The restaurant that's opened in a remote bothy in the heart of Cairngorms forest

Something is causing a stir in a Scottish forest, and it’s not just the squirrels readying themselves for winter..

The Penny Bun - named after an edible mushroom - has opened in a former bothy, and is drawing diners to its leafy location in Badaguish, Glenmore.

They visit for dishes including heather honey and Spey-whisky-glazed smoked salmon, or miso sweet potato fondants, which are cooked and served by their team - chef Chris McCall, director Mel Duncan and Callum McDougall.

This business also recently fuelled participants of the Aviemore Triathlon, on September 15, who arguably only managed to complete the event thanks to The Penny Buns’s Balliefurth Farm burgers, and venison Scotch pies. 

We asked McCall a few questions about this remote gem. 

Main dining room at The Penny Bun | Contributed

Tell us about your backgrounds

We have been friends since childhood and have worked in a diverse range of kitchens around the world. I bagged a job at Airds Hotel in Port Appin, after college and roped Cal in to come up for the Summer and take a job as kitchen porter, it wasn’t long before he was wearing whites too.

My career has taken me across Scotland and round the world. From Airds I moved on to Kinnaird House in Perthshire, then Hotel el Castell de Ciutat in the Spanish Pyrenees, then White Barn Inn in Maine (all Relais & Chateau properties) amongst many others. Cal and I began our careers in Michelin star kitchens, but most recently we’ve run food trucks. I started Alvie Forest Food during lockdown. I ran the truck at Dalraddy Holiday Park until earlier this year. The menu was based around wild, foraged foods and produce from the estate. We still have the same philosophy in the restaurant, but the menu we’re serving now is totally different. 

Mel and Cal are the team behind The Crema Caravan - the crème brulee van. They haven’t been out and about in their wee van since lockdown as The Penny Bun took off and the Crema Caravan took a backseat. The business is currently for sale.

What is your location like?

We are at Badaguish, a secluded clearing in the middle of the Glenmore forest. Today it’s gloriously sunny and the view of the Cairngorms is at its finest.

Are there challenges to being in that area?

Staffing has been one thing - being in the sticks and having no accommodation to offer makes it more challenging than it already is in the Highlands. We’re lucky though that we’ve been busy from the get go despite being a destination restaurant. We’re grateful for the support of all the locals who’ve dined with us and spread the word.

How is your food inspired by the Cairngorms landscape?

Our name is the common or English name for the cep or porcini mushroom. We love to forage and feature wild ingredients on our menus- often finding ingredients metres from the restaurant door. We have a wee wild greengrocers right by us; blaeberries, lingonberries, ceps, chanterelles, wood sorrel. It’s been a phenomenal summer for chanterelles and blaeberries especially.

Any favourite local suppliers?

You’ve actually caught up with us mid- prep for one of our suppliers - the producers Wild Farms’ own wedding. They supply us with wild boar and Soay lamb and almost every dish on their wedding menu features either their own farmed meat or wild produce. It’s been a great menu to collaborate on.

In the restaurant we try to use as much local produce as possible. We have a great relationship with our fishmonger and butcher, our specials board is a reflection of the best of that week. Today we have a monkfish special, served “saltimbocca” (wrapped in Parma ham) with charred Scottish cos lettuce, sautéed new potatoes and a langoustine bisque. Proudly all Scottish ingredients.

Our Fishmongers are Pro Fish based in Dingwall and Billy at Sea Stocks, he’s been a friend of mine for years. Our butchers are Balliefurth Farm but we also source wild game and other meats from surrounding estates, like lamb from Inshriach (and their gin is on the menu too).  We also do swaps of produce in exchange for dinners - for example, we’ve got locally grown apples from a friend coming in this week, we’re always happy to make use of any surplus.

Name a few of your most popular dishes created so far?

Our Sunday roast special has been a huge hit with guests. We smoke and roast our beef right here every Sunday morning, it’s a labour of love but the results are worth it.

We’ve also had things like txangurro crab on our specials board- it’s a Donostian dish of stuffed baked crab. Served simply, with a dressed salad and crusty bread, it’s a great dish for summer. I like to take hints of cuisine from my time in Spain and Maine. Our sous chef is Catalan too so we’ve a lot of different influences on what goes on the specials board.  We’re also hoping to host supper clubs in the near future with themed menus and have already decided the first will be Catalan-inspired. 

Beef carpaccio | Contributed

 Who is your average customer so far?

We are family friendly and we welcome well behaved dogs so we have quite a broad customer base which we love. We try to have a few dishes on the menu that have wide appeal like our house smoked pulled pork burger but also a few things that are more unusual.

For more information on The Penny Bun, see www.thepennybun.co.uk