Scotland


<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Chef-Owner-Cafe-Cuil-Clare-Coghill-.jpg" alt="Chef owner Cafe Cuil Clare Coghill" class="wp-image-1385" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Chef-Owner-Cafe-Cuil-Clare-Coghill-.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Chef-Owner-Cafe-Cuil-Clare-Coghill--300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Chef-Owner-Cafe-Cuil-Clare-Coghill--1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Chef-Owner-Cafe-Cuil-Clare-Coghill--768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-was-your-first-job-as-a-chef">What was your first job as a chef?</h3>



<p>I moved down to London in 2018 and I was working in TV production, nothing to do with food. When I was down there, I started to really miss Scottish food and Scottish produce and I realised that in London, there was a real lack of the ingredients that I grew up around: langoustines, scallops, crab, all the beautiful produce that was so readily available to me as a child on Skye you couldn&#8217;t even find in London except in really fine dining restaurants. People didn&#8217;t really know much about what Scotland has to offer down there, so I took it upon myself to show them!&nbsp;</p>



<p>I’m not sure if I was silly, naive or both, but I found a premises in Hackney, east London, and decided to open a nice, cosy Scottish space: <a href="https://www.cafecuil.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Café Cùil</a>. Cùil is Gaelic for cosiness or nest. That was the vibe. I wanted to showcase the best of Highland produce down in London, but in a casual and accessible setting, just the way that I was able to eat it growing up. That was 2020. I opened my doors, I think mid Feb and as you know, lockdown appeared five weeks later…</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-was-cafe-cuil-2-0-born">How was Cafe Cuil 2.0 born?</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Café-Cùil-exterior.jpg" alt="Cafe Cuil Isle of Skye" class="wp-image-1531" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Café-Cùil-exterior.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Café-Cùil-exterior-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Café-Cùil-exterior-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Café-Cùil-exterior-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>What seems like quite an unlucky story turned out to be extremely lucky. My partner and I drove all the way back to Skye to get back home before lockdown hit. Weeks turned into months, as you know, and lockdown seemed to be neverending. I started to reconnect with the produce, the ingredients, the people and the land around me that I was trying to celebrate down in London. I made the tough decision that I was going to leave the premises in London, to stay at home and showcase Café Cùil at home. I did a few series of pop ups around the island, gaining a bit of a local reputation cooking for people I went to school with and friends and family who were really into the idea of what I was doing.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In 2022 I found my current premises and opened the doors. This is our fourth year. It&#8217;s been quite a journey, but moving back home is actually the best thing that&#8217;s ever happened, because the restaurant is thriving and the concept just belongs here.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-would-you-describe-your-cooking-style">How would you describe your cooking style?</h3>



<p>I&#8217;m not a trained chef. I didn&#8217;t go to culinary school. I&#8217;ve completely learned from working in kitchens and cafes in London and Scotland and by tasting and developing my own ideas. I feel because I didn&#8217;t go to college and didn&#8217;t learn French cuisine or anything like that, I&#8217;ve had a bit more freedom of creativity. I’m not afraid to just put a few ingredients together in a mixing bowl and see how it tastes. It&#8217;s meant to be easy, tasty and simple, just letting the ingredients speak for themselves</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-so-great-about-skye">What’s so great about Skye?</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Interior-@lynnekennedy.jpg" alt="Cafe Cuil Isle of Skye" class="wp-image-1532" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Interior-@lynnekennedy.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Interior-@lynnekennedy-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Interior-@lynnekennedy-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Interior-@lynnekennedy-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photograph: Lynne Kennedy</figcaption></figure>



<p>When I was growing up, we actually had more Michelin stars on Skye than Manchester and Liverpool combined. I was one of five kids, so it was very rare for my family to be going out to eat. But there might have been the odd special occasion where we were able to drive 30 minutes up the island to <a href="https://threechimneys.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Three Chimneys</a> or <a href="https://kinloch-lodge.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kinloch Lodge</a> and eat a Michelin starred meal, which is quite incredible when you think about how rural we were in the 1990s. I think that Skye has always had a real culinary destination feel to it. It was more of a secret about how incredible our produce was, but now, it’s having even more of a moment and it’s more on the map.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-is-scottish-food-to-you">What is Scottish food to you?</h3>



<p>Scottish food has been largely misrepresented because of stereotypes or stigmas about how it can be unhealthy, or the idea that we don&#8217;t have much of a fine dining scene. Regardless of what people have perceived as Scottish food, we&#8217;ve always had incredible produce. What&#8217;s really exciting is that Scotland is having a moment and leading the charge are a lot of female chefs – Sarah Rankin, <a href="https://scotland.muddystilettos.co.uk/home/dining-at-home/glasgow-chef-and-tv-presenter-julie-lin-sticky-toffee-pudding-recipe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Julie Lin</a>, Pamela Brunton&#8230;. I think that&#8217;s super exciting because it&#8217;s giving not only Scotland a moment, but also women a moment in the Scottish cooking scene.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-who-s-your-favourite-chef">Who’s your favourite chef?</h3>



<p>There&#8217;s a new generation of chefs that are celebrating Scottish produce and I&#8217;m so proud to be a part of that. Calum Montgomery (head chef at <a href="https://www.edinbanelodge.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Edinbane Lodge</a>), Callum Munro (owner and chef patron at <a href="https://scorrybreac.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Scorrybreac</a>) and Niall Munro (who runs <a href="https://birch.coffee/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Birch</a> speciality coffee shop and eatery) – we’re all friends. We all went to school together and we all had the same experiences growing up. It&#8217;s so nice to see all of us thriving in the food scene.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In London, Gregg Boyd (founder of <a href="https://www.auldhag.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Auld Hag</a> in Angel, London) is great. During lockdown he messaged me. I&#8217;d never met him before but he said he&#8217;d seen my cafe, that he wanted to start his own Scottish thing and could he take over my premises. That didn’t end up happening, but I&#8217;ve done a couple of pop ups with him and we&#8217;ve got the same vibe going on. I love what he&#8217;s doing too.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-are-your-favourite-local-places-to-eat">Where are your favourite local places to eat?</h3>



<p>If it&#8217;s during the day and I&#8217;m looking for a delicious coffee with some nice baking or a nice toastie, I’ll probably go to <a href="https://leantocoffee.square.site/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lean To Coffee</a> in Ashaig. If I want something a bit more special, I would probably try and get a booking at either Scorrybreac in Portree or Edinbane Lodge. Every year they get better and better, and it&#8217;s such a joy to go and eat their food.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-would-you-make-the-journey-to-eat">Where would you make the journey to eat?</h3>



<p>I would probably drive to <a href="https://pomelocafe.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pomelo Cafe</a> in Edinburgh. I went there last year and the hand pulled noodles were unbelievable. Again, it’s quite casual dining. I feel like I&#8217;m really leaning into that. It makes you feel relaxed when you&#8217;re eating. And oh my goodness, the food that they do there, I feel like would be worth the five hour journey.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-the-dish-you-re-most-proud-of-creating">What’s the dish you’re most proud of creating?</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1498" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Langoustine-Bisque-Cafe-Cuil-4.jpg" alt="Langoustine bisque Cafe Cuil Isle of Skye Clare Coghill" class="wp-image-1528" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Langoustine-Bisque-Cafe-Cuil-4.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Langoustine-Bisque-Cafe-Cuil-4-200x300.jpg 200w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Langoustine-Bisque-Cafe-Cuil-4-684x1024.jpg 684w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Langoustine-Bisque-Cafe-Cuil-4-768x1150.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>My langoustine bisque. It&#8217;s a seafood broth made of seafood shells into a really rich and creamy beast. It&#8217;s made with whisky, smoked salt, and it&#8217;s just got a beautiful velvety depth of flavour. It&#8217;s actually the dish that I cooked on <em>My Kitchen Rules</em>, a Channel Four cooking show I did back in 2017. It got high praise from the judges, so I know that it&#8217;s a good one.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="756" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/09/9781739174071-1.jpeg" alt="Cafe Cuil Cookbook Clare Coghill Isle of Skye" class="wp-image-818" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/09/9781739174071-1.jpeg 756w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/09/9781739174071-1-227x300.jpeg 227w" sizes="(max-width: 756px) 100vw, 756px" /></figure>



<p><em><strong>Clare Coghill’s recipe book </strong></em><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cafe-C%C3%B9il-Cookbook-Recipes-Isle/dp/1739174070" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Café Cùil Cookbook</strong></a><em><strong> is out now. Photography by Clair Irwin, £25, Kitchen Press</strong></em></p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-in-the-mood-for-more">IN THE MOOD FOR MORE?</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://scotland.muddystilettos.co.uk/home/dining-at-home/sweetcorn-chowder-recipe/">Spice up lunch with Clare Coghill’s spiced sweetcorn chowder</a></li>



<li><a href="https://muddystilettos.co.uk/things-to-do/podcasts/best-foodie-podcasts/">Ear candy: 9 foodie podcasts to feast on (without lifting a fork)</a></li>



<li><a href="https://scotland.muddystilettos.co.uk/home/dining-at-home/winter-recipe-books/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Five new recipe books we can’t wait to cook with this winter</a></li>
</ul>


What’s cooking? Clare Coghill, Café Cùil, Isle of Skye

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