A new addition to Montrose, Rae’s serves local, seasonal produce inspired by modern European cuisine, with a menu that will change with the seasons, ensuring all produce is at its best when it’s on your plate. We asked owners Helena and Wout about the inspiration behind their first restaurant, their perspective on the wider Scottish food scene, and their hopes for the future.
Tell us about the inception of Rae’s of Montrose and its ethos
The idea behind Rae’s was to focus on flavour, locality and seasonality. The restaurant is named after my late mother, who lived life with a lust for flavour and a love of her local community in Angus. We wanted to reflect her values in our business. We only used local tradespeople for our interior, local artworks on our walls and the majority of our produce comes from Angus as well. Because of this, our produce and menus are naturally seasonal - as if it isn’t growing, we don’t have it! The impact on our climate also played a big part in this decision as we’re a young family and we want a bright future for our daughter.
What inspires you and what are your future plans?
Our biggest inspiration is our surroundings - ideas usually come during family dog walks in the countryside! In the future, we would love to have our own growing plot to be more hands on with our produce.
What positive developments have you seen in the Scottish food scene since you started?
We’re the new kids on the block so there’s not been a lot of change since we’ve started, but we have noticed in the last decade that the respect for our Scottish larder has grown. Given the impact of lockdowns and logistical issues, people are far more excited to promote and support local producers and suppliers, which is fantastic to see. As well as this, the interest in foraged foods has been exciting for us. We think Scotland has a plentiful basket of foraging produce that people are only becoming more interested in trying.
Where would you like to see the Scottish food industry heading?
Scotland’s food industry is going the right way. We’ve got the goods and some fantastic talent to create amazing dishes. We’d love the food industry, as a whole, to focus on local and sustainable production and growing. We work directly with some of our producers to avoid big supply chains, and Greencity have been great to work with as they pick up our products en route to us, avoiding the food miles piling up.
If you could invite 3 people (living or dead) along to dinner, who would they be, and why?
We both lost our mother’s in the last two years, so without a doubt, we would have both of our mums, Jane and Terri for one last big blow out meal (and maybe a few tipples!) Our third guest would be our daughter, so she could get to know them and they could see how she’s grown. Mind you, after the last 2 years, we would have almost anyone round for a big dinner!
Why do you use Greencity Wholefoods as a supplier?
We use Greencity because their values line up with ours nicely. We love their offering of Scottish produce and alternative, sustainable options.
Thanks to Helen from Rae’s of Montrose for answering our questions! Find out more at facebook.com/raesmontrose
