North Kessock Community Fair

As you will know from previous blogs, I have been desperate to try the produce of the Left Coast Kitchen for some time after seeing rave reviews about their cheese on Facebook. I finally had a Saturday off when they were to be at a market so I grabbed my mum for a morning out and off we went.

The market is situated in the village hall of the picturesque seaside village of North Kessock, just outside Inverness, as part of the Black Isle Community Markets that happens every Saturday around the Black Isle. The markets offer a range of goods from crafts to food, while not everything is vegan ( we were greeted initially by a fresh fish stall) there was a surprising selection for a small village market.

Having picked up several goodies, I wanted to share my haul and encourage everyone to frequent this market and other local ones.

Left Coast Kitchen 

Having stalked this company on Facebook for over a year, I was delighted to finally get to try their wares and my god do they live up to the hype. Hand crafted by Ella, the range of hummus and cheeses is any vegans heaven and the taste is sensational. My mum is a huge cheese fan and loved the entire selection while I didn't know which to try first and had a real struggle only buying what I knew I could sensibly eat. I eventually settled on their new 'to brie or not to brie' and the American Muenster style cheese while my mum bought a tub of the carrot, walnut and red lentil hummus. I have loathed walnuts in anything for as long as I can remember and surprised myself by really enjoying the hummus. The cheeses sold out within half an hour of the market opening and while I know Ella will be making more for the next market, I would highly recommend getting in there quick!

The Muir Baker 

We first tried samples of this bakers bread at the Left Coast Kitchen stand as they had purchased a loaf to spread the cheeses on and the crisp crusted sourdough was the perfect accompaniment. I love making my own bread and couldnt resist a drool over the produce. We went home with a small but perfectly formed loaf of the rosemary and garlic sourdough which really packed a punch.

The Chocolate Place

I have purchased from The Chocolate Place before and adore their range of chocolates and knowledge of allergens, ideal for someone like me. The selection seems to get better each time I see them and this time the pistachio and marzipan truffles as well as the dark candied orange chocolate caught my eye. My other half and I have already scoffed all the truffles and I'm saying the chocolate bar for a lunch time treat at work tomorrow.

Rowanhill Homemade Preserves


Another stand with a fantastic knowledge of potential allergens. While not specifically geared towards vegans the owner was more than happy to advise which of her products were suitable. I chose a jar of green tomato and apple chutney to accompany the bread and cheeses while my mum went home with a selection of jams as a gift for a friend. The chutney was perfectly balanced between sweet and savoury with that wonderfully sharp note to cut through a creamy cheese. 

Perk Doughnuts

Last but not least, we visited Perk doughnuts. A relatively new shop in the centre of Inverness, it was nice to see them at the market. Their selection of donuts was fantastic with two vegan choices, a raspberry jam filled one and my choice, a lime and coconut confection. The donut was well flavoured with the sharpness of the lime cutting through the potential cloyingness of the coconut.

Overall, we had a great morning out and very happy bellies when we went home to share our haul over lunch. I would definitely recommend this market to both locals and those from further afield.

If you go, please take some pictures of your purchases and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife.