Rooted in Skye: A conversation with Chef Calum Montgomery, Edinbane Lodge
- James Massoud
- Sep 3
- 6 min read
At Edinbane Lodge on the Isle of Skye, Chef Calum Montgomery isn’t just cooking food – he’s preserving a landscape, a language, and a legacy. From pre-allocating creel-caught lobsters to crafting signature dishes with hand-dived scallops the size of your palm, Montgomery's hyper-local, modern Scottish cooking has earned him a spot on La Liste’s Top 500 and the title of Chef of the Year. In this exclusive conversation with The Knife, he reveals how Skye’s wild beauty shapes every plate, and why the best dishes start with a conversation, not a recipe.
You’re known for sourcing almost every ingredient from Skye, can you walk us through how you and your suppliers collaborate day‑to‑day to bring local produce to plate?
Because Skye has such an abundance of quality produce, and so many restaurants now looking to utilise it, it’s important to pre-order exceptional ingredients before they’re even fished or foraged. We don’t necessarily order once they’ve been caught or sent to a secondary supplier. I’m pre-ordering mushrooms with Jeff Lawson, pre-allocating creel-caught lobsters from Iain Matheson, and looking for the biggest scallops of the day from James Cameron. These guys are pros, they know all the spots and they never let me down.
Now and again, I bump into friends or family in the local supermarket who might be fishing certain areas or about to send animals away to slaughter. Our menu can be impacted in that way, too. Our relationships with suppliers are very personal. The people catching, rearing or foraging the produce are the same ones delivering it. The day-to-day dynamic is more like an ongoing conversation than a transaction. We work with fishermen, crofters, foragers, and growers who live and breathe the same environment we do. There’s a mutual respect and understanding for the produce and how it’s served. The menu often responds to what’s available, not the other way around.
You've previously mentioned that your XL hand‑dived scallop dish has remained a constant on the menu, why has it endured, and what does it represent about your cooking philosophy?
It’s endured because it perfectly represents what we do; take an exceptional local ingredient, in this case a hand-dived scallop the size of your palm, and treat it with absolute respect. We serve it very simply: roasted in the pan, rested, then brushed with butter and Marmite emulsion. It sits on a smoked dulse butter sauce studded with cucumber from our polytunnel. It’s become a signature not because it’s flashy, but because it speaks of place, of purity, and of trust in the ingredient. That’s at the heart of our philosophy.
You’ve described your cuisine as “modern Scottish” with deep roots in Skye. How do you balance innovation with tradition?
I think the balance comes from knowing where you come from. I grew up here and learned early on how to cure, smoke, and preserve. Those traditional methods are in my bones. When we innovate, it’s never for novelty’s sake. The style might be modern, but the “why” stays familiar. We use the same ingredients here that my ancestors have used on Skye for generations. We take a refined approach to working methods and cooking techniques from the past and bring them into an elegant dining room. I love exploring different ways to nod to tradition.
Mutton has featured prominently at Edinbane Lodge and you’ve called it the island’s "historical lifeblood". How do you transform a traditional ingredient like Hebridean mutton into refined modern dishes?
It starts with understanding that mutton is more than just a protein – it’s tied to the land, the people, and our history. We work closely with small crofters raising native breeds like Hebridean and Blackface sheep, often aged over two years for real depth of flavour. I much prefer mutton to lamb. We treat it with the reverence you’d give to venison or Wagyu – slow cooked shoulders, loin aged on the bone, broths and jus made from bones and seaweed alike. We pair it with classical garnishes like potato dauphine or a lovely purée and pickled vegetables we’ve grown ourselves, to build layers of flavour while honouring the provenance of the animal.
The Lore of Skye – from clootie dumpling to heather-smoked gelato – has appeared in your dishes. How important is storytelling in plating and menu design?
Storytelling is everything. Every dish has a reason to be there. Whether it’s a memory, a landscape, a tradition, or a person behind the ingredient. Guests aren’t just eating a course; they’re being invited into a story about Skye, past and present. That connection elevates the experience.
Edinbane Lodge was originally a derelict 16th century hunting lodge. How did the physical restoration of the building influence the culinary experience you offer today?
Massively. The restoration was a family effort, and we made every decision with purpose by using local tradesmen, retaining original timbers, bringing the building back to life while respecting its past. That same ethos extends to the kitchen. The building has character, and the food needs to match that: honest, welcoming, quietly luxurious. It’s about creating a sense of place from the moment you step through the door.
This year Edinbane Lodge has ranked in La Liste’s Top 500 restaurants, and you received the Chef of the Year accolade. How have these honours impacted your approach in the kitchen and your aspirations moving forward?
It’s incredibly humbling. Recognition like this tells us we’re on the right path, but it doesn’t change how we operate – it sharpens our focus. The bar gets higher, expectations grow, and we thrive on that. We’ve never cooked with awards in mind. Our goal has always been to take pride in our work each day, staying true to our values and treating every service with the same respect you’d expect from a restaurant earning these honours. When you do that consistently, the rest tends to follow. That said, the pride it gives the team is massive. It's a real validation of what we do here.
What was one of the biggest creative risks you’ve taken on the menu at Edinbane, and what did you learn from it, successful or not?
One of the biggest creative risks I’ve taken was a dish we called “a hot minger with shaved nuts.” It featured an incredible cheese called Minger from Highland Fine Cheeses, baked in our Edinbane Pottery clay pots, topped with shaved hazelnuts, fresh apple, and generous lashings of black truffle. We served it with chanterelle mushroom crackers for dipping, basically a Scottish fondue. In the kitchen, it tasted amazing and I was buzzing about it. But when the first one hit the dining room at 7pm, the smell took over the whole place. By 7:05, the next table through the door looked like they’d walked into a wall. People genuinely wanted to leave. We had to pull the dish immediately. Lesson learned: always taste your dishes in the dining room, not just at the pass.
How have external influences shaped your modern‑Scottish style?
I trained under chefs who respected tradition but weren’t afraid to challenge it. Working in Glasgow and at Kinloch Lodge exposed me to different styles and standards. Travel too, I’ve cooked abroad, and even a few days on a superyacht can shift your perspective. But everything I absorb filters through the Skye lens. The island is my foundation.
What qualities do you look for when building a kitchen team that aligns with Edinbane’s ethos?
Attitude over experience, always. I look for humility, curiosity, resilience, and a love of craft. We work hard, but we’re also a family. You need to care deeply about the ingredients, the guests, and your team. We chase progress. If someone shares that mindset, they’ll thrive here.
Food tourism is booming in Skye. How do you think Edinbane Lodge reflects the evolution of the island’s dining scene, and how has that shifted since you opened in 2018?
When we opened in 2018, there were only a few places really pushing a hyper-local, high-end approach, but now the island’s food scene is thriving. So many brilliant chefs, growers, fishers and makers are doing incredible things, and it’s inspiring to be surrounded by that energy. Everyone’s lifting the standard in their own way, and it’s pushed us all to keep evolving. We’re just proud to be part of that movement, rooted in Skye, encouraged by what’s around us, and excited about where it’s all going.
Looking ahead, do you have plans to expand your food concept beyond the lodge; perhaps concepts such as a takeaway, collaboration, or product line inspired by Skye?
We’ve definitely had conversations about that. I’d love to find ways to share the essence of Edinbane and of Skye beyond our four walls. Who knows.
