This week we chat to Rupert, one half of the inspirational duo behind the innovative dinning experiences of Buck and Birch. The partnership host mysterious dinning events at various secret locations around the city. They focus on the social experience of dinning and forage most of their ingredients from the local environment, whether that be the beach, or a Mid-Lothian forrest. Rupert talks to us about his partnership with Tom Chisholm, the amazing spaces they have hosted events in, and why foraging for his own natural ingredients will always be rewarding.
Can you tell us a bit about yourselves and your backgrounds?
I was born in Edinburgh but grew up in the Highlands of Scotland around the north west in some of the countries most stunning natural landscapes, where I used to forage with my parents. I used to hunt, fish, and pick shellfish for extra money. A love of cooking and a draw to the big smoke saw me return to Edinburgh. My main employment before this, was at Brown’s Restaurant,where I was head chef for a number of years. Now, I am focused full time on the Buck and Birch and the launch of Aelder.
Tom grew up in Norway and so also had an appreciation of beautiful natural landscapes from an early age. A childhood spent skiing in the wilds, picking berries, and having a great sense of freedom to explore, instilled a love for the great outdoors that is an ongoing inspiration. Tom came to Scotland in his early teens and now calls it his home. He currently splits his time between Buck and Birch and his other work.
Tom and I met working in a busy city centre restaurant about 15 years ago. I was the head chef and Tom worked front of house.
How did you come up with the idea of these secret, alternative dinning experiences?
The idea for Buck and Birch came about from a long standing desire to explore the ‘hidden’ wild larder of my local environment. I would be trying all manner of things; from making dandelion capers, to pickling cow parsley, to making birch syrup and posting the finds online. Tom saw these crazy things and it sparked in him memories from childhood. At a time when I was forging on alone and thinking of scaling back my operations, Tom suggested that we work together to put on some sort of event to showcase some of this amazing stuff that literally surrounds us all day every day. The first dinner was for 12 people. We had no table, no chairs, no menu, and no real idea what we were up to but ended up impressing both ourselves and the audience so much, we had to keep going! Little has changed really since then although we now serve about 20. Apart from any dietary requirements, everyone eats the same meal, one which is a surprise to them (as it is to us at times), at the same table, with the emphasis on celebrating good company, the landscape and the incredible bounty it provides.
How do you go about selecting a location for your events? Where have you hosted events in the past?
We have hosted most events in Portobello. We began in what was the Hamilton Lodge hotel before moving a little down the prom to the Dalriada. They have been so welcoming and to us and the place is beautiful inside, with a perfect dining table and kitchen. We kind of think of it as ‘home’. We like to get out and about too though and have held events in a school in Galloway, the new Gardeners Cottage in the Edinburgh Botanics, the fabulous historic Colstoun House, the Edinburgh Food Studio, and even a wedding on the cliff top at Tyninghame, which was amazing to be part of. We will consider anywhere we can fit a table and can tailor the menu to the equipment available!
You obviously value quality ingredients and products. Can you tell us about your suppliers and network of specialist producers?
For us ingredients are what it’s about. So many of the things we use just aren’t available commercially so unless you get out and grow or pick them yourself, it just won’t happen. I do the majority of the foraging and a bit of growing too, to get things like Cucamelon or sungold tomatoes or Oca.
Perhaps our most defining ingredient is our own Scottish Birch Syrup. Birch syrup is simply unavailable anywhere commercially and the procedure involved to extract the sap is complex, and the process to transform it into syrup laborious, so we decided to make it ourselves!
We make our own charcuterie, butcher all our own game we receive from local gamekeepers, and pick seaweeds, razor clams and coastal herbs from the shore. We make wines, liqueurs, sorbets and all manner of things, from everything from hogweed to Japanese knotweed. We like to think of it as food with a face. So we either pick it ourselves or at least buy from someone we know and have met and respect.
You aim to create a welcoming social atmosphere for people attending your dinning experiences. What sort of evening can guests expect? How is this different to a normal restaurant?
We like guests to come with an open mind and an empty stomach. Its one table and everyone is welcome. The menu us largely made up on the day and we like to keep it a surprise to add drama and delight. We ask people to trust us a lot (as we may serve up some surprises), but it’s great that people do and they are very rarely disappointed. It’s usually BYOB and we encourage folks to share, to get to know each other, to be bold, try the food, but most of all just to have fun. Alternative food is a great ice breaker! Often we have way more dishes than we have time to deliver, but we try to cram in as much of what we have found and offer as many tastes as possible, before the event ends. You definitely won’t leave hungry!
How do your menus change throughout the year? Where do you get inspiration for dishes?
Menus change according to what is available at any given time. We have freezers and ferments, cures and preserves, to work with all year. A walk in the woods might throw up elf cup mushrooms and wild garlic from which you can make garlic mushrooms like no other! Mother nature really is the true artist so when you discover the jewels that lie about in plain sight, its often hard to improve on them. Things like raw buchon ceps, raw razor clams, pepper dulse or roe deer loin are such incredible ingredients that cooking can often seem negligent. We find inspiration all around us – a walk on the beach on a windy day ended up as our ‘Coastal Consommee’. The most special part for us is that it’s a personal journey we share with the guests. The reward at our end, is in discovering new things and finding new and imaginative ways to use them.
There are events coming up on the 31st of March and the 1st, 28th and 29th of April. Find out more about Buck and Birch and sign up for an event on their website: www.buckandbirch.com
