Edinburgh’s Centotre restaurant held a bash to celebrate its eighth birthday at the weekend. Amid the cake and bubbles, owners Victor and Carina Contini kept the crowd up to date with the latest developments at their Casa San Lorenzo kitchen garden which is taking shape in the Esk Valley.
Regular readers of their blog will know that the Continis are busy turning a one acre parcel of land into a workable plot of land which they hope will supply fruit, veg, duck eggs and even honey for their restaurants.
Their Scottish Scottish Cafe and Restaurant, located under the National Galleries on The Mound, has always championed food produced in Scotland. Now the Continis are going one step further and, with the help of many of their existing suppliers, attempting to grow their own.
In February, The Scottish Cafe and Restaurant won the Best Customer Service award at the Scottish Restaurant Awards. Could 2013 be the year when restaurants start picking up awards for their agricultural skills as well as their prowess in the kitchen?