Nurture Nature, Eat with Buck and Birch
About Buck & Birch
We discovered Buck & Birch and their fabulous dinners a couple of years ago, thanks to a colleague who is a childhood friend of Tom (one half of the Buck & Birch team). Our first Buck & Birch dining experience in 2015 was a wonderful foraged meal accompanied by wild drinks at Dalriada in Portobello. In 2016 they hosted a dinner at the Edinburgh Food Studio, which is one of the most innovative spaces in the Edinburgh restaurant scene. We obviously attended and loved every bite. Since then Rupert and Tom have created the Aelder Elixir which is a wild elderberry licquor and works beautifully both neat and in cocktails.
Nurture Nature, Eat
Now the guys of Buck & Birch are back at Dalriada with a very special dinner series titled 'Nurture Nature, Eat'. They have teamed up with mixologist Miran Chauhan who created paired drinks to go with the 7 course meal. We were kindly invited to their May dinner and loved the experience. Here are some of the highlights of the evening.
Welcome drink: Aelder, Botanist gin with wormwood bitters and larch
Celebrating sakura season with cherry blossom syrop, classic Laddie with Aelder shrub
Seashore: mussels and sweet cicely with shoestring fries
Woodland: wild salad with elm keys, lovage and yoghurt dressing
Field: pigeon, orzotto, hogweed shoots and kale with Korean raspberry dressing
The dessert deserves a special mention (we ate it too fast so not pictured!) - I don't think we have ever tasted anything like it before. Who would have thought that nettle and sorel cake, larch sorbet with meadowsweet cream tastes absolutely devine?
If you would like to secure some seats at the upcoming Buck & Birch dinners, you can book via Eventbrite. Dates are as follows: 13-14 July (Friday and Saturday), 15 September (Saturday), 16-17 November (Friday and Saturday). As the menu is based on seasonal foraged ingredients, you can expect surprises on any visit. Also the guys do cater for special dietary requirements. Booking in advance is highly recommended.
All photos by The Edinburgh Enthusiast (C).
Acknowledgement: Even though we were kindly offered complimetary dinner by the Buck and Birch Team, the views and opinions expressed on this blog are honest and purely my own. Special thanks to the lovely Pip for organising our dinner and to Dalriada for hosting us.
