The ‘Kingdom’ of Scotland: A Weekend in Fife (Part 3 of 3)
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WHAT’S YOURS?
Afternoon tea can be ruined by the weather, so what’s required are failsafe alternatives.
In the chillier months, a brisk walk around the Royal Burgh of Falkland medieval village and its Royal Palace favoured by Stewart Kings and Mary Queen of Scots can be followed by a traditional tea at Kind Kyttock’s Kitchen, where open fires will keep you warm.
After picking the crop of summertime fruits at the Cairnie Fruit Farm near Cupar there’s not only a tearoom serving strawberries and cream, but a ‘mega maze’ in which children, both small and overgrown, can get lost.
And no matter the weather, 100 feet underground at Scotland’s Secret Bunker, a former nuclear shelter, there’s a retro style café where you can sit at a constant 18°C enjoying a cuppa which can be booked here.
DINNER IS SERVED
The Peat Inn (see above), is booked solidly at weekends, so call in advance. It has been the best restaurant in Scotland before, and may well be again soon.
The reception area is beguiling, with a subtle décor of natural fibres and tones, mixed and matched around big comfy sofas and petite tables for an aperitif now or a digestif later. A warren of pretty dining rooms continue the theme, a bit modern, a bit Scottish, but all very muted. The staff are chatty, polite and well trained. They know their stuff.
The food is, well, killer.
An amuse bouche of carrot and ginger soup was served in a toytown tureen - very, er, amusing - but with an explosive taste for adult taste buds. Innovative little breads, warm and fresh, are salted, or flavoured with sage and onion, or fennel. The tables are well-spaced, lit by pools of soft light, with bright flowerheads highlighting snow white linen – it’s all very comfortable and seductive.
A first course of mackerel rilette, cucumber salad and pickled carrot hits the spot, weighing in with meatiness from the fish but bang on target with just the right sharpness and spicy top notes from, of all things, carrot. Three cheap ingredients sculpted into a round tower, maximising flavour and texture, tingling and exciting the taste buds in an electrifying start. It looked good too.
The main, a braised daube of pork, was the most unctuous, tender piece of pig imaginable - packed with flavour and pushed further by a dense, succulent, gravy served with a creamy mash as a light, neutral balance. Like a good book, I didn't want it to end. I have no idea how long this meat was marinated, how long it was cooked, or how they managed to retain it’s depth of flavour. It was sensational. “Braising” has never been stretched quite this far.
Desserts looked dangerously tempting but I thought ‘restraint’ and opted for a little cheese. The chariot was wheeled up to offer what appeared to be the best kept array of identifiable camembert, cheddar, blue, goats, soft and hard fromage this side of la Manche, plus a few morsels as yet unidentifiable. Except there wasn’t a single French number among them. They were all Scottish and Irish, all perfect (I had several) and sourced from artisans and local producers. The same descriptive categorisation is used, and the tastes are equally powerful, but all were created from pastures within striking distance.
The menu offers local sourcing now regarded as almost commonplace among Michelin czars, but they blazed the trail here, with Anstruther fish, Crail Lobster, razor clams landed at Fraserburgh, and so on. It’s world class food, in the middle of Fife. And at the time of writing, there’s a midweek lunch set menu for £16, plus various tasting menus with or without wine.
The succinct, well educated wine list merits special attention. It declares war on vintage snobbery and offers up "good bottles" instead, no matter the year, the argument being that tasting is all and that bargains can be had from so-called “bad” years. Although having said that, the list is dominated by good years. Prices hover low and rise gradually. A highlight is the sweet, "dessert" wine section which they muse can accompany foods beyond foie gras and pudding. It includes a rare offering in the UK – a Chateau la Bertrande Cadillac 2001 – which French sommeliers rate alongside Chateau d’Yquem. This is the place to try it.
DRIVE BY
For an hour or so…
Dunfermline Abbey holds the key to much of Scottish History, being the burial place of King Robert The Bruce, along with another 8 kings, 7 queens and various princes/princesses. Only Bruce gets his name above the door though, or rather the tower, his name is carved on all four sides.
This was Scotland’s capital for five hundred years.
For the day…
No matter which bridge you arrived over, try the other one. The Forth Bridges are a splendid site and lead you to Edinburgh, while the Tay Bridge, made famous by this poetic disaster, will take you to Dundee or the next golfing valhallah, Carnoustie.
Overnight…
You want out of Scotland fast? A ferry service out of Rosyth, adjacent the Royal Navy Dockyard, is set to resume in 2009 whisking passengers to Zeebrugge by way of the North Sea.
Further reading
VisitScotland’s new “locals guide” and “Scotland the Best” by Peter Irvine. Nobody should ever visit Scotland without a copy.
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Useful links
Buy Scotland the Best from Amazon.co.uk
Cairnie Fruit Farm
Falkland Palace
Norfolkline Ferries
Secret Bunker
The Peat Inn
The Tay Bridge Disaster by McGonagall
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