Updated 1/2/24 with the launch date
Gregg Boyd has been on a one-man mission to spread the joy of Scottish food to Londoners. He started as a stallholder Auld Hag in Dalston selling bowls of haggis, neeps and tatties. Now he's about to open a permanent 'shoap' - that's Scottish slang for shop - in Islington.
"When I moved to London I couldn't believe Scottish food wasn't readily available," he explains. "Where could I get a roll and square sausage or a Scotch pie or a can of Tennent's? Where was all of our incredible produce like cheese, soft fruit, seafood and beef? This is where the idea of Auld Hag was born."
To that end, the shop on St John Street will serve up Glasgow morning rolls baked in-house and filled with Scottish produce from filled with the likes of square sausage and tattie scones, alongside pork and black pudding sausage rolls. Even drinks are fully Scottish with coffee made from beans sourced from Caora Dhubh Coffee Company on the Isle of Skye as well as beer from a range of breweries across Scotland and soft drinks from Rapscallion based in Glasgow.
Towards spring, the many will change even more, as he'll be making soup like Cullen Skink or lentil and smoked ham hock soup and the odd special like that haggis with tattie puree. Sweet stuff also gets a look-in with shortbread, Dundee cake, Ecclefechan tarts and tablet on the menu.
The Shoap will also open in the evenings come spring. for drinks and Scottish snacks. Added to the menu then will be Mince on Toast - slow-cooked Aberdeen Angus beef mince on a toasted piece of plain loaf - and Ayrshire langoustines with garlic butter.
On top of the deli items, Scottish folk who are homesick for their favourite foods will be able to buy everything from Stornoway black pudding to Mackie's crisps and charcuterie from East Coast Cured in Leith.
When it opens, the Islington shop is supposed to look like "a farm shop in the highlands but you’ve plonked it into Islington". It all sounds like a perfect addition to Islington to us.
More about The Shoap
Where is it? 406 St John Street, London EC1V 4ND
When does it open? 9 February 2024
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @auldhag_
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