TastingBritain.co.uk – FoodFest15 – Eat On The Green, Udny Green, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
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…
So, Eat On The Green. In a nutshell…fkn incredible. Described by a TripAdvisor reviewer as “Gourmet food in the middle of nowhere” (lol). The little hamlet of Udny Green isn’t exactly the middle of nowhere – it’s 20odd minutes from Aberdeen town centre. The restaurant’s style is mainly british/modern European/Scottish with what someone else described as ‘A French twist’ I think. I didn’t have the chance to do a ‘proper’ review but based on the few hours I spent here, it was at LEAST an 8/10. So yeah, it’s fine-dining restaurant in a former post office though I think it was a pub that had fallen on bad times before the guys started converting it in 2004. They keep strange hours, being closed on Mondays and Tuesday
Who’s behind it then? None other than the ‘kilted chef’ Craig Wilson (as affectionately named by TV personality Lorraine Kelly). He’s cooked for the likes of Sir Sean Connery, Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Patrick Stewart. Craig got started at the tender age of 16 as a trainee chef at the Strathburn Hotel in Inverurie. He even did an ‘industry’ stint as a product development chef for Baxter’s Food Group and Grampian Country Foods. Craig’s also a real chill guy – that’s him standing by the entrance, no kilt the time but STRONG tartan trouser game going there.
These days, everybody goes on about using fresh and local produce (which is undoub