This visit was part of a press trip I ‘attended’ on behalf of Visit Aberdeen for FoodFest15 (www.foodfest15.com). FoodFest15 is Aberdeenshire’s take on ‘The Year Of Food & Drink Scotland’ 2015 – and if it’s anything like the experience I had, a grand old time it shall be for anyone who goes. It runs all the way through January to December, though I only showed up for a few days at the end of June. As far as I’m concerned, it’s ALWAYS the year of food and drink – I don’t care where I am, or what year it is. Anyway, I shall now talk about the place you can see before you…
Buchanans Bistro at Woodend Barn describes itself as “a collective of self taught cooks who aspire to create something a little different from the norm”. It’s hard to pin down exactly *what* they are, but whatever you want to call Buchanans, there’s a LOT of cool stuff happening down there. There’s an onsite home brewery (in the kitchen) – where chef brews an ever evolving selection of craft beers (some using some very unusual yeast strains – such as sourdough starters). Then there’s the smokehouse where they cure and smoke fish, fowl, oil, vegetable, scallops, etc. And of course there are the breads – which Buchanans are probably best known for! Many varieties (many of them rare and unusual), all baked on site each day.
As for the food at the restaurant? Mostly salad and vegetarian options (though there’s some damn good fish), the vibe is very ‘family friendly’ (I saw many families in my short time there!). There’s also a pretty active live music schedule, with many local musicians setting up in the corner for informal live music – no stage dividing them from the audience and all that. There’s also a secondhand book store, with the books kinda equally distributed all about the bistro. Book bistro. They grow lots of their own food onsite, and are very, very involved in sustainability and fair trade. It’s great to see.
As for the decor and the feel of the place, there’s lots of