For those that love food, travelling is a way to experience culture via taste. Such is the importance we place in the joy of a good meal that the dishes of a region can define identity as much as its flag, landmarks or language, whether as a native or traveller. Food introduces us to new worlds, inspiring passion for distant places we’ve never seen, and may never reach. Tasting a dish can figuratively transport us, and at its best, inspire literal pilgrimage.
As a Scot, discussing our national cuisine with international visitors usually involves a trip through various, lazy stereotypes. Often, deep-fried confectionary and life expectancy are mentioned. We do, of course, have a handful of traditional options that website lists reel off as 'national dishes' – haggis, Cullen Skink, and cranachan and are all definitively Caledonian to some degree. However, few who live here would argue them as regular features of a native diet in the same way as regional stalwarts in Japan, Italy, India or China, where locals can point to a raft of daily staples that speak uniquely of their origin, or put a tangible, provincial stamp on a national signature. The dishes for which we are best known are barely eaten by our population, and outside of Scotland, finding a Scottish restaurant is virtually impossible.
Unlike a bowl of shoyu ramen in Tokyo, or a plate of agnolotti del plin in Piedmont, these traditional options simply do not feel capable of inspiring travel, existing more as cultural curios for those drawn here by other means. Nobody is coming to our country in search of the best mince and tatties. Our strength, and certainly what we are known for in more recent history, is the quality of what we grow, raise and catch as a country. Around the world, the Scottish larder is rightly held in extraordinary esteem, and our fields and seas provide some of the finest meat, fish and produce available, anywhere. Nobody disputes this. It is, rather, the translation of these ingredients into something that can be identified as a definitively, uniquely Scottish dish that is much harder to find.
At this point, if you’re Scottish and furious – simmer down. By any measure, the country is currently serving the best food we’ve ever seen. We have phenomenal chefs in excellent restaurants, taking those wonderful ingredients and cooking incredibly creative, delicious food that draws on a huge range of influences from home and abroad. For such a small country, we have to opportunity to eat extraordinarily well. The opportunity that exists is for a dish, or dishes, that we can point to and say: 'Come to Scotland, this is the best you’ll ever have' — and most importantly, to believe that, and eat it ourselves.
Do we need such a thing? Well, it could be unnecessary, or incredibly hard. Creating something as instantly recognisable, riffed on, written about, and globally adored as other national dishes from across the world would certainly be a huge challenge. But given everything we know about Scotland’s produce and those transforming it into wonderful plates of food, it would be a fascinating, delicious journey. Certainly, we deserve better than the haggis bon bon.
— Inspector PJ
