It was our first full day on Skye and we were looking forward to exploring. We began with breakfast where the table was nicely set and the menu was clear along with a beautiful flower on the table as scones were served with orange juice and tea but the spreads remained untouched as I got this small dose of muesli for artistic effect and had my tea and porridge as Suzanne had her prunes and apricots and her main course and mine quickly followed so that we could explore our options, stopping at the reception to get advice and record this map of scotches. Unfortunately, as we headed out, it became the typically bad Scottish weather you hear about. And so, we had rain all day and heavy winds so that the rain came down sideways. This didn't keep us from stopping at the batik store and we then made our way to Dunvegan Castle where we recorded a few flowers from the garden on our way in as we made our way along the path in the rain behind these people and then stopped for more flowers

before the castle came into view along with its plan and so we proceeded to the castle and Suzanne posed at it before we saw this sign that defined our day. After the castle tour which was quite interesting and would have made for some wonderful photos, we endured the gardens as long as the rain would permit and captured this flower photo before heading off to the Talisker distillery where after this photo in the guest viewing area, we discovered that the only photos allowed on the tour were in the (not very interesting) cask room.

Our photo luck changed with dinner, though our weather luck took longer, where we recorded this gentleman as we settled in to start and then our drinks arrived and so we explored menus as we began our canapes before the meal and chose an appropriate claret for the meal. We were then invited to have a chef's table for our dinner and so Marcello the chef welcomed us as water wine and butters were set. And as my water was poured we began to explore the kitchen before our first course arrived but meanwhile, many plates were being set out at the pass for the party of 10 who had arrived and we watched as greens were gathered in this container and I captured a lot of frying pans along with the waiting plates and the grains as cheese was cubed and plates were prepared and meanwhile this container waited until the cage could be removed lettuce added and garnish poured onto it gently to make the final product. And then, more cheese was sliced as this tool appeared and was used to glaze the top of a dish which was then assembled and served. Meanwhile, a pear was being sliced into small pieces as our next courses were served including this one we had watched being created and then all that was left was the bit of lettuce that had been added and then clean plate club as the smoked Orkney cheddar cheese came out and more plats were being prepared across the kitchen and the venison was being chunked for serving. By this time, our next course arrived and was revealed as drizzling on plates started in the kitchen but they ran out of drizzle though there was much of this and so more drizzle had to be found and added to the collection

until the container was full and ready for use as work continued and these nice products resulted though the spoon process was necessary to get the toppings just right. Work continued as this container was filled sat and then got some ingredients before the container was removed leaving this lovely concoction so that the container could go back for more and ingredients could be assembled so that the process could repeat and then decoration could be applied as cooking proceeded on the other side of the kitchen and this odd concoction came out of the oven which would be used for decoration in a variety of ways later. Meanwhile, our main courses arrived though we weren't sure we could eat if we were watching

and so these plates appeared in the kitchen in front of us suitably drizzled and one by one (two by two in the case of Marcello) pana cottas were put into warmer water to be removed from their shells and served, a process we watched for a while sometimes interrupted by the sorbets which were delicately spooned (sometimes 10 times, sometimes 11, sometimes 12) to make the perfect shape for the topping and so, the process continued before our mysterious material was divided and the desserts were ready to be served as in the flurry of photos, I missed a step but then the fish were being cooked and the ceremonial slicing (and dicing) of the apples began

with grapes to add to the picture which went first into the plate, after being cut, and then came citrus which had been nicely prepared as more cutting took place and then a staircase was created from apple to complete the plate before the next staircase could be assembled and installed for the next person. Meanwhile, the aerator was growing the pre-dessert in foamy fashion as many creme brulee's in action appeared and plates were prepared for their service while Marcello demonstrated the two at a time panna cotta technique though even he could only shake one out at a time and gently place it as creme brulees appeared, one glazed, two sugared and then the glazing continued until there was a full set at which point, preparation began for the cheese plates and so cutting of vegetables and fruits had to happen making little fortresses as there was cutting and breaks for other desserts but back to the main mission we now had a team of two working at the dessert area, the evening have gotten alter, and so apple spirals were created even as final dinners were being prepared and ready to serve. The celery re-emerged for cutting as assembly began until these remarkable plates resulted along with the final creme brulees one of which I ate myself as I watched the others appear. After dinner, we adjourned for petit fours and a full sugar bowl with all together and after a few photos of Suzanne and me, we called it a night.