Eco-friendly Northumberland hotel and restaurant Batlesteads is offering an evening of Burns Night celebrations in the most traditional Scottish style.
On Saturday 26 January, the Wark hotel will host a traditional four-course dinner, with an original 19th century menu by Scottish chef Meg Dodds that was prepared for the first ever Edinburgh Burns Club meeting in the early 1800s.
Known as 'the Scottish Mrs Beeton', Meg Dodds was the 19th century version of a celebrity chef, acclaimed for her Cooks and Housewives Manual of 1826.
Dinner will begin with King James' recipe for 'het kail cock-a-leekie soup', followed by the Scottish staple of rarebit haggis, served with 'neep purry' – a puree of swede, carrot and ginger.
The main course will be a het joint striploin with whole caramelised roast onion and rumbledethumps, a traditional side dish of crushed potatoes with onion, cabbage and leeks. For dessert, guests will enjoy 'ither – orra eattocks cranachan', a classic Scottish dish of raspberries with toasted oatmeal, honey and whisky cream.
Traditional entertainment for the evening will come courtesy of Burns Night toasts and speeches, and a Northumbrian piper.
The Wark/Hexham area of Northumberland is closely associated with Burns Night – it was part of Scotland up until 1296, and Robbie Burns himself visited Hexham on his tour of the Borders in May 1787.
Battlesteads' Burns Night Dinner costs £30 per person, and starts at 7pm.
