Scran Awards 2023: Nominate your favourite Scottish food and drink influencer of the year

At our new food and drink awards, we’re asking you to nominate who you think are the most influential foodies in Scotland.

Along with best Scottish restaurant and chef of the year, The Scotsman is looking for the stand-out online stars that help promote Scottish food and drink.

These nominees could range from promotion of whisky to the best recipes, and who is cultivating an audience and telling stories from our hospitality industry in the most engaging way. Nominations so far include Perthshire Foodie, who showcases Scottish cuisine and promote local ingredients.

Through their food photography and engaging captions, they highlight the best of what Scotland has to offer. Whether it is showcasing fresh seafood, fresh summer berries, hearty stews with scotch beef, or salads using mozzarella from Scotland's first buffalo mozzarella producer, Perthshire Foodie is a great source for foodies looking to discover the best of Scottish cuisine.

Through their Instagram account, they have helped to promote and raise awareness of the incredible diversity of Scotland's food culture. By showcasing local producers, chefs, and restaurants, they have helped to put Scotland's food scene on the map and attract tourists to the country.

This, in turn, has helped to support the Scottish food and drink industry and promote economic growth. This focus on local ingredients is particularly important in today's world, where sustainability and supporting local businesses have become increasingly important. They frequently collaborate with local producers and chefs, showcasing the incredible variety of ingredients available in Scotland. By doing so, they not only promote local businesses, but also highlight the importance of sustainability in the food industry.

If whisky is more your thing, then Whisky Sisters – Inka and Jennifer – are ones to tune in to.

Their namesake podcast aims to make whisky more accessible to all. The hosts are keen to make the point there are no right or wrong answers in whisky and, no matter where a person is in their whisky journey, whisky is for everyone and to be drunk as they please.

Long gone are those stuffy images of whisky drinkers, with Whisky Sisters here to change the stereotypes.

Many of the Whisky Sisters’ online listeners end up buying the products talked about on the podcast, sometimes even to sample them while listening to the episode. The Glasgow Distillery and Highland Park Episode have been the most popular so far, but they have featured several Scottish distilleries, sometimes with a guest from the venue. They offer backstories, ghost tales and pretty much any fun and entertaining information, as well as honest reviews.

The Scotsman Scran Awards recognise and reward those in the food and drink sector who are making a difference to the country. The title wants to hear about those fantastic members of the sector which should be recognised. Nominations can be made at www.scranawards.co.uk no later than May 19.

All finalists will be invited to attend a special awards ceremony on June 19 at Platform in Glasgow, run with the help of partner Benriach Distillery and category sponsors Scotch Whisky Association, Glasgow Distillery and Chef Works.