Scotland's Bookable Food and Drink Experiences Programme: Appetite for More

Ballintaggart provide premium seasonal Scottish food and drink experiences at two locations in Highland Perthshire. Ballintaggart Farm offers cook school experiences, dining experiences, and now residential cook schools, as well as soon-to-be-launched wellness experiences related to food and drink.

At The Grandtully Hotel, guests can enjoy a seasonal a la cart menu, a tasting menu three evenings a week, and explore a wide range of Scottish spirits, beers and cocktails in the bar. Ballintaggart also has three retail shops in nearby Aberfeldy and Kenmore, providing an opportunity for guests to discover more produce.

For more information, visit ballintaggart.com

Blackthorn Salt will offer a unique opportunity to tour around the world's only Thorn Tower and it's accompanying Pan House to see how the Blackthorn Team make incredible salt crystals. Visitors will be in small groups only (max 12) and have 1.5 hours to walk up and into the Tower, watch the method up close, ask questions, pack their own box of Blackthorn and finish up in the charming Blackthorn carriage to enjoy a mind opening salt tasting and flavour discovery session including a variety of different salts.

Visitors will leave having experienced first hand what it is like to be a Blackthorn Salter, working in this unique location on the Scottish West Coast with one of the most innovative and sustainable yet traditional forms of salt production in the world today.

For more information, visit blackthornsalt.co.uk

Borderland Food Tours offers small group food and drink tours showcasing the fabulous 'tastes and tales' of the wonderful local produce of the Borderlands, celebrating the rich agricultural and historical heritage of the region.

For more information, visit borderlandfoodtours.com

Chocolate Tree offers the 'Craft Chocolate Experience' – a tour of its factory, which includes an introduction to the brand's cacao origins, a visit of the facility and machinery, a chocolate bar making workshop, and a chocolate tasting flight.

For more information, visit choctree.co.uk

Courses For Cooks will see clients welcomed as guests into chef Jenny Thomson's home, with three experiences to choose from:

• Taste of Scotland cookery class
• Scottish afternoon tea cookery class with tutored tea tasting
• Shortbread making class

Bookings are custom arranged to suit client itineraries.

For more information, visit coursesforcooks.com

Dear Green is a well-established, Glasgow-based speciality coffee roastery. As well as selling coffee directly to the public, Dear Green provides wholesale services to cafes and other establishments across the UK and beyond. It also offers a variety of merchandise and coffee-related experiences, including tours of our roastery, classes, tasting experiences and other public-facing events.

For more information, visit deargreencoffee.com

Eat with Ailsa offers relaxed and sociable BYOB cooking classes in Edinburgh.

For more information, visit eatwithailsa.com

2026 will see the launch of a croft tour and supper club experience with the Hebridean Baker, which will include meeting Highland cows and Castlemilk Moorit sheep, hiking with dogs for views from the hills of the croft overlooking the Hebridean islands of Kerrera & Mull, then being welcomed in the croft house for afternoon teas, whisky tasting and supper clubs. The experiences will also include island stories, Gaelic song and recipes.

For more information, visit hebrideanbaker.com

Hebrides Cruises offers small-ship wildlife adventures around the Scottish Hebrides, where the food and drink experience is every bit as memorable as the scenery. Guests enjoy gourmet meals freshly prepared by onboard chefs using the best local and seasonal ingredients, from hand-dived scallops to seafood sourced straight from Hebridean waters.

Dining is relaxed yet refined, with a strong focus on sustainability and authentic Scottish hospitality. A new themed voyage, In Search of Seafood, adds an extra culinary dimension, featuring oysters, mussels, lobster and more, often caught or collected the same day. It’s an intimate blend of fine dining, local flavours, and stunning landscapes that makes every meal part of the journey.

For more information, visit hebridescruises.co.uk

Highlander Experience is a taste of Scotland four-course tapas menu, served alongside two drams and an Irn Bru, with Scottish music and history.

Inverness Botanic Gardens offers fresh food made daily and grown on location.

For more information, visit highlifehighland.com/inverness-botanic-gardens

Isle of Mull Oysters offers farmed Pacific Oysters from the rich tidal waters of the Inner Hebrides. It has plans for tours, tastings, potentially by boat.

For more information, visit isleofmulloysters.co.uk

Long Island Retreats & Larder currently produces beef, pork and lamb/mutton which visitors and locals can buy at its own croft shop. The business also hosts croft, machair and island tours with a local produce packed lunch. It plans to offer fully immersive field to fork experiences and supper clubs, showcasing amazing local produce.

For more information, visit longislandretreats.co.uk

Open Distillery Limited's experiences are not your normal tastings – they are like science class with gin! Imagine flavour-filled drinking experiences right in the middle of a laboratory.

For more information, visit theginlaboratory.com

The Scottish Cafe & Restaurant offers a unique dining experience that celebrates Scotland's rich larder. Situated in the heart of Edinburgh in the National Galleries of Scotland, the team serves seasonal menus that showcase sustainably-sourced ingredients from Scottish farmers, growers, and producers.

The kitchen proudly sources from the Contini Kitchen Garden located in Lasswade, about five miles outside of Edinburgh, which provides fresh ingredients for all Contini restaurants. The setting, overlooking Edinburgh's iconic landscape, creates a truly unforgettable experience.

For more information, visit contini.com/scottish-cafe-and-restaurant

The Scottish Venison Company is in the early stages of establishing butchery classes aimed at cooks who would like to know more about meat preparation or be more self-sufficient in preparing their own meat.

For more information, visit scottishvenisoncompany.co.uk

The Wee Wine Shop hosts relaxed but expertly guided tasting experiences that make fine drinks approachable and memorable. Its most popular option is the 10 Tasting Flight, which sees guests share what they enjoy, and the team creates a personalised line-up of whiskies, gins, rums, or cognacs to explore. The Wee Wine Shop also offers beginner whisky tastings, as well as more in-depth flights for enthusiasts, highlighting regional styles, unique casks, or rare bottlings.

For more information, visit facebook.com/Theweewineshop

From the Discovery Tour to the ultimate Uile-bheist Experience, the Uile-bheist Distillery and Brewery offers a range of tours and experiences. The brewstillery’s name, whisky and beers all take inspiration from the myriad local tales of monsters, myths and legends passed down through the generations. Uile-bheist brings these incredible stories back to life with the help of Melbourne-based illustrator and designer Ken Taylor. 

For more information, visit uilebheist.com