Former Master Chef: The Professionals contestant Carla Lamont has relaunched new ’foodie talk’ lunches at her restaurant Ninth Wave on the Isle of Mull for the new tourist season.
The restaurant has won multiple awards for Restaurant of the Year at the Highlands and Islands food and drink awards, as well as Best Eating Experience from VisitScotland.
Carla has developed three-hour lunch experiences for her customers, consisting of five courses and a side of quirky facts about the ingredients in between.
"The weirder the fact the better," Carla said.
The idea came from Carla’s unusual herb garden in which she grows all of Ninth Wave’s herbs herself.
The herbs in the garden are not your regular everyday basil and garlic however, Carla researched herbs used in ancient/medieval cooking some of which she calls "bizarre".
This includes pignuts, eaten by the Scots of old, dahlia bulbs, which the Aztec’s used to cure indigestion, and Chamaemelum Nobile, which were used to soothe and remove spells by ancient Egyptians, who also dedicated them to the sun god Ra.
This, when combined with the fishing and crofting she and her husband John do outside the restaurant, make Ninth Wave extremely self sufficient, with "about 85 per cent" of their ingredients being self sourced.
Carla also likes to give her guests anecdotes about her work and time on Master Chef, and answers any food-related questions customers may have.
She revealed: "Last week we served lobster, giving me the chance to discuss my favourite stories of how I met my husband and when he first cooked me a lobster."
Ninth Wave is open for five-course lunches Wednesday to Friday.
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