RICHARD BATH

FOOD & DRINK

EVERY TIME I CAUGHT ANYONES EYE,

ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS BREAK INTO
A SID-JAMES-IN-CARRY-ON-MODE GRIN
TABLE SERVICE
Ballathie House Hotel
Kinclaven, Stanley, Perthshire
PH1 4QN (01250 883 268,
www.ballathiehousehotel.com)
Bill please
Three courses (and coffee) 44.50
Rating

HHHHHHHHHH

NOWING a little too much

about people can be a
dangerous thing. As we
walked in through the front
door of Ballathie House
Hotel, the first person
we saw was general manager Jody
Marshall, dressed in shirt and tie. A
bustling, restrained and reassuring
presence, even from a distance, he gave
a more than passable impression of a
man on top of everything that happens
in his beautiful little hotel. Yet the mere
sight of him was enough to make me
avert my eyes.
The reason? Its mainly because the
last time I saw Marshall, a chunky
South African with a winning smile
and the body of a Springbok prop
forward, he had his kit off. Yep, thats
right, totally starkers, with only an
(admittedly large) bottle of Champagne
to hide his dignity. Back then he was
calling himself Mr February, the estate
and hotel owner John Milligan was
Mr December, deputy manager Gail
Schofield was Miss January, and head
chef Scott Scorer was Mr August. Every
time I caught anyones eye, all I wanted
to do was break into a Sid-James-inCarry-On-mode grin. Ive no idea how
I managed to restrain my love of the
ridiculous and retain a semblance of
decorum.
The little things often give a
window into the wider view of an
organisation, and its safe to say that
before Marshall arrived in Perthshire
from the Summer Isles Hotel a couple
of years ago, this grand fishing and
shooting establishment was in danger
of becoming moribund, haunted by
the prospect of a gentle decline into
clichd irrelevance. A man of great

drive and attention to detail, Marshall

has set about the task of restoring
Ballathies fortunes with great gusto.
The naked calendar in aid of Tayside
Children With Cancer and Leukaemia
is symptomatic of the injection of
energy which is gradually consolidating
Ballathies place in the top rank.
But if the staff have an extra spring in
their step, it hasnt been reflected in the
fabric of the place; rather its found its
outlet in the level of customer service.
The bricks and mortar Ballathie
House is a classic turreted baronial pile
in woodland on the banks of the Tay
remains fundamentally unchanged,
much as youd expect it to have been
when Queen Victoria was on the
throne. The overriding impression that
greets you is of a serene watering hole
where upmarket R&R is the order of
the day.
Marshalls arrival is not the only
important change to have hit Ballathie
over the past couple of years. Six
months before the South African
arrived in Coupar Angus, Scorer made
the journey from Gleneagles, where
he was a chef de partie, to take over
Ballathies two AA rosette kitchen. In
such a traditional destination, with
guests who have been coming for
years, even decades, to shoot locally or
to fish for salmon on the hotels beat
of the Tay and at the local rivers of the
Isla, Ericht and Almond, the emphasis
will never be on reinventing the wheel.
Instead, its all about meeting the
expectations of customers (the majority
of whom will be hotel guests) for classic
country house cuisine to match the
surroundings.
In that regard, Scorer has gone some
way to restoring a reputation which
was beginning to get a bit dog-eared.
That he has been able to do so was
obvious after we entered the dining
room, complete with ornate linen
panels on the walls, and our amusebouches arrived. Small, intricate little
smoked salmon packages, they were
understated and refined, nicely firing
up the palate.
In many ways they were the ideal
way of easing us into a meal that was
restrained, buttoned-up and elegant;
in other words, perfectly tailored to
its market. Beas starter, a terrine
of salmon and sole with wasabi

mayonnaise, smoked salmon and

granary crotes, was a classic example:
artfully presented, it meshed together
discordant flavours without ever
threatening to overwhelm the senses.
My starter displayed much the same
qualities. Arranged with the sort of
precision and forethought youd get
if food presentation were a PhD, my
press of Carnoustie pork with pickled
bay vegetables, apple pure and cubes
of cider jelly, was as small as Beas
dish, but also as enticing. That was
followed by intermediate courses of
a muted elderflower sorbet and an
unfeasibly creamy yet flavour-packed
carrot soup both had the desired
effect of cleansing palates that had yet
to become overawed.
Beas main course of roast rump
of lamb with savoy cabbage, haggis
bonbon, pommes noisettes, and mint
and parsley salsa was the undoubted
highlight of her meal. Once again the
portion verged on the parsimonious,
but everything in it was spot on,
from beautifully tender and succulent
lamb to a haggis bonbon that had a
commendably peppery cutting edge to
elevate it.
My pav of salmon was more run of
the mill. Along with the accompanying
horseradish mash, squid, mussels,
broad beans and crispy quails egg, it

made for a decent main course, albeit

a muted ensemble lacking any flavours
sufficiently strident to challenge the
taste buds. That is so often the country
hotel mantra: impress with presentation
and the quality of raw ingredients, but
dont include flavours confrontational
enough to alienate diners.
Pudding was an extremely solid
finale to an enjoyable meal. Beas
passion fruit souffl with mango
sorbet and Grand Marnier passion
fruit coulis was competently done,
although I was less impressed with
my milk chocolate dlice. Once again
the presentation was impressive, but
while the dlice itself was bursting with
flavour, the deconstruction of the dish
with pistachio financier, mulled wine
poached pear and pear vanilla sorbet all
moved to separate corners of the plate
somehow made this dish less than the
sum of its parts.
That said, it is clear that Scorer has
stepped up to the mark with confidence
and no little skill. If this is symptomatic
of the food that has been coming out of
the Ballathie kitchen since his arrival,
it is easy to see how its reputation has
gradually been rehabilitated. We will no
doubt see and hear more of Marshall
and Scorer, although hopefully, this
time, theyll keep their kit on.
Twitter: @RichardBath

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30 November, 2014 SCOTLANDonSUNDAY