“Apparently monks took snails to Barra. Snails were not regarded as meat and so could be eaten on fast days. They were an easily stored source of fresh protein through windy winter months. The tradition of eating snails did not out-live the monks, and there is no tradition of eating snails on Barra today.” by Gerard MacDonald of Isle of Barra Oysters

I’ve not done much at Newton over the winter and there’s not much there to eat. There are a few leeks standing proud, fighting the cold. The broccoli is starting to grow, ready for spring, and there’s some mustard, mizuna and chervil that we planted in late summer. There will probably be some harvesting to do in March. I’m quite excited for the season to start - a positive thing to look forward to.

I thought I would compliment myself this morning. Last week was a very stressful one. I put the game pie on the menu having never done one of that type before, in the Oreiller’s way, and I had no idea if it would stay up, cook well, or even be presentable! Friday morning was even more stressful when it was time for Bertrand and I to cut the first slice. Once we had seen the inside, whoa, whoa what a relief! What we could see was a well-presented and cooked pie, pink inside and smelling like a dream. I really hope you enjoyed that pie.

“After being restricted on travel and restaurants for nearly a year now, I am confident that we all have grown a totally new level of appreciation for the most simple pleasures in life. To meet our friends or family in a local restaurant, to share a great meal and a good bottle of wine with them, to create memories together once again. It makes me believe, that as soon as we can go back to our normal life, hospitality in the UK will flourish, especially chef led restaurants. And we all will be out, enjoying ourselves and appreciating it just that little bit more.” James Close is the chef patron of The Raby Hunt, North East England’s first and only two Michelin Star restaurant.

“Chefs like Fred are honestly unique. Anthony and I have a huge respect for him, Betty, and family. I am sure if anyone has dined at L’escargot Bleu, then you will understand what I mean.” by Lucy Carroll of Carroll’s Heritage Potatoes

We are making the fish soup this morning using gurnards. It’s a tradition at l’escargot, to make either fish soup or bisque, and we cannot make enough.

“Here at Phantassie Organic market garden we grow all the veg we can grow in Scotland that are not the trad “Scottish” field-grown veg. My particular passions are Oriental greens for ease of prep and maximum winter nutrition and winter squash for flamboyance and flavour. I doubt I am going to get Fred too interested in the first but am working on the second (see this week’s menu). It helps that some of the best varieties originate in France.” by Patricia Stephen

The picture above is impressive, what a queue we had for the collection on the 31st of December. Thank you so much, and thank you all for being so patient. We know some of you waited up to two hours to collect your New Year’s Eve meal. I am so sorry we couldn’t satisfy the demand, we ended up being so busy!

I’m at a bit of a loss for words. 2020 has been awful in many ways. We have not had a holiday, we have not visited our friends at home, we have not seen our families and our holiday house in France has been left mostly unattended since summer 2019. But we are healthy and busy. We have received huge support and thanks. We have moved from being a restaurant to some kind of social enterprise on a mission to deliver the best of Scotland as take-away meals. Long may it continue.

So I would like firstly to say that we wish you all a very merry Christmas, wherever in the world you may be.