The Christmas period 2018 saw us serving Christmas traditional fayre in beautiful surroundings. The house looked beautiful decked with traditional decorations along the stair banisters, along the fireplaces and of course there was our huge Christmas tree which in the lounge which looked stunning with its dazzling baubles and glistening tinsel. It was lovely to see the smiles on the faces of our guests as they came into the house, looked around, smelt the wonderful smells of Christmas and heard the traditional carols and songs playing in the back ground. It was like they had been transported back to their childhood. It was lovely to see families and friends reunited and having a great time together. It really was heart warming that guests came to Carradales for their special celebrations.
Our guests could enjoy for their Christmas starters, Cauliflower & White Onion Soup with Blue Cheese Croutons; Oat Covered Salmon Fish Cakes with Homemade Christmas Chutney; Warm Salad of Wild Mushrooms, Leeks, Chestnuts with Whisky Balsamic Dressing.
For their Christmas mains we served Traditional Roast Turkey with All the Trimmings; Springbank Whisky Marmalade Glazed Ham with Mustard Mash and Cranberry Jus; Gigha Halibut, Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Crayfish Sauce; Filo Parcel of Stilton, Port, Roast Tomato with Tomato & Thyme Sauce. All were served with roast potatoes and winter vegetables.
For those who had some room left for Desserts were Traditional Christmas Pudding – Cognac Sauce; Warm Chocolate & Walnut Cake – Baileys Pouring Cream; Kintyre Gin & Lemon Trifle – Chocolate Florentines.
As you can imagine everyone loved it! Steve really excelled and saw us having a well, deserved break.
Thank you to all our guests for choosing to celebrate in style at Carradales.
Now we’re back and raring to go!!
So, what’s new for 2019? Well we are serving lunches from 1130 to 3pm, Monday to Saturday. We are very excited about this. We are open for non- guest residents too! Our first guests were Sylvia and Miriam. Thanks again for coming Ladies. We loved having you here. Once again, Steve has created a wonderful menu. Everything is locally sourced as far as possible and there are some lovely twists on some favourite classics. We really hope you enjoy his delicious creations! You can view our lunch time menu by clicking on to “Food & Drink”, scrolling down to the Dining section then click on “Lunchtime menu”.
We also have a new Winter menu which will run for the remainder of the Winter, so for another 6 weeks. Once again you can view this in the same place. It is just under the lunch time menu. We would be grateful if you could kindly book this as we have a lovely intimate dining room. The dining room has been tastefully decorated in a Victorian traditional style with a contemporary slant. We are proud to show some of the wonderful pictures by local artist Stuart Herd which hang above the mantlepiece and don the walls which add to the ambience and enjoyment of this stunning room.
Stuart Herd is inspired by the varied and dramatically changing landscape of his country – Scotland.
He was born in Scotland in 1971, and after growing up in England and briefly attending Amersham College of Art he started a career in photography in the South East whilst regularly travelling north to Scotland to explore and capture the landscapes.
His photographic career was varied, from Studio and Commercial photography to Press and Lab work around the UK. During this time his love of travel was born and he combined this by working as a photographer onboard cruiseships, aswell as ’character making’ independent solo trips worldwide.
In the mid 90’s he returned to Scotland and whilst living in Edinburgh he started producing highly detailed Pen & Ink cityscapes and scenes. Galleries started showing his work and his art career had taken over. At this time, he also started his Stadium portfolio, which now showcases over 40 sporting arenas across Europe.
After working as an Art Auctioneer in all-inclusive resorts in Jamaica for a year, he stayed on the island for another 2 years, earning a living Picture Framing, painting and drawing. He received acclaim from the public and critics alike for his Pen & Ink exhibitions on the island.
Looking for a new direction, in 2002 he again returned to Scotland and his painting took precedence. He started exhibiting in Argyll galleries while working as a Picture Framer, but within a few years he was working full time on his paintings.
In 2007 he opened The Art Studio, due to his growing popularity he felt he needed an outlet for people to meet him and view his work. This enabled him to combine his Picture Framing business on this site. Since opening, his work has become increasingly sought after by buyers worldwide.
In 2011 Stuart had a major accident, after moving into his new family home, he was building a wardrobe from a certain Swedish furniture supplier when the screwdriver he was using slipped, it punctured his eye and to cut a long story short…after numerous operations,he is now blind in one eye…after a year of various operations the decision was taken to remove the eye (he has a fake eye) However, he was straight back in the studio and now almost 2 years later (updated July 2013) he is back producing the same, if not more (he is adamant he is more ’focused’ – pun intended) of detailed work he was prior ’the accident’.
During his many hospital stays, he realised he needed a plan B (he wasn’t sure how many more operations he’d have in the future) as he was losing ’painting time’….so he set his mind to opening a Gallery in Tarbert – The Harbour Gallery opened on March 17th 2012 and has quickly developed a reputation for selling a wide range of Local Original Art as well as ORIGINAL Scottish Shipping timetables and West Coast Memorabilia…..from the 1920’s onwards, all professionally mounted or framed. He is very proud of the Gallery and has found a niche in the market, steering away from the mass-produced prints sold across Scotland. The Harbour Gallery was one of ’The Top Ten Places to see in Argyll’ published in ’The Scottish Field’ May 2012.
In 2015 he opened his 2nd Gallery – The Harbour Gallery in Ullapool. He discovered the location on a family weekend away in Feb and had the doors open by April.The last few years have been hard work, its 250 miles door to door from his home village – so quite a commute!! Over the years the Gallery has expanded and is well run by local people in Ullapool.
Stuart now sells his work through over 20 Galleries around the UK, thus opening up his work to new buyers and collectors. He has had numerous exhibitions across Scotland and aswell as his commitment to supply galleries and his Studio with new paintings he undertakes commissions of varying sizes to private and corporate clients.
Tarbert is where his studio and Gallery are located and now also his home. Married with a young son, he enjoys taking off on sketching and photographic trips with his family, across Scotland and further afield. Each time coming home with more ideas and inspiration.
Stuart is currently working on paintings for galleries and up-coming exhibitions, but can be contacted directly via the contact page above or the details below, by anyone wishing to discuss a commission, painting, or anything you would like to ask.
There is also a serigraph entitled “Noonday Chat” which is an absolutely beautiful piece of art with incredible vibrant colours by another renowned artist.
Itzchak Tarkay(1935-2012) was one of the most significant artists in the global contemporary art scene. During his life, he became one of the most prominent Israeli artists of all time. His technical mastery and unique style has made his art some of the most recognizable and successful in the modern world. Born in 1935 in Subotica, Yugoslavia in 1935, Itzchak Tarkay has a very tumultuous childhood. At the age of 9, his family was taken into a Nazi Concentration Camp. He was released a year later and his family moved to Israel. In Israel, Itzchak Tarkay was free to explore his artistic passion. In 1951, he received a scholarship to the elite Anvi Art Academy. Almost immediately, Tarkay established a reputation as brilliant figurative artist. He produced timeless work that high lightened the best parts of modern art history. He was inspired by French Post-Impressionism and the work of Matisse and Toulouse-Lautrec in particular. Much in the style of the legendary Pablo Picasso, his art is politically relevant without being a political platform. He touches on issues that affected his life, including racism, religious freedom, the Holocaust, and Middle Eastern violence. He most often paints women, and his paintings have a haunting stillness about them. His art can be seen in museums and private collections around the world. Itzchak Tarkay passed away in 2012. He left behind him a great legacy as one of the greatest Israeli artists in history and one of the most important artists of the modern era.
What else is new for 2019?
Well, I guess this blog! At least once a month I will endeavour to highlight what we at Carradales Luxury Guest House are doing and also what you can look forward to in the months ahead. Thank you for joining us on the journey thus far!
