Looms & Larders: A Tale of Tartan and Taste

In Buckinghamshire the valleys are dotted with orchards, where ducks wander as if they own the land. Poultry has always been central here. The Aylesbury Duck once ruled English tables, prized in London markets and even sung about in nursery rhymes. Industrial farming nearly wiped it out – but in quiet corners the breed endured. 

At Hartwell House & Spa this once mighty duck has its stage again. Raised slowly beneath orchard trees by a sixth-generation farmer, it carries echoes of a food culture almost lost. Executive Head Chef Daniel Richardson calls it “essential in my kitchen” – and with good reason. The meat is tender, subtly gamey and touched with orchard sweetness. Eating it feels like more than dinner: it’s a taste of tradition, showing how heritage recipes adapt while staying true to their roots. 

Rutland was once overlooked in guidebooks, but food lovers know it for careful farming and a tradition of making much from little. Somerset, by contrast, is cider country, a land where orchards stretch across hillsides and winter cabbages feed whole communities. Both regions remind us that scale has little to do with substance. 

At Hambleton Hall in Rutland, crab apples enjoy their moment in the spotlight. Usually dismissed as too tart, here they are whipped into a soufflé so airy it feels almost weightless. Down in Somerset, Homewood champions January King cabbage, a hardy winter crop whose crinkled leaves hide unexpected sweetness when cooked simply. Together these dishes highlight how British food culture thrives when it honours nature’s rhythm, proving that modest ingredients have their own quiet grandeur. 

Scotland has a way of enveloping you in its landscape, with mist curling off lochs, forests hiding their treasures and hills rolling out like a bolt of tartan. For centuries communities here lived by what the land could provide: venison from the glens, salmon from the rivers, barley for whisky and wool for weaving. Today those threads of sustenance remain woven into daily life, even as they are reinterpreted for modern tastes. 

In Perthshire, Cromlix embodies that tradition with crisp Albert Bartlett potatoes and grilled steak, food that comforts after a bracing walk across moorland. Executive Head Chef James Mearing finds deep satisfaction in ingredients that offer instant reassurance, especially on cold days when warmth is welcome. Cromlix also opens the door to Araminta Campbell’s atelier on the edge of Edinburgh, where the artistry of her textiles meets Mearing’s culinary craft. Food and fabric side by side, both telling Scotland’s story through artisan craftsmanship. 

Back in the capital, tempo shifts. At Leith docks, Fingal, once a lighthouse service ship, now floats as a luxury hotel with a style that matches Edinburgh’s energy. Here chanterelle mushrooms, foraged from hidden Perthshire woods, arrive golden and aromatic, sautéed just enough to let their natural flavour shine. On board, Araminta’s bespoke scarves appear in the gift collection, a playful mix of food, fashion and Scottish spirit.  

Fancy weaving yourself into the full experience? Looms & Larders: A Tale of Tartan and Taste is a Scottish escape where heritage and luxury meet. Think handwoven textiles by Araminta Campbell, seasonal feasts crafted by top chefs and stays that span not only the countryside charm of Cromlix and the floating glamour of Fingal, but other equally distinctive properties – all threaded together in a break that celebrates the nation’s style, flavour and story.