If you were asked to serve up a meal that sums up the Scottish Borders, what would it be?

This is the question I put to Chef Roger McKie of Seasons restaurant in Gattonside. He didn’t have too hard a time giving an answer, because capturing the flavours of a place is a skill he has been working on for several decades.

Roger and Bea McKie have run restaurants in remote rural locations around Scotland as well as central Glasgow and have been dedicated to the ideas of local and seasonal food throughout their careers, long before the words ‘local’ and ‘seasonal’ appeared as standard on every restaurant menu.

They bought Seasons restaurant ten years ago, then called Chapters, and in that time have altered their business structure to suit the needs of the local and tourist community around them. Since Covid, they only open two nights a week, but have added an ‘At Home’ menu offering, a private chef service, and hampers made up of our regional food and drink.

We discuss the future of rural food businesses, how a restaurant can remain authentic while keeping relevant, a chef’s role as liaison between customer and producer, and how the restaurant can help reflect and shape the cuisine, and even the food systems, of a region like the Borders.

In this episode:

* Seasons Restaurant: seasonsborders.co.uk

* Ross Dougal - Fish Merchant, Eyemouth: Facebook

* Game from Johnny Rutherford at Burnside Farm Foods: www.burnsidegame.com

* Martin Baird, butcher in Melrose: www.martinbairdbutchers.co.uk

[images courtesy of Seasons.co.uk]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The FoodScape Podcast explores how food shapes the lives and land of the Scottish Borders. It also asks the question; what more could food do for us?

From boosting local economy and creating jobs, supporting biodiversity and improving soil, to establishing a place as a destination; what would it look like for our place to thrive, and can food help us get there?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Produced & Presented by Charlotte Maberly

Music by Iain Fraser from his album Koterana