Arran's Food Journey

28/08/2026

Save the Date!
23rd October - 2nd November 2026
Arran Autumn Festival of Food and Drink

This year marks the 5th Arran Festival of Food and Drink and we're looking forward to 10 days of foodie fun!

We'll be celebrating the Island's Autumn harvest,award winning produce and warm hospitality with a menu of delicious festival specials and tasty events.
Get ready to join us for an island taste adventure!

More details coming soon.
Keep following our socials and check out the link in bio
Blackwater Bakehouse
Bellevue Farm - Holiday Cottages & Farm Tours
Arran Ice Cream
Arran Cheese Shop
Taste of Arran
Lamlash Bay Hotel
The Shack and Grill
Kinloch Hotel
Salt & Thistle
The Drift Inn
The PHT
MARA fish bar & deli
The Corrie Hotel
Cladach Beach House
Lagg Distillery Visitor Centre
Lochranza Country Inn Ltd
Cafe Thyme
Rock Brewery
Arran Brewery
Seagate Brewery

13/08/2026

Faces behind the Food
Chris and Zoe -vension

Managing the wild deer on Arran with care and expertise creates a sustainable food source which is not only delicious but has a positive impact on the Island eco-system. We caught up with Zoe of Wild Isle Venison to find out more about their fresh venison products.

How did Wild Isle Venison come about?
Chris has worked in deer management on Arran for many years, I have always been interested in wild food and how it can help local food systems. Together we decided to start processing Arran venison for sale on Arran. Luckily Chris is also a venison butcher and I have experience in project management, so together we have lots of bases covered.

Where do you process the meat? We have a small larder in Brodick where we prepare hang and butcher the carcasses. By processing the stock on the Island we can ensure the meat is incredibly fresh and we can create the cuts that work for local people and hospitality businesses.

What makes the wild venison different? Our venison is milder and less gamey than venison sourced during the stag rutting season as it doesn’t contain as many hormones! People think that game is only for special occasions but it's for everyday too.

What is your range of products?
Our range includes stewing shanks, venison mince and our classic venison sausages. We want to encourage people to swap their usual meals for venison so we make these products affordable. We also make speciality sausages flavoured with wild garlic, juniper and Bellevue Blue Cheese, as well as selling stock bones and offal as our aim is to use the whole deer without any waste.

You can find our venison &Stores and A and C Camerons in Blackwaterfoot. We also make special roasting joints for the Sunday Roasts

What’s your favourite Arran product? Sourdough bread from - it’s delicious.

Where do you like to eat out on Arran? Gray’s Island Gourmet, his fish and chips are amazing. We also love . Their food is incredible!

What’s your favourite part of the Island? I love Kilmory, I think it’s very underrated and the church and beach there are beautiful.

04/08/2026

What a fantastic way to enjoy freshly grown produce from the Island ..

On Sunday 16th August we, together with Cordon Community Garden, will be running an Outdoor Cooking Workshop from 12-2pm.

It’s a chance to visit the garden, see seed-to-plate cooking in action and enjoy a tasty local lunch. Although it’s been a challenging season, we’ll cook with whatever’s ready in the garden on the day.

Places are limited to 8, so booking is essential, so please email [email protected].

We’d also welcome any local produce or favourite veggie ingredients you’d like to bring along to add into the recipes we develop together on the day to supplement what can be harvested from the garden.

27/07/2026

Faces behind the Food (and Drink! )
Tomas Rock Brewery

Arran seems to be fast becoming a destination for real ale lovers with three breweries now on the Island - including the latest addition producing Czech-inspired beers with a Scottish twist, Rock Brewery. The Lamlash based nano-brewery already has a number of different flavour profiles available in draft and bottled form across the Island, including at Lagg Distillery Visitor Centre - and we're looking forward to a new one to mark Arran's Food Festival in October this this year (23rd October - 1st November)! We caught up with Tomas who runs the brewery to find out more about the inspiration behind the beers.

How did Rock come to be based on Arran?
I was offered an opportunity to become an apprentice brewer at just after COVID and we jumped at the chance to move to Arran. We found our home, Rock Cottage, and quickly fell in love with the island and the lifestyle. When Arran Brewery later reduced its staff numbers, I was already hooked on brewing. With the mentorship and guidance of Seagate Brewery, I set up Rock Brewery in a converted woodworking shed at the end of our cottage.

What is the inspiration behind the beers you produce?
As a Czech, I've always had a real passion for beer and brewing. Since moving to Scotland, I've loved learning about traditional Scottish brewing styles. Every beer I make takes inspiration from both my Czech heritage and the Isle of Arran, combining classic Central European influences with local ingredients, landscapes and stories from the island.

What's your personal Rock beer favourite?
My favourite is Chìad. It's Scottish Gaelic for "first" because it was the very first recipe I created. It's a beer that's very much brewed to my own taste, so it was a natural choice to develop—and it's still the one I reach for most often. They new Peaty Blinder , brewed for the

What's your favourite Arran-produced product or tipple?
Without a doubt, . The vanilla flavour is the best I've ever tasted!

What's your favourite place to eat and drink on the island? The Drift Inn in Lamlash , the food is always fantastic, and I can enjoy a pint of my own beer—Drift Abyss—which is available there on tap. That's hard to beat!

What's your favourite part of the island?
It has to be our home at Rock Cottage. We feel incredibly lucky to live in such a beautiful spot, and it's where Rock Brewery began.

25/07/2026

What a fantastic achievement and reflection of the quality of food, drink and hospitality on Arran .. all served up with beautiful views and community welcome. Congratulations !

𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞...

So, the rumours are true! We’ve known for a little while that 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡 was planning to feature the LCI and now we can finally share the exciting news that the 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐡𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐳𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐧 has been listed in its 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐊 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞

To put that into context, there are approximately 45,000 pubs currently operating across the UK. The guide features just 650 pubs in total, with only 75 from Scotland — and we’re incredibly proud to be one of them, flying the flag for Arran.

This follows a visit earlier this year from travel writer and social media influencer Robin McKelvie. Robin joined us for a lovely lamb roast, enjoyed a tour around the inn and heard all about our community ownership story.

This fantastic recognition feels particularly special when we consider how far the inn has come. What began as a determined community effort to save a much-loved local inn has grown through hard work, commitment and a shared vision for its future. So many people have pulled together to keep the inn at the heart of Lochranza and it is wonderful to see those efforts now being recognised on a national stage.

It also demonstrates the value of positive media coverage, social marketing and continuing to share the story behind the LCI.

A huge thank you to everyone who has played a part in making the inn such a special place.

You can view the guide here:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/best-pubs-uk/

Best wishes,

The Lochranza Country Inn team

The Telegraph

21/07/2026

Sharing the secret behind Arran Ice-cream with the US market ….

20/07/2026

Faces behind the food
Becca and Nick
Finalists at the 2025 Scotsman Scran and British Street Food awards

The vintage Airstream which is often seen on the shores of Brodick, Whiting Bay and Lamlash is home to the Shack and Grill, Arran’s iconic smash burgers with a local twist. We caught up with Becca to ask her about the inspiration behind the van and their much loved burgers.

Why an airstream on Arran? Nick moved to Arran when he was 16 and I’m from Aberdeen but lived in Glasgow. I met Nick and fell in love with the Island and his cooking! We were running the hospitality at Brodick Golf Club when the airstream came up for sale. With his skills as a chef and my background in food retail we decided to follow our dream and go for it!

What’s the inspiration behind the smash burgers? You can’t really have an airstream and not serve burgers! The locally sourced meat from which we hand-mix and season means we know we can offer a quality product. Add to that the fantastic range of mustards, chutneys and cheeses available on the Island and it’s a match made in heaven.

What’s your favourite Arran products? I love our special that we do with chilli-cheese from Cheese Shop or adding Arran Blue to anything! My favourite is the red onion confit from Fine Foods Kitchen Shop which really elevates the burgers - we recently used this with a Dijon mustard to create Le French burger which went down a storm.

Where’s your favourite place to eat on Arran? or the . It’s great to see couples putting their heart and soul into their food and their businesses and showcasing local ingredients.

Where’s your favourite location on the Island? I enjoy all the stunning views and landscapes we visit each week with the Shackandgrill but for relaxation Corrie is my favourite.

Don’t forget to pre-order from with a DM on facebook or Instagram or text 0792941184. The Shackandgrill travels to Brodick, Whiting Bay and Lamlash each week so check pick-up location.

16/07/2026

Summertime is seafood time ….

One of our most popular dishes for a reason… 🦐🐟

Our Seafood Platter showcases the freshest local flavours, featuring Scottish salmon, succulent prawns, homemade mackerel pâté and a crisp seasonal salad, all freshly prepared by our chefs.

With the warm weather set to continue, it’s the perfect light and refreshing choice for a summer evening. ☀️

Available daily from 5:30pm–8:30pm.

To reserve your table, please contact us. We’d love to welcome you to the Kinloch Hotel, Blackwaterfoot. 🌊

09/07/2026

Faces behind the Food
George Grassie, Blackwater Bakehouse Home Farm, Brodick
Arran’s artisan bakery has recently moved home from its tiny premises in Blackwaterfoot to a stunning new building with outdoor seating at Home Farm in Brodick.
We caught up with George, who set up on the Island 12 years ago, to find out more about his passion for baking, inspiration from Arran’s natural larder and what the new bakery has to offer.

What's the inspiration behind Blackwater Bakehouse ? My travels in Europe and Norway. I was inspired by the simplicity and availability of good daily bread and the sourdough techniques used. The tiny bakery at Blackwaterfoot seemed a good place to experiment. The locals voted with their feet!

Where did you train as a baker? I trained with French baker and chef, Richard Bertinet, which is why we also offer a full range of Viennoiserie - rich, buttery breakfast croissants, pain-au-chocolat, French inspired tarts and cinnamon buns. There’s always a special sweet treat available.

What grains do you use? We focus on using heritage grains like Eincorn and Beremill for the bread because they’re cleaner and more sustainable for the environment in terms of bio-diversity and crop-resilience.

How does Arran’s larder inspire your baking? I love using both sweet and savoury foraged and locally grown herbs, flowers and fruits. Favourites include meadowsweet, wild garlic, mushrooms, rhubarb and elderflower. The variety of local produce from June to October on the Island is stunning.

What’ s your favourite place to eat on the Island? or a trip to the Skipness Seafood Cabin.

What’s your favourite Bakehouse product? You can’t beat a simple baguette drizzled with olive oil and sprinkling of salt. Or a plain croissant with a good coffee (which we also serve)

Blackwater Bakehouse is open from Tuesday to Saturday 9.30 – 3.00pm.
Also available and in restaurants and cafes across the Island

03/07/2026

Get the weekend started ….