Inverness fine dining restaurant, Torrish, has appointed award-winning, ex Skibo Castle Head Chef Lindsay Mackay as its Executive Chef.
Lindsay, whose culinary journey began in the northernmost fishing villages of Sutherland peeling langoustines alongside his mother in the local pub, has worked at a number of Michelin starred establishments both locally at Nairn’s Boath House and internationally in Bavaria, Sydney and Sicily. He also spent 15 years as Head Chef at the Carnegie Club at Skibo Castle.
His menu at Torrish is a celebration of local small-scale artisan & craft producers, farmers, and growers. Beef is sourced from Highland Beef in Banchory, pork from nearby Petley farm and beetroot, spring onion and summer salad vegetables from Dores farm. The vegetables for each dish are hand-picked in the morning and delivered by the afternoon, courtesy of the Natural Vegetable Company with local berries hailing from Hardmuir farm which is just a short 20 minute drive away.
Lindsay says, “Every dish really does have its own story. Our ‘roe deer & chicory’ is inspired by Camps coffee chicory extract made for the Gordon’s highlanders and the soldier still depicted on the bottle’s label- a Beauly man named Hector MacDonald who distinguished himself in the battle of Omdurman in 1898 and was knighted for his service.”
“Our cape wrath oyster dish’ is inspired by Sorley Maclean, the Gaelic tongued poet and his poem ‘the shores’. No poem like it portrays the edge of the world feeling as you look out on the edge of the world at cape wrath, and we are really trying to capture that experience through the oyster flavour.
“We call our lemon sole & langoustine dish ‘the roller coaster’ after a fishing ground in the Minch was named by the fisherman, not due to the waves and swells but due to the undulations of the seabed where the fishing fleet go to extreme effort to land these iconic delicious species.
“At Torrish we firmly believe in the power of local ingredients and creativity in the kitchen. We are thrilled to offer a dining experience that celebrates Scotland’s culinary heritage and showcases the incredible flavours of our local producers, especially here in the North. We are home to a huge green energy opportunities- solar, wind, hydro and wave so sustainability is one of our main focuses here at Torrish.”
Torrish, which is situated in the original drawing room within the five star Ness Walk Hotel, takes its name from the salmon fly commonly used when fishing in the River Ness. Originally a 19th century family home, the building in which Torrish is located has been lovingly restored and still retains many of its period features.