Gary Maclean, Masterchef winner, will open his first solo restaurant in Bonnie & Wild’s Scottish Marketplace in St James Quarter later this year.
This area of Edinburgh is shaping up as Edinburgh’s new food quarter with the food hall jammed full of all kinds of delicious produce.
The first wave of food specialists has been revealed and include eight exclusive food stalls, three speciality retailers, a patisserie and three bars. The open plan area will be an exciting place to visit.
Gary is opening a casual dining spot along with Creel Caught where he will champion Scotland’s seafood matched with seasonal ingredients. His headline dishes will include Lobster Thermidor Mac ‘n’ Cheese, grilled langoustines with seaweed butter and monkfish scampi with fries.
Gary said: “This is set to be a Food Hall like no other and it’s precisely why I chose Bonnie & Wild as the location for my first ever solo dining venture. Creel Caught will showcase the very best seafood this country has to offer, something we know diners can’t get enough of.
“Being alongside the likes of Mac & Wild and East Pizzas is testament to Scotland’s incredible food scene. We all offer something different, something for every taste but all with Scottish produce at the heart.”
But Gary will be far from lonely in the new food hall.
Other names will include Edinburgh’s East Pizzas with their slow-fermentation sourdough pizzas featuring locally sourced ingredients.
Roly Simpson of East Pizzas said: “I think Bonnie & Wild’s new Food Hall is going to be an amazing venue that will celebrate the breadth and depth of Scottish food and drink. I’m delighted East Pizzas is going to be a part of this adventure as we expand our Edinburgh base.
“Like the Bonnie & Wild team we are very much focused on locally sourced products, with an emphasis on using organic products when possible. For example, our organic mozzarella cheese comes from Dumfriesshire, while our venison salami is provided by the excellent Great Glen Charcuterie and our smoked chorizo from East Coast Cured. But of course we’ll be celebrating seasonal food, and offering an ever-changing and innovative line-up, offering up some beautiful classics as well as some exciting surprises!”
And excitingly the new food destination will include a new name in ice-cream – unless you spotted them at Leith Market last year – husband and wife team Joe and Lucie Sykes, the entrepreneurs behind Joelato will bring their luxury artisanal gelato to Edinburgh on a full-time basis. Flavours are just a bit different – look forward to trying out Ferdi’s flavour which is a salted honey gelato with homemade honeycomb, all made with locally sourced milk, cream, eggs, berries and herbs from Joe and Lucie’s own garden in Perthshire.
Joe learned the craft of gelato at the world-famous Carpigiani Gelato University in Bologna. He said: “Joining Bonnie & Wild Food Hall is a hugely exciting step for us. We’ve been running a hugely popular gelato delivery service over the past year, and already experienced huge interest in our artisanal gelato. Now, we’re looking forward to collaborating with other premium food businesses who are all working together to showcase the very best that Scotland can offer!”
When it opens later this summer, Bonnie & Wild’s Scottish Marketplace will be able to accommodate 700 guests, who will be able to choose from a wide range of freshly prepared, locally sourced food and drink. Alongside the unrivalled food offering, the venue will also contain a private dining area, flexible events spaces, children’s play area, and a demonstration kitchen complete with broadcast capability.
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