From Paris to Portree, how top chef Calum Munro was inspired by granny to forage his way to fine dining

Looking out over Portree Harbour, there’s no shortage of inspiration for Scorrybreac chef Calum Munro.

But it’s actually his granny – who hailed from Skye’s blackhouses – and her simple way of life – that led Calum to pursue fine dining using the island’s bounty of seasonal produce.

Lindsay Bruce speaks to the French-trained chef who swapped the kitchens of Paris for a fisherman’s cottage in his home town of Portree.

‘I always think of my wee granny on her croft,’ said chef Calum

“Creative modern cooking uses meats from the hills and seafood from the harbour below,” is how the Michelin guide describes Scorrybreac.

Named after the home of Calum’s parents Teresa – and none other than Runrig’s Donnie Munro – their front room and kitchen is where he first launched his restaurant.

So it seems appropriate then, that even with his own premises a decade on, Calum’s ethos of using locally sourced, seasonal and often foraged ingredients has remained the same.

“I always think back to my wee granny, who lived on her croft. There would have been no electricity, a long walk to fetch water, but fresh ingredients such as whelks and mussels for her to find and bring home.

“The simplicity of that… using what the land has to offer, always appealed to me. Coming home to Skye to start my restaurant, after a time in Paris, brought with it the opportunity to cook the way I love to cook with the very best of Skye ingredients,” he says.

‘Foraging is freedom – and pressure – in equal measures’

But opting for a carefully curated menu comprising foraged foods adds pressure to any chef promising such delicacies to their customers.

“On the one hand, it makes things very straightforward. I know what’s in season,” 39-year-old Calum tells me.

“I know how to get it, and I have carte blanch in terms of what I add to the menu.

“But on the other hand, it can be quite tricky to organise it.”

For one dish Calum uses gorse flowers, and in another meadowsweets, nearing the end of their season right now.

“Depending on what we’re looking for, you are really aware that there’s only a small window. If I miss a flower, for example, it could be another year before that’s included in a dish again,” he says.

Haggis and Highland heritage, on the Scorrybreac menu for Autumn

If it’s frustrating, you don’t get any sense of it. Passion for his craft – and satisfied customers – is what dominates the conversation.

From ingredients plucked from the shoreline and short shelf-life flowers, we segue into meat. The current small plate menu offers the simple but delicious-sounding lamb rump, burnt aubergine and capers.

“I mean you can’t help be excited by fresh shellfish and seafood, straight from the boat to the plate. But there’s also something incredible about using the animals from the very hills of the island.”

Like a link to his ancient island heritage, Calum’s turning his hand to the national dish.

“I’m actually making a lot of haggis just now. I’m a big fan of using the whole animal. To break it down and waste as little as possible.”

He also tells me goes shooting for deer when I ask about his venison tartare served with scurvy grass ice cream.

Skye homecoming birthed new creativity for Portree chef Calum

By his own admission, Calum’s cooking style has evolved. Learning his craft running a restaurant in the French capital meant “almost shocking” the customers with his ability to master the rich cuisine of Paris.

Returning home to Scotland, however, brought with it an opportunity to both pace himself and decide for himself what he’d truly like to create.

“There’s a bit of a pressure to almost upsell yourself and what you cook but I’m a believer in making this kind of fine dining accessible.

“I love it when people are able to try, and enjoy, amazing food. There’s nothing better for a chef than knowing all the hard work culminated in a wonderful experience for someone.”

It’s certainly working for the dad-of-two. At the more reasonably priced end of the fine dining spectrum, you get a taste of affordable decadence when you sit down to dine at one of Scorrybreac’s eight tables.