The Kitchen Café

We're celebrating Scottish classics on The Kitchen Café, with dishes which have nourished our collective history and unite us through time and geography. Neil Forbes and Sue Lawrence prepare a classic Scotch broth and a barley 'risotto', while Ghillie Basan and chef Kirsten Gilmour experiment with soups from around the world. Plus, Simon Preston meets barley farmer John Weir to find out more about this key ingredient.

We're celebrating Scottish classics on The Kitchen Cafe, with dishes which have nourished our collective history and unite us through time and geography. Neil Forbes and Sumayya Usmani are joined by potato expert Alan Romans and chef, food consultant and potato lover Christopher Trotter to discuss the best of Scotland's spuds. Christopher Trotter cooks up his classic stovies recipe, Neil prepares some posh potato scones, and Sumayya gives potatoes a Pakistani twist with her keema cutlets.

We're celebrating Scottish classics on The Kitchen Cafe, with dishes which have nourished our collective history and unite us through time and geography. Flora Shedden and Neil Forbes are joined by Sue Lawrence to enjoy the best of Scottish baking. Flora whips up a batch of fresh fruit scones, while Sue Lawrence prepares a classic Selkirk Bannock, and Simon Preston meets Jennifer Hunter of Edinburgh bakery Pinnies and Poppy Seeds to sample her best-selling shortbread. Plus, Ghillie Basan talks to Liz Ashworth about her new book, "The Book of Bere: Orkney's Ancient Grain".

Food fashions come and go, and even classic recipes will wax and wane, but the pie remains a passionate favourite with so many of us. Neil Forbes is joined by Sue Lawrence and Martin Burns to celebrate the Scottish pie tradition, while Flora Shedden investigates the story of the Forfar bridie. And Ghillie Basan meets Kirsten Gilmour to give the Scotch pie a Kiwi twist.

We're well into autumn now and our minds are turning towards to the long looming winter ahead. Pickles, preserves and chutneys are perfect for this time of year to lock in those late summer flavours to help you though the winter. So if you've been gathering the last of the fallen apples and collecting some brambles from hedgerows then please don't make a crumble with them. Join Sumayya Usmani and Ghillie Basan on this week's Curry Club as they make apple pakora and a bramble chutney.Christopher Trotter is a passionate advocate of eating seasonal Scottish food and produce from his home country of Fife. But he's a man who's not keen on too much heat. So how does adding a very healthy dose of spice to some of nature's finest ingredients sit with him?Ghillie Basan explores the spice roots of ginger while sisters Manju Dhesi-Dhami and Sharan Dhesi show Dan Holland how to make a staple of the takeaway starter menu, homemade onion bhaji's.

Neil Forbes and Ghillie Basan are joined by historian Susan Morrison and Chef Fred Berkmiller to celebrate all things slimy as they experiment with Scottish oysters and snails. Neil cooks up some simple grilled oysters while Fred prepares a classic French dish using snails from the island of Barra. We send reporter Karen Elder to meet with Gerard Macdonald, who has launched the island's growing snail industry. Plus, Ghillie meets with author Yemisi Aribisala to discuss her first book, "Longthroat Memoirs", which celebrates her native Nigerian culture and cuisine.

Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh celebrate the sweet things in life with Ghillie Basan as they launch their new recipe book "Sweet". In a bid to reclaim the rich culture of baking, Yotam and Helen invite us to embrace all things sweet (in moderation!) Back in the kitchen, Neil Forbes talks to Tony Singh and Struan Stevenson about their new book "The Course of History", which documents ten of the most important meals in human history. Twenty years in the making, this book explores the tradition of 'dining diplomacy', while sharing some of the recipes which have influenced major historic events.

Neil Forbes, Ghillie Basan and Sumayya Usmani celebrate autumnal berries and get creative in the kitchen with their favourite fruits. Ghillie introduces us to rowan gin, Sumayya makes a quick and easy raspberry ketchup, and Neil prepares a venison steak with blackberries from his garden. Meanwhile, we send Simon Preston on a foraging adventure with Rupert Waites, head chef at the Edinburgh-based pop-up restaurant Buck and Birch, to follow the story of their wild elderberry liqueur.

Its the time of year when Autumn fruits come into their own in the Kitchen so if you want some great ideas for getting the very best out of your apples, plums, pears and brambles the Kitchen Café recipe archive has the answer.Sumayya Usmani has a stunning recipe for bramble chutney and apple pakora; Tom Lewis makes venison on toast with caramelised pears; spice expert Ghillie Basan warms us up with ginger and Christopher Trotter has a plum clafoutis so tasty you'll be glad that Autumn's arrived!Packed with fresh ideas and inspiration, join Pennie Latin and the team for a celebration of the flavours of Autumn.

Wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan joins Flora Shedden and Neil Forbes to share stories of exotic food experiences from around the world as he prepares for his new live tour, "Animal Families and Me". Flora Shedden cooks up a fresh and simple crab linguine, inspired by Gordon's childhood memories of Mull, while Ghillie and Zekki Basan take us on a wild cooking adventure in the shadows of the Cairngorm mountains. Closer to home, Simon Preston expands his own culinary horizons with his first taste of hare from Ridley's Fish and Game in Edinburgh, and Neil Forbes invites us all to get creative in the kitchen with his recipe for homemade hare pie.

Flora Shedden and Neil Forbes are joined by Mary Contini and Fiona Richmond to celebrate Scotland's Food and Drink Fortnight. Fiona explains how changing just one thing about our food and drink choices can help to support local Scottish food producers, while Neil Forbes whips up a Scottish brunch. Mary Contini tells us more about her new book, "Dear Alfonso", which celebrates her heritage and the role of food in family life; and as university students get ready for Fresher's Week, Flora shares one of her favourite student recipes, a quick and easy sweetcorn chorizo chowder.

There is something almost impossibly romantic about taking the Caledonian Sleeper from Inverness down to London. The Highland landscape screams Scotland as you head south through heather-blown hills, you can even spot the occasional stag. It's wonderful. But can the same be said about the food as you travel? Does the very idea of eating on one of Scotland's trains have you salivating or sighing? On this week's Kitchen Cafe, Neil Forbes and Simon Preston take the Caledonian Sleeper from Inverness, where a culinary revolution is taking place - a revolution which aims to make Scottish trains the place to enjoy Scotland on a plate. Along the way Simon will be talking to Ryan Flaherty, Director of Guest Experience, about why he's determined to shout so loudly and proudly about Scottish food. Neil will be in the kitchens of RSF Scotland in Dingwall helping to prepare the meals for the sleeper and Ghillie Basan visits Bad Girl Bakery in Muir of Ord to find out what a contract with the sleeper means for small local S

When you think of the food you want to eat during summer, what comes to your mind? Something light and fresh perhaps, something cool in contrast to the weather? Maybe the last thing you think about eating is a curry. If so, think again. Curry doesn't have to be rich, heavy and stodgy. Sumayya Usmani and Ghillie Basan explore the lighter side of curries from around the world as they discover that curry can be light and refreshing if you use the right spices and ingredients, perfect for the middle of summer or hot climates.Food consultant Simon Preston describes his passion for south east Asian food.Aubergines are in season and perfect for curries, Ghillie makes spicy aubergine fingers with nt and lime yoghurt and a smoked aubergine bharta with mustard seed tarka.For most people getting a takeaway means walking down the street of picking up the phone. But what if you live in some of the remoter parts of Scotland? Dan Holland meets Mike and Lucy Goodwin to find out how they run a curry delivery service in Kinloc

Chef Neil Forbes is joined in his garden by gardening expert Nicola Singleton to celebrate the whole journey from nature to plate. Also, Ghillie Basan and her son Zeki do a bit of wild foraging in the shadows of the Cairngorms before cooking up a delicious Italian classic.

With the schools being back, Chef Neil Forbes gives mums Lisa, Gill and Kim some mouth-watering ideas to rustle up a 10-minute tea. Simon Preston visits Deanna Williams for some packed lunch inspiration and Sumayya cooks up the perfect Mexican lunchtime treat.

Flora Shedden, Neil Forbes, Sumayya Usmani, Ghillie Basan and Simon Preston - meet BBC Radio Scotland's Kitchen Cafe team of experts!Bake Off's Flora Shedden, award winning chef Neil Forbes and acclaimed cookery writer Sumayya Usmani join forces with international spice expert Ghillie Basan and food innovator Simon Preston in this weekly celebration of Scotland's fabulous seasonal larder.Haggis, oats, seafood or perhaps even berries... Cook and food writer Sue Lawrence is tasked with choosing Scotland's finest ingredient. Chef Neil Forbes cooks up a Scottish classic using smoked haddock as he tries to convince Sue that smoked haddock should be at the top of her list, however, Chef Mark Greenaway sweetens things up when he gives Sue one of his mouth-watering strawberry tarts as he puts his argument across that berries are by far Scotland's best ingredient.

Neil, Flora and Sumayya go all retro this week as they head to the seaside town of Largs in the Kitchen Café campervan. We take a step back in time as Neil and Flora cook up some retro classics for lunch and Sumayya visits Nardini's, one of Scotland's most famous ice cream parlours.

Sumayya Usmani and Ghillie Basan explore the influences and flavours that come together to create the rich and vibrant curries of the Caribbean with Haitian Peggy Brunache. From the traditional curried goat to the French influenced Colombo, the diversity of cuisines and spices used in the curries of the Caribbean is vast. With strong influences from Britain, France and India, each Caribbean country has its own curry identity. It's food that reflects the cultural, culinary and social history of the islands that make up the Caribbean. Using in season Scottish mackerel they make a Jamaican influenced fish and pineapple curry. Ghillie explores the background and uses to a raw spice that some suggest smells like bedbugs or dirty bed linen. When it first was discovered this spice was largely ignored because of its strong smell, but today, coriander is a staple of almost every spice mix around the world. Plus, it's good to help control flatulence.Chef and spice fanatic, Tony Singh invites Simon Preston into his back

Flora and Sumayya are joined in the Kitchen Cafe campervan by Howard Wilkinson from the Ayrshire Food Network as they try and capture Ayrshire on a plate. Drew Young from Girvan Early Growers takes Neil on a walk through his potato fields and explains the reasons why Ayrshire produces some of the best potatoes in Scotland. Also, Tom Campbell from Fencebay Fisheries in Fairlie tells us about how the waters off the coast of Ayrshire produce some of the best shellfish in the world.

When you think about typically Scottish ingredients what do you think of? Salmon? Venison? Haggis? Scallops but how many of us would think to put crowdie on that list? Chef Neil Forbes shows us how to use this unsung hero of the Scottish kitchen in a classic cranachan recipe and Flora Shedden cooks us up some delicious crowdie and spring onion tartlets. Also, Ghillie Basan visits Callum Clark at Connage Highland Dairy on the banks of the Moray Firth to find out how they make their Highland crowdie.