Michelin Star #1 - Restaurant Martin Wishart

Late last year, in honour of my mum's 60th birthday, a cosy family group of seven trouped along to Edinburgh's first Michelin-starred restaurant, Martin Wishart for dinner. French in its style of food and Scottish in its choice of produce, Wisharts manages to be both conservative and daring at once. I can't imagine many restaurants at this level bother to offer a vegetarian tasting menu in parallel with the regular one.

A quiet, almost subdued atmosphere pervades the beige-and-cream room; a respectful hush descends as each new dish from the six-course tasting menu is delivered and explained by the slick but not obsequious waiting staff. Rarely, I think, do they cater to larger groups such as ours - the regular clientele more likely to be doe-eyed couples talking in excited whispers - and so our usually noisy banter must be tempered somewhat on this occasion. But we mind not a jot, as plate after plate of perfectly executed food appears in front of us, negating much need for conversation other than appreciative "mmmm" noises all round.

Vivaldi Potato Veloute with chestnut puree, autumn truffles and cepes
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Emmental Souffle with soubise spinach
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Ceviche of Halibut with mango and passion fruit
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Fillet of John Dory with puree of jerusalem artichokes
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Truffle Risotto with pan-fried king scallop
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Selection of cheese from the groaning trolley
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Chocolate and Praline Mousse

With champagne to start, a few bottles of NZ sauvignon blanc throughout and a special dessert wine to round things off - oh, and a small port with coffee - we were all gently sozzled by the time we rolled out the door some four hours later. Stuffed and happy, we made our bleary way home knowing that we had just sampled some of the finest food in the country. I can't wait to go back some day...

The Three Chimneys in Skye

A while back, in September, the Monkey and I went on a trip to the beautiful isle of Skye. We walked in the Fairy Glen, climbed the Old Man of Storr, had a peek at Dunvegan Castle, played Scrabble and generally just chilled out. It was utter bliss. And the weather even behaved for a few days, giving us glorious sunshine and only a tiny bit of rain and mist over the three days. We felt blessed indeed, not least because our mode of transport for the weekend was Hamish, a blue VW campervan hired for us by lovely friends as a wedding present.

As this trip ended up being a belated celebration of our first wedding anniversary, we decided to treat ourselves with a dinner at The Three Chimneys, certainly the most famous restaurant in Skye, one of the most famous in Scotland and even the world. To my astonishment, it has never won a Michelin star - perhaps due to its remoter than remote location, who knows. But it's a wonderful place - cosy, welcoming, utterly lacking in pretension, and although undeniably pricey, for a special occasion it feels worth every penny.

We ate:

Warm Colbost crab tart with mixed cress and woodland sorrel butter
Seared breast of wood pigeon with celeriac remoulade, Ayrshire bacon and an Edinbane blaeberry jus
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Pan-fried Mallaig hake, skate and Sconser scallop with Anna potatoes, braised Puy lentils, Glengarry chanterelles and Orbost parsley sauce
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A quaich of dark chocolate with warm madeleines and vanilla ice cream
Marinated fresh pineapple with lime and chilli, passionfruit jelly, coconut ice cream, rosemary sorbet and cardamom biscuit
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Coffee and Chimneys sweeties

And then we rolled down the hill back to our illicitly parked campervan to dream sweet, tipsy dreams and listen to the waves lap the shores of Loch Dunvegan just a pebble's skip away. Bliss.