From Issue Thirteen of Hidden Scotland Magazine
A Taste of the Highlands
Jan Jacob Baak’s venison charcuterie.
Words by Julia Bryce · Photographs by Kimberley Grant & Aeon Creative
Printed in Issue Thirteen of Hidden Scotland Magazine, Autumn and Winter 2026–27.
Jan Jacob Baak was told it couldn’t be done. Venison was simply too lean to make charcuterie without adding pork. But what they didn’t know was that Jan relishes a challenge.
He and his wife Anja moved from the Netherlands to the Scottish Highlands in 2000, where Jan helped manage the wild deer population on a small country estate. It was here that the couple fell in love with venison and began wondering how they could make the most of this abundant, leaner meat.
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