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Between Two Waters: Heritage, Landscape and the Modern Cook
When world-class chef Pam first opened Inver, her restaurant on the shores of Loch Fyne, she set out to discover what makes 'modern Scottish food' - or if it even existed. This book traces Pam's journey to answer that question and in doing so reveals what we can all gather from our culinary heritage. Part memoir, part manifesto on the future of feeding the world and a feminist critique of the food business, it documents the difficult early days of her now multiple award-winning restaurant, reflecting on how the immersive experience of 'destination restaurants' can both help and hinder our understanding of wider land and food culture.
From the soil to the kitchen, Between Two Waters interrogates the influences on what we eat: capitalism, colonialism and gender, as well as our own personal and cultural histories. Yet it also captures with real heart all that the dinner table has to offer us: sustenance, both physical and imaginative, challenges and adventure and, most importantly, communion with others.
More than anything, it is a blisteringly original work from one of the world's most innovative thinkers about food, sustainability and landscape.
From the soil to the kitchen, Between Two Waters interrogates the influences on what we eat: capitalism, colonialism and gender, as well as our own personal and cultural histories. Yet it also captures with real heart all that the dinner table has to offer us: sustenance, both physical and imaginative, challenges and adventure and, most importantly, communion with others.
More than anything, it is a blisteringly original work from one of the world's most innovative thinkers about food, sustainability and landscape.
- GenresNonfictionFood
304 pages, Hardcover
Published January 21, 2025
17 people are currently reading
210 people want to read
About the author
Pam Brunton
1 book2 followersPam Brunton is the acclaimed Scottish chef behind Inver restaurant on Loch Fyne, which celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2025. Inver has won countless awards and is a recipient of the Green Michelin Star praising sustainability alongside world-class food. Prior to opening Inver, she worked at heavyweight restaurants all around the world. Pam holds an MSc in Food Policy from City University and spent four years working with food campaign groups Sustain, the alliance for better food and farming, and the Soil Association.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 16, 2025
"Landscape cuisine is all about how we choose to use land. It's about eliminating waste, and confining our consumption of meat and seafood to that which we know will contribute to local and global ecologies, not dismantle them."
Between Two Waters is a recipe.
The overarching idea? Is that the book serves as a journal of sorts from Pam Brunton, a restaurant owner in Scotland. It's an amalgamation of various trains of thought that somewhat connect to her and her restaurant.
In this small book you'll find topics such as: Colonization, the history of where the restaurant is, food deserts, the global food economy, recipes, personal biography, gender in the kitchen, Ingredients sourced at the restaurant and their history, gastronomy, critique of capitalism, and more. It's like a recipe with various ingredients to make one interesting dish.
Unfortunately, sometimes it was hard for me to tie these random points to the main story that Brunton was trying to tell. But I think we'd be friends and I hope one day I'll make it there to the restaurant.
Quotes:
"what constitutes 'normal' in Scotland these days are dishes from countries whose links to Scotland are via their people or their trade relationships, not their immediate geography."
"molecular colonization - the effect of modern diet and food customs on indigenous digestive and mental wellbeing"
"food culture is culture. Accepting a people's or a person's food is one of the most powerful ways we have of making them feel at home. Refusing the communion of dinner is the loudest slam of a door"
"how much rainforest is it okay to eat?"
"it's hard to take seriously claims that there are too many people for the planet to feed, when waste on this scale is systemic."
Between Two Waters is a recipe.
The overarching idea? Is that the book serves as a journal of sorts from Pam Brunton, a restaurant owner in Scotland. It's an amalgamation of various trains of thought that somewhat connect to her and her restaurant.
In this small book you'll find topics such as: Colonization, the history of where the restaurant is, food deserts, the global food economy, recipes, personal biography, gender in the kitchen, Ingredients sourced at the restaurant and their history, gastronomy, critique of capitalism, and more. It's like a recipe with various ingredients to make one interesting dish.
Unfortunately, sometimes it was hard for me to tie these random points to the main story that Brunton was trying to tell. But I think we'd be friends and I hope one day I'll make it there to the restaurant.
Quotes:
"what constitutes 'normal' in Scotland these days are dishes from countries whose links to Scotland are via their people or their trade relationships, not their immediate geography."
"molecular colonization - the effect of modern diet and food customs on indigenous digestive and mental wellbeing"
"food culture is culture. Accepting a people's or a person's food is one of the most powerful ways we have of making them feel at home. Refusing the communion of dinner is the loudest slam of a door"
"how much rainforest is it okay to eat?"
"it's hard to take seriously claims that there are too many people for the planet to feed, when waste on this scale is systemic."
November 5, 2024
Inver is one of our favourite restaurants, Judith and I love the setting and the glorious food cooked by Pam, Rob and the team.
This part memoir and part manifesto, it seeks to tackle issues around identity, sustainability and diversity.
It doesn’t always work but at its core there’s an important message worth listening to.
This part memoir and part manifesto, it seeks to tackle issues around identity, sustainability and diversity.
It doesn’t always work but at its core there’s an important message worth listening to.
July 18, 2025
Between Two Waters is one part food memoir, one part commentary on land use in Scotland, and two parts discussion of (mostly) Scottish food culture. It’s a thought-provoking book that explores diverse avenues related to food—farming, foraging, food preparation, food conservation, cooking, and eating. Author Pam Brunton, born in Scotland, owns and operates the restaurant Inver, located on the shore of Loch Fyne, a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland. Brunton also studied food politics at university—all of which makes her an authentic voice on the subject of Scottish food culture.
I enjoyed many of Brunton’s insights. One in particular was her thesis about food and its link to national identity. Brunton explores this concept at the beginning of her book by posing the question and then exploring the answers to "What exactly is Scottish food?" The discussion made me think of my own identity related to food—I’m Canadian by birth, so what is Canadian food? Some might say poutine with French fries, yet poutine is more regional fare specific to French Canada. Other Canadians might suggest cod (a significant historical fish resource of Canada), though cod is also regional, specific to the Maritime provinces. Still others might say apple pie served with a slice of cheddar cheese, or maybe even pecan pie—both favorites at Thanksgiving (typically in the province of Ontario), or, God forbid, some might even say it's beer (a food by many Canadians' standards). The question of food as it relates to national identity is worthy of consideration for all.
I also enjoyed Brunton’s argument that food shapes our world (p. 153). She suggests food has the potential to solve communal problems and, importantly, connect us to the people and to the land that grows our food. The latter, she highlights, is only felt when consumers can connect to where their food is from—where it was grown or raised, or better yet, know the people who cultivated and raised it. I agree with her argument that most consumers are very much disconnected from the food they eat. Our food's origin is not a grocery store. This idea of food and its connection to the land links to another point Brunton makes, which is the idea of respecting our food. Brunton shares how she uses all parts of an animal, fish, or vegetable at her restaurant. Her actions support the underlying message of the book: that we need to care about and respect what the land that provides. I did think twice recently when making dinner—should I really throw away those extra chicken bits I cut away for a recipe I was making? I didn’t and ended up saving the meat scraps and frying them for the next day’s lunch to add to a salad. It’s small changes like these that Brunton advocates for.
“Landscape cuisine is an imaginative reconnection of human cooks and eaters to the land where everything starts. The land is a time chariot, connecting us all through time as through space.” (p. 265)
At times, Brunton’s writing followed too many tangents; clarity was lost. Still, the book is full of wisdom and insights about food and the land it comes from. It's a very worthwhile read.
I enjoyed many of Brunton’s insights. One in particular was her thesis about food and its link to national identity. Brunton explores this concept at the beginning of her book by posing the question and then exploring the answers to "What exactly is Scottish food?" The discussion made me think of my own identity related to food—I’m Canadian by birth, so what is Canadian food? Some might say poutine with French fries, yet poutine is more regional fare specific to French Canada. Other Canadians might suggest cod (a significant historical fish resource of Canada), though cod is also regional, specific to the Maritime provinces. Still others might say apple pie served with a slice of cheddar cheese, or maybe even pecan pie—both favorites at Thanksgiving (typically in the province of Ontario), or, God forbid, some might even say it's beer (a food by many Canadians' standards). The question of food as it relates to national identity is worthy of consideration for all.
I also enjoyed Brunton’s argument that food shapes our world (p. 153). She suggests food has the potential to solve communal problems and, importantly, connect us to the people and to the land that grows our food. The latter, she highlights, is only felt when consumers can connect to where their food is from—where it was grown or raised, or better yet, know the people who cultivated and raised it. I agree with her argument that most consumers are very much disconnected from the food they eat. Our food's origin is not a grocery store. This idea of food and its connection to the land links to another point Brunton makes, which is the idea of respecting our food. Brunton shares how she uses all parts of an animal, fish, or vegetable at her restaurant. Her actions support the underlying message of the book: that we need to care about and respect what the land that provides. I did think twice recently when making dinner—should I really throw away those extra chicken bits I cut away for a recipe I was making? I didn’t and ended up saving the meat scraps and frying them for the next day’s lunch to add to a salad. It’s small changes like these that Brunton advocates for.
“Landscape cuisine is an imaginative reconnection of human cooks and eaters to the land where everything starts. The land is a time chariot, connecting us all through time as through space.” (p. 265)
At times, Brunton’s writing followed too many tangents; clarity was lost. Still, the book is full of wisdom and insights about food and the land it comes from. It's a very worthwhile read.
May 3, 2025
Loved learning so much from Pam in this book - very talented writer - gorgeous writing, thoughts, & description threaded throughout the pages - thankyou so much for sharing your knowledge on Scottish land, & food policies, thankyou for mentioning all the insightful ppl who have been part of our journey, this book will be a source of reference, living & breathing to scoop off the shelf time & again; 'Sustain' - this look fantastic, & Land in our names (LION) - thankyou for donating a portion of proceeds towards
March 11, 2025
4.5 stars rounded up. An interesting combination of food, sustainability, geography, history and politics, but sometimes it didn't seem to quite gel. Also there were few errors that should've been picked up during editing, e.g. Lyme's disease should be Lyme disease.
July 8, 2025
Absolutely loved this delight of a book from the chef behind Scottish restaurant Inver. A beautifully written reminder about the importance of how our everyday food choices has the ability to shape our future ecological and personal health. LOOOVE!
February 21, 2025
Huge promise at the start, but in its quest to cover every political aspect - and rightly so - it somehow never returned to the food itself.
February 26, 2025
more food writing like this please
April 7, 2025
Audiobook
June 2, 2025
superb.
September 13, 2025
I loved how the author weaved the philosophical, historical and personal stories of her heritage. I liked how she addressed how much colonization impacted what makes modern Scottish food too.
September 19, 2025
A difficult read at times but an important one which looks at the history and effects of our food choices all focused around Pam Brunton's restaurant in the Scottish Highlands.
September 28, 2024
Intimate and informative.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews