Welcome to the cosy confines of The Kinneuchar Inn in Scotland; the fire is on, the lamps are on and warmly lit, the sun is slowing setting over the distant fields through the window, and the food is being plated. Amongst the delicious savoury smells and crackles of fire, we meet the Inn’s Head Chef, James Ferguson, on his love for proper food and sourcing the best ingredients for the restaurant. James also shares with us an early spring recipe championing seasonal produce. 

James, what can someone expect when they dine at the Inn?  

“I would say that, in terms of the food, we try and seek out the best produce and source as locally as we possibly can. So, when you’re enjoying a lunch or evening with us, we’ll serve you food that has had been made with a good amount of knowledge, proper ingredients and without the fuss.  

“The service, we aim to give a friendly, relaxed welcome, and I guess what we really try and do is give people the type of food that you’d want to cook at your house, cook them something with a lot of love and passion. We have a very short, precise menu that changes daily, and a drinks list that reflects that as well, using all sort of natural wines and local beers from producers with a similar passion.”  

Where did you start your journey as a chef?  

“I started cooking in Halifax, Yorkshire, where I’m originally from, before moving to London. I was there for about 18 years working with a number of people who I admire a lot like Angela Hartnett, Fergus Henderson and Marco Pierre White. I did the hours in the kitchens, but then I wanted to do this [more down-to-earth] style of food than fine dining because I had much more passion for it, so yeah, the Inn allows me to do that as I'm completely in charge of what goes on. Our aim is to pass that knowledge and passion on to the next generation of chefs around here which is good, and so far, we've been doing alright!”  

Local seafood and meat is prominent on the menu, tell us more about your passion for sourcing the best ingredients  

“The nice thing about here, as opposed to having a restaurant in London where you can get lots of nice produce from all over the place and put it on a plate, is that if we cast out a net for say a few miles around us here at the Inn, you could genuinely get everything on that plate. It doesn’t happen all the time due to seasonality, but most often it works.   

“We love working with local suppliers like East Neuk Market Garden, run by Tom and Connie, who we know personally and are as passionate for growing fresh produce as we are for cooking. They give us a list of what they have each week and on the Monday the menu is built around that. It's not a case of ‘this is the menu and this is what we need’, we work with the suppliers and see what they have to offer us.  

“It’s the same with Balcaskie Estate, we order whole animals in advance. When a pig is ready from the estate, I make sure I get the most from it, making sausages, terrines and pates, pork pies, lard, etc. It’s good because I can see the pigs in the field near us and see how they are being reared. It’s the same with the sheep; you can see them grazing on the land surrounding us and you know they're outside on almost 100% grass. With such diverse pasture, the chicories, dandelions and herbs, you can really taste it in the mutton, hogget and lamb we serve. When you're using produce as good as that, the flavour on its own is pretty incredible, so it means our chefs don't have to do as much.   

“Then, you’ve got fish merchants like Lewis Lowrie. You know that he's going to tell you the truth about where his seafood is from and what’s the best catch this season. It’s great for fish and shellfish around us here, but we also know that it’s the West Coast of Scotland that has the best creel-caught langoustines. So, it’s just about having a conversation with Lewis. He’s down the road from us as well, so I can have a look at the produce, see what I like and what’s best in season or catch of the day. I think once you have that working relationship in place, it makes it a lot easier for a restaurant to serve decent food.”   

What can we look forward to on your spring and summer menus?   

“What we really look forward to in the spring is Scottish asparagus, it’s second to none! We source ours from Eassie Farm in Angus run by a guy called Alex Pattullo. He also grows other produce like forced sea kale, which is very unusual. Once we get into spring, we have that hallelujah moment when you start seeing all sorts of fresh green things coming in like your broad beans and peas.   

“As we hit summer, it’s all about flavoursome food on the lighter side. We take the pies off the menu that we have over autumn and winter and get in fresh fruit and veg like courgettes, tomatoes and cucumbers. It goes from near to nothing to everything all of a sudden. It’s such a great time to be a chef.   

“Because my dad's half Scottish half Greek, I've got these two sides to me, I love both northern and Mediterranean food. But when it’s the summer months, I get inspired by the Mediterranean side, cooking things like squid just off the grill with a lovely light gem lettuce and sweet tomato salad, maybe with a picante sauce and a slice of lemon in there. I'm thinking about things like whole fish to share like sea bass or spatchcock chicken chargrilled over the fire with slow cooked lemon potatoes with a little olive oil, Greek salad and aioli – all ingredients you can get from around us here.”  

And the Inn’s menu changes very frequently, right?   

“On our menu, somethings stay the same for good reason, but much of it is changeable with the seasons. We always have some kind of steak to share on the menu because people want that around here, plus we've got really good beef, so why not? We always have oysters on the menu, but other than that, the menu is changeable. Sometimes we have an ingredient or dish on the menu for a week and its gone for the year. I love the way the seasons dictate a restaurant. I think it's very sad when a restaurant as the same menu set all year round.”  

Let’s talk about your Le Chameau boots, where do you like to walk in them?   

“They are great to walk to the woods at Shell Bay here in Fife. Our dog, Daisy, really loves it there because you get a bit of everything, the woods and then onto the beach, running around, chasing a ball. We also love to walk along Elie Beach to the Lady’s Tower; that’s always an epic walk whatever the weather, and our Le Chameau boots are perfect for that.”  

Below, James shares with us a favourite recipe of his – Blood orange and anchovy salad with Red Gurnard. 

James wears Le Chameau Explore whilst on walks around the Inn
Alethea wears Le Chameau Giverny wool-lined bottillon