Our menus are shaped by the seasons, so autumn brings with it a whole new selection of ingredients to work with.
Rather than keeping the same dishes on the menu throughout the year, we let the landscape and nature around us guide what we cook.
Following the Glorious Twelfth, partridge and grouse regularly begin to appear on our menus. Game brings a depth and character that feels particularly suited to this time of year, when we're naturally drawn towards richer, more warming dishes.
And it's not just the game that comes into its own.
The waters around Scotland provide an abundance of fish which are at their best - fat, fresh and full of flavour. We let nature guide our approach to seasonal cooking, and it speaks for itself… use good ingredients when they are at their best, and let them speak for themselves..
“One of my favourite products is Hebridean lamb,We feature it when we can - it’s a real treat to cook with something that good.”
When the Landscape Shapes the Menu
For us, seasonal cooking isn't about following a trend. It's simply a natural part of cooking in this part of Scotland.
The landscape changes, the produce changes, and so does the food.
Autumn is perhaps when this feels most apparent. The abundance of game, fish, mushrooms, roots and squash gives the kitchen plenty to work with, while the cooler evenings call for food that feels comforting without losing the quality and simplicity at its heart.
And that's why our menu can change often. What is available today may not be what the landscape offers next week. We would rather work with that natural rhythm than ignore it.
There is something about autumn in Argyll that makes you want to slow down.
The days begin to shorten, the evenings draw in and the landscape takes on a deeper, richer character. In the kitchen at The Kilchrenan Inn, it also means one of our favourite times of year is well underway.
As Head Chef Iain puts it:
“Now we are fully into game season. As the nights start to draw in, we have so much abundance of produce coming into its prime.”
A Walk in the Woods, on the Plate
Autumn is also mushroom season, and the forests around us become a source of some of the kitchen's most exciting ingredients.
The forest floors are dotted with the golden nuggets of chanterelles, while deeper among the trees you'll find beautiful penny bun mushrooms.
There is something particularly fitting about serving food that has come from the landscape just beyond the Inn. It creates a direct connection between the place we're lucky enough to call home and what eventually finds its way onto the plate.
The autumn harvest continues with beautiful squash and roots, bringing colour, sweetness and depth to the kitchen as the weather turns cooler.
Then there are the ingredients that are simply a treat to work with.
Our beef is Limousin-cross Blue Grey cattle, with Highland cow occasionally available too. Each ingredient brings its own character, and our menus evolve around what is available rather than trying to force the seasons to fit.
“In autumn, Scotland’s larder truly comes into its own, and our menu reflects that.”
So, if you're planning a visit to The Kilchrenan Inn this autumn, keep your eyes peeled for our latest menu updates. You might find game, Scottish fish, woodland mushrooms, Hebridean lamb or the season's best roots and squash waiting for you.
Come in from the autumn air, settle into the Inn, and see what Scotland's larder has brought with it this time.
