PHOTOGRAPHY Courtesy of Kestin
The first time I heard the name Auld Hag, I was sent an Instagram post from a fellow Scot living in London. It was during the first pandemic lockdown, and as much as I missed artisanal foods and trying new restaurants, I missed home even more. Food can send us back in time, reconnecting with our identities and, in turn, bringing us comfort – which many of us needed more than ever during the uncertainty of neverending restrictions – but Scots have long been left out the dinner party, relegated to a reputation of disgust and deep-fried stereotypes.
The aforementioned Instagram post featured Scotland’s holy grail – a welcoming bowl of haggis, tatties and crispy neeps, topped with salsa verde and stuffed within a humble cardboard to-go bowl. The highland feast quickly became Auld Hag’s bestseller, taking the business from a home delivery service to a routinely sold-out pop-up and countless collaborations, all the way to serving up for the Scottish Government.
For Auld Hag founder Gregg Boyd, the success of his home-cooked scran was just the beginning. Having forged relationships with a number of native suppliers, Boyd could see there was a gaping market in London for an authentic, artisanal Scottish delicatessen.
“There was a need to show people the soft drinks made using Scottish soft fruit; the chocolate made in the east end of Glasgow and all the home comforts us Scottish folk miss away from home,” he explains. “There was a need for the Shoap.”
Following a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised over £40,000, The Shoap opened its doors in Angel this February. Packed with local produce, from Glasgow’s Bare Bones chocolate and Leith’s East Coast Cured meats to my childhood local dairy, Mackie’s, the shelves are overflowing with Gaelic goodness. The Shoap also operates a cafe, serving classic favourites like Macaroni pies, bridies, and plenty of fine pieces, making it an ideal destination for a midweek pick-me-up or a hungover Sunday breakfast. Or, you can just pop in for a coffee – made exclusively with locally sourced beans and milk, of course.
What stands out in Auld Hag, aside from its impressive array of products, is the pride Boyd takes in each item on offer. With an encyclopedic knowledge of Scotland’s culinary history and a recommendation for just about everything, Auld Hag’s Shoap is a true home away from home for any Scots living ‘down South’, and the ideal destination for first-timers to expand their culinary curiosity.
Following a successful opening weekend, we caught up with The Shoap owner Gregg Boyd.
Firstly, congrats on opening The Shoap. How are you feeling, and did you do anything to celebrate?
It’s all feeling surprisingly normal – I’ve imagined setting up the Shoap for so long that it feels like normal life already in a good way. Funnily enough, we haven’t even had a proper toast to it yet but we will do soon when it all settles down.
I know Auld Hag was inspired by your experience moving to London and struggling to find Scottish scran. What food or drink did you miss the most, and do you have any particular memories of enjoying these items back in Glasgow?
I think that people who haven’t been to Scotland don’t realise how culturally significant some foods are. There’s food in Scotland that’s just part of daily life – like a filled morning roll with square sausage for breakfast – that you couldn’t get in London until we opened the Shoap. I’m from Glasgow so I really missed a morning roll but it varies so much across Scotland whether that be a type of baked good or a particular cheese or proper scallops or black pudding or even a type of jam. I always remember having a piece of burnt toast (aye, we love to burn bread on purpose – see well-fired rolls) with my granny’s lemon curd and we now try to recreate memories like that in our own baking.
What misconceptions about Scottish food have you encountered since serving in London?
The common misconception is that Scottish food is one-dimensional – fried. There’s a lot of stigma and even insult around Scottish food because we fry stuff which I find bizarre. Italy, Spain and France all fry a load but people recognise it forms part of a wider cuisine. It’s the same in Scotland. The irony is that a lot of the seafood people eat when they go to those countries is actually from Scotland alongside fantastic beef, cheese, whisky and even cereals now which is a really strong export market.
I think that people who haven’t been to Scotland don’t realise how culturally significant some foods are.
Gregg Boyd
At what stage running food stalls did you decide that it was time for The Shoap?
The Shoap was the goal from the very start when I really got into food around 15 years ago. I was only 16, inspired by a couple of cooking programs on TV – which obviously isn’t the reality – and ultimately, I ended up going down a different path by going to Uni in Edinburgh but I worked part-time in a shop learning about local produce. It took me 4 years at Uni and 7 years of living in London to finally set it up. I spent around 1.5 years trading at weekend markets before taking on a 6-month residency at a brewery serving up food over winter. At the end of all of that, I felt I had to commit to a bricks-and-mortar site and give it a go.
What items are you especially excited to be stocking?
I really like stocking items from new businesses in Scotland that are exploring new areas entirely for Scottish food and drink – chocolate and coffee for example. Granted, we can’t grow cacao or coffee in Scotland but we’ve got some fantastic product there because of the expertise. Caora Dhubh in Skye is where we get our coffee from and Jamie has really smashed the brand and process. Likewise, Lara and Cam at Bare Bones in Glasgow have such a good product and are being recognised for it now more than ever including by Rick Stein.
For visitors who aren’t well versed in Scottish culinary culture, what can they expect from The Shoap?
Customers can expect to feel the warmth of Scottish hospitality – including a conversation with a stranger, no doubt – with a freshly baked morning roll filled with Scottish produce, a well-made coffee and a wee drink. They’ll then be able to leave with a bag of Scottish produce including smoked fish, charcuterie, cheese, oatcakes and a pack of tattie scones for good measure.
Do you have any future plans for The Shoap that you can share?
The goal is to open a couple of Shoaps to increase our capacity to stock more suppliers from across Scotland and ultimately get to a point where we can help distribute the fantastic produce I’m always going on about. The biggest challenge is moving produce from Scotland to England for us at the moment so over time, we want to make this easier for all.
The Shoap is open to visit at 406 St John St, London EC1V 4ND, Wednesday – Saturday, 8am til 8pm.
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