‘The Scottish Cookery Book’ by Christopher Trotter is a good book, in fact it is a very good book indeed. I know Christopher well and have always admired his work. Our paths have crossed several times throughout our time cooking, and I respect what he does to showcase what our great country has to offer. This book could be written now as it is timeless, and he has come up with dishes that look stunning, and I know taste good because I have cooked them. He is a brilliant ambassador for Scottish food and history and many of us will cook these dishes currently or will have done so in the past. This is a celebration of Scottish cooking old and new. I love the menus at the back of the book, giving us ideas around local and seasonal produce. Brilliant — and remember this book is almost 30 years old. Superb recipes for skirlie, clapshot, shortbread, border tart, rowies, clootie dumpling and of course roast grouse with rowan berries, a dish I cooked a few weeks ago at a wine event some of you may recall. It is still current, especially venison with dauphinoise, pheasant wrapped in bacon, barley risotto with lamb and trout with almonds. What’s not to get excited about? This book won’t be going back in the bookshelf for a while. I salute you Christopher for writing this with the future in mind. Don’t just sit there folks, go and get a copy.