Stephen Jardine: Just because it's a big event does not mean the food on offer should be below par

IN A generation, Scottish food has been transformed from a deep-fried joke into a cornerstone of our economy with one in five jobs depending on it.

Food has never been more important to Scotland with our produce in demand all over the world. In the weeks and months ahead, this column will celebrate our successes, but also castigate our failures.

With this being the middle of summer, we start outside. Eating in the open air should be one of life's great pleasures. This weekend, Scots are spoilt for choice with Taste of Edinburgh and the Scottish Game Fair both offering innovative and exciting eating out opportunities.

But, sadly, this is still an exception with food just behind the weather as the big disappointment at Scotland's outdoor summer events.

Last month's Mountain Bike World Cup event at Fort William was a case in point.

It's one of Scotland's best organised and most popular outdoor events, attracting 20,000 fitness-orientated visitors to Nevis Range, but the food on offer was a disappointment.

Chips and chicken chow mein anyone? Gulp. Stoat's porridge and a haggis van tried to redress the balance, but the overall food experience wasn't great.

It's a familiar story played out at Highland Games events, pop festivals and mass sponsored runs. Almost every weekend this summer we're missing the chance to promote great Scottish food and drink at some kind of outdoor gathering.

Perthshire farmer Jim Fairlie noticed the problem for himself and decided to do something about it.

"At every music festival and outdoor event I attended it seemed like the food was an afterthought. I just got sick of eating rubbish and thought: 'Surely we can do better than this?'"

The founding member of Perth Farmers Market took his first tentative steps at T in the Park last year and was amazed by the response. "Everyone said the same thing: 'This is the best food at T in the Park,'" Fairlie recalls. "That confirmed what I'd thought: people want good food wherever they are."

This year, his Perthshire Farmers and Producers stall will be back at T in the Park offering a local, seasonal alternative to the cheap, industrial catering.

"The festival organisers have been really encouraging and have given us a good pitch this year so we're increasing our offering in response."

The menu next weekend features home-made burgers using beef from Jim's own herd and Shepherds pie with lamb from his own flock.

As the brother of chef Andrew Fairlie, who holds two Michelin stars at his restaurant at Gleneagles, Jim is determined to prove good food can be for everyone. "Demanding decent food isn't elitist - even a simple well made burger can be worthy of a Michelin star. We need to change things and outdoor events full of young people are the perfect place to start."

That message is spreading. Last weekend, seasonal Scottish produce was being served up at the Highland Show for the first time ever.Heather Anderson and her team from Whitmuir Organics pushed aside the commercial catering conglomerates to serve up decent, local, honest food like Galloway beef stew, pear barley risotto and Cream O' Galloway ice cream.

For a small business it was a huge undertaking, but Heather said it was worth it: "The food was good and very well received; in fact, people said it was too good for the Royal Highland Show!"

That speaks volumes. We don't expect much from the catering at our big outdoor events.

Much-needed improvements are now underway, but it's up to us all to demand the best and walk away from the worst.