Following last year’s success at The GWCT Scottish Game Fair at Scone Palace, Nick Nairn will be back with his pop-up Riverside Restaurant.
The 64-year-old restaurateur is going even bigger this time around with 300 covers for breakfast and lunch, doubling the capacity from last year.
Sitting on the banks of the River Tay by Scone Palace, the VIP dining experience showcases the best of Scottish produce and game.
Collaborating with chef Cai Ap Bryn of Game & Flames yet again, Nick isn’t worried about the task at hand.
“It’s slightly less scary than last year,” he says.
“The first one is always a bit of an unknown and you don’t know what you’re dealing with.
“We learned quite a bit from last year, so we’ll do it a bit differently, but other than that it’s the same line-up.”
What’s on the menu at Nick Nairn’s Game Fair restaurant?
Taking centre stage on the game fair two-course lunch menu is, of course, game.
The lunch menu boasts venison shoulder croquettes with spicy tomato compote and aioli, and cod fillet cooked over open flame with fire baked potato, wilted greens and shrimp and chive butter. The star of the show is haunch of roe venison with vegetables, flame roasted potatoes, red cabbage ketchup and game gravy.
Desserts include Nick’s chocolate pot, orange almond cake and raspberry ripple ice cream.
Lunch including entry to the fair costs £120 per person. Find out how to win lunch and entry for four people at the bottom of the page.
Breakfast with entry costs £50 and the menu includes full Scottish breakfast, overnight oats with Nick’s honey, malt whisky sultanas and raspberries, morning rolls and pastries.
“There’s something special about cooking over an open fire and it’s a relatively new thing for me,” says the chef.
“Last year was the first time I’d done it, and it imparts a unique smoky flavour which is delicious.
“It’s smoked over oak kindling and there’s a wee art to it. I’m getting excited now!”
Game is ‘fully sustainable’
Nick is looking forward to showcasing roe venison in the Riverside Restaurant as it’s an ingredient right on his doorstep.
Living between Bridge of Allan and Port of Menteith – where his restaurant and cook school are situated – he sees deer all the time. And he knows what happens if there are too many of them running around.
“You get protestors against game, but actually it’s a carefully managed thing,” he says.
“If you just left the deer population, they would multiply and eat all the available food. When you get barren, you get disease and all these horrendous things happen.
“So, it’s fully sustainable and a byproduct of keeping the population down.”
The deer is just some of “the abundance of fabulous produce” Scotland has to offer according to the restaurateur.
Some of it, he actually grows in his very own polytunnel. From salad and herbs to fruit and vegetables, lots of it ends up in his restaurant.
He also plans to take home-grown veg along to the Scottish Game Fair.
Nick says: “I’m not exactly sure how it will find it’s way onto the plate yet, but it will.
“Salad production is down to sun, heat and water. Some stuff I planted I thought was going to take six weeks, but it’s going to be ready in a month.
“I’m reserving the right to see and a couple of days before I’ll be able to make a decision.”
Busy times ahead for Nick Nairn
Amidst preparing for the pop-up, the celebrity chef has had his hands full. Two years ago, his Port of Menteith cook school flooded and Bridge of Allan restaurant was destroyed by a fire.
Alongside wife and business partner Julia it’s been a busy year preparing the restaurant for reopening on July 14, and the cook school for reopening in August.
As if that wasn’t enough, he is also starting his own butchery business to supply meat and fish to his restaurants in an effort to keep costs down.
But for now, he has the Scottish Game Fair to look forward to – as he always does.
“It’s a sociable occasion and I do spend most of my time talking to and meeting people I haven’t seen for a while,” Nick says.
“I love wandering around looking at different things, like a nice jacket that I don’t need but I’ll probably buy anyway.
“And I’m looking forward to serving some really good food to some nice folks.”
How to win lunch for four at the Scottish Game Fair
Win entry to The GWCT Scottish Game Fair and lunch in Nick Nairn’s Riverside Restaurant for four people on Sunday July 2.
To be in our prize draw, e-mail pjcompetitions@ajl.co.uk with the subject heading “GWCT Scottish Game Fair” with your full name, address and postcode, contact phone number, and date of birth by Friday June 16 at 9am. See full terms and conditions.
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