If you’re looking for somewhere different for early evening drinks and food then it would be worth considering Fire Station Creative in Dunfermline. From Friday 4 March FSC will open on Friday evenings until 9pm and the bar will be selling wines, beers and a few select cocktails. Customers can also buy meat, fish and cheese sharing platters by chef Stuart Hazel.
Auchtermuchty Cake Company specialises in hand-made cakes, puddings and pastries made from gluten free flour blends which taste as great as traditional home-made baking. The company is launching an online shopping facility soon but meanwhile the team are regularly at Edinburgh, Stockbridge and St Andrews Farmers’ Markets, their Creole Fruitcake is available at Selfridges and you can order other products from the range from Yumbles and Freshfoodexpress.co.uk. To buy from Auchtermuchty Cake Company directly, send a
Three years ago photographer Caroline Trotter was driving past fish sheds in St Andrews and saw local fisherman Jim Buttercase (above) sitting amongst the nets. She persuaded him to have his portrait taken and that was how Caroline’s series of portraits of Fife fisherman began. While Caroline was taking the pictures, her husband, the chef Christopher Trotter chatted to the fisherman about their favourite fish dishes providing inspiration for his
Paul Gunning, chef and owner of Purslane in St Stephen Street, Edinburgh has just completed a redesign of his Stockbridge restaurant. After four years of building up the clientele and a reputation for the food Paul decided the interior of the small intimate space needed a refresh. Together with Rebecca McClement, an interior design graduate from Heriot Watt University they created a cleaner look with the help of local joinery
Leakey’s Bookshop on Church Street in Inverness looks like it might be worth a visit. Housed in an old Gaelic church dating back to 1793, the second-hand book shop has a log burning stove and a cafe.
Here is the latest recipe from Elaine Hardie at the Fyfe Smokery and fish shop in Bruce Street, Dunfermline. “This lovely salmon recipe has gone down really well with our customers, as it is colourful, healthy and easy to prepare. Everyone is looking to improve their health and well-being in January, and oily fish such as salmon, trout and char are excellent for the immune system and even emotional well being
Corbie and Cheip, the deli in Auchterarder, which opened on the 16th of September, has now opened as a wine bar and enotheque in the evenings from Wednesday to Sunday. Wine with charcuterie and cheese platters are available 5pm till 10pm. If you’re there during the day, you might spot Andrew Fairlie, the well-known chef from Gleneagles Hotel, who pops into the deli once or twice a week.
Instead of buying a ready-made hamper for someone for this Christmas, you could make up your own hamper with foods from Fife. Ardross Farm Shop, near Elie in Fife is a nice place to visit anyway, and their home-made steak pie would be great for a New Year’s Day dinner, or a ham on the bone from Puddledub Pork in Auchtertool (£42) would go down well on Boxing Day. Balance
Now here’s a challenge. Is it possible to buy all your Christmas presents locally? Many people might try to buy local the rest of the year but probably assume it can’t be done at Christmas. In Fife, like many parts of the country, there are interesting shops, food and drink producers, artists, designers and makers that can help you with your Christmas list. Over the next couple of weeks Avocado
Eden Mill distillery and brewery has signed a Chinese distribution deal that means their Fife gins will be sold in bars and hotels throughout China. The company, which is based just outside St Andrews, already has some experience of the Chinese market after launching their craft beer business there two years ago. All five gins are part of the export drive; oak, hop, love, original and golf and Eden Mill