Restaurant at The Castleton House Hotel

As its web address implies, not a hundred miles from Glamis, this handsome country house hotel has an enviable reputation for good eating that is closely linked to the homely porker, in particular the Tamworth variety who clearly enjoy the Highland air, the apples from the nearby orchard, and being taken for walks by those who are about to enjoy generous slices of their relations - the pigs', that is.

Castleton is a triumph of ingredients that could tempt the most jaded appetite. The water, perhaps the most basic of ingredients is the Strathmore spring water. Most of the vegetables are grown on site, as are the apples, cherries, strawberries and raspberries. Eggs are, of course, as free range as the chickens that lay them, and a recent addition has been quails.

Other ingredients, though they may not necessarily have grown up on the estate, are sourced from equally reliable backgrounds, where nothing but the best will do. Head Chef Matt Dobson and his brigade see to the rest.

This must add to costs, do I hear you ask, to which the answer is just take a peek at them, and be pleasantly surprised - very pleasantly indeed. Back all this with a generous interpretation of Scottish hospitality at its best and it comes as no surprise that Castleton House is a priority venue for those who know and care about good, wholesome food, backed by three AA Rosettes since 2004.