The foodie Tour

The Foodie Tour: 10 of the best from MARMALADe DeLi

Standing out on Argyll Street, with its eye-catching orange sign, Lochghilphead’s Marmalade Deli is a showcase for quality local produce, celebrating food that is fresh, healthy and often home-made. In this issue, owner Jennifer Jaime joins Holiday West Highland for a Food Special, picking ten local favourites from the items that she stocks.

“First and foremost, we’re an ethical deli,” says Jennifer. “Health and the planet are considered with everything we stock - even the treats don’t have anything artificial in them.”

“It’s getting ever more important that we’re conscious about what we buy and how we spend our money. The items that I’ve chosen here are produced close by, many by people we know - so we learn about how they are produced, as well as knowing that they taste great.”

“My favourites include the salt infusions from Annie’s kitchen -- I use them for cooking and they’re amazing -- and Wooleys Oatcakes, which are my go-to oatcakes. Wake the Bishop Coffee from Kilmartin Castle is a blend of Guatemalan and Brazilian beans, and the perfect intensity to start the day.”

Marmaladedeli.com

Annie’S HeRb KiTCHen

Natural salt and hand-picked herbs are the core ingredients for the beautifully-seasoned salts and fruit herbal loose teas produced by Petra of Annie’s Kitchen. Using herbalist’s skills passed down from her grandmother, she offers customers new flavours and new ways to season their dishes.

The Lochgilphead-based family business began when Petra was making Rosemary Salt at home - and her daughter suggested that they should make some for other people. Annie’s Herb Kitchen prides itself on its low-temperature drying process, which ensures the best preservation of flavours. anniesherbkitchen.co.uk

Wee iSLe DAiRy

From their dairy farm on the beautiful Isle of Gigha, sibling team Emma and Mark milk around 60 mostly-friesian cows to produce an exceptional, rich whole milk, which is pasteurised and bottled on the island and sold in glass bottles across the region.

Their creamy milk is the key ingredient in Wee Isle’s popular artisan ice cream, which is available in a range of flavours, from classics like vanilla and strawberry, to original combinations including cinnamon and mocha stracciatella - and now with dessert sauces too.

Facebook.com/WeeIsleDairy

CHRySTAL’S SHORTbReAD

Chystal’s Shortbread is produced in a small, independent bakery near Loch Lomond, run by husband and wife Chrystal and Rory MacKinlay, who started their own business after years of baking for family and friends.

Their crumbly all-butter shortbread is made to a recipe passed down from mother to daughter through generations of a farming family and uses high quality ingredients with no artificial additives or preservatives. Each tray of shortbread is hand-cut and scored, retaining the traditional rustic look. www.chrystalsshortbread.co.uk/

SHeeSe

Produced in an animal-free factory on the Isle of Bute, Sheese is a range of award-winning cheese alternatives that are certified vegan, and most are Kosher too. Ideal for those on gluten, dairy or lactose-free diets, Sheese products include Red-Leicester-style, Gouda-style, Edam-style and a selection of cheddars, as well as sliced or grated Sheese and creamy Sheese spread. For those new to using Sheese in their cooking, the company’s website includes some mouth-watering recipes, including a blue sheese dressing and cheesy vegan shepherd’s pie. www.buteisland.com

GReAT GLen CHARCuTeRie

Great Glen specialise in producing charcuterie using only wild, Scottish venison, sustainably sourced from wild, well-managed herds. The fifteen-year-old family business is run by Jan Jacob and Anja Baak from Roy Bridge in the Highlands, where they produce chorizos, pepperonis, salamis and more - some of which have appeared on the menus of Britain’s top chefs.

A documentary film ‘From Estate to Plate’ on the company’s website, offers a fascinating insight into the story of their food. www.greatglencharcuterie.com

HOWGATe CHeeSeS

Founded in Howgate near Edinburgh, Howgate Cheese is now produced by the Inverloch Cheese Company, based at the former Scottish Milk creamery near Campbeltown, where it is made using creamy milk from the resident Ayrshire cows.

Howgate Brie and the recently-launched Howgate Kintyre Blue are artisan cheeses, crafted with pasteurised milk using traditional methods. https://www.scotcheese.com/product-category/ howgate/

WOOLeyS Of ARRAn OATCAKeS

Wooley’s bakery has been serving breads and baked treats to customers on the Isle of Arran since the middle of the nineteenth century and started to make oatcakes as a means to keep staff busy during the winter months. Now their flagship product, Wooley’s Oatcakes are popular around the world, celebrated for their thick crunchy base, which is a perfect accompaniment to cheese. Wooley’s also produce a range of oat-based biscuits. https://www.wooleys.co.uk

ARRAn CHeeSeS

Arran Cheeses’ dairy and shop sit on the footprint of what was once the dairy for the farm that supplied the Dukes of Brodick Castle. A new business began there 20 years ago, and has grown to supply its distinctive range of cheeses to customers well beyond the windswept island. The company’s attractively packaged wax-encased cheeses include the popular plain cheddar, and oak smoked, chilli and even Arran mustard flavoured options too. https://arranscheeseshop.co.uk/

WAKe THe biSHOP COffee

Produced in Kilmartin Glen in Argyll, Wake the Bishop coffee is a small batch coffee blend developed by Stef and Simon, the owners of the 16th century Kilmartin Castle, to serve to their guests. Sold in eye-catching packets, the coffee (master blended by Dear Green of Glasgow) has taste notes of chocolate, caramel, apricot and praline.

It is named after Bishop Carswell, who was the first keeper of Kilmartin Castle in 1550 and was reputed to be 7 feet tall. kilmartincastle.com

iSLAnD bAKeRy

Produced near Tobermory on the Isle of Mull, Island Bakery’s indulgent organic biscuits have become one of the island’s best-known exports. Their range, which includes shortbreads, lemon melts and apple and oat crumbles, is made using organic ingredients and local sources of renewable energy. TV presenter Susan Calman recently visited the bakery and had a go at making biscuits for a Channel 5 show. https://www.islandbakery.scot/