Young local talent is breathing new life into the Isle of Skye’s food scene | Isle of Skye Holidays
WWith its dramatic rugged mountain skyline, winding roads and ever-changing weather, the Isle of Skye has long attracted wildlife lovers. However, over the past decade, the largest island in the Inner Hebrides has been attracting visitors for other reasons – its dynamic food and drink scene. Leading the way are young people Sgithanach (People from Skye) have a global outlook but are committed to sustainable, local ingredients. It is also the result of an engaged community keen to create good year-round jobs that keep young people on the island.
Calum Montgomery is born and bred in Skye, and is excited to feature the island pantry on his menus at Edinbane Inn. “If someone comes to Skye, I want them to appreciate the scenery, but also the quality of our products,” he says. “Our mussels, lobster, scallops and crab are unparalleled.” “Using the same products as my ancestors means everything to me,” Montgomery recalls. “My grandfather was a lobster fisherman and we enjoy oysters from the same water area, with the same respect for the ingredients.”
Montgomery’s “A Taste of Skye” lists the distances his products have traveled. I eat plump scallops hand-dived at Loch Greyshornnch (0 miles), and lobster caught from Portree (12 miles) with vegetables, foraged herbs and edible flowers from the kitchen garden and seaside (0 miles). This connection to producers and producers is key. “Last week, I took a young chef with a scallop diver so he could learn what they do. We’d take the scallops right out of the water and eat them raw with a squeeze of lemon. He said, ‘This is the best scallop I’ve ever eaten.’ This is what we want to bring to the restaurant.”
Driving south, in the shadow of the mighty Cuilin Mountains, I met another Skye culinary ambassador, Claire Coghill, V.I Quill Cafe. This year, Coghill represented Scotland at Tartan Week in New York, serving up lobster rolls with whiskey butter and haggis quesadillas from a food truck in Manhattan. She initially launched Cùil Café in Hackney, London. Returning to Skye during the pandemic, a series of pop-ups proved there was a market here too.
“I’m really proud to be opening a restaurant in London, but I couldn’t do what I can do here,” Coghill told me over matcha macheri (topped with dried macheri flowers) and delicious orange-cured trout. “Sourcing the freshest ingredients was a huge task, but here the scallops come straight from the sea to my door. And the krill fisherman only speaks to me in Gaelic.” Her love of Skye’s produce, people and landscape is evident through her colorful and creative dishes, all infused with local flavours, with a touch of Gaelic. “My connection to Gaelic culture and language is very important,” she says. Visitors can use the little lesson cards on the tables to learn a few words while eating.
Skye’s most established dining destinations don’t rest on their laurels. Kinloch Inna boutique hotel run by Isabella Macdonald in her family’s ancestral home, has long been a destination for foodies. Isabella’s mother, Clare, Mrs MacDonald OBE, writes much-loved books about Scottish cooking.
The kitchen continues to innovate, with a young, dynamic team led by Head Chef David Cameron. When they’re not in the kitchen, the chefs grow herbs and spices in the hotel’s greenhouse, forage for wild greens in the gardens and seaweeds such as starfish and scurvy from the shore of Loch na Dal. In the fall they follow deer trails to find mushrooms in the forest.
I feast on sky scallops, pak choi and peanuts in delicious dashi; Shetland cod with Scottish asparagus and house-smoked lobster. Mitchell Partridge’s Gail Kinloch takes guests out for activities including foraging and fishing. “There is a huge appetite for experiences from our guests,” MacDonald says. “People want to come and really get to know the island and the landscape.”
The whiskey industry also helps keep young people in Skye, with jobs that last beyond the peak tourist months. Dougie Stewart, Director of Operations at Turabhaig Distillery“Fish farming was a big source of employment in the past, but now most jobs are automated. House prices have risen dramatically, and it’s becoming harder for young people to survive. The whiskey industry has become a really important employer,” Lee says.
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“Distillery wanted, no experience necessary,” was the notice 21-year-old Iona Fraser spotted in her local newspaper, which led to her landing a job at Turabhaig. “I just gambled, I never thought I would get a production job, but it was a dream of mine,” she says. Fraser was interested in whisky, but had no relevant qualifications. “Being able to train on-site and learn online was great.” Today she is a distiller, helps train new distillers, and has recently created her own whiskey using chocolate malt, which is matured in casks when I visit. At other distilleries, this is an honor usually reserved for retired distillers. The visitor center and café employ many people from all over the Slate Peninsula. “We’re integrated into the community because we brought the community here,” says Anne O’Lon, tour guide director.
To pick up supplies for my trip home I stopped by Bircha coffee roaster and specialty bakery serving up bright pastries and colorful lunch dishes. It is owned by Niall Munro, who also founded the highly successful company Sky Live Music festival. His brother Callum Munro is the chef-owner of a fine dining restaurant Scorebreak In Portree, it’s somewhere I’m desperate to try, but unfortunately we’ve run out of mealtimes. More local success stories and great food.
“We are all deeply rooted in Skye,” says Callum Montgomery. “A lot of us left and worked elsewhere. We were seeing the produce we knew arriving miles from where it landed, and it wasn’t as good as what we grew up eating. I’m very proud of the whole place now.”
During the trip across Skye, I was constantly asked where I had been and where I was going to eat next. It is a true testament to this food community that everyone is keen to support other businesses on the island. It is cooperative, not competitive, and quality? Sky high.
Accommodation was provided by Pearl Hotels. Luxury pods in Hide fern In Portree From £145 B&BDouble rooms in the Marmalade Hotel From £125 bed and breakfast