Kinblethmont Estate has history – and we mean that quite literally. The land it sits on stretches back to the Iron Age, through Pictish settlements, past the Battle of Kinblethmont and into the wars of independence. By the time the Victorian house was built on top of all that, the ground beneath it had already seen more than most places ever do.
Standing in those immaculate gardens on a sunny summer afternoon, it’s hard not to feel the weight of it all – in the best possible way.
Hog Roast Angus has had the pleasure of catering at Kinblethmont before, and returning never gets old. The house manages something genuinely rare: grandeur and cosiness existing in the same space without either cancelling the other out. For a wedding rehearsal dinner, it set exactly the right tone.
This time around, precision and timing were front of mind from the start. When the couple got in touch to push the serving time back from five o’clock to six, Hog Roast Angus shifted our schedule without hesitation and arrived on-site ready to go. Once the catering van was unloaded, the team got to work quickly, taking full advantage of the sunshine to cook outside in full view of the gardens.
Before long, the air was thick with the irresistible aromas of BBQ pork butt, Cajun-spiced chicken and fried cod – making it very difficult for anyone nearby to think about anything else. Each meat brought its own character to the spread and together they created something that had guests gravitating towards the food station well before the serving time arrived.
As it always does with a Hog Roast Angus spread, the presentation matched the setting. Bamboo bowls of seasonal green leaf salad and coleslaw sat alongside chafing trays of buttery corn cobbettes and herby potatoes, with wooden plates and matching cutlery giving everything a cohesive, considered feel that suited Kinblethmont’s particular brand of elegance. Soft rolls and wraps were on hand for anyone who wanted to go the sandwich route – always a popular option regardless of the occasion.
By the time guests filled their plates, the atmosphere in those gardens had settled into exactly the kind of easy, unhurried warmth that a rehearsal dinner deserves. The couple were over the moon, the guests were happy and the anticipation for the following day was palpable.