Born on January 25, 1759, in relative poverty on his parents’ tenancy farm in Ayrshire, Robert Burns came to manhood during the age of the Scottish Enlightenment, a period rich in achievement in the arts and science. His own contribution as a romantic poet and lyricist was such that he influenced later poets such as Wordsworth, Coleridge and Shelley.
On January 25, or, for practical reasons, often the nearest Saturday, Burns Night is celebrated all over the globe, wherever there are expatriate Scots and those who appreciate all things Hibernian, from the whisky to the haggis.
It is always an evening of ceremony, with the master of ceremonies giving thanks for Burns’ life and then Burns’ Grace at Kircudbright, more often known as the Selkirk Grace, would be offered.
The full works for the evening include the haggis being piped in, or at least to the playing of appropriate music, and then a brave person recites Burns’ famous Address to a Haggis.
This is usually done after the first course has been removed. Malt whisky is the traditional accompaniment, and in our house it is always an Islay malt in honour of my grandmother who was born there.
At the end of the meal, various toasts are made, a toast to the lassies and, in response, a toast to the ladies.
Poetry, music and a short story may follow, and then traditional Scottish dancing. By which time one might almost be ready for porridge and a wee dram for breakfast.
The traditional Burns’ Night menu is cock-a-leekie soup, followed by the haggis, served with neeps and tatties, which are turnips, or swede, and potatoes, boiled and mashed separately and mixed with milk, butter and seasoning. The steamed pudding known as the clootie dumpling, often served with a whisky sauce, is served for dessert. But of course, variations on the meal are allowed.
I sometimes serve jellied cock-a- leekie, either as a terrine or set in soup plates or a barley broth.
The first course might be Scotch salmon in one guise or another, a platter of smoked salmon, my Islay-cured salmon gravad-lax style, which sometimes I vary with tea-cured salmon, or perhaps salmon in pastry.
My version of the haggis is usually a cottage pie-style edition. Hachis parmentier, a Parisian bistro favourite, is often made with black pudding and mashed potatoes. Mine made with haggis, is just as good. Serve your best malt whisky with it.
And for pudding, I would serve cranachan, a cream, honey and toasted oatmeal dessert flavoured with whisky, or Tipsy Laird, which is a trifle flavoured with whisky instead of sherry and often contains raspberries, for which Scotland is famous.
At this time of year, they will have to be frozen. Before that, to finish any red wine, I would serve a selection of Scottish cheeses.
There are, I know, many who would hold that the cheese should follow dessert, in the English fashion, but I am convinced that, through the Auld Alliance, the Scots would have followed the French way of serving the cheese first, so that one leaves the table with a sweet taste.