I'd been living in London for just under a year when my parents came to visit in January 2020.
05.08.2023 - 08:15 / nationalgeographic.com
In the basement of a granite townhouse in the centre of Aberdeen, my guide Calum Lockerbie’s voice becomes hushed, bordering on conspiratorial. We’re awaiting the main courses in Amuse, a new fine-dining restaurant by chef Kevin Dalgleish, when Calum leans in and says: “Everyone in here has, is or will work in the oil industry.”
We do seem to be eating oily food, by which I mean cuisine served so perfectly (and priced so expensively) that it’s only likely to be bought regularly by people with extra money in their pockets. There’s east-coast crab and Orkney scallops, local lamb and Aberdeenshire venison. Of course, Aberdeen Angus features, too.
When I think about Aberdeen and wider Aberdeenshire I don’t first think about food. I think about the lickety-split Doric dialect, hard winters and, yes, oil. Ever since huge reserves were first discovered in the North Sea in the 1960s, oil has shaped this region and its people, booming and busting and damaging the environment along the way. Other industries have faded or been pushed out — notably fishing — in order to accommodate the petrochemical business, and while much of the vast fortunes it has generated have been carried away under flags of convenience, a sliver has been left behind to leave its mark in Aberdeenshire, too.
Over three days in the county, most people I meet while touring with tour company Bothies & Bannocks have or have had some kind of experience with the oil industry, including my guides and, to my surprise, several local food producers. On the road out of the city, in Royal Deeside, cheesemaker Alex Reid is an example of someone who’s made, and continues to make, money in the oil industry, but who’s investing in his local area, too.
“Cheese is the future,” he says, explaining that, despite his time working with fossil fuels, he’s actually part of a generational family of cheesemakers — a profession he’s returned to. Despite the long family involvement, his Cambus O’May facility feels very modern — and it’s about to expand.
“It might not happen this year, but if not, then next year we’ll receive 60 dairy cows and take control of the whole process,” says the boss. “This year, we’re going to really grow the cafe and restaurant. That was never supposed to be part of the business plan, but it’s been so popular with people cycling out to this part of Deeside that it just makes sense.”
The signature cheese on offer is a two-day curd, great wheels of which are maturing on racks at the back of the factory. Alex cores one to test its flavour and consistency, before nodding his approval. It has distinctly Scottish characteristics, as does the popular Auld Reekie (a nickname for Edinburgh), which has been smoked over oak chips from old whisky
I'd been living in London for just under a year when my parents came to visit in January 2020.
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