Meet the member:
Christopher Trotter

In short, a Champion of seasonal local produce!  I trained at the Savoy hotel in London – three years in the kitchens, followed by spells in Switzerland and Michelin starred restaurants in France and England. I first moved back to my native Scotland with my wife Caroline in 1982 to run her uncle’s hotel on Loch Awe in Argyll. It was there that I realised that Scotland has some of the finest produce in the world. Sadly, back then there were only a few people standing out and using it. David Wilson at the Peat Inn being one.

These days I’m a Chef, food writer, tour guide, Consultant and Fife Food Ambassador… all for the love of food!

After Portsonachan, the hotel in Argyll, Caroline & I returned to Fife and I opened Scotland’s Larder, where I was trying to raise awareness of Scotland’s fantastic produce in a seasonal manner. I used to have seasonal events inviting people renowned for their particular areas of work, to help celebrate them. Johnny Noble who founded Loch Fyne Oysters. Claire Macdonald did some demos on strawberries using fruit from our local fruit farm at Pittormie with Cameron Laird. And Asparagus from Sandy Pattullo in Glamis. At this time I was approached to write a cook book for the National Trust for Scotland, and Caroline started to do photography, weddings at first but now food. So various threads began to take shape.

All my tours are bespoke, and my main aim is to reflect the season and what is growing at the time, this often takes in wild produce such as wild garlic, and mushrooms. I plan the tour to take into account the interests of the group, so that they get a wide variety of experience, not just of foods and producers, but of landscape. For all its size, Fife has a wonderful diversity. Of course, if the client wants it I will go to the highlands and the islands. Mull being a particular favourite.

I have built up a good relationship with quite a few Food from Fife members, and so as soon as we arrive I can make reference to the conversation I have had with my guests, which brings them straight into a conversation with the grower/ producer. I’m always looking for new producers, locations and experiences to incorporate into my menus, tours and talks.

I think that because all my trips are bespoke, I can tailor the itinerary to suit the client. I am the person taking the trips and I have built up have a huge knowledge of the area and can bring that expertise to enrich the experience of the guests. What they ask and talk about on the trip will be developed as the day progresses.

When I started the tours, they were promoted through my website. Now I work with a number of operators, including some American Cruise companies and St Andrews Links golf, The cruise ships are mainly Americans and the local business brings people from all over including Europe. I am always looking to work with local businesses and I think visitors are looking for experiences and great stories.

As with my tours, my workshops are all bespoke, so based on whatever the guests are looking for, fish, game vegetables etc. or maybe a three-course meal based on seasonal produce and it is always good to be able to source produce from Food from Fife members. Provenance is key – if the ingredients have a story to tell the whole experience instantly becomes more memorable.

People often ask “what sort of cooking do you do” and my answer is always Scottish, local and seasonal. Having said that, interaction often comes from when a client chooses an ingredient because they want to know what to do with it and then as we do that they pick up all sorts of tips from knife skills to how to season and understanding the science of cooking. It still amazes me that by mixing an egg yolk with olive oil you get a sublime sauce – mayonnaise!! Cooking is where art and science meet. The art is marrying texture and colour in a dish, the science is understanding how an egg yolk and oil work together.

There are 6 in the vegetable series just now Cauliflower, Carrot, Tomato and Broccoli as well as the Kale & Beetroot. I have also written a fish cook book to encourage people to be more aware of fish from our own waters and avoiding farmed fish from Greece or Honduras such as sea bass or sea bream.  As these books are self – published with photographs taken by Caroline I am always on the look out for businesses who may want to stock them- farmshops, deli’s, butchers, garden centres, etc. I am currently trying to write a book about our time at Portsonachan on the west coast, based on the idea of James Heriots “It shouldn’t happen to a vet” but more of “It shouldn’t happen to a hotelier”. Working with Caroline on the food photography for the books has opened up new avenues for that. She has developed a side of her business creating amazing food images for all sort of businesses from butchers to restaurants. She is also doing workshops to help chefs take good images on the smart phones.

I am so lucky that I love all that I do. Over the years I have just looked at opportunities and taken them and have developed the variety of activities I now have. I love celebrating my own country and in particular Fife and sharing my knowledge of the amazing produce of Scotland.

Here in Fife, we have Scotland in miniature. Everything Scotland has, we have here in Fife. Shellfish, beef, lamb, Game. We have only one unpasteurised cheese maker – Jane Stewart of St Andrews Farmhouse Cheese Company at Pittenweem, a whole range of vegetables and soft fruit and so it goes on. What’s not to like!