When guests first booked into Calum Munro’s eatery in Skye, the last thing they expected was to be served from the front room of Runrig star Donnie, by the great man himself.
But opening up the family home to support their son required “very little thought at all” when it meant Calum coming back to Scotland, and helping him succeed.
For this week’s edition of My Family, we sat down with Scots music royalty Donnie Munro, and his Michelin-listed restauranteur son, for the behind-the-scenes story of Highland hospitality and family devotion.
‘Mum gave up her tearoom to help me get started,’ said Calum
It was a decade ago when Calum Munro returned to Scotland from his professional kitchen in Paris.
His mum was running a tea room from Scorrybreac House – the family home in Portree – and Calum intimated that if the right opportunity came up he’d like to return home.
“It was my wife Teresa – who is a cordon bleu cook herself – that first raised the idea of using her tea room as a means for Calum to create a bit of a pop-up restaurant,” said Donnie.
“My mum and dad did everything they could to support me,” said Calum, whose restaurant now occupies a former fisherman’s cottage overlooking Portree harbour.
“That included letting me start my restaurant in our family home.
“Having mum and dad there serving, and helping me run the kitchen, was just a happy bonus.”
Skye became the ‘forever home’ for singer Donnie and family
Donnie and Teresa Munro are parents to four now grown-up children.
Their first daughter Sarah Anne is 44, followed by Calum who will be 40 later this year. Second son Niall – who founded Birch Coffee – is 34, and their youngest, Tanith Rose, is completing her post-grad studies, and is just 24.
Family life began on the mainland when Donnie, post-Runrig, worked as rector of Edinburgh University.
In the following seasons of life, with the Loch Lomond singer no longer on tour, Teresa returned to her studies, qualifying in social work. The family eventually settled where Donnie grew up, on Skye.
‘Even as a wee boy Calum was a better cook than me’
Donnie said it was one evening when Teresa was in Glasgow when he first realised his son had culinary potential.
“It fell to me to make the evening meal with mum away.
“I think I planned something like mince and tatties. Calum came in, inspected the ingredients, then asked me if I’d mind him making something else for himself.
“I don’t remember what it was, but I do recall it was much more appetising than my creation.”
“I don’t remember that,” laughs Calum, “but I do know food was always very much a part of our lives growing up. My mum made us things then – like vegan dishes – no one else was eating.
“Both my brother and I sort of caught her love of food, as well as the artistry and creativity of it.”
Scotland to Paris, and back again for chef Calum
For Calum – who is now a dad-of-two himself, with partner Lucy – professional cheffing began somewhat naively.
“There was an opportunity to go to France to work as a sous chef, but on arriving it quickly evolved into me becoming the head chef.
“It was really intense, to be honest. I kind of watched Ratatouille and thought ‘ach I’ll pick up French as I go’.
“In reality I rocked up in Paris, got lost on the first day, and for my interview was asked to butcher a piece of lamb with lots of people watching.
“Then they said ‘right, now make us lunch.’
“That was basically my interview. It must have been good because within a very short space of time I was running the restaurant.”
French supper clubs inspired Skye home restaurant
You can almost hear the twinkle in his eye as he recalls cooking for his regulars, enjoying their shock that a Scotsman had mastered the art of French cuisine.
“By the end I knew ‘kitchen French’. There were still days when I had to try and creatively use whatever I had accidentally ordered though,” he laughs.
While away, Calum stayed connected to home.
“My mum and I spoke loads. She started a wee tea room with home bakes, teas and coffees, with a sign at the end of our drive. It became quite popular.
“At the same time I was eating at lot of supper clubs. Chefs began hosting in living rooms. You didn’t know what you were going to get, it was informal, but I loved it.
“While I began imagining trying something out in Skye, mum suggested making the house and kitchen available.
“Niall was at a loose end – and he’s such a foodie too – with mum’s help we decided to give it a go.”
‘Cooking is like being centre stage,’ says Donnie
When it came to kitchen duties Donnie wasn’t a bystander.
“Niall and I would prep in the day then dad would return from work suited and booted. He’d be in the door, jacket off, apron on, and into the kitchen.”
“I did a bit of everything,” Donnie says. “But what I loved most was watching Calum at work. I never understood it at first… when people spoke about the art of cooking. Until I saw it in action.”
In fact, Donnie likens his son’s culinary process of foraging ingredients, preparing the food, bringing it all together, and presenting it to the pass, to him standing on the stage in front of 50,000 at Loch Lomond.
“Once the lights were on, and the hot lamps and extractors were blowing, it’s like being centre stage. Everything – all the prep, all the ideas, all the training, comes together in that one moment. It’s all about that moment.
“I think it’s more stressful being a chef than a musician, for sure.”
‘So grateful for my family’s support,’ says Calum
But if Donnie found his time in the Scorrybreac kitchen trying, he never let his son know.
“My dad was the calming influence. He held his own better than many people who work in kitchens professionally. Never too big to do the small jobs and always last out of the kitchen at night.
“We ran the restaurant for two years from the house. But to have that time with my family all around me is something I could never replicate.
“I’m incredibly grateful,” Calum added.
Little Munros are now papa’s biggest fans
And so, it seems, were those first customers to the restaurant. Trip Advisor reviews mention the beautiful dining room, the excellent food – and a “thrilling” glimpse of Donnie Munro.
“Calum didn’t need me to sell the quality of his work. Every single person came because of his reputation. And that remains the case today.
“He made this one dish, a parfait liver and reduction sauce. When you ate it, you knew you were alive. It was life-affirming with every bite,” Donnie says.
However, the Munros do now have a new generation of Runrig fans in the house.
“My kids, Lusan and Rubha, have taken to watching their papa on YouTube. They absolutely love him.
“Well, dad and the Singing Kettle.”
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