Famed as the home of deep-fried Mars bars, Scotland long had a reputation for a poor deep-fried diet and for topping the world's heart-disease charts.

This was a country where in the late-1990s the government sent leaflets out to homes begging Scots to eat "five handfuls of fruit and veg" every day.

Those days are mostly over now and Scotland has emerged from a several-decades-long processed-food-wilderness to again celebrate the fresh ingredients available off its shores and on its hillsides. Increasingly the focus is on local foods and organic farming, with all this very much championed by Scotland's Gourmet Restaurants.

The land

Scotland's farms are famed for Aberdeen Angus steaks and full-flavoured lamb. Cheeses to look out for include Bonnet, Bonchester and Galloway Cheddar.