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The Herald Scotland
19 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Review: I tried Tom Kitchin's Michelin Star lunch menu in Edinburgh
Eavesdropping is a dreadful habit, I know, but so unexpected is this revelation shared between diner and waiter that I'm stopped in my tracks while flicking through to the more modest set lunch section of the menu. I perform a quick mental run-through of all the restaurants I've visited over the years as each page is turned. Qualms over carbon footprints aside, would any of them warrant that level of commitment to be here today? Perhaps The Kitchin will be the first. And if so, what great luck for me that it's taken just a train to Edinburgh and a stroll down Leith Walk to make my reservation. Priced at £69.00, the Lunch Menu is comprised of three courses with the option to splurge one step further should the selection of fine Scottish cheeses displayed in a neat trolley on the restaurant floor catch your eye. Judging by the number of tables that have ordered thin-stemmed glasses of champagne as a precursor to their meal, I'd wager a couple of extra quid for the pleasure won't be an issue for most. The interiors at The Kitchin share a theme with those at chef Tom Kitchin's Stockbridge venue Scran and Scallie, which I visited earlier this year after the Gastropub was once again named as the best of its kind in Scotland. (Read more: It's £25 for ham, eggs and chips at Scotland's Best Gastropub - and worth every penny) Stag printed wallpaper, 'distressed' upholstery and flourishes of velvet or fluffy faux fur on stools used as a perch for designer handbags, there's a circa 2013 twee-ness to it all. Like you've walked into the section of a glossy home interiors mag titled 'highland chic'. It's fitting for the menu, though, with the philosophy here said to be 'a true reflection of passion for the finest, freshest Scottish seasonal produce'. A small, illustrated map handed over sometime before a boule of crusty, warm bread arrives at the table confirms that the ingredients used for the lunch menu have been sourced from across Scotland's land and sea. Before we get to the courses I've selected from the set menu (there were three options for starters mains and desserts as well as a fully veggie alternative) there are a few small bites including a pani puri-esque wheat puffed shell filled with a super light, savoury mousse followed by a teeny-tiny ball of beetroot with big earthy flavour. Pictured: Lobster and Prawn dumpling on pea and lovage velouté (Image: Newsquest) Serving tables is a two-person job at The Kitchin, and once the warm-up dishes have been cleared away, a duo approaches the table, one carrying a tray and the other poised to gently lift a plate of Newhaven lobster and prawn dumpling, pea and lovage velouté and lobster shell oil from it so that each element looks exactly as it did when leaving the pass. It's a visually striking dish, the vibrant green of the pea velouté surrounding a dumpling that's smooth and pale in contrast. The mystery as to what this outer layer is hiding, along with the aroma from that fragrant lobster shell oil, demands that you sit up and pay attention. Who cares about any leftover bread from the pre-starters? This is the only thing in the restaurant I want to be eating right now. Tearing through the outer layer reveals plenty of gorgeous Scottish seafood stuffed into this pocket of goodness, firm, fresh and utterly delicious. The outer coating of the dumpling, it transpires, is a fraction too thick, meaning that I never fully lose myself in the dish as I'd like to. With each spoonful, the delicate flavours and texture of smooth, sweet peas are overshadowed by a nagging chewiness. Still, it's a strong start, refined yet warm and comforting. Pictured: Pork Loin with braised violet artichoke and black olive tapenade (Image: Newsquest) Next, it's Clash Farm pork loin with braised violet artichoke and black olive tapenade. It's not quite as pretty as the starter, four strips of meat laid out like toast soldiers atop a glossy jus that's just slightly seeped from a neat circle and edged towards the rim of the plate. There are some serious, salty flavours battling it out here. The artichokes, buttery soft and herbaceous, a spoonful of potent olive tapenade and a meaty jus reduced until almost sticky and intense. Then there's the pork to pull it all back from the brink, with the delicate layer of fat in particular benefiting from the punchiness of it all. Read more: We're back on top form presentation-wise with the dessert of Yuzu meringue tart torched gently until golden brown and nestled into a ring of plump Colbeggie farm berries with a quenelle of strawberry sorbet on the side. Pictured: The 'Strawberry and Bramble' dessert (Image: Newsquest) It's a superb pud, a happy marriage of tangy citrus and marshmallow-like Italian meringue executed with a delicate touch. Berries are one of Scotland's greatest seasonal treasures, and a mix of brambles and raspberries effortlessly elevates the dish. Because he's gone all in with the tasting menu, and tackled almost twice as many courses as I have, the man from London has finished his meal only just before me. As I savour the final spoonful of dessert, he fills the waiter in on his plans for the connecting train journeys that will see him home later that evening. He seems content that the meal has been worth it, 'I don't usually like scallops,' he says, 'but that was unlike any I've ever tasted before." I'm glad to hear his efforts have not been in vain, and if the lunch menu has provided a snapshot of what's on offer in the tasting menu, can watch him leave feeling confident that The Kitchin has lived up to expectations. The Kitchin is located at 82 Commercial Street in Edinburgh
Scottish Sun
12-05-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Morrisons AXES popular loyalty scheme feature that saved shoppers cash
MORRISONS has stopped two of its popular food offers- leaving customers missing their weekend discounts. Fish Fridays and Steak Saturdays have for years given customers with More Cards 20% off fish and steak from the stores' Market Street counters. 2 Morrisons has stopped two of its popular food offers Credit: Facebook/Morrisons 2 Fish Fridays and Steak Saturdays have now been axed Credit: Facebook/Morrisons But the supermarket recently removed the offers as it says customers wanted value all week-long, not just certain days of the week. Instead it has now added 125 fish and steak products to its three for £10 offer, which is available all the time, as well as offering other deals on certain dates. Customers are not happy with the change, with one saying on Morrisons' Facebook page: 'You have finished with 20% off the fish Friday and Steak Saturday not happy.' Another added: 'Are Morrisons stopping the 20% Fish Fridays and Steak Saturdays? 'Manager last week told me they were stopping it, offers no longer showing on the app!' Morrisons' fish and meat counters carry the store's 'Market Street' branding, as well as many products sold on the supermarket's shelves. The retailer recently announced the closure of 70 of its fish and meat counters, which came as a blow to shoppers across the country. A spokesman said it will continue to offer 'great value' deals, such as its recent discount of a third off Market Street Sirloin Steak over the last May Bank Holiday weekend. Offers included saving a third on Market Street Rump Steak last weekend (May 9 -11), and a third off Silverside Joint between May 12 and 18. These deals are available on the shelves, and not from the meat counters. Savvy ways to save at Morrisons Morrisons said: 'Market street is an important part of Morrisons and we are working hard to maintain what customers really want, modernising our proposition and maintaining what is in our DNA as a company.' It's not the only supermarket to have upset shoppers planning their weekend meals. Fans of Tesco's Finest dine-in meal deal were recently upset to learn the cost had risen from £12 to £15. Last October, ready-meals fans were angry because M&S hiked its popular Gastropub dine-in deal by 25%, from £12 to £15. And earlier this year Tesco increased the cost of its deal on ready meals, with the cost of two of its Finest ready meals rising from £7.50 to £8, and more recently to £8.50 with a Clubcard. Also, the retailer recently made to its loyalty scheme which now allows loyalty card holders the ability to donate their points to charity Marie Curie. What is Morrisons' More Card scheme? The loyalty scheme, which was reintroduced in 2023, has proved popular with many shoppers. It allows customers who have saved 5,000 Points, to receive a £5 Morrisons voucher which can be redeemed on a future shop, in store or online. It can be used as a physical card or app and customers will be able to earn points on specific products and counters in store and online. That means you won't earn points on every single item. Customers can also earn five points for every litre of fuel bought in a Morrisons petrol filling station. Examples of points you would get based on purchases include: 100 More Points for every five pack of doughnuts (89p) 500 More Points for every £5 spent at the pizza counter 600 More Points for every £6 spent in a Morrisons café 100 More Points for every British BBQ meat pack from the butcher's counter Once a customer has saved 5,000 points, they will receive a "Morrisons Fiver" which can be redeemed on a future shop. Shoppers on the loyalty scheme will still be able to get exclusive prices on certain products, including Pringles, Nescafe instant coffee and Cathedral City cheese after the supermarket launched those last October. Supermarket loyalty schemes - which has one? MOST UK supermarkets have loyalty schemes so customers can build up points and save money while they shop. Here we round up what saving programmes you'll find at the big brands. Iceland: Unlike other stores, you don't collect points with the Iceland Bonus Card. Instead, you load it up with money and Iceland will give you £1 for every £20 you save. Unlike other stores, you don't collect points with the Iceland Bonus Card. Instead, you load it up with money and Iceland will give you £1 for every £20 you save. Lidl Plus : Lidl customers don't collect points when they shop, and are instead rewarded with personalised vouchers that gives them money off at the till. : Lidl customers don't collect points when they shop, and are instead rewarded with personalised vouchers that gives them money off at the till. Morrisons: The My Morrisons: Make Good Things Happen replaces the More Card and rewards customers with personalised money off vouchers via the app. The My Morrisons: Make Good Things Happen replaces the More Card and rewards customers with personalised money off vouchers via the app. Sainsbury's: While Sainsbury's doesn't have a personal scheme, it does own the Nectar card which can also be used in Argos, eBay and other shops. You need 200 Nectar points to save up £1 to spend on your card. You need to spend at least £1 to get one Nectar point. While Sainsbury's doesn't have a personal scheme, it does own the Nectar card which can also be used in Argos, eBay and other shops. You need 200 Nectar points to save up £1 to spend on your card. You need to spend at least £1 to get one Nectar point. Tesco: Tesco Clubcard has over 17million members in the UK alone. You use it each time you shop and build up points that can be turned into vouchers - 150 points gets you a £1.50 voucher. Here you need to spend £1 in Tesco to get one point. Tesco Clubcard has over 17million members in the UK alone. You use it each time you shop and build up points that can be turned into vouchers - 150 points gets you a £1.50 voucher. Here you need to spend £1 in Tesco to get one point. Waitrose: myWaitrose also doesn't allow you to collect points but instead you'll get access to free hot drinks, and discounts off certain brands in store. They can give away their More Points to the end-of-life charity 1,000 at a time - which is the equivalent of £1. Loyalty scheme changes at other retailers Elsewhere, Tesco made a major change to its Clubcard scheme and it's great news for pizza lovers. Customers can now exchange their points for money off drinks and food at PizzaExpress until the end of April. Any Clubcard points exchanged for money off at Pizza Express are worth double, so a £1.50 voucher will save you £3. Sainsbury's also recently made a huge change to its Nectar loyalty scheme for 18 million customers. The UK's second biggest grocery store has introduced a new security feature on its loyalty card app to prevent points from being stolen. The free scheme allows customers to earn one Nectar point for every £1 spent at Sainsbury's, both in-store and online.
Business Mayor
08-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
NY Times reporter filed HR complaint because editor threatened to ‘kill' him over story length
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US A New York Times reporter got into an 'epic blow-up' with his editor over a recent story about Harvard that resulted in the reporter filing a human resources complaint because he felt the editor threatened to 'kill' him if his initial draft was too long. Before the Times published a triple-bylined report last month about some of Harvard's most prominent donors wanting to 'strike a deal' rather than fight the Trump administration, the high-stakes nature of the story resulted in tensions that boiled over as the deadline approached. The incident was first reported by the Breaker newsletter. The Independent , meanwhile, was able to corroborate Breaker's report with three additional sources. 'According to two people familiar with the matter, [reporter Rob] Copeland and the New York Times business editor Ellen Pollock had an epic blow-up before the Harvard story ran,' Breaker noted. 'It resulted in a HR complaint about a 'death threat' and…Copeland taking time out from the paper.' Copeland, the author of a bestselling book on famed Wall Street hedge-fund manager Ray Dalio, had drawn the ire of Pollock over delays in the story, prompting her to call him and his editor, Michael Corkery, into her office to hash it out. The story was seen as especially sensitive within the Times as many of the paper's reporters and alumni attended the prestigious Ivy League school. New York Times reporter Rob Copeland went to HR after editor Ellen Pollock said she'd 'kill' him if his draft on a high-stakes Harvard story was over 2000 words. (Getty Images) According to sources familiar with the situation, Pollock yelled at Copeland for not staying on task and following her directions, eventually resulting in her telling the reporter that she would 'kill' him, Corkery, and herself if his draft came in over 2,000 words. Read More M&S marks 20 years of Gastropub range with Tom Kerridge ad The tense argument and aftermath soon became the talk of the Grey Lady's newsroom, with one version spreading throughout the halls that threats of shooting were made during the heated dispute, though our sources note that this was not accurate. For the most part, Times sources that spoke to The Independent indicated that Pollock was almost certainly joking when she issued her supposed 'death threat' to Copeland, something that isn't out of character for the highly respected journalist. At the same time, many reporters at the paper were 'baffled' that Copeland escalated the matter to HR. 'Ellen is a great journalist with a very direct approach, and most people who work for her understand that it's in the service of getting the best story,' one staffer said. 'Yes, obviously there was no way that Ellen was going to pull off a murder-suicide at The Times without clearing it with the masthead first,' the same staffer snarked when asked about the nature of Pollock's 'threat' to Copeland. In the end, it was apparent that Copeland didn't see the humor in Pollock's and told her that she had committed an 'HR violation' and promptly filed a complaint. In the end, the veteran editor apologized. ' The Times is committed to fostering a productive and supportive workplace, and takes seriously all matters related to how our staff works together,' a New York Times spokesperson said in a statement. As for the final product, the story – which Copeland co-wrote with Maureen Farrell and Michael Schmidt – came in at 2,282 words. 'Copeland, Corkery and Pollock remained alive at the time of our publication,' Breaker cheekily noted in their report. Read More Craft Media appoints Media Week Podcast host head of planning
