Food World News

Recently...


 From sea to plate: fresh oysters from The Grain Store
My most memorable meal has to have been at The Grain Store on Victoria Street.  A friend of mine billed this restaurant as 'the best kept secret in Edinburgh' and I would have to agree.  

A two course lunch at this well-established restaurant is amazing value at just £12.50 and truly is modern Scottish cooking and hospitality at it's finest.  Even J.K Rowling herself paid a visit recently.


I  enjoyed a superb dinner at Purslane towards the end of September and found the food and service just as good as my previous visit (see previous review), with a great rabbit dish being a particular highlight.

This for me is still of the best value restaurants in the city and it's great to see the restaurant go from strength to strength. 



On The Menu...

I'm off to Barcelona next week to sample the culinary delights of the city.  I'm particularly looking forward to visiting Formatgeria La Seu, a Spanish cheesemongers run by Kirkcaldy-born Katherine McLaughlin.  It comes recommended to me by Mr. Iain Mellis himself so i look forward to sampling some of Spain's finest cheeses and picking Katherine's brain on all things cheese.

I'm having dinner at Restaurant Number One at The Balmoral hotel towards the end of the month and having seen a lot of chef Billy Boyter's dishes via his Instagram, can't wait to actually get stuck into some actual grub!


In Other News...


Matteo Ascheri is hosting a wine tasting dinner at Field on October 30th.  The four course menu designed by the Field team will pair up with wines from his cellars in Italy with tickets priced at £47.50.

I caught up with Rachel from Field who told me a little about the event:

'Matteo will be speaking about his wines, while the kitchen will be cooking food to match. Richard (head chef) and i both really enjoy wine tasting dinners and think Field will be a great place to host one of our own because of the restaurants small and intimate surroundings.

'Hopefully It'll be the first of many!'




The Wine Gang are back in November at the Assembly Rooms after a sell out appearance last year.  Tickets to this fantastic event are priced at £20 or, for a limited time only, £12 from here http://www.wineganglive.com/edinburgh.php (see code).

Tickets include tastings of over 300 wines priced from £6-£300 and a Wine Walk with one
of the gang.  For more info click on the link above.

Mark from the artisan cheese producing Cooleney farm will be making an appearance at I.J Mellis shops across Edinburgh next Friday and Saturday (18th and 19th).

He will be hosting a free tasting and answering questions on this excelllent camembert/brie style Irish cheese.  You can catch him at the Morningside branch on Friday morning, the flagship branch on Victoria Street that afternoon and in Stockbridge on the Saturday.  


I've been doing a lot of cooking from this amazing garlic from Cadours in France.  Widely regarded as the finest garlic in France, this garlic will keep up until January.

I've made a delicious garlic oil, confit garlic, honey roast garlic and garlic soup to name but a few and the quality is second to none.  It's available from I.J Mellis on Victoria Street while stocks last.








Comments