Fabulous Food Tour

Wow! What a Success!
I took part in an Eat, Dine and Walk tour in the afternoon. Now gourmet food is not the first thing that pops into your head when you think of Scotland, is it? The food was so yummy! The alcohol wasn't half bad either!

I met up with my guide and two couples, one from New Zealand and the other from Australia. We called ourselves the Commonwealth Group! We met at the Hotel Du Vin which at one point had been a Poor House and Lunatic Asylum. It's most famous patient was an unfortunate young poet named Ferguson, who was talented, yet alcoholic. He managed to have had a few of his poems published before his sad demise. One day, he had too much to drink, fell, knocked his head and became uncontrollable. He was brought to the asylum, refused sustenance and died a horrible death. When Robert Burns visited Edinburgh, he was distraught to find out that the poet who had inspired him was buried in an unmarked pauper's grave in Canongate Cemetery. Burns paid for a proper headstone for his hero. That's the historical and literary part of the tour!
Now onto the food and drink! We were served a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and our first nibble was panfried herring coated in oatmeal and served with a tomato chutney. If anyone in my family is reading this, you will know my reaction! I absolutely loathe herring (parents pickled it and the smell of it makes me gag). So, this was probably not the best thing for me to eat after my night of queasiness. Well, I tried it and loved it. Amazingly, my stomach loved it as well. We were served this because herring had been a major Scottish industry up until the 1930s.
Our next stop was a funky little shop on the funkiest street in Edinburgh. The shop was called Liquid Deli. It started out selling artisanal flavoured olive oils and vinegars. It branched out into selling infused liqueurs and wines. We got to try as much as we wanted. I tried the raspberry vodka liqueur ( dangerous because it tasted like candy) and the elderberry wine which was very sweet!
After that we stopped at a restaurant that served Californian inspired cuisine using locally sourced Scottish produce. The owner loves Napa Wines and the restaurant was called Calistoga. We had white wine and sea bream that was served on mashed potato, artichoke and a reduction of something or other. It was delicious! Again, supposedly I hate fish!

We then stopped at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society where we had a single malt that had been aged 13 years. Let's just say that even mixed with water that there was no way that I could have finished it ( sacrilegious- I blame all the earlier alcohol). Our single malt was paired with haggis, neeps and tatties served layered in a small ramekin. This was surprisingly delicious. The trick was to take a small bite from the middle an then pour the whisky cream sauce into the hole in order to soak into the mixture. Yumm!!!

The final stop for me was a French restaurant where again I had wine (red) and we had a charcuterie plate. I basically downed my wine ( how tres elegant of me) and I had to leave this lovely tour early in order to meet my tour group that I would be spending the next ten days with. I endured some very good natured ribbing from my Commonwealth pals, because they were sure that I would make a wonderful first impression on my new tour mates. Let's just say that I was feeling more than a little warm and fuzzy. Amazingly, my stomach held up to this self-inflicted yet yummy battering!!!
I will add photos later when I locate my Scotland jump drive.Read more