Awards put the polish on Kiwi’s cafe success

cook goes out of her way to use local produce in her aviemore eatery

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AN AVIEMORE eating place called the Mountain Cafe has scaled new culinary and business heights by collecting two awards in a national competitions.

The cafe in the year-round resort’s Grampian Road, has been run by New Zealander Kirsten Gilmour, 31, for the past five years, who came over to cook in London.

She holidayed in the Aviemore area and fell in love with the place and her now husband Alastair, an instructor at the nearby Glenmore Lodge outdoor training centre.

The cafe has won the Ethical Good Food Award for Inverness-shire basically for knowing where all the food they use comes from and is reared, and also carried off a Customer Excellence Award, also for Inverness-shire, and voted for by her customers.

The enthusiastic cook said: “I try and buy locally as much as possible.

“That way I know how the animals and the food is treated before it comes in here.

“We use some of Scotland's best local produce to create healthy, wholesome and interesting food with a Kiwi twist.

“We opened our doors in 2004 and have been gaining awards and accolades for our antipodean style coffees, meals and fresh home baking ever since.

“The cafe offers excellent views of the Cairngorm Mountains with a balcony to enjoy in the summer and a cosy log burner to sit by during the winter.”

Kirsten, of High Street, Grantown, is also particularly proud that last year she was nominated for Casual Eating Chef of Scotland, and came in the top three.