Ardgay man gets his Kit off the ground!
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A HIGHLAND restaurateur with business interests stretching from Sutherland to London is one of the brains behind a new scheme to help restaurants cope with the challenge of the Covid crisis.
Andy Waugh, who was brought up in Ardgay, and fellow founder of the Mac & Wild food brand, Calum Mackinnon, have joined forces with hospitality technology entrepreneur Edward Alun-Jones to allow customers to order from some of the UK’s best independent restaurants online.
New venture Restaurant Kits will deliver all the component parts of the participating restaurants’ signature dishes straight to customers’ doors, bringing together high quality ingredients and the culinary know how of the teams on board, so diners can enjoy restaurant quality meals at home.
The food offering is joined by a list of drinks both ready for consumption and others intended to be mixed at home, including the Cocktail Mini Bar which has been created in collaboration with Mac & Wild and Haig Club.
Along with Mac & Wild, which started life as a London street stall before opening two permanent restaurants in Central London and providing catering at the Falls of Shin visitor attraction in Lairg, other leading independent restaurants who have signed up to the scheme include Top City Bites and Orderu, Pizza Pilgrims, 12:51, Around the Cluck, Corazon,Yum Bun, Flank and Kricket.
Mac & Wild say that although they see Restaurant Kits as a long term proposition, it is also helping participating restaurants deal with the challenges thrown up by the coronavirus crisis.
Mr Waugh said: “Restaurant Kits gave us the opportunity to stay current whilst our physical restaurant sites were closed, but the real bonus has been getting our brand, and our product, to every corner of the UK. Most importantly we have been sending kits to my family in Ardgay and to the rest of our suppliers up there – where most of the produce comes from. During lockdown we have sent kits to Orkney, Lewis, Islay, Kinlochbervie and all the way back down to Cornwall.
“It is great to be able to send our recipe boxes back home, and to those in Scotland who might not have had the chance to eat at one of our restaurants in London. Restaurant Kits has made us feel more connected to Scotland, to our family and to our roots during what has been a challenging time. I even got a little praise from my old man – who is now ordering a different kit every week and giving plenty of constructive feedback.”
