Taste. Flavour. Fresh. Seasonal. Local. Eating and drinking in Fife’s a celebration of delicousness.
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The East Neuk shellfish industry exports seafood worth over £5 million every year.
The first written record of whisky dates back to 1494 and a still run by monks in the grounds of Lindores Abbey.
There are over 500 farms in Fife.
It’s estimated that 14,800 people in Fife work in the food and drink industry.
Just-caught seafood; freshly-picked vegetables; organic beef, lamb and pork; juicy berries; award-winning cheeses; whisky and gin distilled from barley grown in neighbouring fields; beers and ales crafted in tiny artisan breweries.
Harbourside huts cooking lobsters to order, steaks barbecued to perfection in a barn, five-star restaurants showcasing Fife produce with a Michelin twist. It’s no wonder Fife’s one of Scotland’s most exciting foodie destinations.
Experience the best of farm shopping at Ardross Farm Shop, Pillars of Hercules organic farm shop and Blacketyside Farm Shop.
Discover many of Fife’s highly-skilled makers and producers at the monthly Bowhouse Market.
Be tempted by freshly-smoked haddock, herrings and salmon from East Neuk Kilnhouse. Choose a chunk of cheddar at St Andrew’s Farmhouse Cheese Company, made with milk from the farm’s cows.
Make the most of Fife’s traditional butchers, fishmongers, greengrocers, cheesemongers, delis, herb growers and even salt makers.
In Fife, even the seasoning’s local.
From the city of Dunfermline’s cosmopolitan eating places to tiny village tearooms perched on hillsides, there’s no shortage of choice – or excellence. In the East Neuk, the harbours are a magnet for fine dining establishments, cafés, bistros and, of course, fish and chip shops. It’s (almost) enshrined in local by-laws that a visit to Anstruther must involve fish and chips!
There should be a similar rule about visits to St Andrews – but this time it’s ice cream from Jannettas Gelateria that’s a must. At the last count, there were 52 flavours, including ice cream flavoured with berries from nearby soft fruit farms.
Find out why Fife’s chefs are hotly-tipped when they take part in television cookery competitions by sampling their dishes. Dean Banks of Haar in St Andrews was a finalist in Masterchef: The Professionals, and Amy Elles of The Harbour Café at Elie was a contestant on The Great British Menu 2020 (and also featured in the Hairy Biker’s series).
The wilderness of this area’s shoreline, forests and hedgerows is equally generous. At the right time of year, rosehips, brambles, rowanberries, elderberries and wild garlic are ripe for the picking, while chantarelles are highly-sought after by expert foragers.
At harvest time, head to Newburgh, where trees descended from the orchards at Lindores Abbey continue to provide so many apples and plums in the town’s gardens, Fruit Markets are regularly held from August to October.
The clear, sparkling waters that lap the Fife coast are home to a range of edible seaweeds, while mussels, clams, crabs and fish can be found in rockpools under the cliffs. East Neuk Seaweed runs regular seaside foraging trips identifying which are best to eat, followed by a cook-up and tasting session on a stunning Fife beach.
The Hairy Bikers
Have a Fife oatcake - triangular’s the local oatcake preference – made with oats grown in the Kingdom. Have a giant slice of cake from Kitschnbake while watching the River Tay flow by. Treat yourself to a Fife Turf and Surf experience: fresh langoustines from Pittenweem Fish House followed by a buffalo burger (or buffalo mozzarella & tomato salad) from The Buffalo Farm, just outside Kirkcaldy..
Whet your appetite with a look at Fife’s fabulous food and drink. Go on – be tempted!
48 Hours of eating and drinking in Fife
Pillars of Hercules Café. Tour of Falkland, with its stunning Royal Palace and Outlander links.
The Hayloft, Falkland. A trip to the coast for Pittenweem Chocolate Company and a pint by the water’s edge at The Ship Inn in Elie.
The Peat Inn, Fife’s famous Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms.
£ Elie Holiday Park
££ Courtside, Falkland
£££ The Peat Inn
The Cheesy Toast Shack, East Sands, St Andrews. Explore St Andrews – buy supplies for a picnic lunch at IJ Mellis cheese shop, Mitchell’s Deli, Luvians Bottle Shop and Fisher & Donaldson.
Picnic at Kingsbarns Beach. Tour of Kingsbarns Distillery, where the distillers ensure there’s “As much Fife in a dram as possible.”
Fish & Chips at Anstruther Fish Bar & Restaurant – sit in or takeaway and tuck in at the harbour.
£ Craigtoun Meadows Holiday Park
££ Cambo House by Kingsbarns
£££ St Andrews Old Course Hotel
For more information visit Food from Fife
