Why water buffalo, of all things?

People ask me this constantly, usually with a raised eyebrow. Water buffalo? In Scotland?

Here's the thing. Water buffalo thrive on exactly the wet, grassy, temperate ground that Scotland has in abundance and that a lot of livestock finds hard going. They're hardy, they're calm, and they turn rough grazing into some of the best meat you'll ever eat — leaner than beef, higher in protein and iron, with a clean, slightly sweet flavour and none of the gaminess people expect.

And almost nobody here is doing it. A world-class ingredient, a landscape built for it, and an open field. When I noticed that, I couldn't un-notice it.

The buffalo I grew up next to, grazing under the Alps, planted the idea thirty years early. This is me finally acting on it.