The Whisky Kitchen Book Launch, 19th April 2008
"Sheila and Graham have faced one of the most pleasurable tasks imaginable matching the fantastic malts produced across Scotland with the very best of Scottish cuisine. The recipes in this book will bring joy to all those who cook them and hopefully introduce many more people to the best Scotland" the Rt Hon Alex Salmond MP, MSP, First Minister for Scotland
BBC Radio London, 10th April 2008
"You don’t have to be a whisky aficionado to add ‘The Whisky Kitchen’ to your culinary library; in fact most of the 100 plus recipes would survive without the addition of Scotch, but would be much poorer for it. Sheila McConachie & Graham Harvey’s Craggan Mill restaurant is in the heartland of Speyside & from their Grantown on Spey base they’ve spent a year crafting an eclectic mix of dishes, using easily followable recipes, featuring a vast range of whiskies. It’s not essential to track down each whisky, but it would be a glorious quest. To set you on the trail there are sections on the different whisky producing regions of Scotland.
A creamy Veloute soup of Haggis laced with Glenfarclas 15 year old is one of Graham’s award winning dishes (Spirit of Speyside Chef of the Year 2007). Tea smoked Duck with Cherry & Cashew Nut Salad is underpinned by Jura 10 year old & the fruit in the Steamed Walnut & Prune Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce, benefits from being steeped in Ben Riach 15 year old which has a Dark Rum Wood finish (wouldn’t we all).
The ‘dive into the page & gorge yourself’ factor is provided by Graeme Wallace’s photographs. Considering Graham was born in North Wales & spent 22 years as an RAF engineer, he’s turned out to be a brilliant ambassador for Scotland’s whiskies & its produce & obviously didn’t spend all those years solely tinkering with undercarriages. No doubt Dundee born Sheila has steered him in the right direction, when needed. Lucky us!" Nigel Barden