Galloway beef is best

It's a fact – Galloway beef is best. Who says so? James Mackintosh who is the executive chef at the Masonic Arms at Gatehouse of Fleet.

James knows what he is talking about as he is devoted to food and learned his craft in places such as the the Restaurant Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles Hotel, which is Scotland's only two-star Michelin restaurant. When asked if Galloway beef is better than the nation's famed Aberdeen Angus he reply is immediate – yes it is.
There is something about the grass and weather in Galloway, he says, that just makes for beautiful beef. Certainly, the area has always been known as prime cattle country and its breed features a distinctive mid-section white stripe which has led to the name Belted Galloway.

One of James' signature dishes is his beef daube. He travels to his favourite abattoir to select the beef for the Masonic Arms. The daube takes two days to make and it is finally braised in an alcohol reduction for eight to ten hours until it is meltingly soft. It is served with roast salsify, spinach and caramalised spinach puree. For steak lovers there is an eight-ounce rib-eye and a 16-ounce sirloin, Galloway beef of course, served with a range of sauces.

James' menu features dishes that meld local ingredients into tempting creations. One of the starters is a haggis and tattie scone tower with Drambuie sauce. Lovers of seafood are well catered for and on the day that Sharon called in the daily fish special was halibut, served with vegetables Dauphenoise, confit beetroot and wilted spinach.

James runs the Masonic Arms with his partner Danielle and she is equally enthusiastic about good food, the couple having met while working at an outstanding restaurant.

Although there the signs of the Freemasons are engraved in the door to the pub, the Brothers no longer meet there. The restaurant is open and light while the bar offers treats, including a guest beer from the Sulwath Brewers, of Castle Douglas. When Sharon visited this was John Paul Jones traditional ale, named after the founder of the US Navy, a local man. The heraldic arms above the door are intriguing.

Masonic Arms, Gatehouse of Fleet, Open noon to 2pm and 6pm to 9pm. Telephone 01557 814 335. www.themasonic-arms.co.uk

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