Farmer's wife reaps reward of oil deal

A FARMER'S wife who set up a business to keep busy while her husband brought in the harvest has landed a deal with one of Edinburgh's most prestigious restaurants.

Louise Elder's initial vision was to sell her homegrown rapeseed oil at farmers' markets near her Haddington farm in East Lothian.

Now, just four months after she launched Black & Gold, she has managed to win a contract to supply Harvey Nichols' Edinburgh restaurant, The Forth Floor.

"I concentrated on selling my product locally, to farmers' markets, restaurants and delicatessens. But I got so much complimentary feedback that I thought I would aim for the top and see what happened," she explained.

Stuart Muir, the youngest chef in Scotland to win a Michelin star and three AA rosettes, said: "I am passionate about using high-quality locally sourced food in my restaurant and we are delighted to have discovered such a gem of a supplier."

When Elder first started her business she asked her husband to put aside one tonne of rapeseed which, when cold-pressed, produces 800 bottles of oil.

However, with business boosted by the Harvey Nichols contract she has a further eight tonnes waiting to be turned into 6,400 bottles.

"It's brilliant - we are so delighted that a business that started on my kitchen table has turned into such a success," she said.