Blog

The Kitchen recently welcomed new Head Chef, Jose Dalto, to the team. He brings a wealth of experience and fresh ideas to The Kitchen. Come and take a look at the recently launched new menus and find out more about the chef behind The Kitchen's new dishes.

This exciting, sales-led contemporary art exhibition has been beautifully curated by Restoration Yard's very own Head of Creative & Retail Operations - Taisir Gibreel.

Wellbeing is everywhere now. It’s quite the zeitgeist. We have wellbeing classes, wellbeing coaching, companies are bringing in wellbeing consultants to create wellbeing strategies. We’re all told that we need it, but what is it and what will it give us? Anyone else confused? Enter Jen Wood. Restoration Yard’s Wellbeing Consultant. Jen is instrumental in creating a varied timetable of wellbeing and fitness classes for The Studio and is here to give us an insight into her thoughts around wellbeing. Jen Wood, Wellbeing Consultant, Restoration Yard When Restoration Yard was first conceived, wellbeing was at the very heart of the concept. We wanted to restore the buildings, the spirit of the Park and the Self. Now, as we are still at the time of writing in the latter part of a global pandemic, this has never been so important. One of our aims is to build a nurturing community who can connect with themselves, others and the natural world and environment. Wellbeing is all about how we can change our minds to help us grow our psychological resources, skills and strengths which can increase our happiness and resilience. We have 3 fundamental core needs for Safety, Satisfaction and Connection, and when these needs are met we experience a lasting sense of peace, contentment and love. Life becomes more meaningful. The 12 Pillars of Wellbeing Wellbeing is both a state and a journey. We see this journey having 12 steps which we will call the 12 Pillars of Wellbeing: Self care, Mindfulness, Learning, Vitality, Gratitude, Confidence, Calm, Motivation, Intimacy, Courage, Aspiration, and Service. The origin of these 12 pillars, informed by the work of psychologist and neuroscientist Dr Rick Hanson, come from applying the 4 R’s of wellbeing – Recognising, Resourcing, Regulating and Relating – to our 3 core needs: Safety, Satisfaction and Connection. Each of these 12 pillars represents an inner strength, and we will look at one of these each month. We look forward to sharing this approach to wellbeing, as well as connecting more with you and hearing what wellbeing means to you. Jen Wood is a coach, psychological therapist and mindfulness teacher with 20 years’ experience. She is also our Wellbeing Consultant at Dalkeith Country Park. Jen offers mindfulness groups in person at Restoration Yard, in Dalkeith Country Park. For more information contact jwood@buccleuch.com. For more information about Jen, visit her website at jenwoodwellbeing.com.

Happy World Meditation Day! On the day we celebrate all things meditation, why not take it as a starting point to incorporate meditation into your daily routine. To help you get started we asked Restoration Yard's new Meditation & Qi Gong teacher - Suzi Burns - for her top 5 tips to start meditating.

Mental Health Awareness Week is an annual event giving us all an opportunity to focus on achieving good mental health. We asked Restoration Yard's Wellbeing Consultant - Jen Wood - to give us three ways to connect with nature this Mental Health Awareness Week.

Summer sun (and even rain) calls for the best summer drinks of an evening. A chilled G&T or an iced summer rum perhaps? Or a beer with a little sunshine induced twist? Whichever summer drinks tickle your tastebuds, The Store at Restoration Yard has a tipple for all. Here we showcase some of our favourite local producers of rum, beer, vodka, gin and more. Head in-store to pick up the best summer drinks made locally. Top Out Brewery Top Out Brewery founder Michael Hopert (right) with Andi Scheib (left) his co-owner and business manager “Our brewery and brand is closely entwined with the great outdoors, especially our stunning Scottish mountains. At the foot of the Pentlands south of Edinburgh, you’ll find our wee brewery where we combine German and Scottish influences to create tasty and great quality beers.” Top Out Brewery The Top Out Brewery Story German-born Michael Hopert founded Top Out Brewery after a successful career in whisky retailing. He has been brewing delicious craft beers for the last decade and uses his encyclopaedic knowledge of beer styles and trained palate to create some of the most delicious beers in Scotland. Michael loves to spend most of his free time in the mountains and as a keen mountaineer and fell runner he has visited most of Britain’s walking and climbing regions. Following a move to Edinburgh, Michael created Top Out in 2013. What’s in the name? Well, top out means to finish a route or to reach the top of a mountain. That spirit is reflected in all Top Out bottle and can labels, which feature the contour maps of different Munros and detailing the route to each summit. Best Top Out Brewery Summer Drinks at Restoration Yard Triple Lemon, £4.50, is a tongue tingling, zingy and refreshing kettle sour brewed with lemon zest, lemongrass and lemon thyme. Perfect for summer. One of Top Out’s originals, Staple, £3.80, is a best-selling cask beer; a tasty, smooth, session pale ale that should be part of everybody’s ‘staple’ beer diet. Gipfel, £4.50, is summit in German. It’s super juicy, hoppy pale ale, double dry hopped with US hops Idaho7 and Mosaic. Oats were added to give body. Stewart Brewing Stewart Brewing was founded in 2004 by Steve and Stewart “Our business is based on three basic principles. First, to produce beers of the highest quality possible, second,to provide an exceptional service to our customers and finally,to have fun doing it.” Stewart Brewing The Stewart Brewery Story Stewart Brewing, founded in 2004 by Steve and Jo Stewart, is Edinburgh’s original craft beer brewery. It quickly established itself as one of Scotland’s most successful and reputable breweries. It began with a line up of of three cask ales. The next natural step was to produce a range of bottled beers and to extend to a range of cask and keg brews to accommodate the more experimental drinker. Its custom made 10-barrel brewhouse was overwhelmed as growth took hold. So now Stewart Brewing boasts a 50 hectolitre Bavarian brew kit housed in a new custom-built brewery in Loanhead. Perfect for beer tours. Best Stewart Brewing Summer Drinks at Restoration Yard This Session IPA, £2.50, India pale ale style beauty is brimming with the aromas and flavours of tropical and citrus fruits, with big bold hops making an easy drinking Session IPA. Edinburgh Gold, £2.50, is beautifully balanced golden ale with a delicate hop aroma, subtle malty sweetness and a crisp finish. Radical Road, £2.75, is a pale ale style beer. Its medium-bodied and bursting with notes of pine, grapefruit and citrus, providing long-lasting white foam and smooth bitterness. NB Distillery Steve and Vivienne Muir, owners of NB Distillery “We believe in creating perfection. We are committed to quality no matter whether it is the product or the quality of the team that we engage.When we put our NB name on a bottle, we promise that inside will be every bit as ‘perfect’ as our original. Whatever the product.” NB Distillery The NB Distillery Story Steve and Viv started off experimenting in their home kitchen with a pressure cooker and some old central heating pipes. They admit it was hardly glamorous, but this makeshift ‘still’ was a great way to test hundreds of different botanicals with water to see which worked together the best. After perfecting their NB gin recipe, they invested in a custom-built still made to our exact specifications by the world’s oldest and most revered still-makers. It was a still that had to be able to precisely replicate their tried and tested recipe. That was when they moved out of their kitchen and into a small unit in North Berwick to continue distilling and growing the product range, which now also includes NB Rum. Best NB Distillery Summer Drinks at Restoration Yard NB London Dry Gin, £39.00, NB London Dry Citrus Vodka, £39.00, NB London Dry Navy Strength Gin, £50.00, NB Light Fruity Rum, £41.50 Liv Rum By Matugga Distillers Matugga Rum founders Paul and Jacine Rutasikwa “A lot of work goes into making soulful spirits that break with the norm, capture your imagination and dance on your palate.” Matugga Distillers The Matugga Rum Distillery Story Paul and Jacine Rutasikwa draw from their East African roots and soak up the best of Scotland when creating their smooth and beautiful rums. Using the finest ingredients from the easterly region of Africa, their artisan spirits are carefully crafted in Scotland through small-batch copper pot distillation. Their proud heritage, combined with playful innovation, allows them to capture the most adventurous and unique flavours of Africa in their Matugga rums. Their new brand, Liv Rum is a new venture on their journey. Paul explains: “Liv is a celebration of our love for craft rum, of Scotland’s nature, and the nation’s growing commitment to quality, local producers. Liv Rum is the next step in Matugga Distillers’ story, we wanted to create an accessible range of high-quality rums that are of great value and showcase the diversity and flexibility of the spirit.” Best Matugga Summer Drinks at Restoration Yard Warm, smooth and unbelievably moreish, the Liv Black Spiced Rum, £34.00, melds subtle spices, fragrant Scottish heather and rich molasses to create tantalising sensations of caramel and a hint of mint. Incredible over ice with a dash of cola. Liv Honey & Lavender Rum Liqueur , £34.00, brings a bold Scottish honey punch to the layers of natural flavour drawn from slowly fermented molasses and copper-pot still distillation. Coupled with a delicate floral hint of fresh lavender, it’s a joy to sip over ice with ginger ale and a slice of lime. Liv Raspberry & Hibiscus Rum Liqueur , £34.00, has a refreshing twist to the layers of natural flavour drawn from slowly fermented molasses and copper-pot still distillation. Infused with Scottish raspberries and hibiscus flowers, it’s delicious with a splash of cream soda, lemonade or tonic water over ice. Hurly Burly Brewery Hurly Burly brewing duo Peter and Louise McNaught “We brew based on the premise that the less you interfere with the beer the better. As a result we prefer to leave the yeast to work its magic in the bottle or cask. This produces a more flavoursome, complex and enjoyable ale. It all takes time and we like to call ours Slow Beer.” Hurly Burly Brewery The Hurly Burly Brewery Story Slow beer. Slow brewed. That is the motto of Hurly Burly brewery. Peter and Louise McNaught have a growing range of bottle conditioned real ales with the emphasis on balance, subtlety and flavour. All are made using local East Lothian base malts and are unfiltered and unpasteurised so as to retain all the complexity and flavour you would expect from a real ale. The result? These tasty bottle-conditioned and cask ales are sooo good. Best Hurly Burly Summer Drinks at Restoration Yard Hurly Burly Limited Edition Hi & Rye Red Rye Ale, £3.20, Gnat’s Hop Pale Ale, £3.20, Hare of the Dog India Pale Ale, £3.20, Giddy Goat Wheat Saison Ale, £3.20, Limited Edition Blimey Lime Sour Ale, £3.20

Looking for the best ice cream in Scotland? We know the answer. A trip to Restoration Yard is not complete without a little Giacopazzi ice cream deliciousness. Without a doubt it is the best you’ll ever experience. Whatever the weather adults and kids are sure to line up in The Larder at Restoration Yard to bag themselves a dream of an ice cream by one of our favourite suppliers – Giacopazzis. So what is their secret? Will they reveal just how they make ice creams so good? We asked Somers Giacopazzi to enlighten us. Somers Giacopazzi is face and creative mind behind the family’s wholesale business. He was also the first ever recipient of the Ice Cream Alliance Rising Star Award in 2017 aged just 23. He is currently competing in the Gelato Festival World Masters Championships. How long have you been making and serving your delicious Giacopazzi ice cream? Our family has been serving ice cream from Harbour Road in Eyemouth since the early 1900’s, so well over 100 years now. What is the core recipe to a Giacopazzi ice cream? We use fresh Scottish milk, cream and butter from Graham’s Family Dairy combined with the finest Italian fruit purées as well as other ingredients sourced from the best suppliers in the ice cream industry. What’s the secret ingredient that sets your ice creams apart from all the rest? Now that would be telling!!!! But suffice to say it’s the love and passion that goes into every scoop and by fusing traditional ice cream making methods with modern techniques. How do you come up with the less traditional more original flavours? Our new ideas come from a mixture of the experience and knowledge we have built up over the years about flavour combinations that work. We also keep up with industry trends and those within the food industry as a whole. We are always striving to be among the first to trial new products on the market by working closely with our sales reps. What’s your top selling flavour at Restoration Yard? At Restoration Yard, like most ice cream parlours, Vanilla is consistently the most popular flavour. It is followed by Mint Choc Chip with Raspberry Ripple and Kinder Bueno close behind. Are you working on any new flavours right now? And if so what flavours are being considered? Chocolate Fondant is one our newest creations and Lemon & Ginger Ripple will hopefully be introduced to Restoration Yard very soon. What flavours are your family favourites? Vanilla and Strawberry for me but Raspberry Yoghurt for owner Peter Giacopazzi Come along to The Larder at Restoration Yard to discover the best ice cream in Scotland – Giacopazzi ice cream. Also, keep an eye on our social media platforms over on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for a rather wonderful Giacoppazi competition – coming soon! Want to keep up to date with all our Restoration Yard news? Sign up to our newsletters.

JOIN US! DRESS UP FRIDAY FOR CHAS COMPETITION WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED AT 7PM ON 19th MARCH Bored of wearing comfy joggers, sweaters and all such boring things because the only place you can actually go is the supermarket or for a walk of course? We say pah to that. Let’s dress up Fridays for a great cause and raise some much needed funds for Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS). You could be in with the chance to win an amazing prize. Dress Up Friday For CHAS Competition Prize This is an amazing opportunity to do a little good by donating to CHAS and win yourself a stash of amazing prizes. Yes, we’ve got not one but six prizes to giveaway to our Dress Up Friday for CHAS Competition winner. One winner, six prizes. Good luck. Mindfulness Class Jen Wood, our resident wellbeing consultant and therapist is offering a one-to-one mindfulness session to help reset you into an ‘enjoy the moment’ mindset. Fort Douglas Trip Win an amazing trip to Fort Douglas adventure playground for the family. Two adults and two children will get a free morning or afternoon session in Fort Douglas! £100 to spend at RY Win a £100 spending spree in The Store at Restoration Yard. Our team can show you around virtually or in-person (if allowed) so you can make the most of your prize. Free Coffee & Cake Enjoy free coffee (or another drink) and cake for all the family during your playtime in Fort Douglas. The difficult bit will be deciding which cake to indulge in. Masai Accessories Masai, one of our bestselling fashion brands in The Store, is giving away a scarf (picture for inspiration only), bag and handy face mask to our lucky winner. Mimi’s Voucher While The Kitchen at Restoration Yard can’t offer a lovely Afternoon Tea at the moment, our friends at Mimi’s are offering our winner a Mimi’s Afternoon Tea at either their Corstorphine or Leith Bakehouse. How To Enter We’d love to see you over the next few Fridays in all your finest over on our social media accounts. Perhaps you’ve picked up a little new season something in our online store that you want to show off or have you something hanging in your closet that you’ve not had a chance to wear yet? Here’s your chance. We know some of you might be a little shy. You DON’T need to post a pic if you don’t want to but make sure to like our Dress Up Friday posts and share with a friend as well as comment ‘I donated’. Just donate to CHAS via our Just Giving page HERE and, of course, your full donation will of course go to CHAS. STEP 1: Donate what you can HERE STEP 2: Comment ‘I donated’ on our Dress Up Friday Facebook or Instagram posts and share with a friend you think would love to win too. STEP 3: Use the hastags #dressupfriday and #RYdressupfriday and tag @restorationyard with an image of you dressed up for Friday if you would like us to repost your photo (this is optional) DONATE A Little Bit About CHAS CHAS provides vital support to children with life-limiting conditions and their families CHAS has been offering a full family support service for babies, children and young people with life-shortening conditions for 20 years. This includes palliative care, family respite and support – through its two hospices, homecare services and hospital presence. CHAS needs to raise £5,650 to fund a day’s care in Rachel or Robin House. £12,750 will fund a day’s care across all of CHAS services including its hospices, in family’s homes and in hospitals across Scotland. CHAS is doing everything it can to be there for every child in Scotland with a life-shortening condition. During this time when we can’t support CHAS through visitors’ donations in our beautiful restaurant, The Kitchen, The Store and The Wellbeing Lab, we are excited to try to raise vital funds through your kindness. We can’t wait to see how much you can help us raise for CHAS. Get entering.

Jen Wood is an emotional wellbeing coach, psychotherapist and wellbeing consultant. She is based at Restoration Yard in Dalkeith Country Park. Here she offers some tips on how to keep our minds healthy in these uncertain times. I understand what an uncertain world we seem to be living in today. Amid this pandemic, the social distancing and self-isolation, there is a lot of fear and information overload. My intention is to share some simple, evidence based tips to help us shift this panic into resilience. My ‘how to survive social distancing and self-isolation’ guide. One way that I’m getting through is to focus on improving my ability to soothe my nervous system. When we have something positive to focus on, we are less susceptible to the tidal wave of panic. Our attitude and our levels of stress impact our immune system, so at the moment it is so important to practise calming and finding ways to boost. I’m sharing three things today to help in surviving uncertainty and building resilience. Keep connecting and building relationships We are hard wired to connect, and being disconnected can shorten our lives. In this period of social distancing, I’ve been encouraging people to think of this as physical distancing but social closeness. When we become socially isolated, it can cause stress, inflammation, rumination and reduce the effectiveness of our immune systems. Tip – could you connect with one person each day who may feel isolated, and let them know you are thinking of them? This will help you both, so really is a win win. Breathe consciously Breathing is one of the fastest and simplest ways to settle an anxious nervous system. Developing a breathing practice can bring our soothing system online, allowing us to access a part of the brain which can help us to make better decisions. It can increase our Heart Rate Variability which increases our wellbeing and quality of life. Tip – start to bring attention to your breath as you breathe in and out through your nose. Notice how cool the air feels as you breathe in, and warmer as you breathe out. Use this awareness of the breath to tune into the state of your nervous system. You might become aware of some of the physical signs of anxiety such as shallow and irregular breathing. As much as possible, try to accept your breath as you find it. Then deepen the breath as you feel the abdomen expanding as you breathe in, and flattening and softening as you release the breath. Notice how that feels. Then, become aware of the speed of the inbreath. If you are breathing in for a count of 3, then breathe out for a count of 3. Then see if you can slow it down to breathing in for 4 and out for 4, and finally breathing in for 5 and out for 5. If you can do this for 3 minutes, you will start to settle your threat system and activate your soothing system. I will talk you through this in the video below. Don’t panic There is a lot of fear and panic around. Most of us have never experienced a pandemic before. Uncertainty is extremely difficult to cope with, and it activates our threat system, our ‘fight and flight’ response. This releases the hormones cortisol and adrenaline which suppress our immune response. The most important thing we can do for our immune system is to calm down. Use STOPP. First, visualise or imagine a red STOP sign. S = Take one slow, deep breath. O = Observe what you are thinking and how you are feeling in your body. Where is the focus of my attention? What am I reacting to? Is it fact or opinion? P = Pull Back. Take the helicopter view and see the bigger picture. Is there another way of looking at this? What advice would I give to someone else about this? How important is this right now, and will it be as important in 6 month’s time?P = Practise what works. What will be the most helpful thing to do? Jen Wood is an emotional wellbeing coach, psychotherapist and wellbeing consultant. She is based at Restoration Yard in Dalkeith Country Park and consults on our Wellbeing Lab schedule. As well as posting her advice and tips here, Jen is currently offering sessions online (via Zoom). jenwoodwellbeing.com