Diary of a Shopkeeper, 27th March

Last night was the final Lynnfield Lux of the season. Forty-three guests enjoyed trying seven different South African wines with a menu specially designed to show them at their best. Or maybe the wines were chosen to show the food at its best. Actually, what’s great about the Lux is that it’s not primarily about either the wine or the food, but rather the best Orkney ingredients and some of the world’s most delicious wines combining to the benefit of both.

And that’s not even the best thing about the evening, which is undoubtedly the pleasure of sitting with friends or family for a long, relaxed meal, talking, laughing, enjoying each other’s company. After two socially isolating, anxiety provoking years, the value of such conviviality can’t be overstated.

In case you’ve never been to a Lux, let me give some background. For six months every winter Kirkness & Gorie collaborate with the Lynnfield Hotel to organise a series of special dinners. We dreamt up the idea some years ago, shortly after Malcolm and Lorna moved in from Westray to take over the Lynnfield. Keen to establish the reputation of their dining experience – and to fill the restaurant on a quiet November night – we decide to organise a special evening of unusually good wines, and a unique menu to match. My job would be to introduce each wine as it was poured, saying a little about where it came from, who made it, and the food choice.

The name we came up with was both a pun on luxury, and also the Latin word for light. We reckoned that in the middle of a long dark winter, some luxurious light would be welcome.

Before the first Lux was over, guests were asking if they could book for the next one. This caused Malcolm and me some confusion, as we’d never considered doing it more than once. A whispered conversation in the dining room resulted in us deciding to stage Luxes once a month for as long as people wanted to attend them. That turned out to be quite a while. Malcolm pointed out last night that we’d just finished our fifteenth season. (Both shop and hotel are too busy with visitors from Easter onwards to manage summer Luxes.)

Our initial plan of holding a Lux once a month from October to March had to be altered after a few years, as the Saturday nights were selling out so quickly. Since 2012 we’ve done the last Friday in each month as well as the last Saturday. This year, despite the depredations of Covid and the inevitable cancellations, the Luxes have been busier than ever. In fact, we had to squeeze in two extra nights in both February and March to accommodate demand.

All this popularity creates a lot of work, of course. My part is relatively light: I research a theme, often based on an area I have visited: Cool Climate Spain, for instance, or Rare Wines of New Zealand. And I suggest food of the region that would flatter the wines.

The Lynnfield does the heavy lifting, designing and refining the menu, and, on the night, preparing and serving to 60 guests simultaneously seven or eight high quality dishes – entirely different from anything they’ve done at any previous Lux.

As we said goodbye on Saturday night, one of the friendly and efficient waiting staff wondered how many glasses she and her colleagues had washed and polished at Luxes over the years. Well, we’ve done about 180 Luxes, with an average of 50 guests. And each guest usually gets seven glasses. Giving a grand total of 63,000 glasses!

That’s not just 63,000 glasses of wine. It’s 63,000 life-affirming moments of pleasure and conviviality. And I will happily raise glass number 63,001 to that.

Lynnfield Luxes have finished for the season. It seems highly likely we will start a new round from the end of October. Advance booking is possible via The Lynnfield on 01856 872505 if you are very keen. Or watch social media and press for announcements nearer the time.

This diary appeared in The Orcadian on 30th March. A new one appears weekly. I post them in this blog a few days after each newspaper appearance, with added illustrations., and occasional small corrections or additions.