Four Scottish Chefs Share Tips For Hosting Burns Night At Home

Hosting your own Burns Night this year? The annual celebration of Scotland’s most famous poet falls on a Sunday, and while the capital offers a panoply of tempting suppers, bringing the haggis home might be a smarter move – if only to leave time to work off the whisky. A traditional Burns Night dinner will often feature haggis, cut to a reading of Robert Burns’ Address To A Haggis. But how else should dinner shape up? Four Scottish chefs share their foodie tips and ideas for celebrating Burns Night at home, from the time-honoured to some twists. 

Four Chefs’ Tips for Hosting Burns Night at Home

A Traditional Burns Night Dinner

According to Glenapp Castle executive chef Peter Howarth, a typically traditional dinner should ‘begin with cock-a-leekie soup (a traditional chicken and leek broth), before running into to haggis with neeps and tatties (mashed swede and potatoes) followed by a generous cut of Scottish roast beef. Finish with cranachan: a blend of whisky-soaked oats, cream, raspberries and honey, served cool and lightly whipped.’ You’ll want to start proceedings with the Selkirk Grace, an expression of gratitude, and reserve the ceremonial reading of Address To A Haggis for the haggis’s arrival; the line ‘An’ cut you up wi’ ready slicht’ is your cue to carve. Be sure to toast it all with ‘a distinguished single malt.’

Brunch And Breakfast Ideas

For those keen to start the engine early, Burns Night doesn’t have to be a dinner-only affair. Calum Montgomery, chef-owner of Edinbane Lodge, says it’s a waste of the day to hold off until the evening. ‘Start the morning with pan-fried haggis and duck eggs,’ he suggests, stating that it is his favourite breakfast ‘whenever the opportunity presents itself.’ 

The baker behind Ems & Co in Crieff, Perthshire, Emily Black, is also all for the Burns Night brunch. ‘I like to celebrate with a morning meal,’ she says, ‘potato scones taste good with haggis and hollandaise.’

Drinks To Pair

A Rob Roy is similar to a Manhattan with a twist on the whisky © Emily Andreeva via Unsplash

For cocktails, Howarth suggests a Rob Roy cocktail, a variation on a Manhattan that switches its rye whiskey, which he would always ‘garnish with a maraschino cherry.’ 

Montgomery’s tipple of choice is a whisky. ‘I’d recommend pairing with a really smoky drink like Torabhaig Cnon na Mòine, or, if you’d prefer something smooth and easy to enjoy, a Glenrothes 18.’ This, he says, is the perfect ‘wee nightcap to toast to Rabbie Burns.’

Sweet Treats To Finish The Night

For those seeking traditional dinner desserts, Darcie Maher, the owner of Edinburgh’s Lannan bakery and Pantry, is a fan of cranachan – with a twist. Her version folds ‘a little Scottish Crowdie cheese through the whipped cream, as it adds a wonderful tang.’ Her serving recommendation is to source a crystal trifle bowl for ‘a celebratory feel’. Another favoured dessert is clootie dumpling – a dense fruit cake that Scots often eat on Hogmanay and Burns Night, which should be served in a fresh ‘cloot’ (aka. cloth) ‘to be cut tableside, and served with a little marmalade and cold whisky custard.’

Black recommends a lighter Burns Night dessert, with her favoured being ‘Atholl Brose, which is a quick oat, honey and whisky cream that tastes lovely with blood oranges or a slice of marmalade cake for pudding.’

How To Make Atholl Brose

To make Atholl Brose, add 20g of oat to 180ml of water and soak overnight, and then straining the oats to create an oat liquid. Add four teaspoons of honey, 180ml of whisky, and 120ml of double cream to the oat liquid, and stir.