A GOURMET TOUR AROUND ABERDEENSHIRE

THE OIL INDUSTRY BROUGHT INTERNATIONAL FOCUS TO ABERDEENSHIRE - NOW THERE'S A MORE LOCAL FLAVOUR TO DISCOVER.

- JAMIE LAFFERTY

In the basement of a granite townhouse in the centre of Aberdeen, my guide Calum Lockerbie's voice becomes hushed, bordering on conspiratorial. We're awaiting the main courses in Amuse, a new fine-dining restaurant by chef Kevin Dalgleish, when Calum leans in and says: "Everyone in here has, is or will work in the oil industry."

We do seem to be eating oily food, by which I mean cuisine served so perfectly (and priced so expensively) that it's only likely to be bought regularly by people with extra money in their pockets. There's east-coast crab and Orkney scallops, local lamb and Aberdeenshire venison. Of course, Aberdeen Angus features, too.

When I think about Aberdeen and wider Aberdeenshire I don't first think about food. I think about the lickety-split Doric dialect, hard winters and, yes, oil. Ever since huge reserves were first discovered in the North Sea in the 1960s, oil has shaped this region and its people, booming and busting and damaging the environment along the way. Other industries have faded or been pushed out - notably fishing in order to accommodate the petrochemical business, and while much of the vast fortunes it has generated have been carried away under flags of convenience, a sliver has been left behind to leave its mark in Aberdeenshire, too.