• Restaurants
    • Family
    • Cafes
    • Fine Dining
    • Street Food
    • Bars
  • Experiences
  • Places To Stay
  • Contact Us
  • ARCHIVES

    • January 2020 (2)
    • December 2019 (2)
    • November 2019 (6)
    • October 2019 (4)
    • September 2019 (5)
    • August 2019 (4)
    • July 2019 (5)
    • June 2019 (6)
    • May 2019 (5)
    • April 2019 (4)
    • March 2019 (3)
    • February 2019 (4)
    • January 2019 (4)
    • December 2018 (11)
    • November 2018 (11)
    • October 2018 (4)
    • September 2018 (3)
    • August 2018 (8)
    • July 2018 (4)
    • June 2018 (4)
    • May 2018 (5)
    • April 2018 (5)
    • March 2018 (7)
    • February 2018 (6)
    • January 2018 (6)
    • December 2017 (11)
    • November 2017 (11)
    • October 2017 (8)
    • September 2017 (7)
    • August 2017 (11)
    • July 2017 (13)
    • June 2017 (11)
    • May 2017 (12)
    • April 2017 (13)
    • March 2017 (10)
    • February 2017 (8)
    • January 2017 (12)
    • December 2016 (7)
    • November 2016 (7)
    • October 2016 (10)
    • September 2016 (10)
    • August 2016 (13)
    • July 2016 (23)
    • June 2016 (12)
    • May 2016 (6)
    • April 2016 (5)
    • March 2016 (6)
    • February 2016 (1)
    • January 2016 (4)
    • December 2015 (3)
    • November 2015 (9)
  • Restaurants
    • Family
    • Cafes
    • Fine Dining
    • Street Food
    • Bars
  • Experiences
  • Places To Stay
  • Contact Us
Winter Dinner Series by The Free Company
December 4, 2017

If you’ve ever watched River Cottage and thought, I’d love to go to dinner there, THIS is for you.

On Saturday night we donned our boots, scarves, and heavy knit jumpers and took a drive to Balerno. We followed the wooden signs painted ‘Free’ and we were led to a 17th century farm house, Cockdurno Farm.

Here live three young artists, Angus (whose parents own the farm), Jack, and Stella. Following the demise of Angus’ parents dairy farm, Angus was left wondering what the future held for the family business and home. After studying for an arts and architectural degree in New York he returned to the farm with friends, Jack and Stella and has set about reimagining how farms can be used in a modern way. Over the last year they have built a FireHouse and turned the old Hayloft into a rustic but cool events space. During the summer they run a series of festival dinners, they were so successful they decided to run a winter series.

I attended the first dinner in the series, and what a wonderful experience it was. There are many foodie experiences in Edinburgh to enjoy, but you’ll be hard pushed to find one as life affirming as this. Simple, honest food. Warm and friendly hosts. Set on farmland away from the hustle and bustle. It was wonderful to take some time out and just relax and enjoy the atmosphere and the sense of getting back to basics. I must admit, despite being there to cover the event for Foodinburgh, I lost myself a bit – and that’s the biggest compliment I can pay to the event – I became so caught up in the atmosphere that on one or two occasions I forgot to photograph the food! And to be honest, I didn’t care. This event is about so much more than the food (though the food is excellent). It’s the kind of event you leave feeling warm and fuzzy inside (and not just because you’re a little bit tipsy!)



This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The bar was serving a small selection of cocktails, one red, one white, one beer, and something non alcoholic for the drivers. What more do you need?

Simple is always better.

The pre starter was freshly baked bread from the FireHouse with whipped butter.

Simple is always better.

The starter was roasted beetroot with feta.

The main was slow roasted lamb with garlicky kale and hasselback potatoes.

Everything tastes better slow cooked in a wood burning stove.

Dessert was poached pear with lashings of whipped cream.

Honest, simple food. Cooked with love. Executed to perfection.

Stella’s parents run one of my favourite Scottish soft furnishings businesses ANTA. All the food was served on their beautiful stoneware. Each guest was gifted an ANTA Christmas decoration, mine is already proudly hanging on my tree.

Everything was perfect about the evening. We sat next to Angus’ cousins who were lovely company, it was a pleasure chatting to them, they too were clearly passionate about their older cousin’s vision.

The evening is run on a ‘pay as you wish’ basis. The reservation fee is £10, and are you invited to leave what you wish at the end of the evening. Everyone is priced in here, and I urge everyone to go and experience the warmth and the generosity of spirit, and of course to give what they can.

You can find out more about dinners at The Free Company here.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Supper Club
Share

Experiences

Erica Douglas

You might also like

La Petite Mort Supper Club
April 8, 2018
KAI Supper Club
December 12, 2017
The Gut Stuff Supper Club
September 3, 2017

Leave A Reply


Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Tags

    Afternoon Tea American Bars Beer Bestinburgh Breakfast Britannia Brunch Bruntsfield Burgers Cakes Christmas Cocktails Coffee Dinner Fine Dining Foodie Experience Foodinburgh On Tour Fountainbridge Four Star Hotels French George Street Glasgow Good Value Indian Italian Japanese Leith Walk Lobster Lunch Mexican Pasta Pizza Pork Ribs Royal Mile Scallops Seafood Steak Stockbridge Sushi Tasting Menu Top Ten Lists Vegan West End
  • Join Our Group



  • Contact details

    info@foodinburgh.com
  • Recent Feedback

    • Jamesleon on Electro Brunch at Gaucho
    • Denis Mountain on Eight Places to Eat American Food in Edinburgh
    • Best Dishes of 2017 - Part 3 - Edinburgh Food and Travel Website on Express Menu at The Printing Press
    • Best Dishes of 2017 - Part 3 - Edinburgh Food and Travel Website on Street Food & Cocktails at Juniper
    • Best Dishes of 2017 - Part 3 - Edinburgh Food and Travel Website on Down The Hatch

© Copyright Foodinburgh 2016