialist shop stocking artisan blue, soft and hard cheeses from Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales, as well as continental styles from France, Italy and Switzerland. For special orders, owner Caroline Robertson will have the cheese ripened and ready for collection. The shop also stocks some shelves of general

Stewart Tower Dairy Stewart Tower Farm, Stanley

There’s a small farm shop and deli counter attached to the ice-cream café.

See Where to Eat (page 37) for more.

The Strawberry Shop Scones of Lethendy, Scone PH2 6AB 01738 551135 May–Oct: Mon–Sun 9am–5.30pm.

In the berry fields between Perth and Blairgowrie, this roadside stall is of a type

CHEF’S CHOICE TONY HEATH ON ROE DEER

Perthshire has always been renowned for game, and my ultimate favourite has to be roe deer.

A piece perhaps four inches long, off the bone, will cook in about three minutes having been sealed and basted in the pan, put into a moderate oven (200C) then, and most importantly, rested.

Roe deer loin is a perfect meat for restaurant menus, partnered with pears poached in red wine, perhaps a beetroot tarte tatin, some Savoyard potatoes and a light gravy made from the juices. Many farmers’ markets will have a game supplier, alternatively George Campbell & Sons in Perth or Hubertus Game will normally stock it too.

■ Tony Heath runs a cook school in Kinfauns

by Perth. He’s also an occasional chef at The Apron Stage in Stanley. tony-heath-cookschool.co.uk

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too rare around Scotland’s agricultural areas. It’s a genuine showcase for the seasonal bounty of berries, currants, apples, damsons and plums picked on the surrounding fields. There’s an impressive selection of grocery and deli items, much of it from small Scottish producers, and some great homemade jams and baking.

The Strawberry Shop

KINROSS-SHIRE Hunters of Kinross 104 High Street, Kinross KY13 8AJ 01577 862419, huntersofkinross.co.uk Mon–Fri 7.30am–5.15pm; Sat 7am–4.30pm. Closed Sun.

Hunters sell vegetables, seasonal soft fruit from Blacketyside and a deli range alongside Scotch beef, lamb, pork and free-range poultry. They do a strong line in game, both venison and birds, and a wall full of awards for their pies, burgers, sausages and ready meals proves all are made on site. Accommodating customer service means free local delivery and personalised orders, right down to how long you like your beef hung.

Loch Leven’s Larder

GUIDES

season, or can be found in the freezers at other times alongside Puddledub pork and Gartmorn Farm chicken.

STRATHEARN Alexa Dunlop 195 High Street, Auchterarder PH3 1AF 01764 663724 Mon–Fri 9am–6pm; Sat 8.30am–6pm.

Closed Sun.

Alexa Dunlop has been the go-to greengrocer for Auchterarder since 1992. The small shop extends onto the pavement providing an extensive range of fruit and vegetables including Clyde Valley tomatoes and Tay berries, complemented by more unusual imported options such as graffiti aubergine, dragon fruit and oyster leaves. Herbs (including micro), flowers, honey, nuts, seeds and gluten-free flours are also available.

Bellfield Organic Nursery Jamesfield Farm, Abernethy KY14 6EW 01738 850589, bellfieldorganics.com

A significant farm, deli and gift shop on the shores of Loch Leven. The thoughtfully stocked deli sells farm produce such as broccoli, kohlrabi and speciality ‘dirty carrots’ from the surrounding fields For more on the café see page 38.

An operation based right beside Jamesfield Farm on the Fife/Perthshire boundary, Bellfield operates an organic box scheme with weekly deliveries to Perth, Kinross, Dunkeld and Blairgowrie (as well as further afield to Glasgow, Paisley, Stirling and Edinburgh).

Delivering vegetables from their own fields as well as organic fruit, bread, eggs and milk, their stalls can also been found at farmers’ markets in Perth, St Andrews, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling.

Lochend Farm Shop

Brig Farm Shop

Lochend Farm, Scotlandwell KY13 9JQ 01592 840745, lochendfarmshop.co.uk Mon–Sun 9am–6pm.

Gateside Home Farm, Bridge of Earn PH2 8QR 01738 813571, brigfarmshop.co.uk Mon–Sun 8am–5pm.

Channel Farm, Milnathort, Kinross KY13 9HD 01592 841000, lochlevenslarder.com Mon–Sun 9.30am–5.30pm.

Lochend Farm Shop is just a short stroll off the path that follows the shore round Loch Leven, with lovely views to the surrounding hills. Aberfeldy flour and oatmeal, Scottish rapeseed oil and a local honeys are among the produce stocked.

Pheasant and partridge are sold fresh in

This smallish shop stocks Highland beef plus meat and poultry from neighbouring producers across Perthshire and Fife, as well as cheese, condiments and handicrafts. Walk through the shop to find the airy café, serving up all-day breakfast,

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soups, sandwiches, burgers and daily specials. Homebaked scones, cakes and meringues complete the line-up.

Campbell’s Bakery • 38 Drummond Street, Comrie PH6 2DW 01764 679944, campbellsbakery.com Mon–Fri 7am–5pm; Sat 7am–4pm.

Closed Sun. • 59 King Street, Crieff PH7 3HB 01764 652114, campbellsbakery.com Mon/Tue & Thu/Fri 6am–5pm; Wed 6am–4.30pm; Sat 6am–4pm. Closed Sun.

With origins stretching back to the first shop in Callander in 1830, Campbell’s bakery is still a family business, now in the hands of Iain Campbell. Six generations is plenty of time to perfect the recipes that keep their two shops well stocked with all manner of breads, cakes and bakes, from traditional favourites such as Scotch pies, oatcakes and shortbread to bakery stalwarts such as sausage rolls, cupcakes and morning rolls.

Dalchonzie Fruit Farm Shop Dalchonzie, Comrie PH6 2LB 01764 670416, dalchonzie.co.uk Apr–Dec: Mon–Sun 9am–5pm.

The Burberrys began growing fruit on their farm in 1989, initially supplying strawberries to nationwide chains. A gradual refocussing on being independent and community-minded instead means their colourful chalet-style farm shop sells loads of quality fruit and ‘sprayfree’ veg, as well as deli produce, local crafts and homemade jams and preserves.

Dalchonzie were a founding member of Perth Farmers’ Market and still attend.

butcher, the shop sells locally sourced livestock and game, and produces a range of items from haggis and black pudding to pies and various sausages – many made to recipes passed down from Lauchlan’s grandfather.

Fish In Crieff 30 East High Street, Crieff PH7 3AF 01764 654509 Tue–Fri 6am–5pm; Sat 6am–4pm.

Closed Sun/Mon.

Brig Farm Shop

Bedecked with creels, fishing nets other seafaring paraphernalia, Fish in Crieff manages to feel like a shop on the shoreline despite its distance from the sea. Owned by experienced fishmonger Willie Little, whose passion for the sea can be tasted at his restaurant in Blairgowrie (see page 37), these ‘pescatorial surgeons’ offer fresh fish and shellfish bought direct from Scrabster overnight. A favourite of chef Nick Nairn, the shop also sells game and poultry as well as deli produce.

JL Gill 26 West High Street, Crieff PH7 4DL 01764 653011, scottishproduce.co.uk Mon–Sat 9am–5pm. Closed Sun.

This charming little food and drink shop feels as if not much has changed inside or out since it was established about 125 years ago. It stocks all the larder basics, as well as an impressive spice collection in the back room. Many come to get expert advice on the array of whiskies, including rare bottlings from the nearby Glenturret distillery. There are also teas and coffees from roasteries in Glasgow and Edinburgh, ground in-house.

Gloagburn Farm Shop Gloagburn, Perth

David Comrie & Son Drummond Street, Comrie PH6 2DW 01764 670306, comriebutchers.com Mon–Sat 8am–4pm. Closed Sun.

With origins in nearby Muthill stretching back to 1830, David Comrie & Son is a well-known name in the area. Run by Murray Lauchlan, a seventh-generation

See entry in Perth & Around (page 23).

Gordon & Durward 14 West High Street, Crieff PH7 4DL 01764 653800, scottishsweets.co.uk Mon–Sat 9am–5pm; Sun 11am–5pm.

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Hugh Grierson Organic

list.co.uk

GUIDES

with its Wonka-style Grandfather Clock made of sweets in the window and shelf upon shelf of sugary nostalgia – from clove rock and their famous sugar mice to chocolates, toffees and all manner of boiled offerings from the jar. Their own traditional, hand-made confections include flavoured fudges, tablet, macaroon and nougat – many of which you can watch being crafted in the adjoining factory.

constructed by Ian Miller on his mixed organic farm on the boundary between Perthshire and Fife at Abernethy includes a spacious and broadly stocked farm-shop deli, a butchery and a café offering views over the Tay estuary. Fridges display the farm’s meat alongside other local suppliers, while shelves, baskets and tables offer vegetables from Bellfield Organics and a selection of wholefoods, cupboard staples, treats and gifts.

Hansen’s Kitchen

McCallums of Auchterarder

Drummond Street, Comrie PH6 2DW 01764 670253, hansenskitchen.com Mon–Sat 8am–5pm. Closed Sun.

201 High Street, Auchterarder PH3 1AF 01764 662128, bestbeef.co.uk Mon–Sat 8am–5pm. Closed Sun.

Set up by Iain Hansen in 2011, this community-minded deli and café feels like the food-lovers’ epicentre of the Comrie area. Offerings include various breads made daily in-store, homemade soups, salads and ready meals, as well as cakes and bakes, plus deli meats and cheeses. Local produce includes Dalchonzie preserves and Summer Harvest oils, with beers from Strathbraan and Inveralmond. It is also the home of sister company Highland Coffees, with beans roasted and sold in-store.

Established in 1875, with John McCallum currently at the helm, this family butcher prides itself on trusted, quality produce – not least naturally reared, local beef and lamb from John’s sister’s farm three miles away. Their haggis won a Gold Award from the Butchers Q Guild in 2013, and their steak pies won gold at the 2013 Scottish Craft Butcher Awards. A chef prepares soups and ready meals daily on the premises, along with morning rolls.

McNee’s of Crieff Hugh Grierson Organic

>ONLINE LISTINGS Extended write-ups of all venues, with individual location maps and links at each entry, can be found at thelarder.net Accessible on all devices including smartphones and tablets, thelarder.net features additional listings within Perthshire and search functions for food and drink venues across Scotland.

Newmiln Farm, Perth PH1 1QN 01738 730201, the-organic-farm.co.uk Tue/Wed & Fri 8am–4pm.

Hugh and Sascha Grierson are committed organic farmers and active participants in the local food scene. They farm pure-bred Aberdeen Angus cattle, lamb, rarebreed pork and, unusually in Scotland, a significant part of their business is in chicken for both meat and eggs. Buy online, at Edinburgh Farmers’ Market, or from the on-farm butchery on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Beside the butchery is a trailer that’s always open for honesty-box sales of their eggs and freezer meat. See also page 15.

Jamesfield Farm Shop Jamesfield Farm, Abernethy KY14 6EW 01738 850498 Mon–Sat 9am–5pm; Sun 10am–5pm.

The large, purpose-built shop and café

23 High Street, Crieff PH7 3HU 01764 654582, mcneesofcrieff.co.uk Mon–Sat 9am–5.30pm; Sun 11am– 4pm

A culinary labyrinth of homemade and locally sourced produce, from preserves and biscuits to bread, ready meals and takeaway sandwiches. McNee’s is a lively, bustling delicatessen, bakery and tempting chocolatier. A lot of the shop’s copious offerings are created on the premises, be it quiches, pies, cakes, jams or tablet, but nearby producers are also well represented.

Simon Howie Butchers 112 High Street, Auchterarder PH3 1AA 01764 664888, thescottishbutcher.com Mon–Fri 7am–5pm; Sat 7am–4.30pm.

Closed Sun.

A second branch of the Perth-based butcher. See main review on page 26.

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HIGHLAND PERTHSHIRE Aberfeldy Butchers 12 Bank Street, Aberfeldy PH15 2BB 01887 820310 Mon–Sat 8.30am–5pm. Closed Sun.

Brian Spalding and Adam Gallie have owned Aberfeldy’s 150-year old butcher’s shop for the last two decades. Their meats are all of guaranteed high quality and full traceability, and they make as many products as they can in-house – including haggis, pies, quiches, burgers and sausages. The deli is well stocked with a cosmopolitan selection of dry and fresh goods, including a wide range of cheeses.

Aberfeldy Farmfresh 22 Dunkeld Street, Aberfeldy PH15 2AA 01887 822777, aberfeldyfarmfresh. com Mon–Sat 9am–5.30pm. Closed Sun.

This family-run delicatessen and farm shop is as highly regarded by customers as it is by the many artisan producers in the local area whose goods they stock – from Charlotte Flower Chocolates to Glen Lyon Coffee. You could probably do a full week’s food shop here (budget allowing), so wide is their range – everything from dry goods to organic, gluten-free and health food products, freshly baked bread and tray bakes, and a whole back room full of fruit and veg (replenished daily).

Blair Atholl Watermill Ford Road, Blair Atholl PH18 5SH 01796 481321, blairathollwatermill.co.uk Apr–Oct: Mon–Sun 9.30am–5pm.

Rami and Kirsty Cohen use all their own flour and oats in various baked goods available to buy from their in-house bakery. Specialities reflect Rami’s Israeli heritage – bagels and a Jewish hallah loaf are particular favourites. See also pages 19 and 42.

Drinkmonger 100 Atholl Road, Pitlochry PH16 5BL 01796 470133, drinkmonger.com Mon–Thu 10am–7pm; Fri/Sat 10am–8pm; Sun 11am–5pm.

Drinkmonger is an off-shoot of Royal Mile Whiskies in Edinburgh, specialising in 400 eclectic, worldly wines, stacked to the ceiling in half the shop and, in the other half, 200 craft beers, 30 gins, collectors malts, rums, vodkas, cognacs and Cuban cigars. It’s a fine emporium for buffs, and indeed for the bamboozled too, as wines – many from smaller growers – are classified by grape instead of country.

Dunkeld Smoked Salmon Springwells Smokehouse, Dunkeld PH8 0BA 01350 727639, dunkeldsmokedsalmon.com Mon–Sat 9.30am–5pm; Sun 10am– 4pm.

Master smoker Ronnie Ross has cured and roasted freshwater fish here for the last 25 years. Then, in 2005, owners Rob and Tracey Gower began to spread the word about Dunkeld’s wild and farmed salmon, first dry cured in salt, and then cold or hot kiln-smoked over oak and chipped Craigellachie whisky barrels.

The smokiest trimmings are blended with cream cheese into pâté, and their Scandinavian gravalax cures fillets with brown sugar, salt, dill and pepper. Buy from the smokehouse or at Perth and Logierait Farmers’ Markets.

House of Bruar

By Blair Atholl PH18 5TW 01796 483236, houseofbruar.com Mon–Sun 8.30am–6pm (9am–5.30pm in winter).

This shopping and dining destination just off the A9 north of Blair Atholl has an impressive food hall showcasing the depth and quality of Scottish produce.

While there’s plenty by way of packaged food gifts, there’s also a deli counter laden with artisan cheeses and various cold cuts, and a top-class butchery with homemade items such as sausages and pies, as well as local beers and in-house baked breads – plus fresh Scottish fruit and veg. The attached restaurant has an emphasis on local and Scottish ingredients.

CHEF’S CHOICE GRAEME PALLISTER ON HIS FORAGER

Spare time to a chef is somewhat limited, and when I’m outdoors, I’m usually on a run with no time to rummage for woodland treasures.

That’s where Ron, my forager, comes in.

He is very unassuming; think aged-rocker meets Bear Grylls. But his passion for wild food is unequalled. Ron chaps the kitchen window every so often with unexpected treats sitting in a wooden basket. Wild leeks and garlic, horseradish, orange birch, girolles, monkey puzzle nuts, brambles, sorrel – to name but a few. No two deliveries from Ron are the same, and I love that!

We understand each other’s work. I know my ingredients are fresh and Ron knows his harvest is being cooked with care.

People like Ron are the reason I’m still a chef, learning every day, 20 years on.

■ Graeme Pallister is the owner/chef of 63 Tay Street, Perth (see page 35)

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list.co.uk

House of Menzies Castle Menzies Farm, Weem, by Aberfeldy PH15 2JD 01887 829666, houseofmenzies.com Wed–Sun 10am–5pm. Closed Mon/Tue.

House of Bruar (page 31)

The family-run House of Menzies is a unique example of what can happen when Scottish farmers decide to diversify. The doocot and barn at this working farm have been imaginatively converted into a bright, contemporary space, housing a bustling café, an upmarket gift shop, a gallery of local artists and a New World wine specialist. Food available includes fresh soups and salads, burgers and homemade cakes and bakes.

GUIDES

01887 830756, taymouthcourtyard.com Mon–Sun 9am–5pm

The delicatessen at the Mains of Taymouth estate manages to fulfil the roles of a greengrocer, a gelateria and a deli, and attracts nearby holidaymakers and locals alike who come for basic essentials or luxurious treats, all with a strong local flavour. Most weekends have tastings from some of the 25 Perthshire producers represented in the shop, from Glen Lyon Coffee to Rannoch Smokery meats. The thoughtful operation offers foodstarter packs for tourists, veg boxes for free 15-mile delivery, and hampers.

Robertsons of Pitlochry Iain Burnett The Highland Chocolatier Grandtully PH9 0PL 01887 840775, highlandchocolatier.com Mon–Sun 10am–5pm.

Iain Burnett’s Chocolate Centre and shop is a bit of a pilgrimage for anyone serious about high-end chocolate. There’s plenty to take in about the history, processing and crafting of chocolate, while the shop displays the range of output from Burnett’s team. See also feature on page 18 and café listing on page 43.

MacDonald Brothers 6–8 Bonnethill Road, Pitlochry PH16 5BS 01796 472047, macdonald-bros.co.uk Mon–Wed & Fri/Sat 7am–5pm; Thu 7am–1pm. Closed Sun.

MacDonald Bros is a reassuringly traditional butcher, selling venison from neighbouring estates as haunches and sausages, Perthshire lamb and locally farmed beef. You’ll also find seasonal game including partridge, mallard, pigeon and pheasant. Rory MacDonald is the third generation of his family to run the butchery, which also bakes its own pies and quiches, smokes its own bacon and gammon, and houses a wee deli next door, with mail order on its website.

Mains of Taymouth Delicatessen Mains of Taymouth Courtyard, Kenmore PH15 2HN

44–46 Atholl Road, Pitlochry PH16 5BX 01796 472011, robertsonsofpitlochry. co.uk Mon–Fri 8.30am–6pm; Sat 8.30am– 5.30pm; Sun 10am–4pm.

One of those rare venues deserving of the ‘institution’ moniker, Allan and Isla Robertson supplied fine food and drink for more than 50 years – becoming one of the country’s most highly regarded whisky merchants – before retiring at the beginning of 2013. New owner Ewan McIlwraith, while maintaining the whisky focus, has taken the store back to its roots a little by slowly expanding the range of quality food and drinks on offer.

The Scottish Deli • 1 Atholl Street, Dunkeld PH8 0AR 01350 728028, scottish-deli.com Mon–Fri 9.30am–5.30pm; Sat 9am– 5.30pm; Sun 10.30am–4.30pm.

• 96 Atholl Road, Pitlochry PH16 5BL 01796 473322, scottish-deli.com Mon–Sun 8am–5pm.

There’s been a delicatessen on this spot in Dunkeld for 50 years. Since 2008, the Scottish Deli has been the flagship of Pitlochry man Alec Cruikshank’s two-shop enterprise, winning Scotland’s Deli of the Year in 2012. Both house an impressive counter of Scottish and European artisan cheeses and charcuterie, as well as a menu of filled rolls and salads, beside their own soups, pies, traybakes, scones and cakes.

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WHERE TO EAT

Entries are grouped into five geographical areas, beginning in the city of Perth and then moving clockwise around the region.

Within each area entries are sorted alphabetically.

PERTH & AROUND Café Tabou 4 St John’s Place, Perth PH1 5SZ 01738 446698, cafetabou.co.uk Mon 9am–3pm; Tue–Thu 9am–3pm, 5.30–9.30pm; Fri/Sat 9am–3pm, 5.30–10pm; Sun noon–3pm.

Marek and Magda Michalak have run Café Tabou since 2007, working together to put a French stamp on the place. Marek is qualified both as a master chef and a master butcher, and his enthusiasm for the latter is shown in the menu du boucher – a celebration of Scotch beef in all its continentally-named guises, from carpaccio to chateaubriand. The à la carte sticks to unfussy but satisfying dishes such as sardines with veg ragu or pot au feu of partridge and morteau sausage.

Deans at Let’s Eat 77–79 Kinnoull Street, Perth PH1 5EZ 01738 643377, letseatperth.co.uk Tue–Thu noon–3pm, 6–9.45pm; Fri/Sat noon–3pm, 6–9.30pm. Closed Sun/ Mon.

This family-run restaurant serves vibrant modern Scottish lunches and dinners with liberal use of local, seasonal ingredients.

Thoughtful starters might include brioche French toast with soft poached egg, tarragon and wild mushrooms, and typical of the à la carte mains is a loin of local venison with potato hot pot, creamed root vegetable spaghetti and apricot and prune dauphinoise. See Chef’s Choice on page 41.

Duo 2 Princes Street, Perth PH2 8NG

See main entry for Pig’halle Restaurant (page 34).

Gloagburn Farm Shop & Café Gloagburn, Perth PH1 1QL 01738 840864, gloagburnfarmshop. co.uk Mon–Sun 9am–6pm.

Plenty from the adjoining farm shop (see page 23) makes its way onto the menu at this popular and busy eating spot, including meringues, savoury tarts, oatcakes, jams and soup. Hearty, cheering breakfasts are served, followed by lunches including a Gloagburn pulled pork open sandwich with warm apple salad, or smoked haddock and asparagus tart with cheddar soufflé.

Huntingtower Hotel Crieff Road, Perth PH1 3JT 01738 583771, huntingtowerhotel.co.uk Mon–Sat noon–2.30pm, 6–9.30pm; Sun noon–2.30pm, 6–9pm.

Despite being situated just a few minutes drive to the west of Perth, this popular hotel for events, weddings and business meetings has a peaceful setting in landscaped gardens, with meandering resident ducks and a historic ruined castle next door. While the mid-market menu sees tried and tested dishes such as salmon in parsley butter or loin of pork with black pudding and mustard seed mash, the versatility of the place is in an appealing range of dining settings, which include their Oak Room, Garden Room, Conservatory and, in season, al fresco.

Kerachers Restaurant 168 South Street, Perth PH2 8NY 01738 449777, kerachers-restaurant. co.uk Tue–Thu 6–9.30pm; Fri 6–10pm; Sat 6–10.30pm. Closed Sun/Mon.

Head chef Peter Keracher, who has owned and run the restaurant with his wife Pamela since 1998, was a fishmonger in a past life, and this is reflected in a menu specialising in seafood. In a relatively small but smart first-floor room, simple cooking relies on market-fresh ingredients – roast John Dory with herb risotto and mussels, for example, but there’s a good choice of non-fish dishes too.

CHEF’S CHOICE SARAH MELLERSH ON SUMMER HARVEST RAPESEED OIL

It’s important to me to use locally sourced products for the cookery school and I make a point of telling the students the provenance of the food they are cooking. The local product that always impresses people is the rapeseed oil that is grown, pressed and bottled in the heart of the Perthshire countryside by Summer Harvest. It is the only oil I use in the school.

The oil is very versatile and I use it for dressings, frying, marinades – everything really.

It has a really light, fresh taste so it’s ideal for using in salads, but it also benefits from a really high smoke point which means you can also use it for roasting potatoes.

■ Sarah Mellersh is the owner and lead tutor of Let’s Cook Scotland cookery school, situated in a converted barn near Abernethy. letscookscotland.co.uk

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Loch Leven’s Larder at McEwens 60-66 Watergate, Perth PH1 5TF 01738 623444, mcewensofperth.com Mon–Sat 9am–5pm. Closed Sun.

63 Tay Street

This is an outpost of the popular Kinross-shire farm shop and café located in Perth’s long-established central department store. With neat contemporary styling it’s set up around an old butcher’s block table that’s groaning with cakes, scones and treats, with a lunchtime menu of soups and light bites to complement.

Murrayshall House Hotel Murrayshall Road, Scone PH2 7PH 01738 551171, murrayshall.co.uk Restaurant: Tue–Fri & Sun 12.30– 2.30pm, 6.30–9.30pm; Mon & Sat 6.30–9.30pm.

Bar: Apr–Oct: Mon–Sun 8am–9.30pm; Nov–Mar: Mon–Sun 9am–5pm.

>ONLINE LISTINGS Extended write-ups of all venues, with individual location maps and links at each entry, can be found at thelarder.net Accessible on all devices including smartphones and tablets, thelarder.net features additional listings within Perthshire and search functions for food and drink venues across Scotland.

The grand Murrayshall Hotel, with two golf courses in its extensive grounds, is a place of traditional, dignified hospitality.

Dining in the Old Masters Restaurant offers classical dishes from langoustine bisque to pheasant with savoy cabbage, while Stutts Bar and Restaurant offers a broader, more international range of options right through the day from sandwiches and breakfast rolls to kedgeree and a gourmet burger. For head chef Craig Jackson’s full attention, book in for one of his monthly cooking demo lunches.

GUIDES

No 1 The Bank Bistro The Parklands Hotel, 2 St Leonard’s Bank, Perth PH2 8EB 01738 622451, no1thebank.com Mon–Sun noon–2pm, 6–9pm.

No 1 offers a gourmet destination that rises above the common compromises of hotel dining rooms. A risotto of oxtail, blackened onion and fresh horseradish provides a piquant and glossy lunchtime starter. Scottish produce dominates the menu in dishes such as Peterhead hake with lightly curried nut-brown butter.

Thoughtfully selected and prepared little extras, such as chutneys, savoury sauces and ice-creams, give dishes a boost.

Opus One 22–30 County Place, Perth PH2 8EE 01738 623355, opusone-restaurant. co.uk Tue–Thu 6.30–9.30pm; Fri/Sat noon– 2pm, 6.30–9.30pm.

In a city with a good range of dining options, Opus One brings a dash of sharp, contemporary style in its leather and wood furnishings as well as a neat, enticing menu. Dishes such as a quince tart tatin with pear and Blue Monday cheese, or a richer ox cheek and tongue combo with girolles, are presented with flair and creativity at reasonable prices. It’s an approach that has seen the restaurant collect 2 AA rosettes and a national urban dining award in recent years.

Pig’halle Restaurant / Duo The North Port Restaurant 8 North Port, Perth PH1 5LU 01738 580867, thenorthport.co.uk Tue–Sat noon–2pm, 5–9.30pm.

Tucked away behind the concert hall, North Port Restaurant is an intimate space with dark-wood panelling and photos of old Perth adorning the walls.

While there’s a sprinkling of heather and thistles around the room, there’s not a scrap of tartan in sight. An interesting, seasonally changing menu features the likes of salt-baked beetroot with goat’s curd cheese and pea shoots, or hake with a hearty chickpea, chorizo and coriander stew.

South Street, Perth PH2 8PG 01738 248784, pighalle.co.uk Tue–Thu noon–3pm, 5.30–9.30pm; Fri–Sat noon–3pm, 5.30–10pm; Sun noon–3pm, 5.30–9pm. (Duo: Tue–Sun 10am–9pm.)

Herve and Paula Tabourel run a resolutely Parisian brasserie in a Florentine Palazzostyle building, with vibrant and colourful pizza-pasta-deli Duo tucked in alongside.

Menus change constantly but are reliably French, from complimentary pork rillette with bread to start, through onion soup to the clafoutis ‘of the moment’ to finish.

The name translates as ‘pig market’ (as well as riffing on the famous windmill

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district of Paris), so it’s appropriate they make thorough use of le cochon – trotters, snout, belly, tails and suckling appear, as well as Iberico and black pudding.

Reid’s Café 32–34 High Street, Perth PH1 5TQ 01738 636310, reidscafe.com Mon–Wed 8am–6pm; Thu–Sat 8am–9pm; Sun 10am–5pm.

A lively café-bistro with an emphasis on Scottish produce, Reid’s majors on classic bistro dishes along the lines of steaks, burgers, salads and pasta, and is strong on gluten-free and children’s options. There are some nice individual touches, like their own homemade chilli jam to enliven a lamb burger, and bread from their inhouse bakery – which also produces the pizza bases, cakes and traybakes.

‘Local, Honest, Simple’ runs chef/ patron Graeme Pallister’s mantra. The award-winning chef values the master butcher, the cheesemaker and the friend who ‘chaps the window’ with a basket of foraged herbs or wild berries. Lunch might include a roast rump of lamb with spiced sweetbreads while dinner is a five-course fixed-price feast. 63 Tay Street is a civilised and polished place to linger over good food and wine. See also Chef’s Choice on page 31.

EAST PERTHSHIRE The Apron Stage

63 Tay Street Restaurant

5 King Street, Stanley PH1 4ND 01738 828888, apronstagerestaurant. co.uk Thu–Sat 6.30–9.30pm. Closed Sun– Wed.

63 Tay Street, Perth PH2 8NN 01738 441451, 63taystreet.co.uk Tue/Wed 5.45–9pm; Thu–Sat noon– 2pm, 6.30–9.00pm. Closed Sun/Mon.

Tiny, and decorated in fresh pastels, this charming restaurant exudes serenity.

The half-dozen tables are formally set with white tablecloths, but there is no

Traceable, Dependable, Delicious Our member restaurants choose only the finest Scotch Beef. With full traceability and guaranteed levels of assurance, Scotch Beef is high on welfare, quality and taste.

www.scotchbeefandlamb.com

QM2525_05/13

So if you care about your food, look for the Scotch Beef Club logo on your next meal out.

Look out for the member restaurants highlighted in this guide or go direct to www.scotchbeefclub.org

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Cargill’s Restaurant and Bistro

list.co.uk

GUIDES

stuffiness in the simple blackboard menu.

There might just be a couple of choices at each course, but the cooking is both imaginative and sincere, with dishes such as sweet potato and pancetta ravioli with a sage butter sauce, or guinea fowl with twice-cooked spiced pork belly, gratin potatoes and a cider jus.

traditional slant. The sourcing favours the Perthshire countryside – for game in particular, and local mushrooms – and Scottish seas. Both a sizeable menu and decent specials board are available lunch and evening, while an enthusiastic team along with an owner chef ensure good, reliable standards are maintained.

Ballathie House Hotel

Kinloch House Hotel

Kinclaven, Stanley PH1 4QN 01250 883268, ballathiehousehotel. com Mon–Sun 12.30–2pm, 7–9pm.

Dunkeld Road, Blairgowrie PH10 6SG 01250 884237, kinlochhouse.com Mon-Sun 12.30-1.45pm, 7-8.30pm.

Outside, Ballathie Country House Hotel is a baronial mansion for Highland hunters and hopeful fishermen. Inside, it’s even more old school: stags heads, log fires and white tablecloths. Chef Scott Scorer champions Scotland’s larder with a melting, inch-thick feather blade steak, horseradish mash and roast root vegetables. Classic desserts include sticky toffee pudding and profiteroles.

An elegant, 15-room country house hotel in 25 acres just outside Blairgowrie, this is an up-market retreat where civilised values, elegant furnishings and fine dining hold sway. The dining room has linen-covered tables set with silver cutlery and crystal glasses, with lunch and dinner table d’hôte menus presenting seafood, game, lamb and beef dishes with classical sauces, the meals bookended by canapes and petit fours. Booking recommended for non-residents.

Cardeans of Meigle Aylth Road, Meigle PH12 8RP 01828 640740, cardeans.net Tue–Sat 10am–5pm; Sun 10am– 5.30pm. Closed Mon.

Daz Brooke-Lander has owned and headed the kitchen of this licensed café since the beginning of 2010. Breakfast, toasties and baked tatties make up much of the menu, while the daily three-course lunch specials are posted to her Facebook page every day, with ingredients like ‘courgettes from Helen’s garden’ and ‘my mate’s plums from his tree’ among the likes of roast rib of beef, venison burgers or homemade quiche.

Cargill’s Restaurant & Bistro Lower Mill Street, Blairgowrie PH10 6AQ 01250 876735, cargillsbistro.com Mon–Sun 10.30am–2pm, 5.30–9pm.

Located in a tucked-away courtyard close to the riverside in the heart of Blairgowrie, Cargill’s provides an extensive and satisfying choice of wellcooked meat and fish dishes with a fairly

The Laird’s House Restaurant The Granary, Lower Mill Street, Blairgowrie PH10 6AQ 01250 872292, lairdshouse.com Mon/Tue 9am–5pm; Wed–Sat 9am–9pm; Sun 10am–8pm.

Converted from a large and lofty former antiques showroom the layout of the Laird’s House has been cleverly worked to provide a bright and airy restaurant area and extensive shop for local crafts (grab the chance to browse once orders have been placed), with a children’s play corner an extra bonus. A contemporary lunchtime menu with a good vegetarian choice and more traditional evening selection are bolstered with a cake and coffee selection to fill the gaps..

Lands of Loyal Hotel Loyal Road, Alyth PH11 8JQ 01828 633151, landsofloyal.co.uk Mon–Sun noon–9pm.

Alyth’s baronial, faintly bohemian Lands of Loyal country house hotel sits atop a

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wooded hill, looking across the verdant River Isla valley. Diners enter the church vestibule to a Puginesque lobby, then through a secret door into a vast, paneled, balconied hall, warmed by a roaring fire. Four elegant dining rooms lead off, serving rich dishes like pan-fried Barbary duck breast with Morello cherry and port sauce, but without being afraid to offer a good scampi and trifle too on an extensive all-day menu.

of pedigree Holstein Friesian cows. The list starts with the simplest ‘moo ice cream’ of milk, sugar and cream, then heads off through peaches and buttermilk, raspberry pavlova, and so on. Alongside, menus offer breakfasts and lunches, and there’s a small farm shop and deli too.

Little’s Restaurant

Deep in the glen above the River Ardle, this place establishes its credentials with an extremely friendly attitude to dogs, muddy boots and children. Its young owners, Abi and Colin Massey, have established a traditional Scottish pub that feels instantly welcoming and cosy, with a cheering fire and local ales. The food they serve has both heart and individuality, championing Scotland’s larder with slowroast red deer or homemade tattie scone topped with melted Dunsyre Blue cheese.

4 Wellmeadow, Blairgowrie PH10 6ND 01250 875358, littlesrestaurant.co.uk Tue–Fri 4–9.30pm; Fri/Sat noon– 2.30pm, 6–9.30pm. Closed Sun/Mon.

Willie Little’s long career as a fish wholesaler and chef combine in a lengthy daily blackboard menu of fish dishes featuring seafood supplied from Scrabster directly here and to Little’s shop Fish in Crieff (see page 29). Behind the unassuming exterior and mismatched furniture there’s not just seafood – John Dory fillets in a saffron and mussel broth, perhaps – but also local game dishes and a pizza menu.

The Strathardle Inn Kirkmichael PH10 7NS 01250 881224, strathardleinn.co.uk Mon–Sun noon–9pm.

KINROSS-SHIRE Heaven Scent Coffee Shop

The Meikleour Arms Meikleour PH2 6EB 01250 883206, meikleourarms.co.uk Mon–Sun 11am–9pm.

Under new management since spring 2013, this historic coaching inn has a tranquil setting in the conservation village of Meikleour. The menu features pub classics interspersed with seasonal offerings such as game or mushrooms from the estate and a few tempting snacks and starters including a homemade black pudding Scotch egg. The inn also has five rooms, popular with visiting fishermen.

19 South Street, Milnathort KY13 9XA 01577 865577, heavenscentcoffeeshop.co.uk Mon–Sat 9am–5pm. Closed Sun.

This stylish contemporary café at the heart of Milnathort village is fast losing its status as a hidden secret. The menu’s not short, with baked potatoes, toasted panini, hot baguettes and platters, but the busy, committed kitchen still offer daily specials and homemade burgers, alongside lively, fresh salads, gluten-free options and kids’ portions.

The Kirklands Hotel Stewart Tower Dairy Stewart Tower Farm, Stanley PH1 4PJ 01738 710044, stewart-tower.co.uk Mon–Sun 10am–4pm.

Situated in a distinctive round farm building dating from the 1840s, Neil and Linsey Butler’s café sells 200 seasonal flavours churned in the adjoining icecream factory using milk from their herd

CHEF’S CHOICE TIM DOVER ON LOCAL FUNGHI

20 High Street, Kinross KY13 8AN 01577 863313, thekirklandshotel.com Mon–Sun noon–2.30pm, 6–9pm.

Since the Cliffords bought this small hotel in 2007 they have transformed it into a stylish restaurant with rooms. The broadly familiar menu, which changes quarterly, tries to take diners off-piste occasionally with such dishes as pan-fried

There is something about hunting for ingredients that appeals to almost everyone I know that has tried it. I spend more hours than I like to count at the stove and on the phone to suppliers. This erodes the hours I can spend with my family but foraging is a great way to spend time with my wife and kids.

We often find orange birch boletus which have a very similar flavour to cepes although they are not nearly as pretty. I use them in the restaurant to match the local game such as partridge, mallard or grouse.

I absolutely love chanterelles and they will appear on my menus from the very start of the season to the end. My six-yearold daughter Connie is the perfect height to see these little orange mushrooms peaking up through the bracken. She is my chief forager.

■ Tim Dover is the owner/chef at The Roost, Bridge of Earn (see page 40)

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The Cairn Lodge & Hotel

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venison liver or a delicately flavoured risotto served with buttered spinach and caramelised baby onions. Desserts include homemade ice-cream and, unusually, some enticing options for the gluten-free diner.

Barley Bree Restaurant with Rooms

Loch Leven’s Larder

Since taking over in 2007, Fabrice and Alison Bouteloup have renovated this 18th-century building to an impressive standard, while leaving the rustic charm of the former coaching inn – now a restaurant with rooms – firmly in place.

Chef Fabrice combines top quality Scottish produce with continental flair, making everything from scratch, including the bread.

Channel Farm, Milnathort KY13 9HD 01592 841000, lochlevenslarder.com Mon–Sun 9.30am–5.30pm.

This thoughtfully stocked deli-café sells farm produce from the surrounding fields as well as Scottish products from further afield. The café food is good and some choices are pretty classy, such as roast butternut squash salad with toasted seeds and lemon and yoghurt dressing.

A blackboard displays the daily puds, and a tea with a small platter of cakes and scones is good value at a fiver. As various extensions and additions over the years testify, it’s a family-friendly and accessible stopover on the loch trail.

Lochend Farm Shop Lochend Farm, Scotlandwell KY13 9JQ

See entry in Where to Buy (page 28).

STRATHEARN >ONLINE LISTINGS Extended write-ups of all venues, with individual location maps and links at each entry, can be found at thelarder.net Accessible on all devices including smartphones and tablets, thelarder.net features additional listings within Perthshire and search functions for food and drink venues across Scotland.

GUIDES

Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles

6 Willoughby Street, Muthill, near Crieff PH5 2AB 01764 681451, barleybree.com Wed–Sat noon–2pm, 6.45–9pm. Sun noon–5.30pm. Closed Mon/Tue.

Birdhouse Bakery 33 Drummond Street, Muthill PH5 2AN 01764 681424, birdhousebakery.co.uk Mon–Fri 9am–5pm; Sat/Sun 11am–4pm.

‘Coffee, Cake and Gifts’ are what beckons in this small village café.

With breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea available every day, owner Suzanne McLean draws in locals and passers-by with good, wholesome, homemade food.

A range of daily changing soups are served with their own fresh soda bread, while salads, quiches and sandwiches offer something light for lunch.

Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder PH3 1NF 01764 694267, andrewfairlie.com Mon–Sat 6.30–10pm. Closed Sun.

Brig Farm Shop

Scotland’s only two-star Michelin restaurant, a distinction it has held since 1996, this is one of the country’s most sought-after upmarket dining experiences.

It’s not, however, an intimidatingly grand affair: set in a modestly sized room in the heart of Gleneagles hotel, it is stylish rather than stuffy, decorated with leaf motifs and framed contemporary artworks. Six-course dégustation (£125) and market menus (£95) are available alongside à la carte (£95 for three courses), the dishes deceptively simple yet imbued with flavour and care.

The Cairn Lodge & Hotel

Gateside Home Farm, Bridge of Earn

See entry in Where to Buy (page 28).

Orchil Road, Auchterarder PH3 1LX 01764 662 634, cairnlodge.co.uk Mon–Sun noon–9.15pm.

From a former hunting lodge to an Italian-inspired, contemporary boutique hotel, the refurbished Cairn Hotel’s restaurant, resplendent in jet black and chic white throughout, is inspired by the grand grill rooms of London. Burgers and dry-aged steaks are seared on an intensely hot Josper grill, while Shetland scallops, Ayrshire pork rib, Isle of Lewis mussels and Lanark Blue cheese all feature.

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Cocoa Mountain

Duchally Country Estate

154 High Street, Auchterarder PH3 1AD 01971 511233, cocoamountain.co.uk Mon–Sun 8.30am–5pm.

By Gleneagles, Auchterarder PH3 1PN 01764 663071, duchally.co.uk Mon–Sun 12.30–9pm.

Following the original Cocoa Mountain up in Durness in Sutherland, Carol Wood has brought a little piece of chocolate heaven to the ‘lang toon’. It combines a shop, truffle counter, café and a chocolate workshop in one, showcasing handmade truffles and serving hot chocolate (soya milk/vegan options available), funky milkshakes and daily changing home bakes with many glutenfree options.

Set within 27 acres of private grounds, Duchally Country Estate, a Club La Costa World Resort with rooms and private lodges, openly welcomes nonresidents to dine in their bar or restaurant.

Scottish flavours are incorporated into the all-day international menu which changes seasonally and showcases the strong commitment by head chef Colin Paterson to using local produce. Meat is sourced from local butcher Simon Howie including a sausage of the day dish.

Vegetables are from Auchterarder-based Alexa Dunlop and a mile down the road, Aberuthven-based Ochil Foods supply the poultry and game.

Deil’s Cauldron 27 Dundas Street, Comrie PH6 2LN 01764 670352, deilscauldron.co.uk Tue–Sat noon–2pm, 6.30pm–8.30pm; Sun noon–2pm. Closed Mon.

Named after the impressive gorge and waterfall to the north of the town, this popular restaurant is one of a huddle of 18th-century cottages on Comrie’s main thoroughfare. The rich-red interior is well suited to nights when the weather draws in, while summer days can be enjoyed in the garden. Owners Katy and Brian Healy dish up a blend of Mediterranean and Scottish flavours, from light lunchtime offerings to more substantial lunches, and a set-price evening menu featuring a tender feather blade of beef.

Delivino 6 King Street, Crieff PH7 3HA 01764 655665, delivino.co.uk Mon–Thu 9am–8pm; Sat/Sun 9am–9pm; Sun noon–4pm.

Part deli, part wine café/store, Delivino is the kind of venue that wouldn’t look out of place in any big city. Owner Jamie Stewart was a wine critic and importer before he opened here in 2006. Serving a substantial Italian and Mediterranean-influenced menu, the self-styled ‘amazing’ grazing platter is ideal for sharing, while pizza and pasta is kept simple and fresh. You’ll get a mean burger here too.

The Gleneagles Hotel Auchterarder PH3 1NF 0800 704705, gleneagles.com

Gleneagles may be Scotland’s most famous luxury 5-star hotel but there is certainly no snobbery attached. Nonresidents are welcome to dine in any of its varied eating places, which include Andrew Fairlie’s restaurant (see page 38) the casual Mediterranean vibe of Deseo, the Braids Coffee Lounge for a snack or coffee and a pastry, and the main restaurant, the Strathearn, a refined 2 AA rosette dining room serving timeless classics and more modern interpretations.

At the golf clubhouse, the Dormy Bar and Grill has its own tandoor oven.

The Glenturret Café Glenturret Distillery, The Hosh, Crieff PH7 4HA 01764 656565, thefamousgrouse.com Mon–Sun 9.30am–5.30pm.

The Glenturret Distillery – probably the oldest in Scotland – offers much to the visitor, including a café and bar, both with wider appeal than as a mere pitstop for distillery tourers. Smartly refurbed in late 2012, it serves up drinks, snacks, hot meals and homemade cakes via an assisted self-serve set-up, with pleasing

CHEF’S CHOICE TOM KITCHIN ON WAGYU BEEF

I grew up in Perthshire so the local area is special to me and I relish being able to work with producers and suppliers from the region.

Just this year, Blackford Farm introduced Highland Wagyu and I’ve been lucky enough to try cooking with it. I can honestly say it’s some of the most tender and succulent beef I’ve ever enjoyed.

Wagyu beef is famous for the streaks of fat that give it a ‘marbled’ effect which is what makes it so soft and adds that punch of flavour when it’s cooked.

The care and attention that goes into the welfare of the cattle is what gives me absolute confidence that the produce is some of the best in the world.

■ Tom Kitchen grew up in Kinross and first worked as a chef at Gleneagles Hotel. He is chef-patron of the Michelin-starred The Kitchin in Edinburgh. thekitchin.com

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views of the surrounding woodland and River Turret. There’s also an al fresco terrace, as well as a cosy fireplace.

Gloagburn Farm Shop & Café Gloagburn, Perth

See entry in Perth & Around (page 33).

The Roost Restaurant

Hansen’s Kitchen

GUIDES

slopes towards the horizon. That is, if you can take your eyes off the artistically presented food, such as flageolet beans spilling from a cupped leaf of braised savoy cabbage beside a petite supreme of sautéed guinea fowl. The restaurant – with its bold colour scheme and retro Danish-style furniture – achieves a successful marriage of cosmopolitan cool and culinary substance.

Drummond Street, Comrie

See entry in Where to Buy (page 30).

inDulge 22 High Street, Auchterarder PH3 1DF 01764 660033, indulge-now.co.uk Mon–Sat 10am–4pm. Closed Sun.

Husband-and-wife team Neil and Amanda McNicoll offer ‘food for the soul’ in their licensed café bistro. Homemade, wholesome cuisine and some modern twists are offered via a menu, cabinet and specials board. Daily changing quiches, tortillas, sandwiches and salads are complemented by the ‘inDulge fillers’ which include their own burgers. You’ll find cake here too, freshly ground coffee and a range of whole leaf teas.

Lounge in Crieff 1–3 West High Street, Crieff PH7 4AU 01764 654407, loungeincrieff.co.uk Tue–Sat 11am–9.30pm. Closed Sun/ Mon.

This second venture in the town for Yannick and Shari Grospellier, after Yann’s at Glenearn House (see page 41), offers a more casual spot for highquality food. The diligent kitchen offers impressive all-day dining, and there’s a global spread to the food, including fajitas, stir-frys and gnocchi. French dishes include Alsatian tarte flambée.

Meall Reahmar The Four Seasons Hotel, St Fillans PH6 2NF 01764 685333, thefourseasonshotel. co.uk Mon–Sun 7–9pm.

You’ll find few restaurants in Highland Perthshire with a better view – straight down Loch Earn between steep hilly

The Roost Restaurant Forgandenny Road, Kintillo, Bridge of Earn PH2 9AZ 01738 812111, theroostrestaurant. co.uk Tue/Wed noon–2pm; Thu–Sat noon–2pm, 6.30–9pm; Sun noon–3pm.

Closed Mon.

This low sandstone building was once a henhouse; now pottery hens perch on its rafters, looking down on the cosy dining room. Husband-and-wife team Tim and Anna Dover place a firm emphasis on seasonal, locally sourced Scottish ingredients including home-grown vegetables from their kitchen garden and mushrooms foraged on the nearby estate, all cooked using classical French techniques. For the full panoply of chef Tim’s talents, go for dinner, with classics such as lobster risotto with a coral foam, or roasted red deer loin with shallot tarte tatin. See also Tim Dover’s Chef’s Choice on page 40.

The Royal Hotel Melville Square, Comrie PH6 2DN 01764 679200, royalhotel.co.uk Mon–Sun noon–2pm, 6.30–9pm.

Long a favourite of the hunting, fishing and shooting brigade, this grand old dame set deep in rural Perthshire enjoys a much wider appeal these days. Chefpatron David Milsom’s restaurant has a traditional feel, while the menu nods towards Scotland with a twist – homecured oak-smoked salmon washed with whisky before moving on to Highland venison with black pudding clapshot or Borders partridge. Diners can also enjoy lunch in the informal bar area or even dine outside in the walled garden.

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Tormaukin Hotel Glendevon FK14 7JY 01259 781252, tormaukinhotel.co.uk Mon–Sun 7.30–9.30am, noon–2pm, 6–8.45pm.

During their recent refurbishment owners David and Lesley Morvy kept the 11-room hotel in peaceful Glendevon true to its roots with oak beams and roaring fireplaces still intact. The menu features what you might expect in a traditional, cosy, country inn with crowd-pleasing favourites such as steak and Guinness pie alongside more contemporary options such as pan-seared scallops, crispy pork belly and cod loin with Parma ham.

The Tower Gastro Pub 81 East High Street, Crieff PH7 3JA 01764 650050, thetowercrieff.com Sun–Thu 11am–9pm; Fri/Sat 11am–9.30pm.

This first venture for Bob and Annie Anderson is housed in an impressive former hotel, now with self-catering apartments upstairs, and separate bar and lounge on the ground floor. Utilising local produce, the menu offers familyfriendly dishes, from light lunches of sandwiches, soup or salads to pizzas, grills and pub classics. They also have one of the best beer gardens around, with children’s play area, chicken coop and veg allotment.

HIGHLAND PERTHSHIRE

CHEF’S CHOICE WILLIE DEANS ON HIGHLAND VENISON

Ardeonaig Hotel South Road, Loch Tay FK21 8SU 01567 820400, ardeonaighotel.co.uk Wed–Sun noon–10pm. (Residents only Mon/Tue.)

Dinner at this 17th-century coaching inn is a six-course tasting menu, while lunch is a short selection that could take in lobster with smoked salmon and apple puree. Maintaining the hotel’s longstanding reputation as a dining destination is head chef David Maskell, who learnt his trade under Andrew Fairlie. Typical of his dinner menu are hay-smoked salmon, or wild venison wellington, and he makes good use of the local and foraged larders for ingredients.

Atholl Arms Hotel Bridgehead, Dunkeld PH8 0AQ 01350 727219, athollarmshotel.com Mon–Sun noon–9pm.

The whitewashed Atholl Arms Hotel fills Dunkeld’s fine-dining niche with its elegant Riverview Restaurant overlooking the Tay. Well-heeled travellers are welcomed with a hearty repast including Cullen skink, crispyskinned yet pink duck breast, wild mushrooms and Puy lentils flourished with colourful beetroot jus. The less pricey Inn @ The Atholl bar serves pub grub throughout the day.

Yann’s at Glenearn House The Auld Smiddy Inn

Perth Road, Crieff PH7 3EQ 01764 650111, yannsatglenearnhouse.com Wed–Sat 5–9pm; Sun noon–2pm, 6.30–9pm. Closed Mon/Tue.

154 Atholl Road, Pitlochry PH16 5AG 01796 472356, auldsmiddyinn.co.uk Mon–Sun noon–2.30pm, 5pm–9pm.

Frenchman Yannick Grospellier, a former chef for Malmaison and Hotel du Vin in Edinburgh, and his Scottish wife Shari have run this Victorian guest house since 2008, turning it into a local institution.

Yann’s steak frites are the stuff of legend – a lean, tender, 28-day-dried ribeye cut, served with fries or dauphinoise potatoes and peppercorn sauce. Finish with apple crumble made with fruit picked from Glenearn House’s own garden.

The Auld Smiddy Inn was once, as its name suggests, Pitlochry’s old blacksmith’s forge. Now the whitewashed restaurant fashions menus of contemporary Scots classics including game terrine with red onion marmalade or chargrilled Angus sirloin with melted Dunsyre Blue cheese. Seasonal seafood is on the specials board, while seafood weekends and other themed food nights are detailed on its website.

In Perthshire I have grown accustomed to having worldclass ingredients all around me and at my doorstep. From using microherbs grown

by Scotherbs in Longforgan and hand picking the season’s chanterelles and berries, we are truly spoilt for choice.

We have had a great relationship with our venison supplier, Highland Game, who are based in Dundee but source from all over the Highlands.

My tip to serving tender and juicy venison is not to overcook it and always allow the meat to rest for about 10 minutes before carving and serving. This will work wonders for the texture and taste. Cook venison until either rare or rosy to ensure maximum flavour and tenderness.

■ Willie Deans is head chef and proprietor of Deans at Let’s Eat Restaurant in Perth (see page 33)

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Blair Atholl Watermill & Tea Room Ford Road, Blair Atholl PH18 5SH 01796 481321, blairathollwatermill.co.uk Apr–Oct: Mon–Sun 9.30am–5pm.

Closed Nov–Mar.

Glenlyon Tearoom

The café inside this 400-year-old working watermill is a unique spot for a coffee or light lunch. Rustic, well-worn wood extends from the low ceiling beams to the tables and stools filling the former kiln drying floor. Bread and oatcakes are home-baked using the mill’s own products, while a range of tempting cakes and bakes clutters the counter. See also pages 19 and 31.

Café d’Amour Bistro 25a Dunkeld Street, Aberfeldy PH15 2AA 01887 820333, cafedamourbistro. co.uk Tue–Sat 10am–8.30pm. Closed Sun/ Mon.

>ONLINE LISTINGS Extended write-ups of all venues, with individual location maps and links at each entry, can be found at thelarder.net Accessible on all devices including smartphones and tablets, thelarder.net features additional listings within Perthshire and search functions for food and drink venues across Scotland.

Run by chef-owner Lee Patrick, this compact and enticing restaurant offers impressive bistro dishes with a strong Scottish flavour. The good-value set lunch includes chicken liver parfait and a succulent steak burger, while dinner’s more inventive offerings include chunky pies, calf’s liver and Aberdeen Angus steaks, as well as top-quality seafood such as hand-dived scallops and smoked haddock.

GUIDES

their signature scallops with chorizo sausage and cauliflower puree finding favour not just with anglers but also groups of shooters, golfers and family parties too.

Fonab Castle Hotel Foss Road, Pitlochry PH16 5ND 01796 470140, fonabcastlehotel.com Mon–Sun noon–9pm.

Pitlochry’s Fonab Castle was once the Victorian baronial pile of the Sandeman port and sherry empire, and these days its brasserie enjoys a reputation for the best, but priciest, eating in Pitlochry.

Keen waiters serve scotch quail eggs with duck confit, grilled asparagus dressed with balsamic vinegar and pecorino, venison bangers and mash, chased by decorous desserts.

Fortingall Hotel Fortingall, Glenlyon PH15 2NQ 01887 830367, fortingall.com Restaurant: Mon–Sun 6–9pm.

Ewe Bar: Mon–Sun noon–2.30pm, 6–9pm.

Well placed for river sports and Munro bagging, this traditional country house hotel accommodates both a restaurant and a pub, each with an open fire for the long winter months. The bar menu is a short selection of pub classics while the restaurant uses venison from Glenlyon Estate, as well as seasonal vegetables from the hotel’s gardens.

East Haugh House Hotel

Glenlyon Tearoom

By Pitlochry PH16 5TE 01796 473121, easthaugh.co.uk Apr–Oct: Mon–Sun 12.30–2pm, 6–8.45pm. Nov–Mar: Mon–Thu 6–8.45pm; Fri–Sun 12.30–2pm, 6–8.45pm.

Bridge of Balgie, Glenlyon, Aberfeldy PH15 2PP 01887 866221 Apr–Oct: Mon–Sun 10am–5pm. Nov– March: Closed Tue–Thu.

Situated to the south of Pitlochry off the old A9, this small hotel has 13 rooms and a focus on good food under the long-term guidance of proprietor-chef Neil McGown. A menu full of robust dishes ranges across local game, steaks and ‘hooked and cooked’ fish is served both in the Two Sisters Restaurant and Fishermans Bar, with dishes such as

Visitors arrive at this remote family-run tearoom and shop already smiling from the journey – be it by car, bicycle or on foot. A small menu of fresh soups and sandwiches awaits, and the enticing bakes and cakes are as memorable as the location, especially if the weather permits al fresco dining. Great coffee is also at hand, sourced from Glen Lyon coffee roasters just down the road.

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Good Food Takeaway 28–32 Dunkeld Street, Aberfeldy PH15 2AB 01887 822686 Mon–Sun 9am–11pm.

Since opening in early 2013 Jake Schamrel has built up an enthusiastic local following for his handmade pizzas and burgers. With three different ovens built in (clay, curing and wood-fired pizza), he doesn’t scrimp on ingredients or method: the headline ingredient for the pulled pork pizza is bone-in top shoulder, slow-cooked in the clay oven for ten hours then piled onto a handmade pizza base. Lunch is a lighter menu of filled rolls and pizza by the slice.

Habitat Café 1 The Square, Aberfeldy PH15 2DD 01887 822944, habitatcafe.co.uk Mon–Sun 9am–5pm.

Open since 2012, Habitat is a brightly and sparsely decorated cafe with chunky wood tables and chairs where the smell of java fills the air. Habitat’s raison d’être is to serve speciality brews – both tea and coffee – made by skilled and knowledgable baristas. It’s the kind of café that would thrive in the trendiest parts of Glasgow, Edinburgh or London, but that it exists in quiet Aberfeldy makes it all the more worth savouring.

01350 728847, howiesbistro.com May–Oct: Mon–Sun 11am–4.45pm, 6–9pm. Nov-Apr: Sun–Wed 11am– 4.45pm; Thu–Sat 11am–9pm.

Howies occupies the continental, streetcafé niche in Dunkeld’s eating options: the sort of place where you sip a glass of rioja or bottle of Peroni beside your wild mushroom ravioli and garlic ciabatta. The daytime menu offers homemade scones, sandwiches and Greek salad bowls, while the evening menu features braised Perthshire lamb shoulder casserole or slow-roasted pork belly with black pudding and chive crushed potato.

Moulin Inn and Brewery (page 44)

Iain Burnett The Highland Chocolatier Grandtully PH9 0PL 01887 840775, highlandchocolatier.com Mon–Sun 10am–5pm.

Busily decorated with quirky ornaments and hanging plants, light pouring in through a glass ceiling, the café at Iain Burnett’s Chocolate Centre is at once exotic and homely. A platter of Ayrshire ham, Lockerbie cheddar, oatcakes and apple and pear chutney gives a good introduction, while the same ingredients and others like them go into their filled baguettes and homemade soups. There’s hot chocolate – inevitably – to finish.

Inn on the Tay House of Bruar

By Blair Atholl

Those looking to grab a bite in the large, self-serve restaurant will find soups, pies, roasts, salads, fresh-baked bread and homemade cakes on offer – all with an emphasis on utilising Scottish ingredients.

See entry in Where to Buy, page 31.

House of Menzies Castle Menzies Farm, Weem

The café in this imaginatively converted farm building serves fresh soups and salads, sandwiches and burgers, as well as homemade cakes and bakes. For more see entry in Where to Buy, page 32.

Howies Bistro 23 Atholl Street, Dunkeld PH8 0AR

Grandtully PH9 0PL 01887 840760, theinnonthetay.co.uk Mon–Sun noon–9pm.

This B&B’s great selling point is location: as the name implies, it sits alongside the tumbling Tay rapids at Grandtully, making the most of them with a restaurant overlooking the river and a large terrace for fine weather. Four of the six bedrooms also have river views, and there’s a children’s play area just next to the terrace, within easy view of parents. The dining room – open to non-residents as well as guests – is smartly presented in cream, green and dark wood, and serves a short, seasonally inclined bistro menu of reasonably priced favourites. Typical autumnal starters, for example, include pigeon, red cabbage and beetroot slaw The Lanarkshire Larder 43

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Where to Eat list.co.uk

with cauliflower purée, or Morangie brie rolled in oats, with home-made redcurrant jelly. Among the mains you’ll find a pie of the day, and perhaps confit duck with celeriac mash. A bar menu offers lunch sandwiches and simple mains.

Kenmore Hotel Kenmore Hotel

The Square, Kenmore PH15 2NU 01887 830205, kenmorehotel.com Mon–Sun noon–9pm.

Housed in a large rear extension with a panoramic view over the Tay, the Grill Room’s menu runs from popular starters – scallops, Stornoway black pudding – to confidently handled favourites like battered Scrabster cod and Harris salmon, plus a good line in grilled Scottish beef, lamb racks and spatchcocked birds.

Flourishes on the plate, smart service and, of course, that impressive vista give the place a sense of occasion at any time of day.

Killiecrankie House Killiecrankie, Pitlochry PH16 5LG 01796 473220, killiecrankiehotel.co.uk Mon–Sun noon–2pm, 6.15pm–8.30pm.

Closed Jan/Feb.

The Killiecrankie House Hotel’s chef of 16 years, Mark Easton, cooks modern British dishes on the daily changing four-course dinner menu, serving, for example, pan-fried fillet of Highland venison with pommes Anna, celeriac purée, roasted beetroot and damson plum jus. In the celadon-panelled bar, the à la carte menu offers simpler fare such as a meaty chargrilled Fincastle steak burger or Killiecrankie honey-roasted ham salad.

The Logierait Inn Near Ballinluig, Pitlochry PH9 0LJ 01796 482423, logieraitinn.co.uk Wed–Sat 5–9pm; Sun 12.30–9pm.

Sitting near the junction of the Rivers Tay and Tummel, the Logierait Inn has a long history of watering and feeding local folk since 1710. Today, nods to the past punctuate the décor of cosy coves and open fires with folk-life bric-a-brac and photos of yesteryear’s crofters. The menu promises ‘Good, Honest Food’, listing

GUIDES

simple classics like grilled pork sausages, carbonnade of beef and clootie dumpling.

Mains of Taymouth Courtyard Restaurant Mains of Taymouth, Kenmore PH15 2HN 01887 830763, taymouth.co.uk/restaurant Mon–Sun 9am–9pm.

Housed in a purpose-built complex, alongside a deli and gift shop, and part of the multi-stranded Mains of Taymouth estate, the Courtyard is a popular spot.

Perthshire produce is to the fore, from black pudding and haggis from Comrie butchers to lamb and venison from nearby Glen Lyon. Outdoor tables, close to a kids’ climbing frame, add to the familyfriendly appeal.

Moulin Inn and Brewery Kirkmichael Road, Moulin, Pitlochry PH16 5EW 01796 472196, moulininn.co.uk Mon–Sun noon–9.30pm.

The combination of greenery-filled courtyard, great fireplace and black beams make the picturesque Moulin Inn as well placed for a sunny afternoon as for winter cosiness. The food is well-cooked, hearty pub grub, peppered with tongue-in-cheek names like ‘Scotsman’s Bunnet’ (a giant batter pudding filled with beef) and ‘Vrackie Grostel’ (an Austrian bacon and potato hash harking to nearby Ben Vrackie).

The Watermill Mill Street, Aberfeldy PH15 2BG 01887 822896, aberfeldywatermill.com Mon–Sat 10am–5pm; Sun 11am–5pm.

This bookshop, gallery and café is a buzzing hub of the Aberfeldy community, where patrons of all ages relax at tables and on couches warming themselves with coffee by the glow of a wood fire, or enjoying a basic but very filling lunch of soups, rustic seeded rolls, salads and cakes. Fresh fillings draw on a wide range of flavours – from goat’s cheese with beetroot, honey and lettuce to north Atlantic prawns with citrus mayonnaise.

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Perthshire Food & Drink Events

Food & Drink Events MAY Highland Perthshire Whisky Festival A programme of whisky-related film, theatre and visual arts showing at Aberfeldy’s The Birks Cinema, Birnam Arts and the Pitlochry Festival Theatre, with associated food and drink trails around the local area.

Southern Fried Festival southernfriedfestival.co.uk

This festival of Americana showcases Southern food and music at Perth Concert Hall. The highlight is the Soul Food Brunch, developed with US food historian Dr Peggy Brunache.

Duchally Food & Drink Festival duchally.co.uk

JUNE T in the Park

The hotel’s grounds host a food, drink and crafts market, cooking and falconry demos, an all-day BBQ and bouncy castle.

tinthepark.com

Yes, this festival by Kinross is about music, but they take food seriously too: there’s everything from oysters to falafels and gourmet burgers on offer, and the ‘Healthy T’ arena caters for veggies, vegans and coeliacs.

Open Farm Sunday farmsunday.org

An agricultural doors-open day coordinated by LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming), offering the chance to visit operations including Scotherbs and the James Hutton Institute.

Solas Festival solasfestival.co.uk

A music, arts and creative family festival that attracts activists and thinkers from across the political, cultural and religious spectrum. Held at The Bield, Blackruthven, to the west of Perth, local farmers and producers are the focus of the food on offer.

JULY Scottish Game Fair

SEPTEMBER World Jampionships worldjampionships.com

Based in the berry heartlands between Blairgowrie and Perth, this annual competition sees entries in artisan, amateur, heritage, under-16 and team categories, with the winners crowned at the Dundee Flower and Food Festival.

Scottish Food & Drink Race Day perth-races.co.uk

Part of Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight in September, with game, veg and cheese stalls at the pop-up farmers’ market alongside the afternoon’s racing.

The Great Scottish Braves Harvest Chilli Festival chillifest.net

Brought to Scone Palace by Chilli Fest UK, offering a chilli-eating contest as well as salsa dancing classes (get it?), a hot hot BBQ and a chilli cocktail bar.

NOVEMBER

scottishfair.com

Scone Palace parklands fill with over 300 trade stands along with falconry and terrier racing displays, clay pigeon shooting and fishing competitions. The Food Hall also focuses on Scotland’s game and fish, with demos on the best way to prepare it.

> BEER FESTIVALS

Festival of Chocolate perthcity.co.uk

Scotland’s first outdoor festival devoted to the cocoa bean, centred around a market on King Edward Street in Perth with workshops, tastings, talks and demos.

Perth Beer Festival (perthbeerfestival. co.uk) is the largest in the region. It’s organised in June by Perth Rugby Team, so as well as a long beer list there’s a sevens tournament. Beers are mostly from Scotland, with a few from further south.

In August, it’s the Bankfoot Inn Summer Beer Festival (bankfootinn.co.uk), first held in 2013 when it featured UK beers, including local breweries Inveralmond and Strathbraan.

The Heart of Scotland Beer Festival happens at Perth Racecourse (perthraces.co.uk) in midMay and has a more continental spin, with the Bavarian Package including a stein, race programme and sausage feast.

Crieff Beer Festival (crieffbeerfestival. com) has been held every June since 2009. It’s all for charity, and the list of local and Scottish brews includes Kelburn, Stewart Brewing and the Highland Brewing Co.

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Farmers’ Markets

list.co.uk

GUIDES

ASM MEDIA

Perthshire Farmers’ Markets

> CITTASLOW

Inspired by the Slow Food Movement, Cittaslow began in Greve-in-Chianti, Italy in 1999.

Applying Slow Food ideals of good living to towns and cities, the Cittaslow concept considers criteria such as environment, infrastructure, quality of urban fabric, the encouragement of local produce and products, hospitality and community.

Perth is Scotland’s first Cittaslow city and was awarded the status in 2007.

The story of the rebirth of farmers’ markets in Scotland is told elsewhere in this guide (see page 8), and monthly gatherings of food, plant, craft and information stalls are now an integral part of community life in various towns across Perthshire. The busiest and most popular market takes place in Perth, featuring stalls from around 40 small producers from Perthshire, Angus, Fife and Stirling. Typically, the other markets are smaller with between six and 20 food and drink stalls, mostly drawn from the district immediately surrounding the area.

Perth Farmers’ Market

Logierait Country Market

King Edward Street/St John’s Place, Perth

Mill of Logierait Farm

First Saturday of the month (not Jan), 9am–2pm perthfarmersmarket.co.uk, @perthfarmersmkt

Third Saturday of the month (Mar–Oct), 10am–2pm highlandlightrailway.co.uk

Coupar Angus Community Market

Aberfeldy Market

The Cross, Coupar Angus

The Square, Aberfeldy

Third Saturday of the month (Apr–Nov), 10am–2pm facebook.com/CouparAngusFoodFocus

First Sunday of the month (May–Oct), 10am–2pm facebook.com/AberfeldyFarmersMarket

Crieff Country Market

Blairgowrie Community Market

James Square, Crieff

Wellmeadow, Blairgowrie

Second Saturday of the month (Apr– Dec), 10am–4pm crieffandstrathearn.co.uk

Fourth Saturday of the month (Apr–Oct), 10am-3pm strathmoreglens.org

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Index

Index Aberfeldy Butchers 31 Aberfeldy Farmfresh 31 Aberfeldy Market 46 Alexa Dunlop 28 Allan’s Chilli Products 20 Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles 38 Ann Davidson Butchers 22, 26 Apron Stage, The 35 Ardeonaig Hotel 41 Atholl Arms Hotel 41 Auld Smiddy Inn, The 41 Ballathie House Hotel 36 Barley Bree Restaurant with Rooms 38 Bean Shop, The 21, 22 Bellfield Organics 20, 28 Birdhouse Bakery 38 Blackford Farm 20, 39 Blair Atholl Watermill 19, 21, 31, 42 Blairgowrie Community Market 46 Blairgowrie Farm Shop 27 Borland Farm 20 Brig Farm Shop 28 Broadslap Fruit 20 Café d’Amour Bistro 42 Café Tabou 33 Cairn Lodge & Hotel, The 38 Cairn o’ Mohr 9, 21, 22 Campbell’s Bakery 29 Cardeans of Meigle 36 Cargill’s Restaurant & Bistro 36 Charlotte Flower Chocolates 18, 21 CittaSlow Perth 46 Cocoa Mountain 39 Corbenic Café Shop 21 Cornerstone Deli 27 Coupar Angus Community Market 46 Crieff Country Market 46 D&D Dairy 19, 21 Dalchonzie Fruit Farm Shop 29 David Comrie & Son 29 Deans at Let’s Eat 33, 41 Deil’s Cauldron 39 Delivino 39 Dorward, MJ 27 Drinkmonger 31 Drovers (butchers) 22 Duchally Country Estate 39, 45 Dunkeld Smoked Salmon 21, 31 Duo 34 East Haugh House Hotel 42 Edradour Distillery 12, 21 Exel Wines 22 Famous Grouse 12, 21

Farmers’ markets 8, 46 Fish in Crieff 29, 37 Fonab Castle Hotel 42 Fortingall Hotel 42 Four Seasons Hotel 40 George Campbell & Sons 22, 27 Gill, JL 29 Glen Lyon Coffees 21 Glendoick Garden Centre 23 Gleneagles Hotel, The 39 Glenlyon Tearoom 42 Glenturret Café, The 39 Gloagburn Farm Shop 10, 23, 33 Good Food Takeaway 43 Gordon & Durward 29 Habitat Café 43 Hansen’s Kitchen 30 Heath, Tony 27 Heather Hills Honey Farm 17, 20 Heaven Scent Coffee Shop 37 Highland Chocolatier 18, 19, 21, 32, 43 Highland Drovers 20, 22 Highland Spring 14, 21 Hilton Wild Boar 20 House of Bruar 31, 43 House of Menzies 32, 43 Howies Bistro 43 Hubertus Game 21, 27 Hugh Grierson Organic 20, 30 Hunters of Kinross 28 Huntingtower Hotel 33 Iain Burnett The Highland Chocolatier 18, 19, 21, 32, 43 inDulge 40 Inn on the Tay 43 Inveralmond Brewery 21, 23 Irvine, HW 27 James Hutton Institute 6, 45 Jamesfield Farm Shop 7, 30 Jim Fairlie @ Logiealmond 8, 20 Kenmore Bakery 21 Kenmore Hotel 44 Kennedy, D & A 27 Kerachers Restaurant 33 Killiecrankie Hotel 44 Kinloch House Hotel 36 Kirklands Hotel, The 37 Kitchen Garden Delights 20 Kitchin, Tom 39 Laird’s House Restaurant, The 36 Lands of Loyal Hotel 36 Let’s Cook Scotland cook school 33 Lindsay, DG & Son 23 Little’s Restaurant 16, 29, 37 Loch Leven’s Larder 11, 28, 38 Loch Leven’s Larder at McEwens 34 Lochend Farm Shop 28

Logierait Country Market 46 Logierait Inn, The 44 Lounge in Crieff 40 Lovsushi 15 MacDonald Brothers 32 Mains of Taymouth Courtyard Restaurant 44 Mains of Taymouth Delicatessen 32 McCallums of Auchterarder 30 McDonalds Cheese Shop 27 McNee’s of Crieff 30 Meall Reahmar 40 Meikleour Arms, The 37 Moulin Brewery 21 Moulin Inn 21, 44 Mr. C’s Hand-Crafted Pies 13, 21 Murrayshall House Hotel 34 Myreside Organics 20 No 1 The Bank Bistro 34 North Port Restaurant, The 34 Opus One 34 Perth Farmers’ Market 46 Perth Food and Drink Park 11 Perthshire Oatcakes 21 Pig’halle Restaurant 34 Provender Brown 26 Rainbow Organic Chocolate 21 Rannoch Bakery 21 Rannoch Smokery 21 Reid’s Café 35 Robertsons of Pitlochry 32 Roost Restaurant, The 37, 40 Royal Hotel, The (Comrie) 40 Scarletts Scotland 17, 20 Scotherbs 7, 15, 20, 41, 45 Scottish Crannog Centre 9 Scottish Deli, The 32 Scottish Liqueur Centre 21 Seriously Good Venison 20 Simon Howie Butchers 26, 30 63 Tay Street 31, 35 Stewart Tower Dairy 21, 27, 37 Strathardle Inn, The 37 Strathbraan Brewery 21 Strathearn Distillery 12, 21 Strawberry Shop, The 27 Summer Harvest 7, 20, 33 Syruplicious 20 Tay Salmon Fisheries Company 12, 21 Tormaukin Hotel 41 Tower Bakery 26 Tower Gastro Pub, The 41 Wagyu 15, 39 Watermill, The 44 Wee Pie Company, The 13, 21, 26 Wicked Chocolate 21, 26 Yann’s at Glenearn House 40, 41 The Perthshire Larder 47

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Name section

Larder Perthshire

list.co.uk

GUIDES

THE GUIDE TO THE FOOD & DRINK OF PERTHSHIRE

At the geographical centre of Scotland and at the heart of Scotland’s food and drink scene, Perthshire is a region with plenty in its larder. Berries, beef and whisky may be the headliners, but around the region’s straths and glens, market towns, villages and attractive countryside, you’ll find artisan bakers, beekeepers, market gardeners, brewers, winemakers, chocolatiers and smokehouses. From the city of Perth and along the banks of the rivers Earn and Tay, from the shores of Loch Leven to the dramatic Highland scenery, you can discover farm shops, delis, roadside stalls and markets. There is also a wide range of places to eat out from world-class restaurants to friendly cafés, all putting local produce firmly, and proudly, on the menu.

This inspiring and practical guide to the food and drink of Perthshire includes: ■ The stories behind the region’s great produce ■ Detailed listings of the best food shops, markets, producers and events ■ Profiles of the people growing, making and selling Perthshire’s food and drink ■ Leading chefs highlighting the local produce and suppliers that inspire them ■ Independent reviews of the best places to eat out

the

Larder THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FOOD AND DRINK

Part of The Larder series of food and drink guides

Fife Larder

/DUGHU

SECOND EDITION

GUIDES

DE TO ANGUS’ FOOD & DRINK

THE GUIDE TO FIFE’S FOOD & DRINK

Larder Aberdeenshire

SECOND EDITION GUIDES

THE GUIDE TO THE FOOD & DRINK OF ABERDEENSHIRE

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