Young entrepreneur takes on Falls of Shin catering service
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A YOUNG entrepreneur has been given the opportunity to provide a catering facility at a popular Sutherland visitor centre this summer.
Hospitality management graduate Iona Matthews (21), of Shinness, who runs high-quality catering van, Crofters Kitchen, has been appointed by Kyle of Sutherland District Trust (KoSDT) to provide the service at the Falls of Shin Visitor Centre.
The Crofters Kitchen van is already in situ at the centre, located near Lairg. On offer is home-baking and freshly made food using local suppliers and produce from the operator’s own croft at Shinness.
The catering van move comes after KoSDT, who look after the visitor centre, experienced difficulties in finding an operator to take over the centre restaurant due to the coronavirus pandemic and the difficulty in sourcing staff. Previous operator, food specialist, Mac & Wild have gone into liquidation.
KoSDT manager David Watson said the charity had not been able to find an operator able to deliver the “long-term, community focused vision” that the trust board had for the site.
He added: “We feel that this is a great interim solution as it allows the site to function and it also gives a young local person a real opportunity to grow her business. As for the future – who knows.....”
Opened in 2017, the Falls of Shin centre was developed by KoSDT to replace a previous facility which was destroyed by fire in 2013.
The public toilets at the visitor centre will be open for use when the catering van is operating.
The trust has linked with local partners to organise several community events in the visitor centre over the next few months.
Crofters Kitchen is currently open from 10am to 4pm Monday to Saturday and will also eventually be open on Sundays.
The Falls of Shin is one of the best places in Scotland to view salmon leaping upstream.
