Scottish Chefs Introduced to Breton Products

The second leg of a programme of food exchange between Brittany and Scotland has just drawn to a close with Scottish chefs coming back home with a basket full of Breton discoveries.

The programme was initiated by the Institut français d’Ecosse in association with Edinburgh restaurateur Frederic Berkmiller, and Antoine Davy and Lionel Le Saoult from the Lycée hotelier (catering school) in Dinard.

Invited by the Lycée hotelier in Dinard, on the occasion of the British Film Festival, a group of Scottish chefs and producers lead by Frederic Berkmiller, chef-patron of the Escargot Blanc/Escargot Bleu (Edinburgh), travelled to Brittany to showcase the best of Scotland’s food and cookery talents.

Along with Frédéric were Ishu Mehrotra, second chef at Ondine restaurant, Edinburgh, Cherie Mackenzie second chef of The Wee Restaurant, North Queensferry, Seonaid Forsyth, buyer from Campbell Prime Meats, and Dominic Smith, owner of Sunnyside Farm, Sanquhar.

The team from the Lycée Hotelier prepared a rich and busy four-day programme for the Scottish group.

During their stay, they visited the jean-Yves Bordier artisan butter factory and a traditional pig farm in Dinard, and an oyster farm in Cancale. They shared meals with local renowned chefs: Sylvain Guillemot at L’Auberge d’Acigné, Jean-Pierre Crouzil in his Plancouët restaurant, and Alain Grespier from La Mère Poulard, an authority in the Mont Saint-Michel.

In addition, they found the time to visit Dinard and its food market, the Mont Saint-Michel and Saint-Malo.

Finally, they held two classes for the second-year students of the Lycée Hotelier in which they taught them how to prepare the best of Scottish products: haggis, scallops, pork pies, scones and sticky toffee pudding.

The Scottish chefs were also welcomed by Davy Aubry-Lachainaye, chef de cuisine at the Grand Hotel Dinard, part of the Barrière group, for a tour of the premises followed by an extremely enjoyable dinner made exclusively with Breton products.

They teamed up with students from the catering school to prepare and serve a Scottish buffet for the closing gala dinner of the British Film Festival, using local Scottish produce such as venison, fresh scallops, hot and cold smoked salmon, Stahly black pudding, haggis and neeps flambéed with whisky, a selection of local cheese and oatcakes…which had all been shipped over to France prior to the exchange.

After this new successful experience, Bretons and Scots will meet again next year for a full week of exchange and discoveries in and around Scotland. 

This innovative programme was supported by Campbell Prime Meats Limited, Gary Welsh Fishmongers, Stahly Haggis and Black Pudding, Sunnyside Farm, L’Escargot Bleu Edinburgh, Fresh Direct Glasgow, Strathspey Mushroom, Sea Magee and Thistly Cross Cider.

More foodservice news from Scotland.