The Chocolate Tree (Haddington) – Phantassie (East Linton) – Peelham Farm (Foulden)

Our supplier day trip was a fantastic experience for us at the Larder. After meeting at the café for a coffee before setting off, 7 of us piled nicely into two cars and set off to meet some of our fantastic suppliers. Giving us the opportunity to get to know our suppliers a little bit better, and what we found was a link. How they are all so passionate about local, ethical, sustainable foods, and each making their own fantastic contributions to the Scottish food scene!

First stop – The Chocolate Tree.

Where all the chocolate goodness happens! The Chocolate Tree’s venue is not what one would expect. It is situated in the centre of Haddington in what used to be a fish shop. Here, the small team make all their baked goods and chocolates. We were lucky to come by just before Easter to see all the small and intricate chocolates being made.Needless to say we were all drooling and looking forward to having a taste of a few chocolates – which Ali kindly let us choose from a wide variety.

What was the most interesting was the discussions with Ali about his chocolate suppliers, and how he is so keen on working with organically certified chocolate. Furthermore, he has developed relationships with cacao farmers so they can trade directly with them, offering them even better than fair-trade prices.

Did you know that The Chocolate Tree is one of few chocolatiers who can make bean to bar chocolate? What this means is that they know how to make chocolates straight from the bean. We got to see their bean grinders Bert and Ernie in action, which work all night as they grind anywhere from 24 to 100 hours.

If you’d like to have a taste of their bean to bar chocolate, please come and find some in the café. It’s very special!

http://www.the-chocolate-tree.co.uk/

Second stop – Phantassie

Located in East Linton, Phantassie is a fantastic organic farm. They have huge varieties of organic vegetables, herbs and even free range eggs! We are always using their vegetables in the Bistro and Café, so it was great to pay them a visit and see where all our lovely vegetables are coming from.

As we enjoyed a tour around, we got an idea of how they successfully use a rotation system for their crops, and discussed the harsh weather conditions and the impact it has had on the farm.

Then we were whisked away to an old van ‘The Green Goddess’ and had a chat with the workers of the farm, whilst we enjoyed some fantastic homemade soup. It never takes many ingredients to make soup taste good with all organic vegetables!!

If you haven’t heard of their box schemes it’s definitely worth a look. They can provide so much fantastic produce straight to your door. It really does make a difference, as it makes it easier for us all to always have local, organic food in our homes.

The farm is truly inspirational and we’re happy to be supporting them!

http://www.phantassie.co.uk/

The Last Stop – Peelham Farm

When we arrived, Denise took us away to her lovely farmhouse for a cup of tea just before setting off to see their butchery. Looking keen in our whites, we had a browse around to see what goes on in the butchery, paying special attention to the delicious charcuterie being cured.

Denise offered us with some samples of their chorizo, fennel and chili salami, salami with nutmeg, and the new addition to their repertoire, ‘reested’ mutton. It was all so good, we could have eaten everything, but instead we bought a selection for our Charcuterie Platter for you to try at the café.

Of course, Peelham Farm is exceptional, with fantastic produce. We love using their meats, especially at the Bistro. So keep a look out on our menu next time you’re in.

http://www.peelham.co.uk/

Overall

What a fantastic experience! We should all be so proud of our food producers in Scotland, and support them as best we can.

Lambing It Up at the Bistro

Whitmuir Farm – The Organic Place

Nestled off the A701 to Peebles, Whitmuir Farm owned by Pete Ritchie and Heather Anderson, is the perfect spot for a countryside trip to blow away the city cobwebs. With a farm shop, on site butchery, restaurant, (the only organic restaurant in Scotland) bakery, gallery and marked trails around the farm, Whitmuir is a fantastic destination for all ages.

The Edinburgh Larder team recently paid Pete and Heather a visit to see the farm in action. Arriving on a cold Winter’s day, we were met by 2 warm, friendly and passionate owners. We were then taken on a fascinating tour of the shop, butchery, restaurant (of course) and the farm – remember to take wellies if you fancy a stroll. Ballet pumps are not recommended! As it was a Saturday, the place was filling up nicely with locals and visitors, descending on the restaurant to tuck in to hearty country grub to stave away the Winter frost. Not too dissimilar from this chilly Spring weather!

So to round off our trip perfectly we enjoyed a spot of food shopping, returning to the car laden with delicious organic goodies. Whitmuir had kindly prepared our packed lunch, and the team declared it one of the best yet!

We have selected lamb for the A La Carte Menu. As the meat of Easter, it seems only appropriate to have some of this wonderful meat on our plates. The lamb rump and flank feature on our a la carte menu served with tattie scones, purple spouting broccoli and beetroot jam. So delicious, you will definitely be coming back for more!

http://www.whitmuirtheorganicplace.co.uk/

Great new reviews have been published online for the bistro this July.

The List’s website takes an extract from the longer magazine review, which praises the seasonal food and sustainable and Scottish ethos of the bistro:

“It feels Scottish in approach rather than delivery – there’s not a hint of haggis in sight, with a rather unswerving focus on great local produce and conscientious suppliers…This embrace of what’s plentiful and good right now means foraged sweet cicely, cheaper meat cuts such as skirt steak and pork belly all appear on a well-judged, bistro-style menu.”

The List Magazine July 2012 Review of Edinburgh Larder Bistro

Meanwhile, Edinburgh food blogger @LeilAppetit (aka Bite Magazine’s Gourmet Girl!) gave the bistro this fabulous review:

“The first night I ate there was a ‘soft opening’ and the food was really good, but on my return visit two weeks later that ‘really good’ had been upgraded to ‘amazing’. The menu features loads of local, seasonal Scottish fare, seafood and some really imaginative and tempting vegetarian options. There’s a bit of a Scandinavian twist in many of the dishes too, so the appealing flavours, textures and colours marry in things like the soused vegetables and foraged ingredients like elderflower.”

Read more…

Lynn and Chris Mann only started producing ‘supernature’ cold-pressed rapeseed oil on their farm in Midlothian, 8 miles from Edinburgh, in January 2011, and have already  won several awards and this year expanded their range of oils significantly. Chris’s family has been farming the land at Carrington Barns Farm for six generations but with falling commodity prices they looked hard at how they could diversify and noticed the advent of rapeseed oil onto the market, and consumers’ interest in an oil that was half the saturated fat of olive oil. They grow a special variety of spring rapeseed on the farm making it different to other oils produced in Scotland and from 2012 have also localised the crushing operation on the farm. Come and meet Lynn and talk about the localisation of more of our food – and taste their oils!

Join us at this Edinburgh Local Food Network event on Thursday 5th July at the Edinburgh Larder from 7-9pm to meet the producers and find out all about Supernature.

Please email to book. Cost is £5 and includes a bowl of soup and artisan bread.

“Fresh, bright, delicious” – a great overall description of Edinburgh Larder Bistro from the Bite Magazine’s review (read it in full here), and also an apt description  of The Edinburgh Larder’s latest addition: founder and co-director Eleanor and husband Andrew Cunningham have welcomed Ava Mary into the world on 15th June at 2030hrs!

Celebrate the fantastic news (and great review) by popping in for a glass of Prosecco for £3 Monday 18 – Thursday 21 June at the Bistro. Just quote “Ava”!

Our new Bistro will open officially on 11th June, with a celebratory offer for the first fortnight for you to Pay What You Want as you sample our Bistro menu for the first time! You can find more information on the Pay What You Want offer here – we look forward to welcoming you!

The Edinburgh Larder Bistro, 1a Alva Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4PH.

To make a reservation, call us on 0131 225 4599 or email. 

Opening Hours: 12pm – 3pm & 5.30pm – 10pm Monday – Saturday. Closed Sunday.

Take an exciting culinary foray into our adventurous Scottish/Nordic menu, produced with locally-sourced, free range, seasonally fresh ingredients; and inspired by our commitment to be boldly flavoursome, environmentally sustainable, and culturally daring!

After the success of last years foraging courses with Plants with Purpose, we’ve arranged another 4 dates for foraging in Edinburgh in 2012.  Two courses are in Spring where we’ll hunt for wild herbs and leaves.  Two courses will then be held in Autumn which will focus on mushrooms and berries.  The courses are £20 per person for a 2-3 hour walk and can be booked through the shop tab on our website.  If you need any further information, please e-mail info@edinburghlarder.co.uk.

We’ve teamed up with Edinburgh Local Food Network to offer a programme of exciting talks and visits based around local food initiatives. The talks are in the Larder at 15 Blackfriars Street on the 1st Thursday of the month from 7-9pm and cost just £5 for a bowl of delicious soup with artisan bread and a really inspiring talk from a range of food enthusiasts. More info on the talks and visits can be found on the ELFN website and via the events poster below - we hope you can join us!

ELFN Poster for Events V2