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Today is the launch of Scottish Food Fortnight and also, Seafood Fortnight which run in conjunction with each other. It also co-incides with the expansion of the Scottish Seafood Trail right up the west coast of Scotland to inlude The Three Chimneys on Skye.

Booking Lunch or Dinner at The Three Chimneys over the next two weeks could not be a better way to celebrate these occasions. The Three Chimneys celebrates the freshest and best of local Scottish produce all-year-round! But at this time of year, Skye seafood is moving into one of its prime phases. For lunch we are highlighting our special Sefood Platter for One, and at Dinner, the fantastic, new Seven Courses of Skye Showcase Tasting Menu is a "must" for those foodies who want to make the most of their visit to this far-flung restaurant with the big reputation.

With our Sommelier, Luke Richardson, on hand to advise on a choice of wine to match the fish and seafood dishes on the Lunch menu, or each of the Seven Courses of Skye at Dinner, a meal at The Three Chimneys is something to savour.

Creel-caught lobster, langoustines and brown crab,hand-dived scallops, locally grown oysters, mussels, winkles and razor clams from the seashore - they are all on the Menu at this time of year, together with fresh fish of many varieties. Celebrate the best of Scottish cooking, delicious ingredients and tip-top service by dining out at Scotland's favourite restaurant. Take home the memories of a real Taste of Skye.

The AA staged a glittering event in London last week to elebrate its centenary. Many leading hotels and restaurants were present to collect this year's awards and to mark the launch of the new guide books. Unfortunately it was too far for us to travel at this busy time of year.

Alasdair, our genial Skye Postie, delivered the goods instead - a framed certificate proclaiming The Three Chimneys and The House Over-By as "Inspectors' Choice". This is the AA's supreme accolade used to recognise hotels that stand out as the very best, regardless of size and style. We are proud to hang this alongside our 5-Star Highly Commended Certificate as our grading for 2008/09 as a Restaurant with Rooms. The AA Reviews all be published in the new Hotel Guide and Restaurant Guides on sale in all good bookshops.

These awards also recognise the tireless commitment and hard work on the part of all of our staff in very department necessary to achieve this level. Without this wonderful crew, The Three Chimneys and The House Over-By could not exist and they deserve every ounce of the praise they receive.

Yesterday, we had our very own beautiful dancing display by a school of dolphins in the bay at Colbost, right in front of The Restaurant and The House Over-By. Guests, staff and passers-by were all fixed on the scene with binoculars, cameras, and the telescope in the Morning Room. We think there were about 8 dolphins all together, leaping, twirling and diving into and high out of the water. A magical chance encounter with nature, of the very best kind.

We have lift-off! The Seven Courses of Skye Menu is on from tonight! Head Chef Michael Smith has created a fantastic menu based entirely upon fresh ingredients from the Isle of Skye and the surrounding areas. Hot and cold dishes range through Skye's fabulous selection of seafood, incorporating the wide range of fresh vegetables, salads and herbs grown within a few miles of the kitchen door and delivered daily, to sweet, heather-fed Skye lamb from Glenhinnisdal. The famous Hot Marmalade Pudding is included too, but in a delicious new format!

The Seven Courses of Skye Menu will run alongside the usual 3-Course fixed price menu, which will offer diners an even wider selection of truly seasonal, regional food. Vegetarians are never forgotten at The Three Chimneys. Take a look at our Menus and their archive on the Restaurant page of this website for more information.

Frank Bruni, the highly respected (revered and feared!) food critic of the New York Times has published his verdict in today's travel journal. In his inimitable style he writes:

"The Three Chimneys is the French Laundry of Scotland, luring food-loving pilgrims from near and far, as a destination in its own right. And it was precisely the restaurant I was hoping for, one that can't be replicated outside Scotland."

We are thrilled with these words. What a fabulous, complimentary indictment of everything we have chosen to represent to the world over the years, through our business, our food, our cooking and our service. Frank Bruni goes on to write: "We ate food that was emphatically regional", praising the ingredients such as the langoustines: "....a generous tangle of them, not pulled from their shells and obscured by other ingredients, but left to their own sweet, delicate devices. They were marvellous."

There is more - lots more - and also, many superb photographs of our home-cured salmon, the lamb dish that Bruni delights over and the whisky and lemon parfait. There are shots of the restaurant and one of Michael expertly plating-up on the pass. There is a link on the "Experience" page of our website, to the whole article and pictures.

Thank you Mr Bruni! We did not know you had been here until the photograpaher contacted us to arrange the shoot, but we are so pleased you had such a memorable meal and enjoyed your overnight stay. We hope you will choose to come back and see us again one day - and enjoy more of Skye's glorious fresh, seasonal produce.

It all looks gorgeous. With lovely Lindsay Ann serving drinks and chatting to the guests, it has been very popular with all the evening customers, both before and after dinner. We have made a few alterations and additions to the decor and are doubling-up use of the small breakfast kitchen as a still-room in the evenings. With a new coffee machine installed and a proper drinks fridge, all we need to add now are a few well-chosen cocktails!

Happy Birthday to my lovely friend of 23 years, my original neighbour, the Skye oracle and hostess with the mostest - Anne Gracie. Now the industrious (as always!) owner with her smashing partner, Captain Ken Gunn, of Toravaig House and Duisdale Hotel, she has been my "lifeline" on many occasions in the past. We spent a couple of hours late last night catching-up on the gossip over coffee, sitting in the new Lounge area, with all the candles twinkling round about, watching the fading glow of the sunset on the horizon and over the sea. Anne and Ken saw dolphins in the loch last night as they took a stroll before dinner and an otter playing the seaweed. They rushed off this morning to collect guests for one of their fantastic yacht trips. And we all rushed on with our lives at this end. We are well-and-truly in the thick of the summer season!

"Stunning" is the verdict of Daily Telegraph food critic, Jasper Gerard, in the newspaper's "Weekend" section published on Saturday. A cover feature entitled "Top 50 Summer Restaurants" highlighted the writer's "personal selection" and he suggests that "some of the most charming places to eat are far from the capital, with country dwellers enjoying not only the finest ingredients but some of the most innovative cooking." Jasper Gerard places The Three Chimneys at No 3 in his list of "By the Sea" restaurants, describing it as having become - despite its location - "an unlikely mecca for gastronomes from around the globe.......the view should be enough of a reward for the journey before you've sampled the food in one of Scotland's finest restaurants.......Stunning!"

The current issue of Restaurant magazine has brought itself up-to-date with a double page feature about Michael's progress here as Head Chef since he took over the reins from Shirley Spear. The Three Chimneys was ranked 28th in the very first list of the magazine's now famous Top 50 Restaurants in the World, in 2002. In 2003 it was listed 32nd, still well ahead of some very famous establishments worldwide including London and the rest of the UK. Since then, the competition has reached out to even further flung places and sadly, (undeservedly?) no Scottish restaurants have been included in recent years. Shirley is still proud of her restaurant's achievements in the past, but is even more proud of how it has evolved since Michael Smith started work here exactly 4 years ago. She declares: "the food is better than ever before!" More developments are about to happen with the introduction of Michael's Seven Course of Skye Menu, a showcase of truly local, seasonal produce.

Isle of Skye Whisky has come home to Skye! The Three Chimneys has been chosen by Ian MacLeod Distillers Limited as the perfect "home" for their premium quality blended whisky, originating from Skye, the Clan MacLeod homeland.

Few blended whiskies offer any age statement and 8 years is the recognised age of maturity for many single malt whiskies. Isle of Skye 8 year old is exceptionally smooth, a combination of carefully selected Island and Speyside malts, mellowed in oak casks. The honeyed Speyside malt flavour allies to the smoky, peaty taste that distinguishes the Island malts.

The Isle of Skye 8 year old defines the age of the youngest whisky in the Ian MacLeod range and has long been a favourite tipple at The Three Chimneys. It is also the choice of Head Chef Michael Smith for a variety of dishes on the menu.

But it was the ultra rare, premium luxury 21 year old and the exceptionally rare, super-premium 50 year old Isle of Skye whiskies that caused a stir when they were launched at The Three Chimneys recently. The 21 year old was launched as a limited edition of 1000 individually hand numbered, Royal blue and gold Wade porcelain decanters, packaged in a blue leather box. There are 400 individually numbered bottles of the even rarer 50 year old, presented in a solid oak wood box with gold plate and certificate of authenticity. Both whiskies will be featured on The Three Chimneys whisky list and no doubt, they will become a memorable after-dinner dram to complete a superlative meal in the restaurant.

The launch of these rare blends will coincide with the launch of The Three Chimneys new Lounge Drinks Service being introduced in The House Over-By very soon. Guests staying overnight in The House Over-By will be able to relax in the new soft seating area in The Morning Room and Reception, or in the garden overlooking Loch Dunvegan and enjoy personal service of pre-dinner and after-dinner drinks, including cocktails. Those dining with us but staying elsewhere will also be able to enjoy a drink or a coffee in the Lounge area too.

Having the new seating has allowed us to install three new tables in the Restaurant, giving more visitors to Skye the oppotunity to dine with us while they are here. Hopefully, all the new arrangements will enhance the service we can provide for all of our guests and customers.

It is impossible to to please everyone all of the time. Despite our best intentions to do so, we do receive a few gripes and groans from customers and we always investigate the circumstances seriously. This is good for staff training, but complaints can be demoralising for our hard-working staff too, expecially when we feel they are unfounded, or actually, they are not quite truthful.

We received the following complimentary message from Paula and Stephen Woods of Glasgow recently which was much more pleasing! ".......the meal itself was spectacularly good, but was eclipsed by the experience and hospitality received. Please pass on our gratitude to Michael and the team." Thank you! We have done! Please come again soon!

Dunvegan Castle, stronghold of Clan MacLeod and ancestral home of the 30th Clan Chief, Hugh MacLeod of MacLeod is a majestic "neighbour" to have on the opposite side of the loch! It has dominated the scene for almost 800 years, being the oldest inhabited castle in Scotland and the site of numerous historic events and exciting times.

Visiting the Castle, its lovely gardens surrounding woodlands is on most people's lists of things to do when on Skye. Taking a boat trip on Loch Dunvegan to see the seal colony close at hand, is a must. But this year, for the very first time, Chief Hugh has introduced a new activity - Fishing Trips and Loch Cruises by Private Charter.

From now until mid-October, the castle boatmen will collect you from the shore below The Three Chimneys and take you for a romantic cruise on Loch Dunvegan, followed by a leisurely stroll through the castle's formal gardens - all in blissful, romantic solitude with a complimentary bottle of Champagne provided on board. Private fishing trips can also be arranged for up to 4 people, with rods and tackle provided free of charge. These trips leave from the Castle Jetty.

Arrangements for these cruises must be made direct with the Castle, by telephoning 01470 521 500. Warm clothing is recommended and of course, if the trip has to be cancelled due to weather, the cost will be fully refundable.

Two guests were recently the first to book a personal cruise on the loch. The boat came in to shore at Colbost and we watched anxiously from the office window as the couple boarded - quite safely! They had a fantastic time by all accounts, returning in time for dinner in the restaurant that evening. Wellies and woolies are probably essential, but the boatman was a great host talking about the local surroundings, the views of the Outer Isles, the seabirds and seals. (Chicks and pups were clearly visible from on board) There have been regular sitings of Mincke whales, basking sharks, porpoises and dolphins in the waters surrounding the Isle of Skye, off Neist Point and in Loch Dunvegan itself. Our guests are loving it!

We are delighted to have been awarded the Inspectors' Choice Award as Restaurant with Rooms for 2008/2009. Added to our grading as 5-Stars Highly Commended with 3 AA Rosettes, this places us in the top 10% of the best places to stay in the UK. The new AA Restaurant and Hotel Guides will be published in September. Shirley has been aiming to achieve better recognition for the category "Restaurant with Rooms" for several years. She is further delighted as this year, they will be included in the Hotel Guide in the appropriate location, giving such businesses far greater status than before.

"Some of the very best places to eat and stay in Scotland are Restaurants with Rooms," says Shirley. "Not only do they provide a high standard of sylish accommodation, but usually serve the very best food to be found in the area. The restaurant is always at the heart of these businesses, providing a special experience that is so different from a hotel dining room."

The weather over the past few weeks here has been absolutely fantastic. Visitors are returning home with the famous Skye suntan having enjoyed days out in the warm spring sunshine. The ground is very firm underfoot for walkers; the scenery is awash with colour; birdwatchers, wildlife enthusiasts, photographers - they have all been loving their trip to the Isle of Skye, including the stunning drive here through the Highlands.

On Friday, we hosted a most delightful family wedding party. The ceremony took place at Dunvegan Castle in the early evening and they returned here for Champagne in the Morning Room, followed by dinner in the Restaurant. The whole day was perfect for them.

This morning we watched two of our guests pushing their kayaks into the water from the shore below us here at Colbost. With a carefully packed picnic, they disappeared into the distance over the calmest of silvery blue seas, heading for Coral Beach perhaps, or another secret cove to sun themselves. It is another beautiful morning!

Our new chairs and tables were delivered last week. Out with the old and in with the gorgeous new furniture for the Morning Room together with lovely new curtains and walnut wood flooring. The whole image has lightened and softened the room, bringing in more natural colours form the outdoor surroundings. Together with the improvements we have made to our breakfast menu and the service we provide in The House Over-By, we hope that our guests will find that their stay here is even more enjoyable.

Completion of the changes we have been making progressively over the past few months, will come with the introduction of our Lounge drinks service in The House Over-By in the evenings. Guests and restaurant customers will be able enjoy a leisurely drink or classic house cocktail before dinner, or full choice of coffees and smooth malts to sip after their meal. With a few extra armchairs to relax in, both indoors and outside in the garden of The House Over-By, we are making more use of our facilities while enhancing the service we can provide. The evening views over Loch Dunvegan, particularly on long summer days, will make your visit to Colbost even more memorable. Pictures will follow as soon as we have them! Better still, come and enjoy the difference!

Colbost on the edge of Loch Dunvegan is a very special corner of the Isle of Skye. The Loch is a wide sea loch with a mix of ragged, rocky shores, and steep cliffs fringing the deep waters. There are a number of significant islands in the loch as well as skerries and rocky outcrops which reveal themselves to a greater degree at low tide. Loch Dunvegan opens into The Little Minch, the stretch of sea that divides Skye from the Outer Hebridean islands of Lewis, Harris and Uist to the west. This is perfect sea eagle country and we are humbled by the occasional sighting of our very own pair of sea eagles whose territory is Loch Dunvegan. They never fail to amaze!

A week or two ago, our guests were lucky enough to be able to watch the pair sunning themselves in the evening sunlight on a heathery outcrop on a nearby island. We could see them very clearly through the telescope we have here in the Morning Room. We know they nest somewhere in the vicinity, but for the birds' safety and preservation, this is top secret! We have been in touch with the Scottish RSPB and our contact here on Skye. Significant sightings help them with their work in monitoring the breeding pairs of sea eagles we have on the island.

Seeing is believing when you actually make a chance sighting of a sea eagle or a golden eagle. Large and impressive with a huge wingspan, they are a moving and magnificent sight and something that will stay in your memory forever.

The month of April has proved to be a beautiful spell weather-wise. Although cold with a chilly north wind earlier in the month, bringing snow showers and hailstones, the sun has shone on many bright days. There is nothing like seeing the mountain tops covered in fresh snow against the backdrop of a cloudless blue sky. The drive through the Highlands to the Isle of Skye has been magical.

The daffodils are past their best now, but the trees are in new leaf, the primroses and wild violets are in flower and newborn lambs cannot fail to bring a smile to everyone's face, as they are so pretty and fragile, but sturdy and determined, all in one bounce! All wildlife is wonderful at this time of year, particularly our garden birds and seabirds. There have been a few spectacular sightings and the birdsong every evening (and early morning!) is gorgeous.

We received this message of thanks on e-mail this morning, from a lovely couple who stayed with us over 3 days at the turn of the month to celebrate a special occasion. Everyone here felt so proud to receive their comments, we thought they were worth sharing with the wider world.........
"We recently enjoyed hugely our few days with you. It was an ambition fulfilled with not even a hint of disappointment. Every aspect of our stay was a delight. To us it was a lot of money but extremely well spent and we hope very much to repeat the experience before we get a lot older! Your location is of course wonderful, the accommodation was excellent....quality comfort without being overly grand, the breakfasts were a delight, the dinners were superb....so many interesting flavours and attention to detail in presentation. All of this you will have heard and read before but my prime reason for writing is to say that what stays in the memory over and above all that, are the staff....all the staff. Those working behind the scenes in kitchens (breakfast and dinner) those who look after the rooms to such a high standard as well as the front of house staff (in Reception, in the Morning Room and in the Restaurant)...so friendly, helpful, efficient and attentive. That is what made our stay extra special.....the impeccable service which the staff provide."

William and Rosemary have booked to come again in the autumn of 2009. Their repeat expectations will be a lot to live-up to, but we will aim to do so with even more special care.

We retained our listing in this year's awards as a restaurant in one of the Best Locations in the UK. We won this category outright in 2006 and are delighted that Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Restaruant in Cornwall won it this year. "This little stone cottage on the edge of the world serves brilliant food," reads our entry. Our food at The Three Chimneys is indeed all about our location. It is not just the view of Loch Dunvegan and the Outer Hebrides on the north west horizon plus our closeness to the seashore, that make us a very special place to eat. We also currently hold Skye's own Best Taste of Local Food Award and we cook and serve a fantastic selection of fresh ingredients grown, farmed and fished on and around the island.

Tucked away near the back page of the Observer magazine published last week and dedicated to its Food Awards, there is an article about dining with celebrities by food agony aunt, Jan Moir. We were flattered to find that The Three Chimneys is listed at the end of this piece as one of three restaurants for celebrity-spotting; the other two being famous London eateries. Jan Moir writes: "Even Rick Stein made the pilgramage to this remote outpost of gastronomy on the wild shores of Skye." We confirm that he did enjoy his lobster here a number of years ago, but would just like to add that we are usually the last people to notice celebrities in the restaurant! And of course, discretion is always the best policy.

Well......the earliest Easter weekend since 1913..... and it blew in with a biting north wind, straight down the loch. White horses were racing along the top of a wild blue sea, crashing on the rocks and rolling into our shore at Colbost. Anyone for surfing? It all looked stunning. No-one had a bad journey here as the showers were short, sharp and icy, but not lying as snow. The restaurant was packed yesterday for both lunch and dinner and will be again today. We will remain open for lunch, Monday - Saturday until the end of October. As we hold the current award for Lunch Excellence from Hotel Review and the Best Taste of Local Food Award we expect our lunch menu to be as popular as it has always been. We also had a brilliant review in Number 1 magazine from Jonathan Trew, who ate a "Cracking Lunch" here last year. Don't forget to telephone and book a table, or look at the sample menu on the Restaurant page.

We resume serving lunch from today, Thursday 21st March. Open from 12.30 and taking bookings now! This Easter weekend we are serving lunch on Sunday, but from then on, until the end of October, we will be open Monday - Saturday, with a great 2 or 3-course menu specialising in truly seasonal, fresh, local ingredients. Take a look at our Menu page in the Restaurant section of the website. Hope to welcome you soon. Don't forget to telephone 01470 511258 to reserve a table.

That's the verdict from all those who telephoned us and sent messages last night after the Great British Menu programme on BBC2 TV. Head Chef Michael Smith did not go through to represent Scotland in the main television series. Great shame! Magnanimous as always, Michael shook hands with the other chefs who won the regional heat and accepted the judge's decision. His shellfish starter and main course of wild mallard were a really true reflection of what we would serve on our daily-changing dinner menu at The Three Chimneys. Our food is genuinely seasonal and fresh from the land and sea that surround us. Wild, wind-swept and always interesting!! Come and try a true taste of Scotland and real Scottish cooking here in the Isle of Skye.

Switch on and watch BBC2 TV on Wednesday night at 6.30pm for the Scottish instalment of the new series of Great British Menu. Michael Smith, Head Chef, is one of four Scottish chefs to represent the whole of Scotland. The programme was filmed last Autumn and Michael's truly seasonal menu was a stunning representation of fresh, local produce, as served every day at The Three Chimneys. Be sure to watch and judge the outcome for yourself..................

Scottish Tourism Week is coming to a close and Shirley has taken part in a variety of events in her role as as Director of the Scottish Tourism Forum. Her travels have taken her to Fort Augustus, Edinburgh and Glasgow and back with a trip to Broadford on the island twice in one week. The first was for a meeting of the local Tourism Forum and today, to speak at a Local Food event to which Richard Lochhead the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment in the new Scottish Government was invited. Richard Lochhead recently launched the discussion paper outlining the Future for Food in Scotland, "Choosing the Right Ingredients". Everyone in Scotland is being encouraged to have their say about what is important to them in terms of the food we produce and consume. Shirley's passion for Scottish food being recognised as being a vital element in the nation's Tourism and Hospitality Industry, had another public airing! She urged the Scottish Government, the Regional Local Government and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to work hard on behalf of the Highlands and Islands, where so many of the precious raw ingredients come from.

The sustainable growth of our vital Tourism and Hospitality Industry, hand-in-hand with our Food and Farming Industries, is all about the development of high quality business. Delivering a high quality, all-round experience is what the Highands and Islands should be all about.

The Isle of Skye, with its successful local food initiative, the award-winning Food Link project and its array of good restaurants, is recognised as being at the forefront of this change and development for the future. Today's event had an excellent turnout, showing promise of further strides forward.

Sunday's Observer Magazine (9th March) carried a travel feature all about Incredible Journeys. A host of journalists had been asked to pen an article aout their memorable trips. The contribution from Food Journalist Jay Rayner was on "why all great dinners begin with a long trip" in an article titled "A Meal Worth The Detour".

Jay Rayner listed a number of restaurants on his "wish list". Along with Ferran Adria's El Bulli near Barcelona and Michel Bras's restaurant in south west France, he writes: "I like to imagine one day I will make the pilgramage to The Three Chimneys on the Isle of Skye to try their Colbost crab risotto with prawn berry oil and truckle wafer."

Thank you for the compliment Jay. We would love to welcome you one day! We promise the journey will take you through some of the most stunning Highland scenery and will be well worth every mile. We may even be what you have been looking for!

There is a cracking new website -
www.theskyeguide.com - all about life on the island. We have recently been given one of the best reviews ever in the Eating Out section of this site, by someone who had previously avoided eating here because "the well developed cynic in me scented hype and atrificiality." After stating that he was "wrong" he gives a glowing assessment of his experience, the food, the presentation, the service, the ambience.... The Skye Guide website is full of interesting, personal views on life on the island. We did not even know of its existence until now, but we have no hesitation in putting a link to it from "The Experience" page on The Three Chimneys website. Take a look! We list lots of other links too, that will help browsers find out more information about the island, how to get here, what to do. Make plenty of time to visit this beautiful corner of Scotland! Skye is a big island!

Our Head Chef Michael Smith received the Chef Medaille D'Or 2008 in recognition of Finest Cuisine Representing An Outstanding Taste of Scotland, at the HotelReviewScotland Awards held at Prestonfield in Edinburgh on Sunday evening, 24th February. But the awards did not stop there! The Three Chimneys and The House Over-By also received the Lunch Excellence Award 2008, Breakfast of the Year Award and a special commendation for being "Most Romantic". This is a fantastic endorsement of everything that our business stands for - excellence at every level throughout the whole day!

Michael was at work here in Skye on Sunday evening and the awards were collected by Second Chef, Kevin MacLean and Assistant Restaurant Manager, Katy MacLelland. Shirley and Eddie were at the party too - a spectacular evening for Scotland's Hospitality and Tourism Industry to celebrate its success and ever-growing development. As always, Prestonfield hosted a fantastic evening in fabulous surroundings.

Congratulations to Michael, Kevin and the whole Restaurant team, including the Breakfast staff of course. Where would we be without them here to greet each early morning with a bright smile? You're all "pure dead brilliant"! Here's to a great year ahead.............

Just been celebrating Valentine's Day here on the Isle of Skye with the most fabulous weather. Dry, frosty and sunny, from sunrise to sunset - and what beautiful sunsets! We chose pink roses this year to go with the pink Champgane and the Vanilla Skye chocolates in the bedrooms. We have had one definite marriage proposal that we know of so far. And the weeknd has only just begun!

Scotland's answer to "Hello" magazine, titled "No. 1", has published a brilliant restaurant review by Jonathan Trew in the most recent issue. At the end of a detailed description of the food he ate, he added the following extra complimentary comment:
"Chefs and food writers seldom stop banging on about the importance of seasonal, local ingredients, treated simpy to bring out their best side. A meal at The Three Chimneys hammers the point home in the most enjoyable way. If ever anyone laughs about Scottish food, just send them here."

Come again one day Jonathan! Thank you very much.

Friday 25th January saw us re-open again to the public for the rest of the year ahead. Phew! We made it! If anyone had seen us all on our hands and knees madly cleaning the new wooden floors in reception and morning room, less than one hour before we welcomed the first guests, they would not have believed how fast we could all work together to be ready on time!

Hard work - but worth it! The whole palce looks fantastic! We have painted the whole of The House Over-By from end to end and top to toe. There is new wooden flooring throughout, some new lighting and also more plans to refurnish the Morning Rooms within the next few weeks. Unfortunately we could not manage everything during the time we were closed, but we'll get there! We have new upholstery in the restaurant and new furniture in our wee bar. Everything has given the business a fresh new uplift. We hope you will agree if you are making a return visit this year.

Meanwhile, while the joiners, decorators, plumbers, electricians and tilers - not fogetting the carpet cleaners - were all working in the building, the Office Team were hectic throughout the whole three week period taking many, many bookings for 2008. It has been a very busy time, with lots of booking already in place throughout the year.

If you are thinking about visiting The Three Chimneys - for a meal, or to stay in the House Over-By, please get in touch to make your reservation, particularly if you have a special date in mind to celebrate.

Michelin published the 2008 Red Guide on 23rd January. Disappointingly, The Three Chimneys was NOT awarded a Michelin Star. No surprises there then! We feel we should have received greater acknowledgment by the Michelin Man after all these years at the forefront of the Scottish restaurant scene, but there's an end to it for another year!

Scotland on Sunday ran an article on Sunday 20th January, questioning why some of Scotland's very best restaurants had never achieved Michelin Star status, despite very high recognition from other professional organisations. Michelin's criteria remain a mystery to every Chef it seems! Journalist Jonathan Trew wrote:"More and more leading figures in Scotland's industry are calling into question the standards Michelin inspectors use to make their decisions." Shirley was interviewed for the article, and gave her views at length - some of which appeared in print! She is no longer "bothered" about her own personal lack of stellar success, but does truly believe that her Head Chef, Michael Smith and his fantastic team, now so well-established and creating better food than ever before, definitely deserve the professional accreditation due to them. It is more than evident that many of those dining at The Three Chimneys agree wholeheartedly. Shirley is also of the firm opinion that, in general, Michelin shows very poor regard for the whole of Scotland's thriving restaurant industry, the country's high quality produce and tip-top chefs working in some of the most outlying areas as well as in the cities.

Oh well! Here's to this year's Michelin Man coming to Colbost!

We suppose the Guardian had Valentine's Day in mind when they published their selection of 100 Romantic Breaks in their Travel section on 19th January. The Three Chimneys and The House Over-By was listed as a "sexy bolthole", describing the rooms in The House Over-By as "understated luxury". We agree of course! And as we always say that our bedrooms are very special for lovers of all ages, as we know that they have wide appeal for those looking for a romantic hideaway with their loved ones.

Now that it is possible to take advantage of direct flights to and from Dublin and Inverness airports, we were delighted to receive a wonderful write-up in the Irish Sunday Independent by John Doyle in the December. He visited us here in November, taking advantage of one of our all-inclusive Winter breaks and also, advice on Christmas Shopping on Skye. He wrote a beautiful description of Skye and all that he found here, as well as quite a few warm compliments about the restaurant, the food, the service, the rooms, the breakfast and of course, his travels on the island.

"To find perfection in a restaurant is rare; to find it in a place so remote is extraordinary," he wrote.

The article was headlined: "No limit to pleasures over the sea in Skye." The subheading read: "A charming welcome and exquisite seafood were tempting lures....."

Thank you John! We do hope you will come again one day!

Shirley was invited to chat on the Fred MacAulay Show on BBC Radio Scotland on Thursday morning, live from the studio in Portree. It was all about marmalade and THAT pudding! With the Seville oranges in the shops, this is the time of year to make your own marmalade at home. There is nothing like the taste of homemade marmalade. It beats all other commercial varieties. As promised on the programme, here is Shirley's recipe, as recommended by Fred MacAulay. Shirley had sent some by post to Glasgow for Fred to taste on hot plain bread, buttered toast for breakfast in the studio. Now that's 100% mouthfeel!

Three Chimneys Traditional Marmalade

I have made marmalade with this recipe for years and years. It is a good method when making bulk supplies. We use it for the famous Hot Marmalade Pudding which has been on the menu every day for 23 years! We also serve it for breakfast in The House Over-By.

Ingredients:
2kgs of Seville oranges
4 lemons
4lits water
4kgs granulated sugar

Method:
Put the whole fruit in a basin of very lukewarm water and give them a good wash and a gentle scrub.
Put the washed fruit, whole, into a large saucepan or preserving pan.
Add the water and put the lid on.
Bring to the boil and simmer for about one-and-a-half hours. You should be able to easily pierce the skins of the fruit easily with a skewer when they are ready.
Remove the fruit from the water and place on a large dish to cool down a little.
With a sharp knife, cut the cooked fruit into quarters and scrape out the pulp and pips.
Add the pips, the pulp and any obvious residual juice, into the pan with the water that was used to boil the fruit.
Boil the pips and pulp for a full 10 minutes and then strain through a sieve.
Keep the juice, but discard the strained pulp and pips.
Meanwhile, put the sugar in a large flat container, roasting dish or bowl and put it into a low oven to warm through. This will make it easier for the sugar to dissolve.
Chop or slice the orange and lemon peel to your favourite size and shape. Do this by hand with a sharp cooks knife rather than in a food processor. If the rind is too pulpy it makes cloudy marmalade.
Put your clean jam jars into the low oven to warm through ready for potting the marmalade.
Butter the base of your pan with a thin skim of unsalted butter. This prevents the marmalade fro sticking to the base of the pan when it is cooking.
Put the strained water into the pan together with the chopped peel.
Bring to the boil slowly.
Turn down the heat.
Add the warm sugar.
Stir over a gentle heat until you are sure that all the sugar is dissolved.
Bring this mixture to the boil and continue to boil rapidly ( a “rolling boil”) without stirring for approximately half an hour. You are aiming to reach setting point.
To test for setting point : Put a small spoonful onto a very cold saucer. (Keep a few at the ready in the fridge or freezer) Allow it to cool a little and then push it with your finger, or tilt the dish to one side. If the marmalade wrinkles up, it is ready.
Leave the marmalade in the hot pan for a short time until it shows that it is beginning to set properly. The peel will be showing signs of becoming "suspended" in the mixture.
Carefully ladle the hot marmalade into warm, clean jars. It is handy to have a jam funnel for this job.
Seal the finished jars.
Enjoy eating it!

This recipe and more recipes using marmalade, together with the story of Scottish marmalade, are in Shirley's book "The Three Chimneys". More information on this, plus the Hot Marmalde Pudding recipe are on the Much More Page on this website.

Celebrating his 50th birthday here, the icing on the cake for one of our guests this weekend was watching an otter on our shore this afternoon. Sitting by the window enjoying tea and hot mince pies in the Morning Room in The House Over-By, he studied the otter for some time through our telescope, as it sat on a rock and ate a fish, then dived and swam amongst the seaweed. Our guest and his wife were lucky to see the otter again when they took a stroll later, along the Colbost seashore. The seals were their usual inquisitve selves, poking their noses out of the sea to take a look at the visitors. Today we were also able to watch the heron and a buzzard from our windows and spotted two beautiful goldfinch in the fir trees in the garden.

"For a lot of chefs running restaurants with rooms, this is their life and their passion and they're passionate about where food comes from." This is how Elizabeth Carter, Editor of The Good Food Guide describes Restaurants with Rooms in today's Daily Telegraph Travel Section in an article about Britain's Best. The Three Chimneys and The House Over-By is included in the list. Journalist Andrew Purves writes: "Purtists regard this Scottish establishment as the original and best of all the restaurants with rooms.....Apart from the magnificent views, the reason for booking is the food...." What lovely compliments!

Peter Irvine's new 2008 edition of Scotland The Best, described as "The BEST guide to the BEST places Scotland has to offer"; "The only guide worth a damn", in The Scotsman; Infallible and quite brilliant!" by the Daily Telegraph; and "Makes all other guides to Scotland redundant" in The Sunday Times; lists The Three Chimneys and The House Over-By in several sections. We are awarded 2 Purple Ticks for being amongst the best in the UK as well as the best restaurant and best place to stay in Skye and one of Scotland's best Get-Away-From-It-All Places as a Restaurant with Rooms and Seaside Inn.

The Three Chimneys Restaurant is described as being on the "edge of the best kind of nowhere......but by the time you start your starter you know why you came." The House Over-By is acknowledged as having been ".....the first boutique-style accommodation in the Highlands......almost 10 years later it's still a model of understated luxury in a wild place."

We are delighted! Scotland The Best is a brilliant guide, including thousands of recommendations for places to see, visit, drive, explore, walk, picnic, swim, shop and take a break - everything you could possibly think of to spend a day out, arrange a grand tour, amuse the children, or simply treat yourself to something special. It is published by Collins and is widely available.

Wow! What a great night we had! It was the most perfect day here on the Isle of Skye, with a smudgy pink sunrise over the loch and frosty ground all around. The day remained calm, with the water like a mirror and the sun, although low in the Skye, shone all day. Everyone was out walking and enjoying the winter landscape. We were busy in the restaurant all night. The Seafood Platter on the menu was a very popular choice! The Champagne flowed at midnight as the fireworks shot into the dark sky in a sparkle of wild colours. A few neighbours and friends came to join in and by the wee sma' hoors, everyone had drifted off to bed.

All of us here wish our many friends the very best for a happy and successful year ahead. We're getting off to a good start with a gorgeous roast ham on the buffet, salmon kedgeree and buck's fizz for a late breakfast-cum-brunch for those staying in The House Over-By. Wherever you are, we hope you are enjoying the first morning of the brand New Year.

All of us here at The Three Chimneys were very proud to receive this email from one of our restaurant customers, Mr Phil Arundel, who dined with his family on Christmas Day. It is a great testimony to our wonderful waiting staff and chefs who work so hard to ensure that everyone has a perfect experience. Here it is, word for word!

"Having just returned from our Christmas Break on the Isle of Skye, I felt compelled to send you an e-mail thanking you for the superb service and absolutely amazing food we received on Christmas evening. My family and I were made to feel incredibly welcome and the food was out of this world - I have eaten in many restaurants around the world and the food served at your restaurant was, without doubt, the best I have ever tasted, bar none. My 9 year old daughter hasn't stopped talking about the evening all week and it was probably the highlight of her Christmas Day (which when you're competing with Santa Claus is quite an achievement!) Once again, thank you for making our Christmas Dinner absolutely perfect and I'm sure we will be paying you a repeat visit the next time we're on Skye."

Movie star Patrick Dempsey recently declared "The best meal I ever had was at The Three Chimneys in Scotland on the Isle of Skye." Nicknamed 'Dr McDreamy' from his starring role in TV hospital drama, Greys' Anatomy, Patrick was filming a new production on the island during the summer months. The film, Made of Honour, is due for release in June 2008. Quite a few local people had parts as extras in the production and met a number of famous actors taking part including Kevin McKidd, Kelly Carlson, Michelle Monaghan and Hannah Gordon, all of whom were on-set at Dunvegan Castle. Patrick's interview was published in US magazine "Best Life". We can now add him to our list of celebrities who have dined here which includes some of the stars of the newly released blockbuster "Stardust", also filmed on the Isle of Skye.

Lovely Katy looked like a Highland Princess at the Highland Tourism Awards on Friday evening. She was shortlisted for the Highland Young Ambassador of the Year Award but did not win the final prize. This went to Grant MacNicol of the Dornoch Castle Hotel and we send him our congratulations from all of us here at The Three Chimneys. Naturally we were disappointed for Katy, but we still believe she was the most fitting winner as she is such a natural ambassador and represents the best of everything the Tourism Industry needs in Scotland. She is professional, dedicated, but fun and friendly at the same time. Our customers love her. The Three Chimneys is exceptionally proud of her as one of our restaurant team and we are all looking forward to her building her career here with us.

For the second year running, The Three Chimneys has won the Best Local Food Award 2007. This is voted for by the Food Producers of Skye and Lochalsh Food Link CIC. The Taste of Local Food sheme encompasses businesses large and small throughout Skye and Lochalsh. It promotes the use of the area's wonderful, local produce in hotels, restaurants, B&Bs, retail outlets and schools. The Awards are given in each category to the business that shows the most outstanding commitment to using and promoting fresh, seasonal local produce. The Three Chimneys has always supported this cause, using large quantities of locally grown vegetables, fruits, salads, herbs and mushrooms, as well as locally reared lamb and beef, locally sourced game wherever possible, locally made cheeses and other dairy products. All white fish, smoked fish and shellfish of many varietites are all sourced locally too. See the link to www.tastelocal.co.uk for details about some of our suppliers in The Experience page, for more information.

Katy MacLelland is a great favourite of many of the customers who have eaten at The Three Chimneys over the past two years. Our bright, bubbly waitress with the big smile and great style has been short-listed for the Highland Young Ambassador of the Year in the 2007 Highland Tourism Awards. Local Skye girl Katy joined the team in March 2005 as a Waitress and Trainee Receptionist. She completed her SVQ Level 2 in Front Office Skills at the beginning of this year and since then has concentrated on her new role as Trainee Assistant Restaurant Manager. She has also undertaken her SVQ Level 3 in Hospitality Supervision. But it is her professional, caring, friendly service that counts the most with our customers. She will be their favourite, whatever the outcome at the Awards Ceremony in November. Good luck Katy!

Beautiful photograph of an autumn rainbow over Loch Dunvegan in front of The Three Chimneys in today's Scotsman Weekend Magazine. The article written by Jonathan Gregson for the London Evening Standard has been reprinted for Scottish readers! His description of his visit here and the food he enjoyed in the restaurant may encourage a few city-dwellers to lift the telelphone and check availability over the next few weeks. The drive through Scotland to the Isle of Skye at this time of year is as beautiful as ever.

The Three Chimneys and The House Over-By is listed in the September issue of the Sunday Times Travel Magazine as on the Best 100 Places To Stay in the World. More than that, it is listed as 1 of 10 in the Gourmet Greats category! There were only 2 places listed in Scotland - ourselves and Skibo Castle!