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Against the backdrop of its striking, rugged mountain panorama, curving roads and ever-changing weather, the Isle of Skye has long appealed to adventure seekers. During the past ten years, though, the biggest island in the Inner Hebrides has been attracting visitors for other reasons – its dynamic food and drink scene. Pioneering this movement are up-and-coming Sgitheanach (local residents) with a global outlook but a dedication to regional, eco-friendly ingredients. This is also driven by an engaged community keen to create quality, year-round jobs that retain young people on the island.

A Dedication to Local Produce

A Skye-born restaurateur 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 value the landscape, but also the superiority of our ingredients,” he says. “Shellfish like mussels, lobster, scallops and crab from our waters are the best available.” Montgomery is mindful of the past: “It means everything to me to use the very same produce as my predecessors. My granddad was a lobster fisherman and we’re enjoying seafood from the identical coastal area, with the identical reverence for ingredients.”

His A Taste of Skye menu lists the mileage his products has been transported. Visitors can sample fat scallops hand-dived in a nearby sea loch (direct from the source), and trapped in creels lobster from Portree (just a brief journey) with produce, gathered seasonings and edible flowers from the on-site garden and coastline (hyper-local). This link to local bounty and suppliers is essential. “Last week I brought a apprentice out with a diver harvesting scallops so he could understand what they do. We opened scallops freshly harvested and ate them raw with a squeeze of lemon. ‘I've never tasted a better scallop I’ve ever eaten,’ he said. This is exactly what we want to deliver to the restaurant.”

Food Champions

Driving south, in the shadow of the towering Cuillin mountains, a further food representative for Skye, a passionate local chef, operates a popular café. This year she represented Scotland at a celebrated international food event, offering lobster rolls with whisky butter, and innovative local dishes. Her venture began her café in a different city. Coming back to Skye over the past period, a series of pop-ups revealed there was a demand here too.

While enjoying a unique beverage and exquisite trout cured with blood orange, the chef shares: “It was an achievement that I started elsewhere, but I found it challenging to achieve what I can do here. Procuring local goods was a huge mission, but here the shellfish come right from the ocean to my restaurant. My creel fisherman only speaks to me in the traditional tongue.” Her affection for Skye’s ingredients, people and scenery is evident across her vibrant, imaginative dishes, all filled with local flavours, with a twist of local culture. “My relationship to Gaelic culture and dialect is incredibly significant,” she says. Guests can use educational materials on the tables to learn a some phrases while they dine.

Many of us had jobs off the island. We observed the ingredients arrive a long way from where it was landed, and it’s just not as good

Innovation and Tradition

Long-running food destinations are not resting on their laurels. A luxury lodge operated by a local family in her historic residence has long been a culinary hotspot. The owner's mother publishes celebrated books on Scottish cookery.

The kitchen persistently creates, with a dynamic young team led by an experienced head chef. When they’re not in the kitchen the chefs grow herbs and spices in the hotel glasshouse, and forage for wild greens in the grounds and sea herbs like sea aster and scurvygrass from the shoreline of a local sea inlet. In autumn they pursue deer trails to find mushrooms in the forest.

Patrons can sample local scallops, leafy vegetables and peanuts in a delicious stock; Shetland cod with Scottish asparagus, and restaurant-cured shellfish. The hotel’s outdoor guide leads tours for activities including wild food gathering and catch-and-release trips. “There’s a huge appetite for immersive activities from our guests,” says the manager. “Visitors desire to come and really get to know the island and the landscape.”

Supporting the Community

The spirits production is also helping to support the younger generation on Skye, in careers that continue outside the summer period. An production head at a regional spirits maker explains: “Seafood farming was a major source of jobs in the past, but now most of the jobs are handled by machines. Real estate values have gone up so much it’s more difficult for new generations to remain. The spirits sector has become a crucial employer.”

“Jobs available for aspiring distillers” was the advertisement that a recently graduated local woman noticed in her local paper, securing her employment at the distillery. “I just took a punt,” she says, “I never thought I’d get a production job, but it was a long-held aspiration.” The employee had an fascination with whisky, but no prior experience. “The chance to learn on the job and take online courses was amazing.” Currently she is a experienced production lead, helping to train apprentices, and has recently created her own whisky using a distinctive ingredient, which is developing in oak at the time of writing. In other distilleries, that’s an privilege usually reserved for long-serving employees. The tasting room and bistro employ many people from around the local peninsula. “We integrate with the community because we attracted the community here,” says a {tour guide manager|visitor experience lead|hospital