Scotland's Isle of Skye Has Become an Unexpected Culinary Capital
The allure of the atmospheric Isle of Skye, Scotland's northernmost island of the Inner Hebrides, is by no means a secret. While the landmass is a quarter in size of the state of Delaware, the island's population swells from 10,000 to 650,000 each year to welcome intrepid travelers drawn to the island's dramatic landscapes, storied history, and rich cultural heritage.
The rugged terrain is marked by the rolling hills of the Black Cuillin mountain range, which cuts through the mist sweeping in off the sea that earns Skye its name, which charmingly translates to 'Cloud Island' in Norse. The area's cultural history and heritage is just as captivating as its landscape, drawing visitors who are eager to step back in time and connect to an ancientness that doesn't seem to exist elsewhere.
Photo: Chloe Frost Smith
Photo: Chloe Frost Smith
But in recent years, something new has been brewing in Skye. Led by once-in-a-generation talent who grew up on the island, trained in some of the best kitchens in the world, and then returned to Skye, a vibrant culinary scene has emerged. Now, among its ancient rock formations, folklore, and fairy pools, Skye has a new claim to fame: food.
How could a place 100 miles away from the nearest city become a globally renowned fine dining hot spot? Perhaps not in spite of its location, but because of it.
Food in Skye is as seasonal as it gets, by choice and also by circumstance. Anything not grown on the island is brought in from the nearest city, Inverness (still two hours away by car). The remote location disconnects restaurants from relying on global supply chains, so the chefs are deeply connected to the land.
Photo: Florence Reeves-White
Photo: Florence Reeves-White
As such, its fine dining establishments redefine extreme seasonality, with the chefs often gathering ingredients themselves. At Café Cùil, pancakes are topped with vivid yellow gorse flowers hand-picked by owner Clare Coghill. Calum Montgomery, of 4 AA-Rosette Edinbane Lodge, has been known to catch the restaurant's scallops himself. Scorrybreac's Calum Munro forages for seasonal fruits and even sea buckthorn, which can only be harvested tediously by hand, for every chocolate and buckwheat dessert he sends out—no effort is spared.
The food scene on Skye isn't only unique in its freshness where produce is concerned, it's also uncommonly friendly and familiar. While fine dining has been known to have a cut-throat reputation (I assume we've all seen The Bear?), the tight-knit food community on Skye means that many of the main players are lifelong friends, and even family. Niall Munro, founder of Birch, is Scorrybreac's Calum Munro's brother, and spent many of his summers working at the restaurant. In 2017, Niall Munro partnered with Coghill to enter the cooking show, My Kitchen Rules, where they beat out 20 other teams and further cemented the notion that Skye is no longer small fry in the global restaurant game, despite its generous and approachable ethos. If some of the stunning pottery Calum Montgomery uses in Edinbane Lodge is broken at service, he walks across the lane to Edinbane Pottery, an independent ceramics studio owned by their friends, to grab another plate.
Where to Stay
Photo: Chloe Frost Smith
Photo: Chloe Frost Smith
It's the island's unique culinary culture that draws two friends and I to Skye in early March for an off-season road trip through the island. Beckoned by the promise of less traffic at the Fairy Pools—and the hope of securing every sought-after reservation we want—the three of us head North to spend a long weekend at the enchanting Mint Croft Skye, a former crofter's house lovingly restored by architect duo James Ross Mitchell and Carolina Larrazábal into a delightful two-bedroom cottage on the Waternish peninsula.
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