Lovers of CalMac n’ cheese say it is just not the same any more, after stumping up £10.95 for a portion.

The meal that can only be bought on ferries that offer cooked food, such as the Isle of Mull and the Isle of Lewis, has always been one of the top sellers for travellers.

CalMac said it served up an incredible 50,408 portions of macaroni and cheese a year aboard its vessels.

But after a taste test, former advocates of the cheesy delight, that comes with peas or salad and freshly fried chips, have questioned the new recipe.

The popular dish has been a firm favourite on the menu for more than 35 years.

It comes served in a small dish and the cheese sprinkled over it bubbles into a crisp topping.

After complaints about the taste changing on the dish, one top Argyll restaurateur Carolyn Mcdonald said it had “fallen off” her “top spot”.

Ms Mcdonald a former owner of Tobermory’s Cafe Fish and Starfish in Tarbert Loch Fyne, said it was no longer her top choice for macaroni and cheese.

She knows a thing or two about great-tasting food.

After her social media post, others told the Tarbert-based Silver Darlings co-owner, they felt the same.

Mull residents said they too had noticed a change in the taste of the once top-rated dish.

Isle of Arran Mustard Cheddar

Vivienne Danska, who travels to the Western Isles via Oban for work, said: “Macaroni and cheese used to be the best thing about CalMac, but over the last while it has lost its edge.

“People have told me the cheese has changed. Don’t get me wrong it is still good, but not as good as it was.

“I think there is less cheese on it. It used to bubble over, and now it is a much thinner sauce.

“I just have the chips now with a buttered roll. ”

Colonsay-bound John Baird, a hill climber, from Glasgow, said he too thought the taste had changed, He said: “As a vegetarian, there is nothing better than CalMac and cheese after a climb on an island mountain.

“But over the years the taste has changed. I do wonder if there is less cheese in it now.”

Always willing to go the extra mile for readers, we asked CalMac bosses if the recipe had been altered.

And, guess what? It has.

But that was two years ago.

A spokeswoman for CalMac said: “It hasn’t changed recently, but around two and half years ago, we added the Isle of Arran Mustard Cheddar to the recipe which also includes Lockerbie Cheddar and Parmesan cheese.

“There was also a small touch of garlic added.

“We always use Marshall’s Scottish macaroni.”

Adding: “It was taste tested at the time.”

The original Mac n’ cheese

Sharing the original recipe online, it seems that the sauce used to be made with Mull of Kintyre Cheddar.

Here’s how you can recreate it at home, using one of CalMac’s chief cook’s “easy-to-follow recipes”.

CalMac and Cheese for four – ingredients

• 400g macaroni
• 70g butter
• 50g plain flour
• 900ml milk
• 100g of Mull of Kintyre Cheddar – grated
• 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese – grated
• 1 tablespoon of Isle of Arran mustard, or English Mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste

CalMac adds: “For additional variety, you could add 150g of Stornoway Black Pudding – cooked and crumbled, which can be added to the sauce, prior to placing in the oven.

“This will create a delicious Mac’n’Black.”

If in doubt about the new flavour of the CalMac n’ cheese – you could always get one of its breakfasts. 

Have you noticed a change in the taste? Let us know!

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