Burns Night: Diners at The Perch won't be let off Scot-free

Oxford has a proud literary history so it seems a natural fit to celebrate the national bard of Scotland and introduce the locals to the delights of some traditional Burns Night dishes.

As a proud Scotsman and chef, Burns Night is always a special event in the calendar for me. Having been raised in Inverness and earned my culinary stripes in restaurants north of the border I’ve seen this culinary Scottish institution celebrated in a variety of ways – some full of pomp and ceremony, some more homely and low key – but all full of great food and warm friendship.

Burns Night isn’t just a celebration of Scotland’s most famous poet, but also a celebration of some hearty winter dishes. Whilst we’ll be foregoing some of the ceremony that can accompany a Burns Night supper – we won’t be piping the haggis to the table or reading the famous address – we will be serving up some fantastic dishes as a special menu to anyone willing to try something a little different.

The centrepiece to any Burns supper is, of course, the haggis and we’ll be offering up award-winning MacSween’s haggis to our guests as either a starter or main course. In 2013 the Great Taste Awards gave MacSweens haggis their highest accolade of three gold stars, making it the only haggis to have received this award.

Haggis is one of those dishes that people are forever tinkering with – often overcomplicating the recipe, or trying to reinvent and repurpose it into new dishes. I won’t be doing any of that – it’s just a traditional recipe served in the time-honoured way. For the main course, the haggis is accompanied by neeps and tatties (swede/turnips and potatoes to the uninitiated) and a whisky-laced gravy that I’ve been perfecting for years and am very proud of! We’ll also be offering a vegetarian haggis for our vegetarian guests to enjoy.

For those a little unsure about the haggis option, we’ve got a great cullen skink as an alternative. This thick soup of smoked haddock, potatoes and onions is the perfect winter warmer and always delicious. There is also roast corn fed chicken accompanied by traditional sides of skirlie (fried oatmeal with onions) and clapshot (mashed neeps and tatties). We hope that all our guests will find something that takes their fancy and lets them try something new.

As a celebration of Scottish food, I’ve made sure that we’ve bought in some fabulous ingredients to really showcase the flavours and quality on offer. Our cock-a-leekie soup comes with a cheese scone made with a wonderful cheddar from Orkney, and the Shetland scallops are served alongside the most amazing black pudding from Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. The third starter on our menu is a dish of haggis and potato cakes with roasted white onion puree and parsnip crisps. Great dishes deserve the best ingredients and it’s brilliant to see Scotland providing so much fabulous produce.

For those with enough room for pudding we’ve got my own take on Cranachan (whipped cream, whisky and honey topped with raspberries and toasted oatmeal) and a delicious marmalade and honey steamed pudding laced with that most Scottish of liqueurs, Drambuie.

Being Burns Night, we’ll also have a great selection of whisky on offer to our guests for after their meal – a final tartan touch to ensure our guests leave with a warm glow.

TO BOOK
Burns Night specials will be available at The Perch, Binsey, from Saturday, January 24, until Monday, January 25. Reservations on 01865 728891