On Sunday Fiona and I hopped in her car and headed over the Forth Bridge into Fife in the hopes of escaping from the rain and checking out the Crail Food Festival. We'd been alerted to this small, but bustling, food festival by fellow Cake Ladies and made plans to road trip over together.
Crail is a really sweet harbour town close to the western tip of Fife and despite the miserable weather the place was heaving with people. Both Fiona and I had our fingers crossed that we would get to have some lobster or crab freshly caught and boiled...but, sadly, the catch had been gobbled up by the time we arrived.
Not to fear, there was plenty more to choose from, but...we did have to make our minds up quickly...no mooching back and forth weighing up our options. The lines for every stall were long, and rightly so. The first thing that caught my eye, after the "Sorry out of lobsters" sign on the crab shack, was the billowing smoke coming from the Arbroath Smokie stall. I've never seen fish actually being smoked and then being prepared right there...in front of me. "I have to have a smokie," I said to Fiona (luckily she loves smoked fish too).
A smokie in hand we sat on a bench on the harbour wall watching the crowds and taking in the atmosphere. A musician played a mixture of traditional and folky music, the seagulls screamed every now and then, and we devoured our giant smokies.
With food in our bellies we wandered around and checked out the other stalls. I was totally in love with some fab fruit cakes at the Sucre Coeur baking stall, but really didn't need a fruit cake...sigh. I did, however, need some Caliente Hot Chocolate from the Cocoa Tree. Rich dark chocolate with a decent hit of chilli...schhhhlurp.
Later we pottered through town, stopping at The Crail Gallery to check out the gorgeous prints, as well as a spectacular lighthouse cake by Sucre Couer. After tea at The Honeypot we wandered over to Crail Pottery where I picked up the sweetest little red milk jug.
I really enjoyed my time in Crail and at the food festival. I might smell like smoke for the next couple of days but I am already looking forward to next year.
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So glad you came to Crail yesterday, and thanks for the lovely pics and blog post about your trip. There were some folks who managed to nab the small supplies of freshly landed lobster, but bad weather for the couple of days before the Festival meant that the boats had not put to sea. So next time you're in the East Neuk, we'll have to see if we can get you some lobster.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you had a great time! I've never heard of a "smokie" before! Looked pretty good too! That lighthouse cake is stunning! Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteMary