Highlands & Islands
Ellishadder Art Cafe is in my humble opinion has the most scenic and dramatic landscape on the Isle of Skye . The breathtaking beauty surrounds you with stunning cliffs ,rocky seashores and shimmering water on one side and dramatic misty black mountains on the other . Words are not adequate to describe the beauty at this part of Skye. We rolled up to a very busy Cafe in the middle of all this scenery and wondered where everybody had appeared from . Ellishadder quite obviously has a reputation for good food and even greater cake . I positioned myself at an outside table to carry out todays Assessment and enjoyed the view whilst eating Nougat Cake,Tiffin ,Shortbread with a homemade lemon curd ,Carrot cake and my favourute was the Talisker Fruit cake - couldnt drive after this one !! Margaret the owner and hands on Chef/Baker told me no point calling it talisker Fruit cake if you cant taste the whiskey !! Great words . Margaret operates her very busy Cafe from her own home which is the " Norm" here on Skye and on many Islands in Scotland and i think it brings back a lot of what we have missing in our culture nowadays and that is a personal touch and hands on management . More of this would bring back our once high standards for customer service,value and quality and i for one am all for that . Well done Margaret.
Today was our last day of Assessments in Skye and in the busy main town of Portree. Just as we had given up hope of finding excellent baking in Portree along came this wee gem in the name of "Cafe Arriba" This is a fantastic wee modern ,trendy, young and extremely busy Cafe . The view from one half of the Cafe overlooks Portree Harbour and from the other half of the Cafe your overlook the bustling main town of Portree- perfect location. The Cafe had such a great lunch menu that we stayed for lunch before the Cake intervention. Linda and her partner in crime Jenny make a formiddable team running this Cafe with all their staff. The cake display was large and varied with everything from Cheesecake to all the usual cookies and cakes ,but for me the star of the show was a fresh plum scone . I have not had plum in a scone before and it was as light ,tasty and as perfect a texture which needed no addition of jam. If in Portree this Cafe should not be missed not just for the excellent baking but for the Lunch menu and fanatastic ambience. We will be back .
Emma Louise's Cafe is just outside the main drag in Lerwick and is a cracking little shop if you love the best Cupcakes in Shetland . I have to say in all honesty i am not a fan of the faddy Cupcake craze but this Cafe can seriously make great ones. Chocolate in a cake is notoriously difficult to get right without being dry and these were the best i had tasted in a long while. The best Chocolate Ganache for toppings and i was in heaven. The homemade Meringues were stunning and the Orange Cake was my favourite . Cupcakes are not this little Cafes only talent so i suggest you all pop in and try out these great cakes. Emma Louise was busy making over 200 canapes for a party this weekend so outside catering is also her bag. I also noticed the lovely little touch that you dont see everywhere which is the "Suspended Coffee" idea. This means for every Coffee you purchase -you purchase another without drinking it but the money for that coffee goes in a jar for those that cant afford one. I think this is a lovely idea and should be in more eating places. Anyway sadly i must leave the Beautiful Shetland Isles until another day but i will be back for Emma louises lovely Chocolate Cupcakes. Well done !
A weekend flying visit to The Shetland Isles proved to be the most stunning location we have been to in a long time. We arrived at Sumburgh Airport to blue skies and 16o Heat in early May -heaven. The drive to Lerwick passing the whitest sandy beaches more akin to the bahamas greeted us on every bend. The Annual Folk Festival was also on this weekend so a great atmosphere was felt by all. On entering Lerwick you have some lovely little independant shops stretching the length of Commercial street with the fabulous Fine Peerie Cakes at the end (or beginning depending on where you enter) . The sun shone brightly as we entered to huge displays of every Cake,Slice,Scone and Novelty cakes that you could imagine. The bubbly Sherl recognised who we were immediately and welcomed us with open arms. " Please just ignore the Cornflour on my pinny" was music to my ears !! This lady is hands on in this shop and her lovely staff and daughter all muck in to create a great team which is evident in the display of Homemade Cakes all round this lovely bright shop. This is a real working kitchen and the passion for what they all do is what i loved the most . So many places you go to where this kind of work is a chore or is for financial gain - but not here !! They cant say no to the hundreds of Cake orders that come their way on a daily basis . I could have worked here myself as the motivation ,enthusiasm and talent for what they all do together was inspiring. The cakes i tried were absolutely mouthwatering and all scored top marks . A lovely slightly different Border Tart was the real hit with me . Sherl and her team have gone right through to our Finals at Mar Hall. Cant wait to see you all again girls and keep up the great work with the smiles you so easily gave to me . Slainte.