november-2012

40
CAPITAL DESTINATION
What Missoni recognised was that in
recent years – perhaps since becoming
home to the nation’s new parliament at the
Millennium – Edinburgh has quietly emerged
as one of Europe’s coolest and most creative
communities. Designers, writers, chefs,
painters and performers attracted or
inspired by the unique annual Festival –
and its attendant throngs of international
visitors – have all set up shop here.
Accommodation has always been
among the best in Scotland, with stately
establishments such as The Balmoral
offering the finest of everything. (It was
here JK Rowling wrote the last lines of her
final Harry Potter book, a far cry from the
modest coffee shop just off the Royal Mile
where she wrote the first instalment.)
But along with Missoni, a swathe of
modern, high-end luxury hotels have
opened, including the very grand recently
refurbished Waldorf Caledonian which sits
at the bottom of Princes Street, beneath
the castle. Then there are smaller, more
bespoke restaurants-with-rooms such as
21212, a Michelin-starred eatery just off
Leith Walk, and the famed Witchery at
the top of the Royal Mile.
Scottish food, once a bit of an
international joke, is now widely regarded
as first-class. The country has a superb
larder of fresh wild produce such as
salmon and venison from the Highlands,
fruit from the farmlands of Fife and
Perthshire, the finest marbled beef from
the borders and Aberdeenshire, and
seafood that is in daily demand from
restaurants around the world.
Any journey around Scotland –
particularly in autumn when the land and
seascapes are at their most vivid – is
defined by the cuisine that greets visitors
after superb views of lochs, hills and
castles.Edinburgh itself offers the cream of
the crop with five Michelin-star restaurants
– more than any other UK city outside of
London, and all within a few square miles.
Tom Kitchin, with his philosophy of “from
nature to plate”, opened his restaurant
in 2006 in Leith – a former scruffy,
dockland warehouse area that has now
been gentrified and transformed into a
focus for food and nightlife. Six months
after opening, at the age of 29, he became
the youngest Scottish chef-proprietor to
achieve a star.
As well as the Michelin stable there are
exciting menus elsewhere from the likes of
Rhubarb at Prestonfield House, the Indian
NOVEMber 2012
restaurant Mithas and the Italian foodie
emporium Valvona and Crolla, all catering
to an increasingly sophisticated, urban
population eager to experiment.
Fine Scottish products also extend well
beyond the table. Fabrics such as cashmere,
Harris Tweed and waxed cotton, once the
preserve of landed gentry enjoying a spot
of grouse shooting, have been adopted by
a new generation of urban designers who
appreciate their careful, traditional and
small-scale artisanal production.
Kilts have also been propelled into a
modern vibe thanks to designers such
as Edinburgh’s Howie Nicholsby at 21st
Century Kilts. He emerged on the catwalk
at the 1999 London Men’s Fashion Week,
aspiring “to give men throughout the world
a realistic alternative to trousers”. Today a
free, private viewing and fitting of his kilts
can be arranged by a simple call to Howie
himself who runs the shop in person.
Catherine Aitken, a former film producer
whose second career started when she
knocked up bags to promote a movie at the
Cannes Film Festival, makes handbags and
courier bags from traditional Scottish
fabrics. But far from being the tough
practical baggage that would once have
carried home a salmon or a brace of
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