Wilde Thyme at Glenturret : The Launch!

Cast your mind back to our first Perthshire Adventure article in which Kay visited Glenturret, posed with a giant bottle of whisky and generally had a top day out enjoying the tour, lunch and all the other delights The Famous Grouse Experience has to offer. Honey I Blew Up The Grouse was a huge hit with all of you.

We knew then that she was just a smidgen too early to report back on the soon-to-be-announced partnership between the five-star visitor attraction and Perthshire’s leading luxury event caterers, Wilde Thyme. 

So, I was almost beside myself with excitement when an invite dropped into my email asking us to attend their official launch party; would Gill and I like to go and be foodie with them? Yes, yes please. We really would!

The aptly monikered Wilde Thyme at Glenturret, celebrated their official launch in style by hosting a party at Glenturret Distillery alongside their new partners. We were surrounded by members of the local tourism community and treated to a chat from Stuart Cassells, the distillery GM and Andy Hamar, the talent and driving force behind Wilde Thyme.

The concept is simple; Wilde Thyme at Glenturret will bring their exceptional standards in local produce and quality food to the visitor café and restaurant at The Famous Grouse. You might well wonder how this partnership will work; a never ending flow of tourists and a top-end dining experience doesn't lend itself to a typical match. I must confess, I was curious myself!

However, when you walk into the newly-refurbished café and take in how they have cleverly sectioned it to offer coffee and cake, evening dining and lunch time meals, you will begin to understand that this isn't the typical visitor attraction experience. This has broken all the rules and rewritten them into a lush, lounge experience with real white linen cloths, soft yellow velvet armchairs and just the right amount of tartan.  It is contemporary without being trendy, traditional without being twee. I want to sit down and order Afternoon Tea there and then.     

The launch of the new venture has been led by Wilde Thyme’s chef patron Andrew Hamer, supported by head chef Jonathan Greer. Working closely with the team at The Famous Grouse Experience his aim was to offer ‘a world-class culinary experience to match the award winning visitor attraction.’

Bold? Yes. Cocky? Maybe. But I will say that if you set your expectations this high before you go, you won't be disappointed.

The food was bite sized for the tasting night, but that didn’t stop us enjoying a substantial fill!  It just kept coming and every mouthful was a perfect mix of tastes, ingredients and flavours. It started with crispy hot oyster, can-can style, and as the soft, salty mollusc hit the back of my tongue I knew we were in for a treat.

The canapes set the benchmark for the night both in terms of flavour and provenence; Scarlett's honey poached Rabbit on crisp bread with Dalchonzie poacher’s relish covers off two of my favourite Perthshire producers and this was followed by a taste of the lunch menu and a hat trick from Hugh Grierson, with a Perthshire ham hough and crispy free range quails egg.

The carpaccio of home smoked wild venison crostini with Dalchonzie orange and apricot relish was soft on top, crispy underneath and packed full of the sweet, citrusy flavours that give gamey venison an extra punch. And just when you thought he'd excelled himself, a little cup of silky smooth Abroath Smokie soup passed round, with finely chopped leeks and potato bringing a trio of classic Scottish favourites together. They rounded the lunch tasters off with a mini floating island dessert... I indulged of course. It would have been rude not to!

The preview of the dinner menu started with an unbelievably soft, melt in the mouth beef. It was like butter. We later discovered from Andy Laycock that he is cooking it when he presents to the judges in the Scottish Chef of The Year competition this Thursday at Scot Hot. To give it its full title we were enjoying Strathearn slow cooked beef with truffle gnocchi, sauce bordelaise and parsnip charts. If you go for dinner, please, please order it!

I ate Glenturret whisky infused Shetland halibut with beetroot and capers; crispy local goats curd with heritage tomatoes and Bloody Mary sorbet and a sensational, sticky Hugh Grierson pork belly with Scarlett's heather honey, fennel seeds, burnt apple and crackling. But it was the plump, soft cushions of hand dived roasted scallops from Orkney served in the shell with sauce Jaqueline that gave me my favourite taste of the night. A tricky decision to reach I can tell you.

Should you head for a visit, you will be able to order the Afternoon Tea I so coveted on first arriving and having tasted everything else I can only imagine the little drops of heaven that will come out shaped as scones, pastries and other delicate treats.

Despite only taking over the restaurant a few short weeks ago, the occasion was also marked with the eatery’s first accolade – a Taste Our Best award from the new Quality Assurance food and drink scheme from VisitScotland. The accreditation affirms the quality of the locally sourced ingredients and lets visitors know they’re experiencing the very best of Scottish produce. I'm always dubious of awards being handed out to newly opened businesses but it seems only fitting they should congratulate this collaboration between two of Perthshire’s great Food and Drink stalwarts. I'd say it was a safe choice!

The idea that this is the experience you will find at the end of a Whisky Distillery Tour is outstanding. I love to see people push the boundaries of what’s expected and brazenly put their fabulous, high-end mark onto what is typically assumed to be ordinary. The evening dining will bring yet another standard-setting restaurant to Perthshire, making Crieff and Strathearn a culinary hotspot to be reckoned with.

Gill and I were unashamedly luscious! The drinks may have been soft but the atmosphere was warm and friendly and as we chatted our way around the room, booking in both Andys for a Thursday recipe spot, we soon realised there wasn’t a lot of photography or note taking going on…  It turns out Wilde Thyme catered her wedding some ten years ago and I was treated to the story of the drunk bride cutting out the net under her ripped dress and the leaning tower of Croquembouche.

It was little surprise then, that having eaten everything and talked to everyone, we were in fact, last out.

Which means I must finish by saying thanks to Fraser Band and Trica Fox for the pics and small details like the names of the dishes we were eating!   

If you're looking for a Perthshire Adventure, either as a day out on your own doorstep or as a great experience on your visit to our gorgeous county, then I urge you to go along and enjoy a visit to this great Perthshire partnership. 

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Find out more about the Glenturret Distillery and The Famous Grouse Experience over on our directory. 

Wilde Thyme Catering and Party Design

Established in 2003 as luxury caterer, Wilde Thyme is now one of Scotland’s leading catering and party design companies and is based at Cultybraggan near Comrie, Perthshire.

Managing Director, Andrew Hamer is a former Executive Chef at Gleneagles where he developed his skills in international cuisine, and a member of the ‘Academy of Culinary Arts’. Wilde Thyme is a regular caterer and event company in prestigious venues such as National Galleries of Scotland, Inveraray Castle and Carlowrie Castle, Isle of Bute and is the exclusive caterer at Glamis Castle.