The Three Chimneys as we know it today has very humble origins which many of our patrons do not know about. Originally a small white washed cottage which for many years served as a small village shop. It was not until 1960 when Peter Talbot, Joy's husband at the time inherited the cottage from his grandfather, when its connection to food began. At first the house needed a lot of love and attention to restore it to a livable condition. Once this was achieved they have made it their home and moved in along with their son Robin. They had three more children; Ewen, Muriel and Mary. After Muriel was born Joy decided to transform the section of the house which served as the shop into a Tea Room and named it the Three Chimneys.

Originally established in late 1960's as a Tea Room, serving tea, cakes, scones and shortbread (which we will talk about more in our next blog) to aplenty of passing tourists.

Here is our Head Chef Scott Davies with Joy Talbot.

Above is a picture of what the Three Chimneys Tea Room used to look like back in the day. Pic. courtesy of Joy Talbot.

Simple wooden tables, chairs and white table cloths. Initial setup of the Tea Room. Pic. courtesy of Joy Talbot.

One day Joy was asked if she could offer something a bit more substantial. Bacon and eggs was the only thing Joy had in the fridge at the time but it was very well received and appreciated by a hungry patron. From this point onwards Joy decided to expand the menu and started serving light lunches and high teas. The Three Chimneys was fast becoming a very busy spot, serving tourists, many of which were heading to the famous Neist Point which until this day is know as one of the best fishing spots in Scotland.

Lobsters, cod, haddock, mackerel, were so abundant back then and the local fishermen used to bring it in. Joy would often stay up until 1am preparing it all to be ready for the next day. The menu was very simple. Joy says "it was mostly all fish and seafood, very little else - lobster salad, salmon salad, cod and mackerel. Mackerel and chips was priced at 80p at the time". Working with local fishermen and crofters, The Three Chimneys quickly became synonymous with the best of the abundant local produce, which was served simply, allowing the the ingredients to tell their own story.

People kept coming back to The Three Chimneys, as the food was so fresh, local and affordable. It was hard work but also great fun for Joy. Joy and Peter decided to sell The Three Chimneys in the mid 1970's. A number of years later Shirley and Eddie Speirs became the 3rd owners of this, by now a very popular restaurant and they continued to operate it until the sale to The Wee Hotel Company in 2019.