World Whisky Day 2024: Annabel Thomas, founder and CEO of Nc’nean, shares why being an outsider in the industry has helped her organic business to grow

As Scotland’s only fully organic whisky distillery, the team behind Nc’nean live by a simple yet powerful motto – “made by nature not by rules”. 

Founded by ambitious entrepreneur Annabel Thomas, who had no experience of working in the whisky industry before starting the passion project on her family’s West Coast farm in 2013, the pioneering distillery is B Corp certified, uses 100% renewable energy, and diverts 99.97% of its waste away from landfill. 

Put simply, sustainability is at the...

Local food, a few drams, a bit of bickering... and a lot of laughs with Ruairidh Munro and Uisdean Macleod

For the past seven years, friends Ruairidh Munro and Uisdean Macleod have been showing fellow homecooks how to make the most of Scotland’s bountiful larder.
From freshly-caught scallops and venison loin to lamb and salmon fillets, the pair search the “highest peak to the lowest depths” to uncover the best produce for their BBC Alba cooking series, Seòid a’ Chidsin or Kitchen Coves, but it wasn’t a classic Scottish dish that led to their telly careers.
“It all started with a curry,” laughed Munro...

Golden wonders: TV chef James Martin hails the not-so-humble spud and reveals how to make the perfect roast potatoes

When describing potatoes, one of the world’s most ubiquitous and affordable vegetables, we often use the word humble.
James Martin prefers to say unique, special, flavoursome and, ultimately, classic.
In fact, it was the taste of hot, buttery potatoes, freshly picked from his grandad’s garden, that first sparked the acclaimed chef’s passion for food.
“There’s defining moments in anybody’s life in terms of what they go on and pursue as a career, and mine was when I was quite a young kid,” explain...

Drinks writer Alice Lascelles on how to make classy Christmas cocktails at home

Cosmopolitan, Gimlet, Old Fashioned, Margarita, Mai Tai and Martini, the list of cocktails is endless and, according to drinks writer, Alice Lascelles, every one is easy enough to shake, stir and sip at home.
In her new book, The Cocktail Edit: Everything You Need To Know About How To Make All The Drinks That Matter, Lascelles shows how 12 classic cocktails can be remixed into six more delicious drinks, all with only 12 bottles of spirits, which can be sourced for less than £200.
Creating a home...

John Torode and Lisa Faulkner reveal the secret of a stress-free Christmas feast

The first hints of Christmas cheer usually arrive alongside frosty weather, woolly jumpers and twinkling fairy lights.
For culinary couple John Torode and Lisa Faulkner, however, this year’s festivities began a little differently, as filming for their new TV series meant turning their home into a winter wonderland during the summer heatwave.
“It was a boiling hot July and we were in jumpers and eating Christmas dinner,” explained Faulkner of setting the scene for the festive special of their pop...

Twelve Triangles baking duo Rachel Morgan and Emily Cuddeford on secret to good pastry

Bakers Rachel Morgan and Emily Cuddeford use only the best quality produce for their artisan breads and pastries but the single most important ingredient in each recipe is time – and lots of it.
Every item produced in the Twelve Triangles scratch bakery, which the pair founded in 2011, is made and shaped by hand on a three or four-day cycle using a special cold prove, slow fermentation process, with no additives, no improvers and only flour grown and milled in the UK.
Unlike modern mass-producti...

Interview: TV chef Julie Lin on why army-style kitchens are off the menu

Between the long hours, physical demands, mounting orders and stress of maintaining standards, working in a professional kitchen is something of a pressure cooker – and it’s not uncommon for the lid to blow off in a steam cloud of anger and aggression, shouting and swearing.

From Gordon Ramsay’s outbursts on Hell’s Kitchen to the anxiety-riddled service shown in FX’s The Bear, and Stephen Graham’s 2021 film Boiling Point, the angry, bullying head chef has become synonymous with high-quality din

Chefs on the tireless quest for perfection and that magical Michelin star

Every chef has their own idea of a perfect plate, from classic French haute cuisine to foaming molecular gastronomy, but all nurture a common dream – a coveted Michelin Star.

Awarded under strict criteria to restaurants offering “outstanding cooking”, the award has defined fine dining since the early 1900s and restaurateurs around the country are currently waiting with bated breath to discover which incumbents and newcomers will secure a place in the newly announced Michelin Guide for 2023.

Ov

Monica Galetti: ‘Scottish seafood is the best. We need to shout about it’

Scottish produce is renowned the world over for its flavour and quality yet, according to leading chef Monica Galetti, too few Scots know the delights on their doorstep.

As the country’s primary food export, fish and seafood contribute an estimated £1 billion to Scotland’s economy and 80% of the more than 430,000 tonnes landed by Scottish vessels is sold abroad – resulting in about 60% of the fish eaten in Scotland being imported.

For Galetti, who has spent the past year serving as the inaugur

Experts on why more young Scots are going alcohol free

More young Scots are calling time on drinking as social media changes attitudes towards alcohol, according to experts.

Since 2005, the overall amount of alcohol consumed in the UK and the proportion of people drinking have both fallen, and the trend is especially pronounced among the so-called Generation Z as more than a quarter of 16 to 24-year-olds are now thought to be teetotal.

Millie Gooch, founder of the popular community Sober Girl Society, says the “sober curious” movement is thriving

From converted churches to former toilets, how foodies’ rush to repurposed restaurants helps to save the planet

A new enthusiasm for eating out in repurposed buildings will help protect the planet, according to experts, as diners rush to order everywhere from old churches and factories to former train stations and toilets.

The trend for repurposed restaurants is only part of a wider move to upgrade and convert traditional buildings which will, experts say, play an increasing role in tackling climate change.

It is estimated that 80% of the UK’s 2050 building stock has already been constructed and so-call

Bake Off star Peter Sawkins goes back to school for inspiration

For many chefs and bakers, inspiration for a new dish reveals itself after catching the scent of an unusual spice or tasting something new while travelling.

For Peter Sawkins, however, the spark for his new book was ignited a lot closer to home during a visit to a primary school.

While developing a fresh collection of recipes, the winner of The Great British Bake Off, who started baking seriously when he was just 12 years old, spent the afternoon with cake-mad Edinburgh school children – and l

Food: Flora Shedden makes midweek meals special again

Dining can be split into two categories; the meals we cook quickly and without fuss during the week and, less often, formal occasions and celebrations that call for three courses, tablecloths and good crockery.

The former invariably ends with a plate balanced on our laps in front of the warm glow of the TV, while the latter are served at the dining table under the flicker of candlelight.

In Flora Shedden’s home, however, there is a more blended approach. Until lockdown, she admits, it hadn’t c

‘It’s nice that my cookbooks give people confidence’: Rukmini Iyer on her roasting revolution

Five years ago, quite inadvertently, Rukmini Iyer started a food revolution, encouraging home cooks to ditch their saucepans, skillets, pots and pans, in favour of the roasting tin.

With her first cookbook, aptly named The Roasting Tin: Simple One Dish Dinners, the food stylist and cookery writer proved that making delicious dishes doesn’t have to mean spending hours in the kitchen – both during the cooking process and afterwards with a pile of washing up. Instead, with 75 varied recipes all co

Acclaimed cookery writer Tamar Adler on how the best food is delicious and affordable

Tamar Adler has a very simple food philosophy; cooking and eating should be affordable, responsible and, most importantly, pleasurable.

Having learned from her mother, a talented yet thrifty cook, and later working in busy professional kitchens, the award-winning writer believes cooking should be less about a list of ingredients, trendy dishes and eye-catching plating techniques, and more focused on a way of thinking that puts “economy and grace” at the heart of every meal.

Yes, Michelin Star

Star chef Tom Kerridge reveals his carefree approach to Sunday dinners with the family

As one of the country’s most celebrated chefs, with three Michelin stars under his belt, you would be forgiven for assuming an invite for Sunday dinner at Tom Kerridge’s home would mean dining on intricately plated portions that spill over with flavour.

In reality, the 49-year-old leaves the sous vide and bain-marie shelved in his professional kitchen, opting instead for a more relaxed, laidback approach for one of his favourite meals.

“I don’t cook The Hand and Flowers food at home, that’s fo

Too food to be forgotten? Broadcaster Jay Rayner on why our very happiest memories are so tasteful

Sometimes we know, most times we don’t and our last meals, like last words, have a peculiar fascination.

Despite having eaten in some of the world’s most coveted restaurants, award-winning critic and MasterChef judge Jay Rayner says he is asked about his choice of a final meal most often. On his death row menu, his answer remains the same: “I might be greedy but even I would lose my appetite if the next morning I was to be the victim of an appalling miscarriage of justice. The fact is, sometime

Singer and podcaster Jessie Ware on Table Manners success, imposter syndrome, and being a working mum

Jessie Ware’s uniquely soulful voice was always going to make her a star.

Indeed, after starting out as a backing singer, her debut solo album, released in 2012, was quickly nominated for the coveted Mercury Prize, and the following couple of years were filled with sell-out live performances, critical acclaim, and a string of Top 10 hits.

But it was only after her musical career hit a wall that she found the project that would make her a household name, rubbing shoulders with everyone from San

Gino D’Acampo on how wife’s secret recipe collection inspired new series

It is Gino D’Acampo’s name on the cover but the celebrity chef admits much of the credit for his new book goes to his wife, Jessica, for collecting his recipes for the past 10 years.

“My wife has a blue folder in the kitchen,” explained D’Acampo, who regularly cooks on ITV’s This Morning. “I’ve been looking at that folder for the last six, seven years and thinking, ‘Why is that ugly folder always in my kitchen?’

“I asked her and she said it was a collection of recipes that I had been cooking o

If you can stand the heat: Sue Lawrence of radio’s Kitchen Cabinet on how fans’ questions turn up the temperature

After three decades as a professional cookery writer, it would be easy to assume there’s very little Sue Lawrence does not know about food.

When you are a panellist on one of the country’s most popular culinary call-in radio shows, however, every day is a school day.

For the past six years, Lawrence has contributed to BBC Radio 4’s The Kitchen Cabinet, helping the show’s millions of listeners with questions on everything from how to cook potatoes to the best way of incorporating Arbroath Smoki

The auld alliance on a plate: Michel Roux on why the taste of Scotland is so important to French cuisine

Diners at Michel Roux Jr’s Le Gavroche, the first restaurant in the UK to be awarded one, two then three Michelin stars, can expect to enjoy the classic French cuisine that has become synonymous with his family name.

Only the best produce passes through the kitchen to make delicate soufflé, confit trout and roast veal, among other delicacies, with the chef admitting produce is paramount when it comes to fine dining. And where does he source such world-class ingredients? Well, Scotland, of cours

My cooking is joyful... It’s not all blood, guts and eyeballs: Chef Josh Niland on his big fish rethink

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Give Josh Niland a fish and he’ll feed you mince, fillet, soup, salad, pies, curry and even sweet tarts.

Whipping up everything from tuna lasagne to swordfish tacos, the acclaimed Australian chef has made it his life’s mission to showcase how the humble fish can be so much more than just two fillets held together by a head and tail, utilising a culinary style he wittily dubs “scale to tail” cooking and eating.

Inventive and unusual seafood dishes m

INTERVIEW: Bake Off winner Candice Brown on finding her happy place, running a pub during lockdown and avoiding stress in the kitchen

When asked for the secret to their success, most celebrities will say it’s all down to luck. Candice Brown is no different.

As we chat on the phone about everything from The Great British Bake Off to running a pub during the pandemic, the television personality and all-round foodie expert often describes herself as “lucky” and seems genuinely humbled by the success she has found since winning television’s most popular baking show.

She won the series in 2016 and since then has penned two cookbo

A box of delights: How Scots discovered fine dining at home as acclaimed restaurants reveal new takeaway market could continue after the lockdown

Lobster claws, sirloin steak and charred asparagus are not our usual order for a takeaway. Well, not before lockdown anyway.

Initially created through desperation to stay afloat, some of Scotland’s most exclusive restaurants have found unexpected success with cook-at-home kits, bringing fine dining into our homes in a box.

Prepared, portioned and packaged within a professional kitchen, and only requiring a quick reheat in the microwave or blast in the oven on arrival, the high-end offerings we