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Ghillie Basan's inspiring story of a lost place in the Scottish Highlands
The prolific writer and journalist recounts her family's experiences in an inhospitable area that she put on the world's gastronomic map.
With more than 50 food books to her credit, Ghillie Basan has earned the nickname 'the original spice girl', and as well as contributing to radio and TV programmes, she runs workshops and culinary experiences that teach how to pair wild ingredients and local spices with whisky. But my journey didn't start here, it started in East Africa, where my mother worked with the tribes, cooking with the women, and I learnt that hospitality is very easy if it comes naturally to you,' she says.
An ambassador for gastronomic tourism in Scotland, Ghillie has summed up in FéminAs the appeal of experiential tourism that she has managed to exploit in the Highlands, where identity and gastronomy are key tools for a functioning economy and for overcoming the demographic challenge that the areas are facing. After studying anthropology and journalism, I decided to settle in this area because the landscape reminded me of Africa," she explained, showing photos of her small house surrounded by snow, "where I wrote my books, preparing each dish myself and my husband took the photographs when the children were asleep.
And so she recounted her career through fond memories, such as the time she decided to explore the world of whisky, the undisputed star of her country. I took my old Land Rover and toured the distilleries to tell the story of my Spirit & Spice project, which aims to promote Scotland's gastronomic tradition through our famous drink," he recalls. To this end, she has converted her old barn into a whisky bar where she welcomes travellers from all over the world to show them the wonders of a country of which she is very proud. But she is even more proud of the progress her children have made. When they were born they called us crazy and encouraged us to move, but I felt like the best mother in the world bringing them up in such a natural environment; now my children are running their own local businesses with great success,' she says enthusiastically.
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