Highland Dining and Storytelling in Inverness: Slow Food Dinner

Eat forgotten Highland recipes, told by someone who grew up here

A two-hour slow food dinner in Inverness where you taste traditional Highland recipes built around foraged ingredients, local game and seasonal produce. Your host, born and raised in Inverness, serves dishes like wild garlic and nettle soup, roe deer escalopes and cranachan (the kind of food families cooked for generations), and shares the stories behind them. The experience is modelled on the Cleikum Social Eating Club from Sir Walter Scott's writing, and Scotland Food and Drink named it one of the fifty best food and drink experiences in 2025.

The experience

Inverness is where you eat the way the Highlands actually cook. Your host sources what the region grows and raises (wild roe deer, local beef and lamb, foraged nettles and wild garlic, raspberries from Western Hardmuir), and builds each course around the recipes that tell Highland history. This is not plating technique. It is the food that real families made for generations, the kind you find only in old cookbooks, the dishes that carry the true culture of a place.

The menu moves through three courses. Wild garlic and nettle soup opens the meal, a brilliant green made from foraged ingredients. Then comes roe deer escalopes with a redcurrant reduction, paired with fresh seasonal vegetables. Cranachan closes it: toasted oatmeal, honey, whisky and cream brose layered with Western Hardmuir raspberries. Your host explains what each dish is, where it comes from and why it matters to Highland food. She knows Inverness inside out, having grown up here and worked as a guide on the Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh railway, and she brings that knowledge into the room.

The two hours unfold as a single sitting. Wine and whisky pairings are available if you want them at checkout. Your host speaks English and Italian, so the conversation travels with you.

What’s included

• Dinner.
• live guide in English or Italian.

Before you book

Days and timesNext departure: 30 Apr 2027

AgesAdult (18 to 64 years) · Senior (65 and older) · Youth (12 to 17 years) · Child (3 to 11 years): free · Infant (under 3): free

GroupUp to 6

Live guideEnglish and Italian

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled if the minimum number of travelers isn't reached. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated 14 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effortStroller-friendlyPets welcomeInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Karen Jane Recupero

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to eat the way Highlanders actually cook, not restaurant versions of Highland food. The two-hour format fits into an evening in Inverness without taking over your whole day, and your host's knowledge of the region (she was born here and worked as a guide on the local railway) means the stories behind each dish come from someone who lived them.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English and Italian.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Youth (12 to 17 years); Child (3 to 11 years): free; Infant (under 3): free.

What exactly is cranachan?

Cranachan is a traditional Scottish dessert made from toasted oatmeal, honey, whisky and cream brose, layered with fresh raspberries: in this case, Western Hardmuir raspberries from the local area. It closes the meal.

Where does the roe deer come from?

The roe deer is sourced from local farms as part of a farm-to-table approach. Your host also serves other game, beef and lamb from the region, all paired with fresh, seasonal vegetables.

Can I add wine or whisky to the meal?

Wine and whisky pairings are available as an optional add-on at checkout. You choose whether to include them when you book.

What is the Cleikum Social Eating Club?

The Cleikum Social Eating Club is a reference to Sir Walter Scott's novel "St. Ronan's Well." Your host has modelled this experience on that concept, bringing together the tradition of social dining with Highland food and storytelling.