I don't think that the Scots entirely deserve their reputation for bad food. Sure, you can buy a haggis panini in St Andrews, but if I were to be forced to 'eat local' anywhere in Britain, Fife is the place I would choose.
Having started my grocery shopping career in Scotland (dashing to a tiny Sainsbury's Express every time I missed canteen opening times at university doesn't count), I didn't notice until a recent weekend down South just how very different the supermarket stock is North of the border: For every brand of smoked salmon available in the Surrey Tesco I visited, there are about five in Fife. The alcohol section is nearly twice as large in Scottish stores, mostly to account for the sheer variety of single malt whiskies stocked. I have been informed (but have not been able to confirm) that a portion of fillet steak costs far more than a fiver down South, and what the local Morrisons lacks in brioche it certainly makes up in haggis (qualitatively different? Pish!)
And then there’s the quality. The one and only brand of smoked salmon available in the medium-sized English Tesco I visited was slimey and fishy and not a patch on even the standard fare on offer up here. If this is no anomaly, then I shall sorely miss Scotland!
However, pondering this made me notice just how many of my favourite edibles are Scottish specialities. Isle of Bute cheddar, raspberries, Hendricks gin, plus all of the delicacies I’ve already extolled; Aberdeen Angus, Loch Fyne salmon, whisky – all from the homeplace of the battered Mars bar!
If Scotland does claim its independence, I very much hope that it will not add export duty to Scottish produce sold south of the border. So what if the revenue funds free university education for Scottish students? My tastebuds - or bank balance - will be much the poorer for it when I return to London.
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