The team behind one of Scotland’s most unique fine dining experiences is striving to ‘put Ardnamurchan on the culinary map’ after being awarded a prestigious 3AA Rosettes.
Chef-owner Colin Nicholson and co-owner Jessica Thompson are the driving force behind Mingary Castle, a 13th-century restaurant with rooms that is built into a rugged cliffside on the remote peninsula.
Since taking on the venue in 2021, the seasoned duo of hospitality professionals have put their years of experience working across the globe to good use, securing glowing reviews and several accolades including Best Restaurant Newcomer at the Scottish Excellence Awards and the Good Hotel Guide Editor’s Choice Awards for Restaurants with Rooms.
READ MORE: Meet the Uist couple aiming to put Mingary Castle firmly back on the map
After attending last night's AA Rosette ceremony at RAK Ceramics Design Hub in London, Mr Nicholson said: “We are both delighted.
“It means so much to be able to bring this award home to Ardnamurchan, helping to place this remote part of the country firmly on Scotland’s culinary map.
“To be listed amongst some of the UK’s most renowned restaurants is such an honour.”
Three AA Rosettes are awarded only to restaurants which have “achieved culinary standards that demand national recognition well beyond their local area.”
The cooking will be “underpinned by the selection and sympathetic treatment of the highest quality ingredients and timing, seasoning and the judgement of flavour combinations will be consistently excellent.”
To achieve these standards, Nicholson’s restaurant serves a five or eight-course tasting menu in an intimate 20-cover dining room.
The ever evolving offering is said to “showcase the best produce from the west coast of Scotland” with vegetables and herbs sourced from the local community garden, fish from the Tobermory Fish Co and Iain Stewarts in Fort William, and Highland-based Great Glen Charcuterie providing cured meats.
READ MORE: Sampling fairytale food at Mingary Castle
Adding to the experience is a wine and drinks list curated by Thompson, featuring a range of gins from across the country, including her home of North Uist.
Mr Nicholson continued: “From the very beginning, we set out to achieve three Rosettes.
“Ahead of our second inspection, we pushed as hard as we could to make sure everything was perfect from using local ingredients to adding extra courses to the menus.
“There’s always room for improvement, and we were constantly striving to do better”.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, running a business from a historic site which is only accessible by a ‘twisty single-track road’ or ferry via the Isle of Mull comes with its own set of hurdles to overcome.
“People are sometimes a bit frazzled by the time they get here,” Nicholson laughed.
“Once they warm up and come down to the bar for a drink and then a meal all of that is soon forgotten.
“The first season was challenging for us because we had made the decision to take over the castle pretty quickly and had no idea what to expect.
“Then we weren’t sure if anyone would come or if we would make any money.
“The second year was a little easier, but then the costs of electricity, food and delivery started to rise.
“The last 18 months have been difficult, but at the end of the day when we achieve things like the three Rosettes it makes all of the hard work worth it.”
Despite any hardships, the outlook is looking increasingly bright for Mingary Castle, with guest bookings multiplying year by year and an added Rosette soon to be returned from London.
Asked if he could ever see himself leaving what has previously been described as a ‘fairytale’ destination, Nicholson joked: “I think I'm a bit too old to go anywhere else now.
"As a chef-owner there can be difficult days where everything seems to go wrong and you’re the one who has to deal with it.
“You’re not just in the kitchen, you’re also fixing leaks or painting, all sorts of things that can make it hard work.
“But, the three Rosettes were not awarded to just me and Jess, and I want to extend my thanks to both our customers and the hardworking team here at Mingary Castle, whose ambition and passion for hospitality have helped us reach this goal.
“They’re the backbone of what we do and without them, we wouldn’t be here.
“It’s all been a bit of an adventure so far.”
Mingary Castle’s restaurant is open Tuesday to Sunday between 6.30pm and 8.30pm for residents and non-residents
For more information, click here.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here