Festival of food showcasing all that’s best from Scotland

BUYING food and drink grown and produced in Scotland is more important to consumers than ever – but there is still work to be done – says the Scottish Government.

Speaking at the launch of Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight, rural affairs secretary Richard Lochhead said people were increasingly conscious of where their food was coming from.

And he said the growth in farmers’ markets and the prominence of Scottish celebrity chefs had helped reconnect people with the wonders of Scotland’s natural larder.

“People are much more likely to think in terms of fresh sea food, red meat or locally grown berries when they think about Scottish food – rather than thinking of some of the deep fried things we may have been famous for in the past. It is very exciting.”

In a YouGov poll, 79 per cent of Scots believed buying local food was important to support the local economy while 54 per cent said they would like to see more Scottish food available in supermarkets.

When eating out, 43 per cent of Scots said they liked to see locally grown and produced food on the menu.

The chief executive of industry body Scotland Food and Drink, James Withers, said: “I think there has been a bit of a food revolution in Scotland but we are really looking to step up both home and abroad.

“Scotland is now the third biggest producer in the world of salmon. We have got French people looking to buy Scottish cheese, Japanese people wanting Scottish fish. There is a growing awareness around the world of what is coming out of Scotland.

“We are not about mass production, we are not about low cost but we do quality really well.

“Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight is about rasing awareness in Scotland about the food being grown on their doorsteps. We have more than 200 events taking place across the country, including cooking lessons, tea parties, farmers markets. There are things going on everywhere from Kirkwall to Stranraer.”

Other events taking place as part of the government-­supported initiative include the Dundee Flower and Food Festival and the first ever Taste Ayrshire Festival – which runs across the county from today until 
9 September. This year Edinburgh airport is also getting in on the act, offering thousands of passengers the chance to taste Scottish products.

At a breakfast launch event in Edinburgh this week, Michelin starred chef Tom Kitchin joined Lochhead and Withers to hand out meat pies, pots of porridge, home made cakes and artisan apple juice to shoppers in the city centre.

Kitchin said he thought Scotland’s relationship with food was changing.

He said: “Little by little, things are changing.

“If you look at Edinburgh, it ranks alongside London as one of the foodie destinations of the UK.

“But it is not just about fancy restaurants. You have people going to farmers’ markets, maybe buying something like a partridge that they haven’t cooked before. They can ask the person they buy it from for advice then take it home and cook it, put their heart and soul into it,

“That gives people a lot of 
satisfaction. The more people do that the more they discover they really enjoy it.”