Scran

On this episode of Scran Rosalind visits Harris Distillery to hear all about their long awaited whisky, The Hearach. The whisky was launched in September and sold out straight away but Rosalind's visit took place earlier in the summer when excitement was building for the launch.

First up you'll hear from Maria Morrison who showed her around telling the visitors all about how the distillery came to be and its importance to those living on the island both as an industry and a community hub. She explains the motivations that drove the incarnation of the project and the commitment to provide local employment that continues today.

Rosalind chats to Mike Donald, Chief Storyteller at Harris Distillery about the pressure to design a new bottle when the Harris Gin bottle has become so iconic and much loved by so many.

Finally, you'll hear Rosalind being one of very few to taste the new whisky before it's formal launch and speaking to Dave Broom, Whisky Expert about what his take on the new liquid is.

Thanks for listening.

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On this special partner episode of Scran with 'Eat Drink Hebrides' Rosalind visited Uist for the first time and had the wonderful opportunity to sample just a little of what this unique island has to offer. 

First up Rosalind chatted to DJ Cameron from Long Island Retreats. A sixth generation crofter, DJ tells Rosalind all about his business and how visitors come from all over to understand their farming methods from field to fork. DJ explains that despite the challenges of trading on the Western Isles, their high quality product and singular location keeps customers coming back for more.

Next up Rosalind met Mick Huda at Charlie's Bistro in Benbecula. Mick is a Production Manager at Salar Smokehouse. He explained how the business came to be and why their product is so singular whilst they tucked into some delicious salmon and scallops. 

All that running around Uist is thirsty work y'know - so the next stop was welcome - North Uist Distillery - set up in 2019 by Jonny Ingledew and Kate McDonald. It's home to Downpour Gin and in time, some of the first whisky ever to be distilled on the island legally. Whilst there Rosalind enjoyed a gin tasting, a tour of the facilities in this historic building and a chat with founder Jonny.

The final stop was at Lochmaddy Bay Prawns located at Clachan Sands where Rosalind met Tina Nicholson to hear all about their unique business which was a positive result of the impact of covid-19. 

If you are looking for somewhere to get away from it all and enjoy a wonderful welcome and delicious local produce, Uist is for you. You can find out more by visiting www.visitouterhebrides.co.uk and searching for 'Food and Drink'.

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On this episode of Scran we headed west for a very important date in the seafood calendar. Producer Kelly, videographer Craig and Rosalind boarded the Vital Spark with fishermen Rab Lamont and John Mills. The team sailed out into Loch Ryan on the 1st of September to catch oysters on the first day of the new season. Rab, who has been catching oysters on the Loch for 18 years told Rosalind all about the only natural oyster bed left in the UK and how they go about catching oysters in season.

Allan Jenkins, from the Stranraer Development Trust also joined the team on the boat to talk to us about the upcoming Oyster Festival which takes place from 15-17 September. This relatively young festival has been going from strength to strength and expands further this year as you'll hear from Allan.

Once the day's fishing was done they headed to Henry's Bay House Restaurant, one of the most popular in Stranraer, with two dozen oysters and an appetite after the fresh sea air. Their Chef owner John Henry shucked the oysters and prepared them for the team to try.

Thanks for listening, please do rate, review and subscribe to the podcast if you're enjoying it.

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On this bonus episode of Scran we celebrate an exclusive collaboration between Johnnie Walker Princes Street and the two Michelin-starred team of James and Maria Close.

STIR is a ground-breaking cocktail and cuisine concept for the Explorer's Bothy Bar which serves up a unique menu of stunningly innovative small-bite plates alongside meticulously curated cocktails by Head Bartender, Miran Chauhan.

This collaboration aims to completely redefine the concept of whisky and food pairing and on this episode Rosalind samples the menu. She discovers flavours unlike anything she has encountered before in terms of originality, ingenuity and flavour.

You'll hear excerpts from a launch event which took place earlier this summer, as well as interviews with James and Miran.

Miran has worked with James and Maria in this collaboration pairing whisky from the four corners beautifully with delicate and evocative dishes. Rosalind talks to him about where he gets his inspiration from when designing new cocktails and drinks menus and how he works with the team to deliver such singular pairings.

Owners of the renowned global experience restaurant, Raby Hunt, Maria and James have created something very special for STIR. James tells Rosalind all about this exciting new partnership and how, he has in fact, worked in the same building before in a very different capacity long before his cheffing days.

You can find out more about STIR and book a table here.

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You can nearly smell the gorgeous roast coffee from this episode. Rosalind visits Dear Green Coffee Roasters in this episode to hear what's hot in the coffee world. Recent high street chains have been experimenting with olive oil. Rosalind finds out if these fads stand up.

Michele Mariotti Gleneagles, Head of Bar, also joins Rosalind on this episode to talk about all things cocktails. He has spent much of his career fine tuning his cocktail skills and talks to Rosalind about how cheese and sushi rice are getting a look in in recent trends. He also talks about changes at Gleneagles and the launch of a brand new cocktail menu this autumn.

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It's that time of year again when performers, promoters and tourists from all over the world flock to Edinburgh to become part of the biggest arts festival in the world. Where there is art there is food and drink and on this episode Rosalind looks at some of the food and drink shows that you can go along to at this year's festival. She started her day at the ever-popular Pleasance Courtyard where she went along to the Big Bite Size Breakfast Show to watch 5 short plays and enjoy a really delicious breakfast.

Then, heading away from the city centre (which isn't to be underrated considering how busy it is this time of year) Rosalind joined Nell Nelson from Edinburgh Food Safari on her Leith Food and Drink Walking Tour. On the tour she hears fascinating stories of this character-full neighbourhood and enjoys a wide variety of tasty dishes from some of the most popular eateries in the area.

The next stop was Underbelly at Bristo Square where Rosalind joined The Thinking Drinkers Pub Quiz. Their 15th year at the fringe, drinks experts Tom Sandham and Ben McFarland have crafted a clever show that educates the audience and plies them with alcohol and entertainment for 1 hour and yes listeners, Rosalind manages to get herself pulled on stage, but the less that's said about that the better...

Rosalind's final stop was to experience 'FOOD'. The promotional notes for it read; 'FOOD is an intimate dinner party of smell, taste and touch. The audience gathers around a dining table with sounds, scents and textures shaping a conversation about personal memories, consumption and the evolution of food production over generations'. Rosalind talks to absurdist theatre maker Geoff Sobelle about this immersive performance which offers a meditation on how and why we eat.

Have a great time at the festival if you make it along. Thanks for listening.

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On this episode of Scran Rosalind shares with you interviews she did with two of the recipients of the recent Scran Awards. The Scran Awards took place at the end of June and celebrated the best in Scottish food, drink and hospitality. 

First up you'll hear from Calum Montgomery chef owner of Edinbane Lodge on the Isle of Skye. Calum is a truly remarkable chef who has achieved so much in his career at such a young age. At the Scran Awards he was named 'Best Scottish Chef of the Year'. 

Rosalind also spoke with Stevie McLaughlin of Restaurant Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles who won the award for 'Outstanding contribution to the industry'. Stevie tells Rosalind about how a chance timetable scheduling as a teenager may have impacted the rest of his life. 

Thanks for listening!

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This week we are delving into some slightly lesser known and more niche products available in Scotland. We hear about an interesting array of produce, which, coincidentally are all businesses being run by women. 

First up Rosalind chats to Clare MacDougall of The 1295 Caviar Company - Clare is an entrepreneur with a background in marketing for the food and beverage industry. Her company exclusively imports and distributes Sturia caviar from France, in Scotland.

Rosalind also chats to Pinkie Methven and Ronnie Murray of the Tea Gardens of Scotland who collectively produce Nine Ladies Dancing - a unique blend of tea which is grown in Scotland by nine female tea growers. 

Finally, Rosalind caught up with Sheena Horner of Galloway Chillies. Sheena opens the lid on the fascinating world of chilli growing and how intense a process it can be. She tells us about the huge amount of varieties there are and which are the hot ones you should really be looking out for.

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On this special partner episode of Scran Rosalind investigates the famous Four Corners of Johnnie Walker. Whilst most people, and not just whisky drinkers, are familiar with this instantly recognisable Scottish brand Rosalind takes a closer look at the malts that combine to create Johnnie Walker's iconic blends.

First stop on her journey was Glenkinchie Distillery, the lowland home of Johnnie Walker. On a tour of the distillery Rosalind found out about its history, processes, characteristics and so much more. You'll hear about the impact of an ongoing £185m investment into Scotch Whisky tourism in Scotland. And how, as part of this project, each of the Four Corners visitor experiences have been completely transformed. At Glenkinchie Rosalind met with Ervin Trykowski, Global Ambassador for Diageo, who filled her in on all the exciting changes. 

Throughout this episode Rosalind pauses to speak to ambassadors from the three other distilleries that make up the four corners distilleries, namely, Cardhu, Caol Ila and Clynelish. Each of which bring their own unparalleled flavour to the table.

You'll hear from Hazel Urquart, Assistant Experience, Events and Retail Manager at Clynelish, Joanne Henderson, Assistant Experience and Events Manager for Cardhu and Kirsty Basnett, Assistant Manager Experience and Events for Cardhu. 

You can find out more about Johnnie Walker's Four Corners here.

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On this episode of Scran Rosalind takes a trip to West Linton to meet Diana Yates and visit her beautiful garden at Greenfields. Diana tells Rosalind all about how she came to live there and how, in recent years, a new gardening hobby has led her to a different career for her in broadcasting and now as an author of her first book 'Growing at Greenfields'. 

Diana shares her passion for growing, flowers, fruit, veg and more and the labour of love it's been creating an idyllic kitchen garden. She offers listeners some advice around what you should be sowing this time of year and how to manage the hectic schedule of a flourishing garden.

Some may say Scran is experiencing an identity crisis as this could potentially be a gardening show as well as a food and drink one but you're in for a real treat with this episode as Diana candidly shares her life story and how the challenges she has faced inform her success as a gardener, author, broadcaster, seamstress, mother and more.

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