From Issue Seven of Hidden Scotland Magazine

Wild Kabn Kitchen - From the Embers

Cooking over fire by Loch Fyne on the Ardkinglas Estate.

Words by Emily Rose Mawson · Photographs by William Hammer & Andy Lewis Photography

Printed in Issue Seven of Hidden Scotland Magazine, Autumn and Winter 2023–24.

Alfresco dining takes a decadent twist on the Ardkinglas Estate, where Wild Kabn Kitchen puts organic vegetables to the flame as it seeks to explore the deep connection between food, fire and nature in the wilds of Loch Fyne.

As pink dusk fades to night over the gently lapping waters of north-western Loch Fyne, swollen pinpricks of golden light twinkle from silver lanterns in the greenhouse on the Ardkinglas Estate. Mirrors throw the smudged gold around, its glow landing in the furrows and grooves of the rustic structure and smudging definition from the grapevines that dangle overhead. Handmade plates are lined up with shiny wine glasses along a table set for eight, and the air is drenched with the scent of char; rich and mellow. Wild Kabn Kitchen is ready for the evening’s guests.

“The Wild Kabn Kitchen concept revolves around a culinary journey that explores the connection between food, fire and nature,” explains outdoor chef William Hamer, who founded the wilderness-based experiences in 2023. A typical evening starts on the loch shore, in front of Ardkinglas House, before you maze along secret pathways in the estate’s 18th-century gardens, a honeycomb of wildflowers and stone walls, the lot overlooked by the soaring conifers of the Ardkinglas woodland that create a smudged charcoal belt across the backdrop of mountains. And then it is time to dine.

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