Feast of Fife: Day 1 PM - Kingdom of Fife tasting dinner

For the second part of day one on the Feast of Fife bloggers conference we were whisked away to The Newport Restaurant for a real taste of the Fife larder. Based on the banks of the River Tay the restaurant, which boasts two floors seating 60 covers comfortably, offers some of the most stunning, panoramic views in the area.

On arrival, we stepped into the restaurant reception, which is home to a beautiful open gallery with unique paintings hanging on every wall. Hosting a drinks reception, both Eden Mill and Kingsbarns Distillery produced delicious welcome drinks for all of the guests to enjoy. Not the greatest of whisky fans, I turned to Eden Mill which had created a tasty gin-based cocktail with their new Golf Gin 2016. It was spot on, and yes, I had far too many of them.

Turning our heads to dinner, we were then invited to the bottom floor of the restaurant which boasted an outdoor demonstration area. Head chef and Masterchef professionals winner 2014, Jamie Scott, organised a pre-dinner cookery demonstration, showcasing two of the dishes which were on our Kingdom of Fife tasting dinner menu. 

As he cooked away, he educated us on the incredible offering the restaurant has on its doorstep, from wild seaweeds and beach plants, to berries and leaves further in-land, and told us about the local foragers who collect some of the most unusual ingredients for him and his team to get creative with in the kitchen. I loved the idea of using nature so close to home in the kitchen, and as much as I would really enjoy cooking with foraged ingredients, it's extremely important you know exactly what you're foraging as many things which look safe, can actually be very toxic and poisonous - good thing I was going foraging the next day and could pick up some top tips.

Moving upstairs for dinner we got a glimpse of the menu for the first time. Intrigued as to how these dishes would taste, I can honestly say Jamie and his team did not disappoint. The favourite dish of the evening seemed to be the salad, which is incredibly unusual, however speaks margins for the standard of food which was produced. The meat was cooked perfectly, and the homemade bread melted in your mouth. A delicate, delicious meal at that.

Course one consisted of numerous canapés including an Anster cheese goujere, Puddledub pork bau - which was unbelievably juicy, buckwheat, flowers and curds, and a St Monans crab rarebit - this was also delightful.

The second was a light, Autumnal Salad featuring a selection of the seasons offerings, including fresh locally foraged produce - my favourite dish of the evening, and for someone who usually never orders salads, this was unexpected.

Course three was Pittenweem mackerel with Pittormie tomatoes, oyster and basil. This dish was also very refreshing and light.

The fourth course was Starr farm beef featuring a lovely piece of smoked shoulder, short rib, which was cooked rare, my personal preference would have been medium rare, but the rib was beautiful and soft, served with a selection of alliums - flowering onions, garlic, shallots and many other types of plants including chives and leek too, just in case you didn't know...

And finally, course five was Newport plums and popcorn panna cotta with white chocolate and a liquorice sauce. Probably my least favourtie dish due to my undying hatred for black liquorice, but nonetheless the plate was almost clean - I love dessert and minus the liquorice, this would have been one of my top dishes.

Overall the menu was absolutely incredible. Jamie and his team went up and beyond to ensure every dish was served with the utmost of perfection, be that both in taste and in presentation. His passion for the local larder oozes throughout the menu and his dedication to the food and drink industry is very admirable. With his outstanding palette and attention to detail, Jamie brings a fresh outlook on food and drink to Newport and works hand in hand with local producers to create some of the best dishes Fife possesses. A huge thanks to Jamie, his team, and the staff at Fife Tourism and Fife Council for organising this fantastic event.

Big shout out to my fellow Aberdeen bloggers Lesley and Michelle from Lost in Food who were also on the trip, these fabulous ladies had both Sarah and I in tears of laughter throughout the meal.

  For Now...

Just Julia

Feast of Fife: Day 1 (AM)

Last weekend was a weekend full of many firsts. Not only was it my first trip to St Andrews,  and my first blogger experience working with a council, it was my first experience of the outstanding larder Fife has to offer.

Working alongside Fife Council - Welcome to Fife, I was lucky enough to bag myself a spot on their very first two-day food and drink conference event which was packed full of foodie fun. Hosting bloggers from across Scotland and Northern Ireland, the guys at Fife Tourism Partnership had organised one hell of a weekend for us to get stuck into. Obviously I wasn't going to leave my blogging bestie behind, so I invited Sarah from Blogs, Vlogs, Etc along for the trip - after all I wasn't going to caraoke all the way down to St Andrews on my own was I!?

Arriving at her grandparents house (which used to be popular, jam packed B&B in St Andrews) I was already excited about this weekend, and I'd only just seen my room - which in case you were wondering was absolutely gorgeous, with on suite and all!

Heading to Eden Mansion, we strolled around the grounds for a bit and headed inside to meet the other bloggers. Grabbing a cuppa and eyeing up the chocolates on our tables, we caught up with the like-minded foodies discussing all things blogging and Scottish food and drink. Of course my go-to conversation was focused around gin, and a wee mention of all the Aberdonian gins left everyone with gin for thought.

Moving into a gorgeous dining room, we were welcomed by the Fife Tourism team and Fife Food Ambassador Christopher Trotter, who updated us on the outstanding larder Fife possesses. The most interactive part of the conference was without a doubt William Curley's chocolate tasting. William, who is a Patissier Chocolatier, and who's chocolates are also stocked in Harrods, talked us through his passion for chocolate, taking us on a journey of his childhood and how he decided on the chocolates he has in his range today.

My favourite chocolate without a doubt had to be William's Sea Salt Caramel Mou - delicious salted caramel which just melted in your mouth. Other flavours included Jaffa Cake, Bounty, Piedmont Hazelnut, Millionaire Shortbread, Juniper and Cassis, and a Japanese Black Vinegar flavour, some very interesting and complex pairings to say the least. William also told us about his experience with seaweed and chocolate - to say it was rather fishy is an understatement.

Next up was digital-guru, Stephen Whitelaw, who delivered his talk on social media and the digital age at such a pace it was almost hard to keep up with his witty jokes. Some great blogging tips, and we all took something useful away from it.

Following Stephen's whirlwind presentation, we all stepped outside to indulge in some ice cream and sorbet by the infamous Jannettas Gelateria. With flavours including Scottish tablet, berry and pear and other refreshing options, there was something to suit everyone's tastes.

Stepping back inside, Drew and Helen McKenzie-Smith took to the stage. I was delighted to hear of their impressive plans to develop and open a new distillery and visitor centre at Lindores Abbey, the spiritual home of whisky. Seeing what the distillery is expected to look like was extremely exciting, and they have definitely taken the visitor experience into consideration. With Helen's expertise in customer service and marketing, she will be heading up the visitor centre at the distillery, and I truly cannot wait to see how she executes their ambitious plans.

After all of the presentations we were then invited through to another room to indulge in afternoon tea courtesy of Eden Mansion.

The sandwiches served, which were made on a selection of breads from Fisher and Donaldson, included:

• Loch Fyne smoked salmon & dill cream cheese
• Anster cheddar & Arran fruit chutney
• Ham & Pommery mustard mayonnaise
• Free rage egg & cress
• Cucumber & cream cheese

The cakes available included:

• Gaurdbridge plum fool
• Russet apple leaf
• Fig lattice with crème patisserie
• Ginger cake & wild brambles
• White chocolate & raspberry mousse
• Strawberry & spiced banana cake
• Fruit and plain scones with Arran strawberry jam and clotted cream.

After lunch, we then headed back to Sarah's grandparents in St Andrews to re-charge our batteries (quite literally), and got ready for the evening event - dinner at The Newport Restaurant...

You can read all about my Newport experience and Day two of our adventure in my following posts, and trust me, you'll want to check it out just for the pictures themselves.

   For Now...

Just Julia

North Hop Aberdeen: Top 10 tasters

So after recently visiting my very first Brew Dog AGM earlier this month and sampling a number of BrewDog's craft beers, which I surprisingly enjoyed (not a massive beer fan), to say I am excited for North Hop Aberdeen is an understatement. I love gin, cocktails and quirky foodies - I'm a little obsessed with finding some of the best foodies in Scotland - so whenever North Hop is on, I'm there in a flash.

Over the past two years I've been to every festival and have loved them all for different reasons. So when I found out that North Hop was retuning to Aberdeen for a second year I just HAD to check out what exhibitors were going to be there. With a capacity more than three times bigger than last year's festival, I was convinced the offering would have increased, and boy has it done so!

The festival, which takes place this May holiday weekend on Saturday 30 April from 12 noon - 5pm and 7- 12 midnight, and Sunday 1 May from 12 noon - 5pm at the AECC (Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre), is said to welcome around 3,000 people through it's doors. So to keep you guys on your toes, I've decided to pull together my top ten exhibitors you should definitely check out.

1. Crema caravan

The UK's very first Crème Brûlée van will be making its debut to North Hop in Aberdeen. Serving up some delicious Crema Catalana and Crème Brûlée with some of the finest, wackiest toppings you'll ever see, these guys know how to handle the heat and produce fantastic desserts. Served burnt to order, you won't miss them in Florence their retro Renault van!

Photos from Crema Caravan's Facebook page

2. Six°North

With all their beers unfiltered and carbonated naturally through secondary fermentation - they don't filter anything - nope, not their beer, style, brewers or venues for that matter, natures intent is left intact. Born form a passion for Belgian beer these Belgian brewers of Scotland brew their finest beers in the North-east, six degrees North of Brussels - do you like what they did there?

Photos from Six°North website 

3. Porter's Gin

Aberdeen's first gin to be distilled in the city for over 100 years. A premium gin with a traditional bold juniper body, this is a bottle full of ginny delight that you just have to take home to show off to your friends. Located in the cocktail lounge, join the Porter's Gin team for a sample or two and take home some special gin bottled cocktails created specially for North Hop too!

4. Stew n' Drew's

The Willy Wonka's of ice cream, this fantastically talented duo have nailed the creation of quirky ice cream on the head. With their own ice cream shop now open in Hopeman, these guys continue to wow festivalgoers with their wacky ingredients and funky flavours. From whisky ice cream, to cider sorbet, these guys will certainly sort out those sweet cravings. They're stationed in the Cocktail Lounge incase you're wondering...

Photo from Stew n' Drew's Facebook page

5. The Bay on the Road

Yabadabadoo do the infamous The Bay Fish and Chips have a treat for you! Established in 2006, The Bay has been serving up thousands of portions of sustainable Scottish fish and chips filling many happy tums, and winning a ridiculous amount of accolades along the way. 
For the first time ever, The Bay on the Road will be fishing out the best fish and chips, bringing something completely different to the festival's offering. If you haven't tried their insanely tasty fish and chips or homemade tartar sauce yet, then this is a top must try recommendation from me. GET IN MY BELLY!

6. FreshMex

When I saw these guys were attending North Hop I squealed a little. Since launching last year I have been a massive fan of the dishes this fiery dup have been producing. Serving tex-mex style cuisine, the duo behind this successful business have teased the tastebuds of the North-east using locally sourced, fresh ingredients. 
Customised to your liking, these guys are guaranteed to hit the spot. Pair with a craft beer or two.

Photos from FreshMex's Facebook page

7. Thistly Cross Cider

Onto my favourite Scottish cider, Thistly Cross Cider! With flavours like strawberry, ginger, elderflower, whisky and traditional cider, their fresh, tasty and oh-so-delicious ciders are a winner with me. If you're looking for something sweet and not a massive fan of craft beer then, I suggest you try out the strawberry or elderflower flavours, you won't be able to stay away.

Photo from Thistly Cross Cider's Facebook page

8.  Juniper | Gin Festivals and Events

My tipple of choice, the team behind the Juniper Festivals are hitting up the North-east especially for North Hop, showing off their delightful selection of craft gins from all over Scotland. With the opportunity to try an old, traditional flavour, or pursuing something different, there is a whole range of gins to discover in lovingly made cocktails and serves.
Try them neat, with premium mixtures or cocktails, it's up to you.

Photo from Juniper Gin Festival and Events Facebook page

9. Eden Mill

Scotland's first and only distillery/brewery combined. With everything they do small and craft and just a stones throw away from the home of golf, St Andrews, there really is nothing quite like the set up Eden Mill boasts. Beer, whisky or gin, just go try them all.

Photo from Eden Mill's Facebook page

10. Cue Barbecue

Last but not least a smoky affair with a side of serious meat sweats can only mean one thing, Cue Barbecue is attending. If you have a love for the deep South and enjoy Southern US and Latin American styles of barbecue then you're in for a treat. Never sampled them before? Well I can guarantee you'll want to after just smelling the food. 

Would recommend trying out with a craft beer again or a sour gin-based cocktail, be warned, if you're sampling their Angus & Oink sauces the Voodoo Mango sauce is hot, hot, hot. The one to try in my opinion is the BBQ sauce - now that's a winner for me.

With over 30 different exhibitors to chose from, there's something for everyone at North Hop Aberdeen. Whether you love traditional fish and chips, or are looking for the next big thing on the gin scene, or maybe you're looking to sample some of Scotland's finest craft beers, or put your tastebuds to the test with experimental ice cream, everyone will be catered for at the festival. Just try it all, you've got nothing to lose and soo much to gain!

As an added extra for Aberdeen festivalgoers, North Hop, alongside some of the fantastic exhibitors, has created a festival gin and a festival brew which will be exclusively available at the festival. The festival gin is a limited edition chilli and ginger gin created by Eden Mill. This will be available to sample at their bar, or in a perfect serve or cocktail at the Juniper bar. There are only 200 bottles (20cl) available to get your hands on, so you better be quick!

The festival brew is a 6.7% cask American pale ale brewed by Spey Valley Brewery using the Holy Cragg which Dunnet Bay Distillers utilised in their Holy Grass Vodka. So of course it only seemed right to call it Holy Spey APA!

For the full list of exhibitors and for tickets to the event follow the North Hop website link: 
http://northhop.co.uk/festivals/aberdeen

  For Now...

 Just Julia