How Spirit and Spice showcase Scottish produce and culture

Visitors appreciate the opportunity to spend time in such a remote environment, at all times of the year savouring her unique style of food, Scottish spirits, and a real sense of outdoor adventure.

Ghillie Başan has steadily overhauled her croft over the last 30 years. She singlehandedly transformed it from a ruin with no water or electricity to a cosy family home with a holiday cottage to rent.

The holiday cottage was steadily taking bookings throughout the year. “It seemed a natural next step to offer cookery classes in our home kitchen.”

Drawing on the wealth of knowledge from her travels and food writing, Ghillie developed a range of hands-on workshops with international influences. She was able to establish these with little expenditure, selling spaces to her cottage visitors.

Next, she looked at ways to incorporate whisky into the experience, given that the croft sits on an old smuggling route. And she turned an old barn into a tasting space. It was a rustic building with cobbled floors, which she furnished with a reconditioned stove. Visitors love it for its unmodified simplicity and enjoy the inspired food and whisky pairings she’s devised.

Make it personal

Ghillie keeps the experiences personal by hosting, teaching, cooking for, and, sometimes, transporting her visitors. Her adult children still help out and run additional experiences for visitors.

They work hard to create a professional visitor experience, which has been pivotal in building the business. “We do whatever it takes to offer as positive and seamless an experience as possible for visitors.”

Feedback

Gathering feedback to improve the customer experience is vital. Their close and personal interaction with visitors enabled Ghillie to take direct feedback from them. The venues with which she has partnered also send feedback enabling them to adapt and improve.

“These positive reviews drive significant word of mouth sales, both from third parties and visitors, who spread the word back home or on social media.”

Local and authentic

“Visitors can really enjoy a taste of the place on each visit, with a range of local whiskies, venison, pheasant, rabbit, cheeses, and charcuterie, supplementing ingredients foraged at home.”

Using her expertise in combining the flavours of different culinary cultures with locally sourced produce and wild ingredients, Ghillie creates a spread of dishes to enjoy indoors and out with several local drams. You can also join Ghillie foraging and cooking the dishes with her on an fire bowl.