A box of fresh pink langoustines arrive at the Torridon kitchen door and David Barnett has already made plans for several of them.

I love to serve them spiced, rolled in butter with coriander and a dash of cayenne on top of a smooth artichoke veloute

As he describes the dishes in his head – soon to meet plate – it is clear Torridon’s new head chef has every intention of maintaining its high standards both in the restaurant and The Stables.

It is the constant creativity which excites him most about cooking, trying new flavours, ingredients, combinations of tastes. At the same time, he revels in the natural flavours of the best produce. When he makes a chicken stock for example, he just starts of with a great tasting chicken and does little more than add water along the way.

It is early days but David is already in his element. He has great plans for the Torridon kitchen garden, he is already out and about meeting new local suppliers and as a fan of the Scottish countryside, he intends to get out foraging soon.

I love foraging in Scotland, mostly for mushrooms but also for wild berries and fruits and also our wild herds and flowers.

If you pin him to the kitchen door (please don’t) and demand to know what his favourite ingredients are he is likely to talk about the outstanding consistency of our venison and the fantastic grouse.

However he also loves his fish and seafood and you can see he has plans for the rest of those prawns. Our guests will eat well tonight.

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