Scotch lamb the real winner at 'culinary Olympics'

Scotch lamb will take centre stage later today as the main ingredient in what has been described as the culinary Olympics with chefs from 28 countries vying for the top award.

The Bocuse d'Or competition held at the massive Sirha catering industry exhibition close to Lyon in France is the most important of its type, attracting television coverage in more than 30 countries.

It is estimated that 10,000 chefs from around the world will watch the competitors cooking Scotch lamb innovatively as well as using Scottish Shellfish as part of an earlier course.

Laurent Vernet, head of marketing at Quality Meat Scotland, said "The great thing is that visitors and food journalists will hear the words Scotch Lamb over and over again.

"It is a great reputation-building exercise especially as the chefs here are representing the all-important food service industries."

Scotch lamb has long been highly valued in Europe, with exports of about 40 million recorded last year; a rise of 25 per cent on the previous year.

Scotland's Cabinet secretary Richard Lochhead said at the venue yesterday: "This is the top end of the market and that is exactly the sort of recognition I want to see. We cannot compete on quantity but we can on quality. It is clear from speaking to everyone here that the health of our stock and the environment in which they are produced are very important factors."

QMS had to make the case for lamb to be included in the competition two years ago and today's competition is the culmination of a major logistical exercise to make sure that 28 absolutely identical packs have been delivered in tip-top condition.

Bridge of Allan-based Scotbeef won the tendering process to supply the packs which include two short loins with kidneys attached, an oyster shoulder cut, sweetbreads and tongues.

Scotbeef director Simon Dowling was on hand yesterday. "This was a big job and started with sourcing and selection. We looked at between 200 and 400 carcases to make sure we had absolute uniformity," he said.

One of the producers, Andrew Morton, Lochend, Denny, was in Lyon yesterday to see the end product hitting the world stage. It has been a good couple of months for Morton who won the supreme championship at the 2010 Winter Fair at Ingliston.

The ten lambs which were selected from his consignment were 19 kg Beltex cross Mules grading U2 or U3L.