NH Highland Games return for another year of Scottish food and fun
By John Fladd
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This weekend marks the return of the Highland Games to Loon Mountain in Lincoln. When most people think of Scottish festivals, several images come to mind — red-faced bagpipers, grinning, bearded men in kilts throwing cabers [log-sized timbers], lifting stones or maybe running sheep dogs through their paces. Most people forget about the Scotch eggs.
“Lots and lots of Scotch eggs,” said Terri Wiltse, the Director of the Highland Games. “One of the most popular things we do every year is Scotch eggs, which is a hard-boiled egg with sausage around the outside and then they fry it. People love that, and I know that there’s always a buzz around the grounds like, ‘Oh, the Scotch eggs are out!’; they can’t always keep those in stock.”
The Scotch eggs are popular, but they don’t come close to inspiring the kind of passion that Scotland’s most iconic dish does.
“We do have haggis,” Wiltse said, “which is one of those love it or hate it items … and if you look up how they’re made in Scotland, they’re made with innards. There are rules in the U.S. because it has heart and some organs that you’re not allowed to import. We have a U.S. version and as I said people either love it or they hate it, but most are willing to try it. I think that that’s a great thing.”
Other Scottish foods on hand at the Games include cullen skink, which Wiltse described as “the Scottish version of clam chowder,” fish and chips, lamb stew, and shepherd’s pie, which is called “cottage pie” in Scotland.
Scottish food enthusiasts are excited about two special guests at this year’s Highland Games: Gary Maclean, the National Chef of Scotland, and Coinneach MacLeod, “The Hebridean Baker,” a celebrity baker, cookbook author, storyteller and singer.
Maclean was the winner of the 2016 series of MasterChef: The Professionals, has starred in several cooking competition shows, and is the author of seven cookbooks. In a video interview he said that the people at the Highland Games are very accepting of Scottish cuisine.
“The reality is the guests at the Highland Games are very accustomed to Scottish foods,” he said. “For a lot of people it’s a chance to share their own experiences. Every time I do a demo [at NHHG], somebody will raise their hand and say, ‘That’s how my gran always made it!’”
The Highland Games are largely about celebrating Scottish traditions, and Chef Maclean said food traditions tell us a lot about a culture’s history.
“Most of our traditional foods, regardless of where you are in the world, are probably four or five ingredients, because our ancestors not so long ago didn’t have the same options of an availability of food that we’ve got,” he said. “So I try and get back to basics a little bit, through Scottish food. I write books on Scottish food, so there’s a historical element to it, and I also try and theme each demonstration to have a bit of fun. I’ve done things like food from William Wallace and that sort of thing. I’ve done things like Outlander-themed food, and talk about the sort of history of that. This year I’m doing Still Game. I’m doing one of my demonstrations of Still Game. And Still Game is a really, really, really well-known comedy show about old men in Glasgow. And because of wonderful things like Netflix, Still Game’s on TV, so anybody with a bit of a Scottish connection will probably know about it. But if not, I can put some [clips of the show] up on the screen and have it really sort of interactive.”
Maclean has been to New Hampshire’s Highland Games several times, but this will be Coinneach MacLeod’s first time. He is Scotland’s best-selling cookbook author and has been named Scotland’s Food & Drink Influencer of the Year, at the Unicorn Awards. This weekend’s Highland Games are one stop on his current 31-city tour for his latest cookbook, The Hebridean Baker at Home. Like Maclean, he has been overwhelmed by how much resonance there is in the U.S. with Scottish cuisine, which he had assumed might be threatening to U.S. palates.
“It makes us very proud, to be honest,” MacLeod said in a telephone interview.
Because baking doesn’t lend itself easily to a festival demonstration, MacLeod will host a cèilidh, a Scottish gathering where stories are told and songs are sung. He will talk about the Outer Hebrides, where he is from. “I’ll talk about the language of Gallic and maybe even sing a song or two for the guests.”
2024 New Hampshire Highland Games
When: Loon Mountain Resort, 60 Loon Mountain Road, Lincoln, 745-8111, loonmtn.com
Where: Friday, Sept. 20 through Sunday, Sept. 22.
Tickets: $40 per day for adults, with weekend packages and children’s tickets available.
More: nhscot.org/highland-games-nh
Important Scottish terms to know
Caber toss – A traditional Scottish athletic event in which competitors toss a large tapered pole called a caber. In Scotland the caber is usually made from a larch tree, and it can be between 16 and 20 feet tall and weigh 90 to 150 pounds.
Cèilidh – A social event at which there is Scottish or Irish folk music and singing, traditional dancing, and storytelling.
Cullen skink – A thick Scottish soup made of smoked haddock, potatoes and onions.
Haggis – A Scottish dish made from the windpipe, lungs, heart and liver of a sheep, which are boiled, then minced, then mixed with oatmeal and beef fat. It is stuffed into the stomach of the sheep, then sewn up and boiled for up to three hours.
Outlander– A historical time-travel drama about a World War II nurse who is transported back in time to 1743 and becomes embroiled in Scotland’s Jacobite rising. It is a wildly popular television series and a wildly popular series of novels.
William Wallace– A Scottish warrior who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence (1296-1328). Mel Gibson played him in Braveheart.
Featured Photo: Coinneach MacLeod. Courtesy Photo.
