A Highland adventure

Lessons in hospitality, seafood and the KitKat conundrum

As life and events overtook the last few weeks, I’ve been delayed in sharing my Highland adventure. Namely, my trip to Scotland for a spot of talking, book promo and filming famous cultural mash ups. It was all incredible, albeit quite the whirlwind, but here are the highlights of what I did and learnt.

It takes a village.

This trip was the brainchild of my dearest friend and former colleague, Nicki Sturzaker, who roped in Fiona Richmond from Scottish Food & Drink, who made it her personal mission to get me up there. Food writer, presenter and chef Sarah Rankin was also instrumental throughout.

A full appreciation post to conclude six months of my book launch, along with a few learnings for you, will follow next.

First up, a Royal affair

It will come as no surprise to you to hear that I am no Royalist. But, in a case of giving the devil his due, I was really quite bowled over by the work of The King’s Foundation, His Majesty’s nature and sustainability charity. It’s headquartered at Dumfries House in Auchinleck, about an hour from Glasgow. Fiona suggested me as keynote speaker at their hospitality careers fair this year, so off I went. Last year they had Raymond Blanc, so no pressure there.

The house is a magnificent 18th-century mansion that was rescued by the King when its furniture was en route to auction. It had failed to find a buyer at an asking price of £45 million, a white elephant in an area of deprivation. It has since been sensitively restored and is home to the world’s second-largest collection of original Thomas Chippendale furniture, alongside an astounding art collection.

Set within some 2,000 acres, a tour of the grounds followed, where I learnt more about the Foundation’s eight learning and development workstreams for young people, including STEM, hospitality, rural education and textiles. Children come from across Scotland and beyond who would often not have the chance to experience these potential career options.

Livia Alexander, Hospitality Education Manager, took me on a tour of the organic growing garden, farm, classrooms, cookery school and teaching barns, where I birthed a fake lamb slathered in lubricant. My life keeps getting weirder, and I’m not complaining.

I stayed in what was once the farmer’s house, now a quaint bed and breakfast where I was treated like royalty. My room was a vision in tartan and flocked wallpaper. I couldn’t resist ordering haggis croquettes to start, followed by cottage pie made with estate beef. Needless to say, I could barely touch the local cheese platter that followed for sharing. I even had my first taste of smoked salmon in months for breakfast the next day, on the basis that the King cares too much about nature and animal welfare to serve anything but the highest quality.

I loved watching families enjoying the many playgrounds and attractions across the estate, and I’d definitely recommend a visit if you’re nearby.

Careers in hospitality

My reason for being there was to inspire a room full of 150-odd 13 to 15-year-olds to embrace careers in hospitality. It felt like the right time, with the industry calling for a VAT cut amid some of its toughest times, while London Climate Action Week unfolded down south.

I told them hospitality is all about welcoming people and making them feel comfortable. It touches more of our lives than we realise – including the football stadiums gripping the nation right now. But it doesn’t stop on site. Hospitality offers the chance to make a huge difference to people, communities, nature and the planet (hello artisan crafts, local and sustainable produce, waste reduction and circularity).

One of the things I’ve struggled with is my place in hospitality. I’m no chef and have never run my own hospitality venture. But I have been an adviser and educator in the sector for years. There are so many ways to build a career in hospitality. I named names and organisations, including Pam Brunton, Julie Lin, Dishoom, Hackney School of Food and Borough Market. In fact, the strategy being implemented at Borough Market right now was drafted by me.

I know from my own two teens at home that this can be a tricky crowd, but they were so engaged and asked some punchy questions (no, I haven’t tried East Ayrshire potatoes yet... eek). I even signed an autograph for a teenager whose mum follows my work, which was a career first.

It might also be worth checking out Yarrow, whose founder was a panellist at the event. It’s an award-winning, fossil fuel-free cookery school.

The cookbook shop

Back in Edinburgh, I had a sold-out book event at the shiny new Cookbook Shop, a beautifully curated basement of food-loving curiosities. The conversation, steered masterfully by Sarah Rankin, flowed so naturally that we had to pause to check the time before opening up to a lively round of questions. There were some uncomfortable moments too – including when we talked about Scottish salmon. That is, the kind most people eat in the UK.

A cookbook shop is exactly where I’d hoped to find myself with my book about what shapes what we eat and drink, and why it matters. If you’re in Edinburgh, please do pay them a visit and say hello to Liz and Martin for me. The eggy earrings they gifted me are making quite the impression whenever I wear them!

What’s cooking?

Sarah and I lost no time hitting the kitchen at my friend’s place to cook two popular Scottish dishes inspired by Indian cuisine.

First up, haggis pakoras. Haggis is a traditional Scottish ingredient made from sheep’s offal – a fine example of nose-to-tail eating. Add Scotland’s love of Indian food into the mix and you get haggis pakoras. Like Indo-Chinese food, it’s a brilliant example of cultural appreciation and food fusion.

They were utterly divine, and I fried the rest for my friends. You can grab the recipe and watch Sarah in action here. No Scotland, no party, as they say, so you might want to save, share and enjoy with your friends.

We also made kedgeree. The first recorded recipe for the dish in the UK was written by Stephana Malcolm from Dumfriesshire in 1790. Her brother travelled to India with the East India Company and rose up the ranks, with recipes for his favourite dishes finding their way into her notebook. I wrote about it in the National Geographic.

Sarah cooked the rice in chicken stock, which initially threw me, but I can vouch for the deeper flavour it gave the dish, perfectly matched with the undyed smoked haddock she’d sourced from her local fishmonger.

She also used pullet eggs – the smaller eggs laid by younger hens that often don’t meet supermarket size requirements. They were rich in flavour and looked beautiful on the plate. Sarah pays incredible attention to her ingredients, never cutting corners in pursuit of quality. She also very generously catered the bookshop event. Look up her supper clubs. I’d love to attend one the next time I’m in Scotland.

A better way with seafood

I took a closer interest in seafood in Scotland, as I was fresh from exploring the bounty of our coastlines. I enjoyed a press lunch at Faber in Hammersmith with Jenny Jefferies, author of Islands in the Common Sea and founder of the #Fish24 campaign.

One of the first things Jenny said to me when she agreed to contribute to my book was that Britain is an island nation. Yet, this often gets overlooked in conversations about food production and the future of food.

Despite being surrounded by water, our fish-eating habits are often out of kilter with healthy seas and marine life. We tend to favour a handful of familiar species while overlooking the many local, seasonal and abundant fish available around our shores.

If provenance, seasonality and sustainability feel overwhelming, don’t overcomplicate it. Start by talking to your fishmonger, asking questions and choosing restaurants that genuinely care about where their seafood comes from.

That’s what impressed me about Faber. The team work closely with fishermen and source with real care. We enjoyed Maldon oysters with kumquat and curry leaf, trout tartare with samphire reduction, spring mackerel from Cornish day boats, and squid with an umami-rich British fava bean glaze. The attention to provenance extended beyond the fish too, from Coombeshead Farm bread to English wines and a memorable ricotta ice cream featuring single-hive black bee honey.

If you’d like to explore the topic further, I highly recommend Lulu Grimes’ Substack interview with Faber founder Anthony Pender. Anthony and I were both speakers at a hospitality sustainability conference called Planet Peach, where we had a chance to chat, and I can vouch for his pragmatism and passion. The meal also felt like excellent value, and I’ve been telling all my friends to go.

In other news

The hot news of Groundswell was that Wildfarmed, arguably the most prominent regenerative farming product on our high streets, was going to provide wheat for Kit Kat bars by Nestle. This has unsurprisingly gone down like a lead balloon filled with things you wouldn’t want to eat.

Nestle is investing heavily in reducing its environmental impact. Of course it would. Destroying the soil and nature your raw materials depend on is common sense strategically. But it is also the purveyor of less that healthy products, crammed full of UPFs and infamous for less than acceptable practices over the years.

I see both sides here. Regenerative agriculture is difficult to define, but it shouldn’t be used as greenwashing or virtue signalling. I'd rather it wasn't contributing more than necessary to climate and nature loss. I can't remember the last time I ate one, just to be clear.

If you'd like to explore the debate, you might want to read the press release, this excellent piece by Stuart Gillespie and Jenny’s letter in Farmer’s Weekly. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

That’s all from me this week. Thank you for being here reading, caring and sharing.