With the world on pause, and so much of life shrunk to the size of our living rooms, one of the biggest joys (and consistencies) remains cooking and eating. With things being so upside down, now is more important than ever to support local businesses, many of whom have had to completely pivot their entire structures in a matter of weeks to adapt to this strange new world, offering new services and figuring out logistics on the fly.

So to make life easier (and to help you avoid scrolling to p22 of a Google search.. thanks algorithm of doom), I’ve rounded up local businesses, indys and start-ups offering home delivery across Scotland (as well as those currently just operating in Glasgow, Edinburgh or East Lothian) to tide us over while we stay home to keep each other safe from COVID-19.

So whether you are exploring new dishes (hello bread-making), getting creative to substitute ingredients you can’t find at the moment or just baking the ubiquitous lockdown banana cake on a Groundhog Day loop, here are some of the loveliest places to order food and drinks in Scotland, to keep you fed and watered.

P.S. I’ve only included businesses currently taking on new customers - there are loads of fantastic farms and services usually offering deliveries but who aren’t able to expand their customer base just yet due to unprecedented demand. Keep checking back as I’ll update this list as I go along! If you yourself are offering a delivery service in Scotland, please let me know - I’d love to hear from you! xxx

Delivering Across The Central Belt (& further afield)…

Delivering in Glasgow…

Busy Bee Catering

Events caterer Busy Bee Catering have pivoted beautifully, creating thoughtful bespoke food packages and night-in 3-course meals for 2.

Other innovative options currently available to order include munchie snack boxes, oven ready toastie packages, ice cream sundae kits for two and more. Their comforting soup kits are perfect for working-from-home lunches, each including five fresh cartons of soup & freshly baked bread. Continental or Full English Breakfast boxes would make the most incredible birthday or anniversary treat. They also have great mixed produce fruit & veg boxes available to order.

Edit: Pictured above, their Childhood Nostalgia Dinner box (£50 - kindly gifted to me by founder Lucy as a press sample after I featured her snack boxes in the original version of this article). Tomato soup and grilled cheese to start, followed by the most succulent roast chicken and all the trimmings, with mango cheesecake and pimms jelly and cream to finish! It was truly delicious and I couldn’t believe how much work had gone into each component of the meal. Everything was perfectly cooked and I can’t recommend their meal boxes for 2 enough to make an evening at home feel really special.

Website / FB / Insta

Tableware pictured is by Clare V x Anthropologie: Maisonette Dinner Plate, Side Plates (currently only available on the US site), Glassware, Carafe & Mugs.

Delivering in Edinburgh…

The Free Company

The Free Company is a beautiful Farm at the foot of the Pentland Hills just outside Edinburgh, operating a really magnificent seasonal restaurant for seven months of the year. With guests not able to dine around the fire as usual, the team (including brothers Angus and Charlie who grew up on the family farm) have stepped up their market garden operations to provide their Veg Club members with fresh, organic fruit and veg year-round.

Incredibly sustainable, the farm produces chemical free vegetables with a net negative carbon impact and are building their own seed bank and maximising biodiversity.

Veg Club Membership is available on a weekly or fortnightly basis, with delivery to postcodes from EH1 to EH17 (collection directly from the farm is also possible).

Website / Insta

Delivering in East Lothian…

Wee Locals is a great site that’s just been launched to help connect communities and local businesses offering delivery services in East Lothian and Edinburgh. Check back as their database grows!

*I know that it is an immense privilege to be in a position to order delicious food parcels (and to have an address to order them to), with many in increasingly precarious situations at the moment. I have been following the absolutely amazing activities of charities such as Refuweegee and Social Bite and urge you to support their vital work or to do whatever you are able in your local area to support food banks and other organisations helping people in real, real difficulty. ❤️

My articles will always be free and accessible, but if my words, ideas & tips have been useful and you would like to, you can buy me a cup of coffee via Ko-Fi (a fantastic, secure platform to help you support writers and artists online). You are wonderful and it’s much appreciated. xx