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NEWS

Scottish Government builds on Homecoming success
Following on from Homecoming, Food&Drink and Tourism Ministers have announced the start of a year of focus on Food and Drink and its contribution to the Hospitality industry. Speaking on a visit with Food Minister Richard Lochhead to Pub Grub of the Year winner the King's Wark pub in Leith, Tourism Minister, Mr Mather, said: "Through our national food and drink policy, we want to help pubs such as this one, hotels, visitor attractions, restaurants and cafes build on our international reputation and deliver the best of Scottish produce to the 16 million people who visit this country every year.

Urban Restaurant of the Year
Opus One Restaurant in the New County Hotel, Perth recently won 'Urban Restaurant of the Year' category at the Scottish Restaurant Awards 2010 in Edinburgh's Corn Exchange.  To celebrate, the restaurant and Inverarity Wines are hosting a special 'Wine Tasting Gourmet Dinner' on Friday 12th March.  Will Nicholson of Inverarity will talk through his selection of New World Wines, carefully chosen to complement each delicious course. 

Spirit of Lewis malt whisky
The first cask of whisky distilled on the Isle of Lewis in 170 years, recently left the island. In a ceremony to mark the occasion, a group of whisky enthusiasts was given a chance to taste the new dram at Abhainn Dearg - meaning 'red river' in Gaelic. Among them was Lewis-born Mike Donald from MacSorley's Bar in Glasgow who travelled to the island to sample the Spirit of Lewis, as it will be known, and bring back a small cask for the bar. The single malt from the Isle of Lewis's first distillery takes a minimum of three years to mature and the business expects to produce its first bottling next year, in time for the Royal National Mod's return to the Outer Hebrides.

Leading figures from the Scottish hospitality scene to promote Scotland
Scots from various walks of hospitality life will front VisitScotland's latest promotional campaign, and are being unveiled as the new faces of Scotland's tourism industry. They include leading chefs Tony Singh and Lady Claire Macdonald, together with Evelyn McLennan, owner of Kyleview House B&B, Dornoch, Gary Forbes  head golf professional at Murcar Links, Aberdeenshire, Julia Trevisan-Hunter, whisky expert with the five-star Scotch Whisky Experience in the Royal Mile, Edinburgh and Derek Watt, concierge at Prestonfield House, Edinburgh

East Lothian Food&Drink ‘Meet the Suppliers’ event
This will be held on March 16th and will include a cookery demonstration by Tom Kitchin, and a session on pairing wine with food by Sandy Ramsay, together with a light lunch and networking.
The event will be held at The Maitlandfield House Hotel, Haddington. To book a place contact Gemma Boyle on 01620 827916 or email: gboyle@eastlothian.gov.uk

Eat Fresh, Eat Seasonal initiative
Executive development chef for ESS Compass Group, Robbie Robertson gave his support to the Scottish Government's 'Eat Fresh, Eat Seasonal' initiative which is encouraging people to support Scotland's food and drink industry by eating food that is in season and to take notice of where their food actually comes from. Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead  stated during its launch "As well as supporting local businesses, eating fresh, seasonal produce can provide significant benefits to the environment and play an important role in a healthy, balanced diet. Retailers are increasingly seeking to stock and promote local produce in order to meet growing consumer demand”.

Coll Hotel share the ingredients of their success
Award-winning Coll Hotel co-owner and Chef Julie Oliphant opened up her kitchen to share some of the ingredients of her success when she held an adults’ cookery class in February. For the first time in the hotel’s 25 year history Julie ran three days of tuition for a group of 12 guests. Not surprisingly, some of the lessons focused on how to prepare and serve Coll’s splendid seafood. Due to the popularity of the class it has now been added to the winter activities for the Coll Hotel. Cookery classes are due to be held from November this year until March 2011. For further information contact Julie at: www.collhotel.com

Loch Leven’s Larder nominated for Deli of the Year Award
Loch Leven's Larder is one of around 100 delicatessens across Britain to be nominated for Deli of the Year. The family-run restaurant, farm and gift shop, based near Kinross, is hoping it has the 'deli attitude' that judges are looking for when they visit the Larder in June to choose their winning delicatessen. To recognise being nominated for the award, Loch Leven's Larder is inviting new and existing customers to the shop to experience first-hand why it deserves to be crowned Deli of the Year. "We bake all of our own speciality bread and stock a large selection of olives and cured meats, as well as selling delicious cheeses from around the UK and Europe. It's our fine foods, freshness and seasonality that makes our shop very special and we hope the judging panel of the awards recognises our passion and uniqueness" said Emma Niven, head of business at Loch Leven's Larder

The F Word's search for Best Local Restaurant 2010 begins
After Birmingham-based restaurant Lasan won the title of Best Local Restaurant 2009, the search for the 2010 winner is already underway. Presented by celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsay, the Channel 4 programme is looking for "…restaurants run by people with a passion for food who deliver great food, great service and a great atmosphere."  Nominations can be made via The F Word website and organisers of the search say that restaurants most be independently owned. "Our preference is to discover restaurants who have not received the acclaim they may deserve. However we may still consider restaurants who have received major awards, such as Michelin stars or AA Rosettes," said Channel 4.