Airdrie Distillers win 49 Awards!
International Beverage Holdings (Inver house Distillers) is celebrating after winning an outstanding amount of honours in four separate international drinks competitions. The Airdrie-based distiller won 19 awards in the International Wine and Spirit Competition, 13 awards in the International Spirits Challenge, eight in the Beverage Testing Institute’s International Review of Spirits and nine in the Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Awards.
The company picked up 14 Gold, 25 Silver and 11 Bronze Medals for its Old Pulteney, anCnoc, Balblair, Speyburn, Hankey Bannister and Catto’s whiskies. In addition, Hankey Bannister scooped The William Grant Independence Trophy for its 40 year old blend.
The Grouse are flying out the Kitchen at Roxburghe Hotel
Within a few hours of the start of the Glorious 12th, the kitchens at Roxburghe Hotel near Kelso had their first delivery of grouse. As one of Scotland’s most popular country house hotels, the Roxburghe Hotel has access to prime game and produce from the Roxburghe Estate. For the start of the grouse season chef Alasdair Stewart and his team created an innovative dish for the hotel menu comprising roast Roxburghe Estates Grouse, bubble and squeak cake, parsnip puree with sweet pickled beetroot and piquant jus.
The Roxburghe Hotel sold out of grouse on the first night of the season. Roxburghe’s F&B Manager is quoted as saying: “Fantastic customer response – we could have sold another six portions easily. With only a couple of hours to prepare from the time the birds arrived, service from chef and his team was perfect. We had quite a few people who had never had grouse before enjoying this for the first time.”
The Roxburghe Country House Hotel is set in the heart of Scotland’s Border country. With its own championship golf course and a superb angling location on the banks of the River Tweed, the hotel is fast becoming a leisurely retreat with a growing reputation for good food expertly prepared by its young chef, Alasdair Stewart
The provenance of the food served is a key factor in the continued success of the Roxburghe restaurant.. As well as grouse and other game from the Roxburghe Estate, diners can enjoy heather-fed lamb from the nearby Rawburn Estate, locally smoked Teviot Smoked Salmon, fresh fish landed at Eyemouth and prime Scottish beef bought locally from St Boswell’s cattle market. As their contribution to Scotland Year of Food & Drink, Roxburghe Hotel and Estates plan to launch a new web site highlighting the provenance of their food and local food suppliers. Watch this space.
Duck’s Web – A Quacking Example
Web Site for Ducks at Kilspindie
As the Internet continues to develop and the value of social media grows it is refreshing to see examples of simple yet innovative use of the web emerging within the Taste-of-Scotland.com members. This is one I was lucky enough to stumble on last week.
With Facebook, Twitter, their Blog and a latest news panel this radiates confidence and clearly wants to communicate with existing and potential customers. As well as a page of positive client testimonials and a well stocked Photo Gallery, the Ducks at Kilspindie web site includes information on local visitor attractions and popular outdoor activities in the East Lothian area.
Perhaps the nicest surprise was Ducks newsletter. Full of interesting items and not the usual clutch of special offers this really highlights the energy that Ducks are putting into their online communications.
If Scotland’s tourist chiefs are to achieve anything in 2010 it would be to promote the benefits of good, clear customer communications and best practice for web site design. Duck’s is a quacking example.
Edinburgh’s Festival Spread for Foodies
Edinburgh’s Festival and it’s boisterous offspring The Fringe provide platforms on which our popular icons of culture, celebrity stardom, literary genius and theatrical wizardry delight audiences, woo agents and dodging the often caustic tirades of the critics.
For several years now the Edinburgh Foodies Festival has provided a similar platform for Edinburgh’s top chefs, Scotland’s food producers and a smattering of UK culinary stars.
For those lucky enough to be in Edinburgh on the 13th,14th and 15th of August there will be three days of events celebrating the finest in seasonal food and drink with tents, stalls and celebrity kitchens packed with budding chefs, interested bystanders and a large number of visitors like me who are eager to sample and snaffle our way round the food and drink on offer. Continue Reading >>
Edinburgh’s Holy Grail for the Ultimate in Italian Wine & Food
With the same enthusiasm, passion and a keen eye for fine food and wine that has built the reputations of the Vittoria and La Favorita restaurants, Tony Crolla and Sebastiano Ingaliso have transported the authentic flavours of Italy to Edinburgh and into their DIVINO ENOTECA – perhaps the holy grail for any food lover with a quest for the ultimate Italian wine and food experience.
Divino Enoteca literally translates as ‘Wine Library’ and is the newest wine and dining adventure to hit Scotland. Top Edinburgh restaurateur Tony Crolla has enlisted the help of award-winning Sommelier Mr Sebastiano Ingaliso to realise his dream of creating the best wine bar in the UK.
Divino Enoteca also features a technological first for Scotland – a state of the art wine dispenser that allows customers to sample around 200 of some of the world’s finest wines by the glass. The wines perfectly complement the selection of Italian foods on offer, such as fine cheeses, Salami and cured meats, olives, marinated vegetables and other delicacies that will be available from the bar.
The Taste-of-Scotland crew are looking forward to their first Divino Enoteca experience – watch this space!
BBC Food Awards 2010 – Nominations Wanted
Sheila Dillon - BBC Food Awards
This is the eleventh year of the BBC Food Awards. The Awards aim to search for the best in food and farming and today these Awards have never been more relevant. With so many people looking for new ways to make money in the food business, we need models to inspire us to do that in the best way.
The winners of last year’s Best Food Producer category are a great example of what the 2010 BBC Food Awards are all about. Trealy Farm Charcuterie won by producing world-class cured meats made from native breed pigs, reared free-range on farms in the Welsh borders providing a fillip to pig farming and a way to cut imports.
Nominations for the Awards closes on 15th August and I would encourage everyone to visit the BBC site for a full list of entry forms, categories and more information
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/ffa/2010/introduction/
To get a flavour of last year’s awards you can listen to this BBC podcast of the special 10th anniversary edition of The BBC Food and Farming Awards. The programme is presented by Sheila Dillon with an all star line up including Raymond Blanc, Alex James and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
JUDGES HEAP PRAISE ON PERTH’S GOLDEN CHEF
Perth restaurant 63 Tay Street has joined an elite group of restaurants in Scotland after being awarded the Gold standard by EatScotland, the food and drink arm of national tourism body VisitScotland. In his review the EatScotland assessor said: “If you delight in unusual ingredients, innovative cooking, robust and authentic flavours and the sheer pleasure of sitting down to enjoy superb craftsmanship, this is the place for you.” Continue Reading >>
