Lorraine Dunnet - Owner Of The Quiet Piggy

19th June 2006

An old Gaelic proverb says that the quiet piggy eats the most and that's where Lorraine Dunnett got the name of her Helmsdale restaurant. But ask who enjoys living in Sutherland the most and you might be hard pushed to better the choice of this Maltese national who has made it her home from home.

Married with a young girl and boy, Lorraine explains her attraction to the area: "My husband and I used to come and visit family he had here and I just fell in love with the place. This is definitely the best area I can relate to in terms of community, the people and the way they regard life.

"And certainly the freedom we have here is special. We feel really safe and secure here - we almost feel as though we don't have to lock our doors, it's perfect. The children can walk down the street and visit a neighbour without our worrying all the time and that's a key factor, it makes our entire life comfortable and I absolutely love it.

"There is a fantastic nursery near where the restaurant is based and the schooling here is so easy to access. There are also children from England and even Rumania now joining the same place as my kids. I've always been very welcome here as well. At the nursery the staff have even asked what is the Maltese national food and tried to make something like our national dish for a snack there.

The Quiet Piggy restaurant provides a coffee and tea atmosphere with home baking in the morning; a wide choice of meals at lunchtime; and then a full á la carte menu in the evenings which draws on the very best of fresh local produce.

Locals who live within a wide radius of Helmsdale, as well as numerous tourists, frequent the Quiet Piggy. This means it is open seven days a week in the summer and six in the winter.

Says Lorraine: "Obviously my hours can be quite long but there is a great after-school club for the children. It is very important to have good support like that."

But it's certainly not all work for the Dunnett family. "If you like the countryside there is no limit to what you can do," says Lorraine. "There's beautiful beaches and lovely walks. You can go fishing or play golf and we're not far from the city of Inverness. My children are always out!

"We have friends from Malta and England who love to visit here. Many of them would like to move here - life is so much cheaper. I don't see myself ever going back to Malta and though I will always have a base there, I will always live here."