Rising Local Talent Infusing New Life into the Island's Food Scene

Against the backdrop of its dramatic, rugged mountain panorama, winding roads and ever-changing weather, the Isle of Skye has always drawn lovers of the wild. In recent years, however, the largest island in the Inner Hebrides has been drawing visitors for different motivations – its thriving food and drink scene. At the forefront are up-and-coming Sgitheanach (local residents) with a global outlook but a commitment to regional, environmentally conscious ingredients. Additionally, it stems from an involved community eager to create quality, permanent jobs that encourage young people on the island.

An Enthusiasm for Local Produce

Calum Montgomery is Skye born and bred, and he’s deeply committed to highlighting the island’s produce on his menus. “For those traveling to the island I want them to appreciate the landscape, but also the superiority of our offerings,” he says. “Our mussels, lobster, scallops and crab are the best available.” He honors tradition: “It is profoundly important to me to use the very same produce as my predecessors. My granddad was a fisherman who caught lobster and we’re experiencing shellfish from the same stretch of water, with the same respect for ingredients.”

Montgomery’s Island Flavors menu details the travel distance his ingredients has journeyed. Patrons can feast on succulent scallops hand-dived in a nearby sea loch (zero miles), and caught using traditional methods lobster from the island's capital (12 miles) with produce, gathered seasonings and culinary blooms from the on-site garden and seashore (zero miles). This link to ingredients and suppliers is key. “Last week I accompanied a young chef out with a shellfish forager so he could appreciate what they do. We shucked scallops freshly harvested and consumed them uncooked with a squeeze of lemon. ‘This is the finest scallop I’ve ever eaten,’ he said. That’s what we want to offer to the restaurant.”

Food Champions

Driving south, in the presence of the towering Cuillin mountains, a further gastronomic advocate for Skye, Clare Coghill, operates a well-loved café. This year Coghill represented Scotland at a celebrated international gastronomic gathering, serving shellfish buns with Scotch-flavored spread, and traditional Scottish fusion. Her venture began her café in another location. Returning home to Skye over the past period, a series of pop-ups revealed there was a demand here too.

While enjoying a specialty drink and delicious trout cured with blood orange, the chef explains: “I’m really proud that I established in an urban setting, but I couldn’t do what I can do here. Procuring fresh ingredients was a major challenge, but here the seafood come right from the ocean to my kitchen. My local fisherman only speaks to me in Gaelic.” Her passion for Skye’s offerings, people and landscape is apparent across her colourful, imaginative dishes, all imbued with regional tastes, with a twist of local culture. “The link to the island's heritage and language is deeply meaningful,” she says. Patrons can use little lesson cards on the tables to discover a basic terms while they enjoy their meal.

A lot of us worked elsewhere. We witnessed the goods turn up miles from where it was harvested, and it’s just not as good

Innovation and Tradition

Skye’s more longstanding dining establishments are continuing to evolve. A charming inn managed by a local family in her traditional property has for many years been a gastronomic attraction. The owner's mother writes celebrated books on Scottish cookery.

The kitchen persistently creates, with a dynamic emerging talent headed by an experienced head chef. When they’re taking a break from cooking the chefs nurture seasonings and flavorings in the hotel glasshouse, and forage for edible weeds in the landscaped areas and coastal plants like sea aster and beach plants from the coast of a adjacent body of water. In autumn they track animal paths to find wild mushrooms in the forest.

Visitors can sample island-harvested shellfish, Asian greens and peanuts in a delicious stock; premium white fish with local asparagus, and house-smoked lobster. The hotel’s outdoor guide accompanies visitors for activities including wild food gathering and angling. “There’s a huge appetite for experiences from our visitors,” says the establishment's owner. “Visitors desire to come and deeply experience the island and the landscape.”

Economic Impact

The whisky industry is also helping to support local youth on Skye, in careers that last beyond the busy season. An operations manager at a regional spirits maker shares: “Seafood farming was a major source of jobs in the past, but now many roles are handled by machines. Real estate values have gone up so much it’s harder for the youth to remain. The distilling business has become a vitally significant employer.”

“Jobs available for aspiring distillers” was the notice that a recently graduated Skye native spotted in her regional publication, landing her a job at the distillery. “I just took a punt,” she says, “It was surprising I’d get a distillery position, but it was a dream of mine.” She had an curiosity about whisky, but no prior experience. “To be able to receive hands-on instruction and study digitally was amazing.” Today she is a experienced production lead, assisting in teaching trainees, and has recently created her personal blend using a distinctive ingredient, which is aging in casks during the visit. In larger producers, that’s an recognition usually granted to seasoned veterans. The tour facility and coffee shop hire many people from around the local peninsula. “We meld into the community because we attracted the community here,” says a {tour guide manager|visitor experience lead|hospital