Indulge: Go on, Indulge!

Jul 18 2008 by Lady Who Lunches

Go on, indulge!

HOW could I pass on an invitation to join in the fun and frolics at this year’s T in the Park?

Quite easily, as it transpires, having heard some gruesome tales from battle-hardened veterans of the queues snaking their way round Balado, crossing legs and fingers alike and patiently waiting for the green light at the portaloos.

Anywhere boasting the world’s longest urinal was never going to top my list of must-do’s.

But dropping off members of a younger and altogether bolder generation at the Kinross-shire festival, armed with enough camping gear to keep Baden Powell happy, the toilet facilities clearly weren’t the most pressing issue.

Instead, the babble on board the 4x4 centred on Amy Winehouse and whether she would navigate her way to Scotland this time round, or whether another mystery illness would beset the beehived songstress with the glorious voice and decidedly suspect social life.

By the sound of it, you need the navigational prowess of a Ranulph Fiennes to plot a route around the plethora of stages - and the pace of an Olympic sprinter to cover the ground to clock your fave bands.

Having handled chauffeur duties, it was time for lunch and a stop-off in Auchterarder after a leisurely, scenic drive through Glendevon.

Friends had tipped me off about a lovely retreat at the lower end of the Lang Toon High Street. It got the thumbs-up at the Scottish Chef Awards, scooping the casual dining award in the face of intense competition.

The name is InDulge and one-time financial whizz Colin McNicoll abandoned ISAs and pensions in favour of a kitchen career.

There’s a standard menu boasting everything from a salad bar to paninis, fajitas and stovies but those in the know tell me the specials really allow Colin’s culinary juices to flow. And with Michelin star operator Andrew Fairlie no stranger to the place, what better recommendation does a modern tearoom need?

My vegetable curry served with Kashmiri spiced soda bread was delicate and fragrant, with potatoes, cauliflower and spinach providing bite and hitting the spot. Good friend Chrissie made quick work of her healthy option, with the delicious falafels alive with chickpeas, carrot, garlic, onion and a hint of warming chilli paste and peanut. They had lentils and a salad for company. Whoever says veggie equals dull?

The Gleneagles set insist it’s a sin to leave without sampling the ever-changing home-made cakes and puds paraded front of house. Believe me, they do not lie.

While Chrissie did her Meg Ryan bit delving into a generous slice of lemon juice cake, I quietly did justice to a glorious clotted cream fudge and banana cheesecake on an oat biscuit base. Two bowls of frothy cappuccino followed.

InDulge is the name and, quite frankly, it would have been rude not to!