Forres & Moray

Jan 21 2021

Lloyd tries his hand at haggis hunting – with hilarious results

January is a quiet month at the best of times, but when Scotland went into lockdown on Boxing Day, Lloyd knew he was in for several weeks of thumb-twiddling.

After cleaning out the store room – twice – and dusting off some old reading material it wasn’t long before he was looking for something else to do with his time.

As luck would have it, he spied an advert from the local butcher who was looking for an apprentice haggis hunter.

Macbeth’s is our local butcher and we buy from them regularly, so owner Jock knows Lloyd well.

In fact, we serve Macbeth’s haggis (and other meats) at breakfast, and it’s always really popular.

It was a tense week waiting for the phone to ring. Lloyd actually put in 27 applications, but to be fair, email’s not his strong point. Jock thought it was a sign of keenness, so after a short interview, offered him the job.

Excitement abounded as Lloyd chomped at the bit waiting patiently for his hunting day to come round. Dressed in his fishing finery, he joined Jock for a full-on training session and, to Jock’s surprise, he did rather well.

All thanks to a beetroot and whisky ‘slime’ he made to lure the haggis in.

But i won’t spoil the fun, watch for yourself and see how he got on.

So if you book a stay with us and have haggis for breakfast, it might well have been caught by Lloyd as well as cooked by him.

Only at the Cluny Bank!

You can also take a look at this article on Hotel News Scotland!

Apr 07 2020

Franklins Fine Dine-IN, Delivered to Your Door.

We have produced a Fine Dine-In range with some of the things we use in our restaurant together with some main courses that are suitable for delivery. We are able to offer our products online due to Macbeth’s Butchers who have been a fantastic help. As our guests are aware, we use Macbeth’s breakfast and meat products all the time in our dishes, so ensure to add some of their quality meat to you basket when shopping. If you click on the photos this will take you straight to the product on Macbeth’s website, where you can order our food for delivery both locally or nationally. Macbeth’s also have our food available to buy from their shop on Tolbooth Street in Forres.

Cold Smoked Salmon cured with Red Door Winter Gin

Salmon cured with brown sugar and salt and brushed lightly with Red Door Gin, then cold smoked in our smoker at Cluny Bank. Simply serve with a wedge of lemon, salad leaves, oatcakes or toast. 110g

Cold Smoked Salmon - Cluny Bank Dine-In Range — **Serves two – £6.25**

Hot-Smoked Salmon

Salmon cured in brown sugar and salt, then hot smoked in our smoker at Cluny Bank. Our serving suggestion would be to serve with chickpeas and a gremolata dressing as shown in the photo, lovely and fresh and another popular dish in the restaurant. 140g

Chicken Liver and Foie Gras Parfait

We love this parfait and it often appears on our menus as a bit of indulgence. We either serve it as a starter or top our wonderful Fillet Steak (from Macbeth’s) with it, we also get requests for the parfait quite often.

Simply serve with warm toast, you really don’t need anything else! 150g

Chicken Liver and Foie Gras Parfait - Cluny Bank Dine-In Range — **Serves Two – £5.00**

Spicy Smoked Salmon and Tomato Soup

A very popular soup in our restaurant and you won’t find this anywhere else as it is an original Lloyd recipe. The soup is lightly spiced and made with tomatoes and our own cold smoked salmon, it is delicious and something different. Serves 1 person

Wild Mushroom Soup

Fresh mushrooms are the main ingredient in this soup. Lloyds soups are very popular whatever the ingredients that are used. Serves 1 person

Cider and Onion Soup

This soup is another firm favourite in the restaurant, we love onion soup but this has a different slant on it. You can sprinkle cheese on top and grill it or add a cheesy crouton similar to French Onion Soup or just serve with some crispy French sticks. Serves 1 person

Chicken Stroganoff with Pearl Cous Cous

Sliced Chicken Breast coated in Paprika, covered in a traditional Stroganoff Sauce. Creamy Mushrooms, Onions, Gherkins and Brandy. Served with Pearl Cous Cous. Serves 1 person.

Macbeth’s Beef Brisket Braised slow cooked with Whooha Indian Pale Ale.

Prime beef brisket supplied to us by Macbeth’s Butchers, slow cooked with carrots and onions until tender, rich gravy made from juices, served with carrots and potatoes roasted in skins. Serves 1 person.

Macbeths Beef Brisket - Cluny Bank Dine-In Range — Serves One – £7.00

Fish Pie with Green Beans

Luxurious fish pie with cod, salmon and smoked haddock, creamy white sauce with spinach, topped with cheesy mash potatoes, served with Green Beans. Serves 1 person.

Lloyd’s Lamb Curry

Our curry sauce is made from scratch and you can taste the spices and herbs that have been added to the sauce. Together with Macbeth’s Lamb and a serving of Bombay Potatoes you don’t really need to add rice.

Serves one person.

Quinoa and Feta Cheese Meatballs

Delicious vegetarian meatballs made with Quinoa, Chickpeas and Feta Cheese with Homemade Tomato Sauce and Italian Trofie Pasta

Serves one person.

Quinoa and Feta Meatballs — Serves One – £7.00

Thai Vegetable Cakes

We serve these Thai Vegetable Cakes as a vegetarian/vegan dish in our restaurant. They are also gluten-free. Squeeze some lime juice over them or use a soy dipping sauce. Serves 1 person as a main.

Franklin’s Peppercorn Sauce

Peppercorn Sauce made from scratch with Beef Stock, Brandy, Red Wine and Cream. This sauce will ideally go with beef, pork or chicken from Macbeth’s 180ml

Franklin’s Onion Gravy with a hint of Star Anise

The stock for the gravy has been made from scratch with plenty of onions and a hint of star anise added. Will be great for Sausage and Mash or Toad in the Hole. 180ml

Franklin’s Port Jus

This Port Jus is great with Macbeths Fillet Steaks, top a steak with our Chicken Liver and Foie Gras Parfait, drizzle the Jus and imagine you are dining in Franklin’s Restaurant. 180ml

Brandy and Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce

Probably our signature and staple dessert, there would be an uproar if we removed this from the menu. This pudding will remind you of Christmas Pud but it is a lot lighter. Serve with ice-cream, custard or cream, unfortunately we were not able to supply this together with the dessert. Serves 1 person

Brandy and Date Pudding - Cluny Bank Dine-In Range

Jam Roly Poly

We don’t generally put this on the menu but it is requested quite often and Lloyd makes it especially for some guests. Serve with custard, ice-cream or both. Unfortunately, we were not able to supply this with the dessert. Serves 1 person

Bread and Butter Pudding

This is no ordinary Bread and Butter Pudding – Raisins,Currants and Sultanas have been soaked in Windswept Blonde Ale, then layered with Brioche and pieces of Stem Ginger. Serves 2 people

Steamed Marmalade Pudding

Steamed Marmalade Pudding using the famous recipe from The Three C’s. We hope we have done it justice!! It is accompanied with a Drambuie and Marmalade Glaze which can either be poured over the pudding or added to custard.
Serves 2 people

Mar 18 2020

Baked Biscoff Cheesecake

We usually have a short break in February and it has become a tradition that I do some baking with Alyx. This years choice was a Baked Biscoff Cheesecake. I have to ask the question as to why I did not know that Biscoff spread was a thing, it is something not to be missed if you have a sweet tooth. After posting the photo of the finished product on my own social media page, we had a few requests to share the recipe. We did use a recipe from delish.com with a couple of tweaks. We like a thick crust and we also came across a problem but we rectified it in this method.

For the Crust

125g melted butter
20 Biscoff biscuits
12 Digestive biscuits
      pinch of salt

For the Cheesecake

900g   cream cheese, softened
250g   sugar
1/2tsp salt 
4 large eggs
240ml double cream
60g sour cream
1tbsp vanilla extract
4tbsp Biscoff spread, heaped
5 Biscoff biscuits, crushed for garnish
4tbsp Biscoff spread, melted, for garnish

Directions

Make Crust

Depending on how thick a base/crust you like, feel free to increase or decrease biscuit quantities. As long as there is enough to cover the base of the pan it is ok. We like a thick crust and have accounted for this.

Set a rack in middle of oven and preheat to 180°C (160ºC fan). Butter a 23-cm springform pan and wrap bottom and sides of pan in a double layer of aluminium foil.
Place the Biscoff and Digestive biscuits in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin or something similar. We liked it a bit lumpy rather than smooth, you can use a food processor or blender if you want finer crumbs
Transfer the biscuit to a bowl, add melted butter a bit at a time. Using fork or fingers, mix until crumbs are evenly moist. You want it to be so the crumbs are sticking together but not too moist or too dry.
Press the mixture into the bottom of the springform pan. Place pan on a baking tray and bake crust for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 165°C (145ºC).

Make Cheesecake

In a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat cream cheese until completely smooth. Add sugar and salt and beat until smooth and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down bowl as necessary. I have taken out the recommended beating times here as they just did not work. We found the mixture became as runny if not runnier than single cream but we continued beating until it became more like lightly whipped runny cream.
Add double cream, sour cream, and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated.
We slightly melted the Biscoff spread in the microwave, you don’t want to melt too much as we wanted the cheesecake to have bits clearly visible and running through the mixture. If you melt too much it will just blend with the mixture. Gently fold in Biscoff spread. Pour cheesecake batter into cooled crust.
Bring a medium saucepan full of water to a boil. Place cheesecake in a deep roasting pan and set on middle rack of oven. Carefully pour enough boiling water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of springform pan. Bake until cheesecake is just starting to brown and only the centre is slightly jiggly, 1 hour 20 minutes. Turn off oven, prop open door with a wooden spoon, and let cheesecake slowly cool in water bath, 1 hour.
Remove roasting pan from oven, then carefully lift springform pan from water and remove foil. Set cheesecake on a rack and let come to room temperature. Once completely cool, loosely cover with cling film and refrigerate until firm, 4 hours or up to overnight.
When ready to serve, carefully unmould from springform pan. Sprinkle cheesecake top with crushed biscuits and drizzle with melted Biscoff spread.
Enjoy 🙂

Feb 21 2020

Salmon Fishing On The Scenic River Findhorn

The majestic River Findhorn is undoubtedly one of Scotland’s best kept fishing secrets – both in terms of beauty and productivity – in an anglers’ quest for the Atlantic Salmon. Nestled between the world famous and most mighty river to all Salmon anglers – the Spey, and the city of Inverness which is regarded as the cultural capital of the Scottish Highlands – its location could not be more idyllic. This is a true bucket-list trip for any Salmon angler!

In a very well documented, tough decade for the Atlantic Salmon, the Findhorn manages to maintain an incredible population of returning adults, thanks to its remoteness – flowing from the north face of the Scottish Highlands. With very little surrounding farmland and a steep and canyon-style river through its mid-section this prevents habitat degradation and preserves the home of the juveniles up to their smolting phase.

Flowing and twisting through high canyon walls, the River finally enters the saltwater through the Bay of Findhorn and into the Moray Firth. The Moray is often quoted as the UK’s most prolific Firth – accounting for apprx. 25% of all returning Salmon in the entire British Isles – a figure that is sure to whet the appetite of all Salmon enthusiasts…

When to fish

Fishing starts on the River very early, with opening day usually set for 11^th February. Being located in the Far-north of the UK, the river benefits from an earlier run of fish than all of the southern systems. Fresh, Bright, Silver Spring fish are often caught in February and March, yet as the Equinox passes, the run of fish begins to increase with April, May and June being the ‘best’ window for the chance at larger Springers. Fish of 20lb are not uncommon on this small but intimate system and offer a challenge for anglers of all skillsets when hooked!

Leading into summer July sees the start of the Grilse run, typically smaller fish in the 4-9lb class – with vast pods of fish entering the system in unison the sport can be incredible – if you are lucky enough to time your visit alongside an influx of fresh water. August is typically a lower water month, but fish now can be found in most pools and sight-casted to on bright sunny days. September brings cooler climes and increased water flows, all of which are a trigger to the Salmon’s aggression… Although most fish are now dressed in their spawning, tartan colours the river often delivers unprecedented catches with lucky anglers in its final month before the season closes.

Where to fish

Being one of the longest rivers in Scotland there are many areas for the angler to target, but with any river it is best broken into sections; lower, middle and upper.

Lower sections of river are always the most lucrative throughout the season as all fish must pass through them on their migration, yet they are essential targets in the early phases of a season from Feb-April. As the water warms in April fish begin to move through the canyon, and as such the middle section can be very prolific from later Spring/early Summer. Moving into Summer fish will be found throughout the entirety of the river, populating most pools awaiting fresh, cooler water to continue their journey to the headwaters.

Lovers of the Findhorn often boast that there is a chance of a fresh fish on every single day of the season, so be sure to give the river a try, no matter what time of year that you visit! If your fly is in the water, you always have a chance here…

Fishing tickets/access

The town of Forres is a short 30 minute drive east from Inverness airport or a 30 minute drive north from the (middle) River Spey. The River Findhorn flows through the town and has miles of fabulous fishing within 20-30mins drive from the hotel.

As with all Salmon fishing in Scotland there is no Salmon fishing on Sundays, and permits/permission to fish must be purchased before doing so.

Tickets for fishing can be purchased online at:

Thanks to Paul Richardson, who designs fishing equipment and guides fishing tours all over the world, for writing this blog and providing photographs. He has some fantastic images of his travels on his Instagram page.

Take a look at our rooms and restaurant menu.

Aug 06 2018

Cluny Bank shortlisted in people’s vote for Scotland’s hidden gem

Cluny Bank has been shortlisted in the Hidden Gem category of the Scotsman Food and Drink Awards this year, and we hope we can count on your vote to help us win this lovely accolade. We are the only establishment in Moray to be nominated.

The awards are open till September 2 and we invite you to vote for us.

This is the only category we entered, and it struck a chord because it’s a common phrase people use to describe the Cluny Bank. We rarely advertise and tend to get most of our business from word of mouth recommendations, and I think this is why people often call us a ‘hidden gem’. If an award encourages people to visit the Forres and Moray area, then people will discover it has many more hidden gems.

Many departing visitors mention the phrase ‘hidden gem’, in their reviews. On TripAdvisor, a customer wrote: “What can I say, just returned from two wonderful pampered nights at Cluny Bank, a truly hidden gem. I have travelled the world and stayed in many five-star hotels. This I rank right up there. Julia definitely has a sixth sense every time you walked in the main house she was there to cater to every need…”

Just last month on Facebook, a recent customer posted “Absolutely amazing, hidden gem hotel. Stayed for 2 nights on a business trip, hotel is very homely, rooms are lovely (both clean and comfortable). The owners/staff couldn’t do anymore for you. Food is to die for, both breakfast and main meal in the evening. Highly recommended if you’re looking for a place to stay or even just somewhere different for a delicious meal! Jules & Lloyd thank you so much for providing a unique & personal stay.”

On Booking.com: “A hidden gem, food fantastic!”.

It gives us great pleasure that we’ve been shortlisted for this category. We have won many awards for our food, but being nominated for the ‘hidden gem’ award means people appreciate all the little things we do.

Votes can be made at http://www.scotsmanfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk/hidden-gem/