Food and farming take centre stage at Royal Highland Show

Published on Thursday 23 June 2011 16:07

A WEEKEND of events showcasing the best in Scottish farming, food and the countryside is under way as more than 38,000 people flocked to the Royal Highland Show yesterday.

Guests on the opening day included First Minister Alex Salmond, Countryfile presenter Adam Hansen, rural affairs secretary Richard Lochhead and Treasury Secretary Danny Alexander. The annual show, which runs until Sunday at Ingliston in Edinburgh, is Scotland's largest outdoor event and is expected to pull in 185,000 visitors throughout the weekend.

Spokeswoman Judith O'Leary said the children's discovery centre had been a big hit.

She said: "We expected around 15,000 children across the whole weekend but I think most of them were here on the first day - we had a lot of visits from schools.

"There's so much do to in the discovery centre, including the children's cookery theatre, which has been going down well so far."

Celebrity chef Lady Claire Macdonald gave cookery demonstrations at the Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) stand, tempting crowds with some of their favourite pork, beef and lamb recipes. Lady Claire runs the Michelin-starred Kinloch Lodge restaurant and hotel on the Isle of Skye and won this year's National Farmers' Union Scotland Ambassador Award.

She said: "Here in Scotland we have got the best beef, lamb and pork in the world.

"Our cattle and sheep are mostly grass-fed and you can taste the difference - grass-fed meat is healthier too."

Joining Lady Claire on the QMS stand was Chris Capaldi, also known as Glen, the star of the Scotch Beef advertising campaigns.