Guest User 1/22/21 Guest User 1/22/21

Tàrmachan Café

Created by Tom and Caitlin, Tàrmachan is a small café situated in Crathie, Aberdeenshire. Supporting local producers is at the forefront of everything they do. Expect fresh sourdough, baked daily and other delicious baked treats, local cheeses and artisan coffee and always, fresh, seasonal and organic vegetables.

Created by Ben, Tom and Caitlin, Tàrmachan is a small café situated in Crathie, Aberdeenshire. Local produce and community are at the forefront of everything they do. Expect fresh sourdough, baked daily and other delicious baked treats, local cheeses and artisan coffee and always, fresh, seasonal and organic vegetables.

Who are some of your favourite local suppliers?

We have two amazing butchers on hand for our wild venison, Braemar butcher and HM Sheridan’s in Ballater. After some thorough searching, we were stoked to come across Berwick Wood Farm who are a small organic, no-dig fruit and veg grower in Aberdeenshire they are dedicated to regenerative agriculture.

Favourite thing about living in Kincardineshire?

Rain, shine or snow we are surrounded by adventure and beauty! For us, the richness and diversity of the land means we can the enjoy the quality of the produce the area has to offer, from foraging to farming.

What’s the secret to the best cup of coffee?

It’s a science!! It starts with a great tasting bean (ours thanks to Williams & Johnson) of course, and then we have to ensure the extraction is perfect… which essentially means every day we ensure the right amount of water is pulled through the right amount of coffee, which is ground to exactly the right coarseness. We are still amazed at how precise it needs to be!

Guest User 1/11/21 Guest User 1/11/21

Spider on a Bicycle

Situated in the village, Aboyne, Spider on a Bicycle is a small local café with a focus on good quality ingredients, ethically sourced. The café was founded by sisters, Hollie and Emma, who make everything from scratch on-site.

Situated in the village, Aboyne, Spider on a Bicycle is a small local cafe with a focus on good quality ingredients, ethically sourced. Founded and run by sisters, Hollie and Emma who make everything from scratch on site.

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What’s your favourite thing on the menu?

Our house-made sausage rolls are one our faves, made from scratch by us, we buy the meat from our local butcher across the Square from the cafe. Cake wise, it would have to be a tie between our cinnamon buns or the apple cake!

What do you love most about living in Kincardineshire?

We love the freedom of the great outdoors. We both live in Glen Tanar, just inside the Cairngorms National Park. Emma is a mountain biker and fitness coach in her ‘spare’ time and loves getting out on the trails, keeping fit and going on mini-adventures in her van. I [Hollie] am really into gardening, particularly growing my own food, and have a productive vegetable garden and poly-tunnel that I work on in my time off. We are really privileged to live in such a beautiful place with open wild spaces on our doorstep, so many opportunities to explore!

Who does the baking and cooking?

We both do. Emma is star baker though! We learnt how to cook properly through our mum and gained experience working in independent cafes here and abroad. I much prefer sticking to the savoury stuff - there’s nothing more satisfying than turning leftover vegetables into an amazing soup or stew for the cafe. We make as much as we can in house, and an ideal world we would like a bigger kitchen space to expand our menu, but we work with what we have!

How did you come up with the name Spider on a Bicycle?

We were in the process of setting the café up and working through our business plan and we desperately needed a name. We were adamant that it wouldn’t be directly linked to food or coffee, as for us it was also about creating a space and feeling. We were chatting it through over G&Ts one night and were inspired by a favourite children’s poem of ours, ‘A Spider Bought a Bicycle’. We had misremembered the title and there you have it! It was a stroke of good fortune that the premises we later secured was on a busy local cycle route, and we have loads of cyclists and mountain bikers as regulars now. It’s fun, and we think it’s important not to take yourselves too seriously sometimes!

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Guest User 1/8/21 Guest User 1/8/21

The Strong Water Co.

The Strong Water Co. is a unique alcohol shop on Banchory’s High Street. Owners’ Monty and Guy Finlayson provide specialist knowledge across a diverse range of wine, champagne, prosecco, beer, gin, whisky and other tipples.

The Strong Water Co. is a unique alcohol shop on Banchory’s High Street. Owners’ Mungo and Guy Finlayson provide specialist knowledge across a diverse range of wine, champagne, prosecco, beer, gin, whisky and other tipples.

What’s the most unusual drink in the shop?

Seidear, unique Scottish bubbly boasting Honeycrisp flavour and yellow undertones.

What’s your favourite place to visit in Kincardineshire?

Well, you can’t beat swimming at Glen Dye.

What is the value of an independent shop on the high street?

Personal interaction with customers, providing them and knowing their needs.

Guest User 1/7/21 Guest User 1/7/21

Aberdeenshire Highland Beef

Founded and owned by Grace Noble, Aberdeenshire Highland Beef provides a farm to fork experience. The highland beef cuts are from the 100% pure pedigree herd, traditionally hung and matured on the farm. Grace is passionate about farming and education.

How long have you lived and worked in Banchory?

I moved to Aberdeenshire in 2006, I really loved the area and decided to settle here with my young family, having moved from the Isle of Skye on the West coast of Scotland. I purchased my first highland cattle in May 2012 and started the foundations of my herd.

I commercialised the farm in 2016, starting up my own butchery, shop and farm tours.

Is there such a thing as an average day?

No! Each day is so varied - looking after the livestock, feeding, moving them, calving, transporting them to the slaughterhouse, taking them to shows, washing them and training them for showing and visitors. Mucking out, tractor work, harvesting feed and bedding.

Then there is the farm paperwork, planning of the business, training courses. Keeping up with legislative change. The butchery, I do my own butchery so that is preparing 2 carcases per week for domestic and commercial orders. Cleaning of the butchery, doing the deliveries. We run a small shop on the farm, so I have all the stock to manage for that too, invoicing, packing and pricing and preparing orders.

I attend farmers markets every weekend to sell my beef. I also run farm tours. I have even been known to attend weddings with my cattle and we sometimes do photoshoots for magazines and interviews.

Then there is all the paperwork; marketing, website updating, social media, newsletters. And as always trying to grow, expand and develop the business. It takes research, time and planning.

It's a lot to juggle in a day and often requires many changes of clothes and two very helpful and understanding teenage children. There is always the unexpected, but I try to be as organised as possible.

Who taught you how to farm Highland Cows?

The gentleman in the photo (below) taught me the most I know on how to farm highland cattle. His name is Ian Adams, he’s a local farmworker who has a passion for the breed and farming.

Ian and his family keep their cattle at my farm and have guided me a lot on my farming journey, he has been a tremendous support right from the start. I have also undertaken a number of training courses in agriculture.

Tom Cronk 1/7/21 Tom Cronk 1/7/21

Federica Bertolini

Also known as The Italian Ghillie, Federica takes groups on walking expeditions around the Aberdeenshire countryside and provides delicious picnics of wild and foraged foods. She has extensive knowledge of the land and teaches her guests about the local environment.

Also known as The Italian Ghillie, takes groups on walking expeditions around the Aberdeenshire countryside and provides delicious picnics of wild and foraged foods. She has extensive knowledge of the land and teaches her guests about the local environment.

What’s one of your favourite walks in Aberdeenshire?

My favourite walk is around Craig Leek, near Braemar. You park at the Keiloch and walk through a wonderful forest to reach a great open view of the iconic -and my favourite- hill, Lochnagar.

Lord Byron, who was raised in Aberdeenshire, wrote a famous poem about this mountain, this is an extract which I like:

England! thy beauties are tame and domestic
To one who has roved on the mountains afar
Oh for the crags that are wild and majestic
The steep frowning glories o' wild Lochnagar

What’s the most exciting food you’ve ever foraged?

I get easily excited by foraging, so anything will make me squeak! But I would probably say Chaga, one of the first mushrooms I found in Scotland, thanks to Ben Carter @wildresources. It’s something to look for in the winter when not much else is available, but the trees are bare, so it is easier to spot.

Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) is a type of mushroom that grows mainly on birch trees in northern Europe, Asia, Canada, and the northeastern United States. It contains massive amounts of melanin; when exposed to the sun, the exterior of the mushroom will turn a deep black, while the interior will remain a bright orange-ish colour.

What is your top tip for staying inspired?

It is very tempting to always go back to my 'usual' spots, but each week I make a point of exploring a new path. You have to be prepared to come back empty-handed in order to discover new areas and eventually find new treasures!