The Scottish Larder - The Isle of Skye

There is not a single room available in Skye this week. The Europeans have come to escape the searing heat and to walk. The appeal of this isle is undeniable. It is majestic with its soaring peaks and narrow gales. The hills rise up, abandoning their heather covered planes to stand barren. Lower down, soft undulations of moss covered folds hide a rocky terrain that only sheep can pass. Rivers rush forward, moving in serpentine directions and waterfalls like silver threads weave their way down crevices in the mountain path. This is a landscape of soaring mountains and uninterrupted skies.

The harbour of Portree stands in stark contrast to these surrounding hills – it is a busy fishing village overtaken by crowds of tourists: car and buses with foreign number plates that arrive throughout the day. It is a small village but lively with its restaurants and tourist shops. In the morning, the harbour is serene. The fishing boats and langoustine trays seen the night before have been reclaimed by their owners and taken to sea. There is not a soul in sight – it is too early for the tourists. There are only the boats bobbing in this harbour and a pepper cat looking for its breakfast. The sky looms overhead – grey, dramatic.

Much to my delight, a Continental market has arrived and the village has the atmosphere of a circus. Soaps from Marseilles decorated with fresh bunches of lavender are at the entrance. Sweet smells of summertime are unmistakeable – lime, green tea, lemon, rose and lavender, olive oil. But I am distracted by other smells – the sweeter aroma of fresh croissants warm from an oven and the tartitlette – a French mountain stew that has been cooking for an hour. Its ingredients of cheese, bacon, onions, cream and potatoes warming in this dampened weather.

Further on, there are biscuits and pastries from Brittany – all displayed in baskets, fragrant and inviting. Flaky pastry filled with raspberries, custards and almonds attract everyone including the wasps. Rustic loaves, Parma ham and sausages are all for the tasting. A man from Corsica tells me that his family has made sausages for generations – I can choose from wild boar, rabbit and duck, venison apero and wild pig. I choose duck and relish the thought of eating it tomorrow. There is parma ham – seasoned with herbs or pepper for £7.00 for half a pound. Organic olives – up to 12 varieties have travelled to this Isle as have a wondrous selection of Greek pastries sold by a young Iranian. It is 8.00 am in the morning and the store holders are happy to sit and chat before the crowds come, which they will.

Skye is my food salvation – langoustines, scallops, potted crab - a medley of the sea.

After a week of searching for decent food – the Scots have an obsession with potatoes, in particular chips, and limp salad drowned in salad cream – I arrive at the Three Chimneys Restaurant in Colbost. On the peninsula of Loch Dunvegan, this two-hundred year old cottage is a culinary landmark – voted the restaurant in the best location by the Observer in 2006. It has an uninterrupted view of the loch and is reached by following a narrow road from the nearest town, Dunvegan. For twenty-one years, people have travelled here to stay and to eat food from the sea and the game that Scotland is famous for.

Lunch proves to be a three hour leisurely affair beginning with the Three Chimney’s fish soup – a subtle, light broth delicately favoured with saffron, dill and citrus. A sea platter for one is the obvious follow-up course. The highlight are the Loch Dunvegan langoustines, seared Sconscer king scallops and Loch Harport rock oysters – each so fresh that they give new meaning to catch of the day. I can smell and taste the sea.

The west Highland venison is perfectly cooked - succulent and served with barley cake. Local cheese from the Isle of Mull, a marmalade pudding (I have the recipe) and lemon and whisky syllabub allow another hour to be spent enjoying the warm of the restaurant and the view beyond. The perfect conclusion is a Grahams vintage port from Portugal, owned by another branch of the Symingtons.