Quarantini boxes support the city's hospitality trade. KEEP EDINBURGH THRIVING SUPPORTS BARS & RESTAURANTS ACROSS EDINBURGH 19/05/2020 Quarantini boxes will create a critical lifeline for bars and restaurants that have been forced to close their doors. With lockdown restrictions for the hospitality industry expected to extend for weeks to come, Robbie Allen, founder of ‘Keep Edinburgh Thriving’ has diversified his business offering to incorporate the ‘Quarantini Box’. Each Quarantini Box will be filled with cocktails lovingly crafted by Edinburgh bartenders and restaurateurs as well as beers and spirits from local distilleries and breweries.  Serving as a critical business lifeline for the hospitality industry, Robbie Allen plans to work with new bars and restaurants?each week so the people of Edinburgh?can support multiple hospitality businesses?at the same time through the regular purchase of a Quarantini Box, which will be delivered free of charge every Friday & Saturday.   Allen has sold over 2,000 Keep Edinburgh Thriving boxes (2,011 to be exact), generating over £55,000 in revenue for 47 local Edinburgh businesses in only 6 weeks. He said: "We have been completely overwhelmed with the support we have seen for Keep Edinburgh Thriving and it’s been amazing to be able to support local independents to stay in business through such a tough time.   "Our local bars and restaurants are expected to stay closed until at least July or early August so we want to support them as much as we can as well as bring a little bit of the Edinburgh bar scene to customers across the city who will be missing their favourite bars and restaurants.”   Nick Robinson, Owner of Tonic Bar Edinburgh comments: "In this difficult time the Quarantini Box allows Tonic as a team to bring a little bit of normality back into our lives. We can’t wait to have our doors open again, to see our customers enjoy themselves and put this all behind us, but as our doors are closed we are accumulating substantial amounts of debt each week via fixed costs and the Quarantini Box will allow us to generate some revenue to reduce this debt.”  There are two box sizes of gift box available – a small box contains four cocktails and one beer (£39) and a large box contains six cocktails and one beer (£55). Each Quarantini box also contains garnishes, serve instructions and pick n mix. All you need is a glass and some ice. If customers want to enhance their at home experience, they can add a cocktail shaker for only £5.  Rachel Bailey-Palumbo, Director at Hey Palu comments: "When the opportunity arose to partner with the Thriving Box Company we were extremely excited. Their clever concept gives people both the opportunity to support Edinburgh small businesses like ourselves and try new products, whilst also opening up the possibility for us to engage with new customers, who we hope will become regulars once we are able to open again.”  Menu for delivery weekend of 22nd May will include:  Espresso Mart-ana-tini from Buck & Birch Banana Daiquiri from Hey Palu Negroni from Old Poison Distillery Starburst from Tonic Gluten free lager from Bellfield Brewery  To help support the local community further during this epidemic, £2 from each gift box sale will be donated to the Edinburgh Food Project.  The rapid spread of COVID-19 has caused a sudden, steep decline in business for cafes, restaurants, boutiques, artisans, creators and local retailers. For more information about how to support your local high street and keep Edinburgh Thriving, visit www.keepedinburghthriving.com

By Anna Christopherson of Boda Bars Cinnamon buns are a must for the Swedish tradition of Fika. Fika is a time we spend together, taking a break in work, duties and chores, to sit down and socialise. When my grandfather Karl was 81 years old, his wife, passed away. He had been in love with her since she was 15, and they had lived many happy years together. My grandmother had been the proud ruler of the kitchen, so my grandfather was used to eating amazing food and cakes. So when my grandmother passed away – it was not only her warm embraces that he was missing but also her famous cinnamon buns. At 81 years old he learnt how to make these buns and even perfected the recipe. It proves that it is never too late to learn new things. Grandpa Karl’s Cinnamon Buns (250 degrees, 20-30 buns) Dough: 500ml milk 150 grammes butter 50 grammes yeast 4 eggs 1 tbsp coarsely grounded cardamom 150ml sugar 2 tsp baking powder 850 grammes flour Filling: 100gram butter 1 tbsp cinnamon 100ml sugar. 1-2 Eggs for washing Pearl sugar (if you have any) Method: Melt the butter, add the milk and warm until finger warm. Mix the yeast with a bit of the buttermilk until dissolved. Add sugar, salt, eggs, cardamom and half the flour until a smooth dough. Then add the rest of flour and baking powder. Let it rise for 1.5 -2 hours. Meanwhile mix butter, cinnamon and sugar. Divide the dough in two then roll into a rectangular shape. Spread the filling. Fold the dough in two. Then cut 1 centimetre thick lengths out of the folded dough. Take two lengths at a time and swirl them. Line a baking tray with paper and leave to rise again for 20-30minutes. Glaze with egg and bake until golden brown. Enjoy with a nice cup of strong coffee or hot chocolate!! Cinnamon buns are for sharing!

By Sharon Wilson He’s back. That was the word on the street last year that greeted the return of Senor ‘Iggy’ Campos. If hospitality is known for big characters, they don’t get more ‘Gigante’ than Iggy, former proprietor of Iggs and Barioja on Jeffrey Street. When those two closed down several years ago, I visited Iggy on-site and found him selling off the crockery. I stood with him, as I often did, outside Barioja as he puffed away on a cigarette and we put the world to rights; but this time our chat was tinged with sadness. But Iggy is irrepressible, and extended gardening leave didn’t match his energy and flamboyance. He is back, has given up the ciggies and seems reinvigorated. He tells me the opportunity to purchase what was Solo menswear, while simultaneously preventing another tartan shop on the Canongate, was too tempting to pass by. Say Hola to Piggs, a Spanish bar/deli that opened 2019 just in time for the festival. Our visit was overdue, but fellow contributor Lea and I eventually organised a meetup. Snouts poised we headed to Piggs for a Friday lunch. Iggy’s kilt-wearing son Daniel is the face of the business now, and he effortlessly charms the customers with top-notch customer service. Glasses of white Rioja and briny olives were a perfect aperitif then we chose our tapas. Jamon came first and was so good we ordered another plate. Sliced razor-thin to enhance the flavour the ruby pink flesh was aromatic and herbaceous. The meat tasted of what those pigs had eaten. Next came herby meatballs, sizzling in a spicy tomato sauce with sprigs of thyme. Patatas bravas were uber-crispy and cod croquettes melty with bechamel. A bottle of Rose cava just the thing to complement our food. Iggy always had an eye for design and the logo comes from Royal Scottish Academy artist, Stewart MacKenzie. It’s a single line drawing with three dots depicting a pig head; Miroesque. The clean line is echoed in design features; note the lights above the tables in this long, narrow space. Like the food, the design is simple and classic with an occasional Spanish flourish such as the mono Estrella Galicia beer font and fairy lights. Iggy knows how to source, cook and present Spanish fare. Whether it is a traditional peasant fabada (bake it in the oven to finish it) which may appear on the specials alongside, for example, a lamb casserole, a breakfast of eggs and chorizo or ‘bocadillas’. The sandwiches are made with fresh sourdough from Company bakery and piled high on the pass. Café con leche beckons on a return visit. There are platters too, plus sherry, wine and ‘Cerveza por favor’. Iggy and Daniel have all the bases covered, and Piggs is proving a popular spot. Piggs 276 Canongate Edinburgh EH8 7BE 0131 557 2955 Opening hours 9am-10pm