Recently celebrating its 10th anniversary, MILK has gone from strength to strength since it first opened its doors on Morrison Street. Now with multiple venues across the city, MILK is a popular choice for many cafe lovers, especially those who enjoy nutritionally sound, seasonal and natural ingredients. Here we hear all about the journey so far – read on to find out more.
Please tell us more about yourselves and previous experience.
I grew up in Edinburgh, a Porty lass. After school I did a lot of travelling, lived in London for a bit, then onto Glasgow for 10 years. I moved to Glasgow to help my brother open a restaurant where I worked as the head chef serving up South East Asian cooking which I am really passionate about. In that time I also went back to college to study photography.
I had known my husband and other half of MILK Rod for a long time before we actually got together. We bumped into each other again on a late night bus back to Edinburgh as we had both recently moved to Glasgow. Rod was in a band at the time and ended up working at my brother’s restaurant between gigs. This is where we both gained our hospitality stripes and passion for good food.
In 2009 I set up as a freelance photographer and Mirrorbox with fellow photographer and friend Sequoia Hearne. Together we shoot wedding films and stills and I split the rest of my time shooting lifestyle, portraiture, and food photography.
Please tell us how the idea for MILK came about?
My husband Rod and I were keen to open our own place. We were both passionate about eating good, healthy, nutritious food so we knew that was going to be our theme.
We initially looked for property in Glasgow but the location we found fell through. We were really disappointed but then stumbled upon the Morrison Street location whilst on a trip to Edinburgh and we decided to move back and start our business in the city we both grew up in.
And do share more of your story so far….
We opened our second cafe in 2012 which was part of the Collective on Calton Hill. We then very quickly went onto to open up 3 other cafes at arts venues, Jupiter Artland, The Fruitmarket Gallery and Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop.
One of our biggest challenges and also achievements was running the cafe at Jupiter Artland. It’s such an amazing location but a real challenge to run such a busy place. Because of the location and seasonal opening times it is difficult to recruit enough staff so we found ourselves there most of the time. In our last year we managed gain a 5 star award from Visit Scotland which we were very proud of, our staff worked so hard to gain such a worthy achievement. We decided to bow out after our 4th year but we were so happy to leave on such a high.
In the past couple of years we have moved into a couple of Edinburgh office spaces setting up in-house cafes for staff who work in the building. We have been operating out of Orchard Brae House since 2019 and 2 weeks before the pandemic hit we started construction on a new office cafe at Tanfield in Stockbridge. This of course was the worse timing ever and we have had a brand new cafe sitting there ready to go for almost a year. We remain hopeful that we’ll get there soon enough.
Do you have a favourite MILK venue and if so which one and why?
I love all of our locations for different reasons but my favourite might be our West End cafe on Morrison Street. It is our original baby, we poured blood sweat and tears into the opening and getting it off the ground. I remember hours and hours of tiling and menu planning and hunting for the right suppliers.
Subsequent openings didn’t feel as hard as we had all of the ground work in place. It also has such a lovely vibe as it’s really small and intimate. We celebrated our first 10 years at MILK recently and it felt like we had come so far. We weren’t able to celebrate how we would have liked to because of Covid but none the less it felt like quite an achievement.
Nutritionally sound, seasonal and natural. This is the core premise for all things at MILK. How do you combine these fundamental principles to produce your delicious goods?
We try to make as little impact on the environment as possible by creating little waste and encouraging reusables for takeaway or compostable packaging. We also like to use local produce and local suppliers. We use organic whole foods wherever possible and try to incorporate as many health giving foods as we can. We have never claimed to be a health food cafe but more of a nutritious option. So at least you know if you are eating chocolate cake it will contain some of the finest ethically sourced produce and will probably contain, nuts, cereals and fruits that are good for you.
You choose to work with local suppliers and where possible traditionally farmed produce, why is this important and how difficult is it to source this type of produce?
I feel like it is much easier to source these items now than it was 10 years ago when we first opened. Using local, sustainable produce is at the core of our values and what we believe is the right way to eat. We are also very vegetable focused, using less meat and filling dishes with lots of healthy seasonal veggies.
And your carrot cake!! I think EVERYONE who tries it LOVES this tasty treat, why do you think this is? Is it a family recipe or a recent addition to the MILK cook book?
This cake is such a simple recipe but I guess the secret is quality ingredients. We make most of our cakes with rapeseed oil or olive oil rather than butter as it is healthier but also makes cake really moist, which is what you want a cake to be. I always suggest this cake to customers who are on the fence about ordering a piece of cake as it contains carrots and pumpkin seeds. As well as being a treat it also contains lots of healthy ingredients too.
We also recently had the pleasure of sampling the Mother’s Day Brunch Box and I must comment on the two stand-out items; rhubarb, pistachio and rose compote and granola and the orange, ginger and turmeric juice. They were both sensational. Where did the inspiration for these flavour combinations come from?
The first thing that inspires me to write a new menu is the seasons. The rhubarb in my garden is only just beginning to peep through the earth but farmers force the rhubarb to have an early spring crop. Forcing causes the stems to be tender and less acidic, meaning when poaching you can use less sugar. We gently poached it with some fresh thyme leaves and star anise until the stems just start to break down.
The rose and pistachio granola has a bit of a Middle Eastern vibe, which is a style of cuisine I really love. The colours also work great together with the rhubarb.
Adding turmeric and ginger to our orange juice gives it that perfect zing and nutritional boost which will set you up with good vibes for the rest of the day. It also makes a great base for a mimosa if that’s your thing!
Read the Mother’s Day Brunch Box Review here.
How has the business adapted due to Covid?
We have had to adapt our business quite dramatically since the pandemic. 3 out of 5 of our locations are currently closed. A big challenge for us was to try to keep hold of as many of our staff as possible by spreading them out over our open locations. We also started up a delivery service which was new to us. We deliver a seasonally changing lunch menu Tuesday to Friday and weekend brunch boxes to Edinburgh locals.
Are there any positives you’ve been able to take from the situation / experience that will influence the future of the business?
I think a positive to come out of the pandemic is the outdoors lifestyle which everyone has had to adapt to. As well as running our cafes we cater events and weddings and we are speaking to a lot of people about having outdoor gatherings where we will do the cooking outside over fire or in our giant gas powered paella pan. I love cooking outdoors over an open fire and I can’t wait to get stuck in. A year ago not many people would have considered having their wedding outdoors.
Please share your top tips for a first-time visitor to Edinburgh (under non-lockdown circumstances!)
Be prepared for all types of weather no matter the season and try to seek out local shops, cafes and restaurants rather than going to chains. You will get a much richer, genuine experience of what Edinburgh has to offer.
Where is your own Hidden Edinburgh?
Our favourite place to go in Edinburgh is Blackford hill. It’s on our doorstep which we have been extremely grateful for during the pandemic. There aren’t as many tourists as the top of Arthur’s Seat which can get a little crowded and the views are just as good. We recently estimated that our daughter Ramona has climbed Blackford hill around 300 times in her nine years!
Life Motto
Stay positive.
