Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight Enjoys a Taste of the Wild
3rd September to 18th September
Three of Scotland’s top food influencers have come together to celebrate the inaugural Taste the Wild Festival, which is set to be a stand-out event in Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight. Taste the Wild launches on Saturday 10th September in Mallaig Harbour. The event will celebrate Highland artisan producers and showcase the skill and finesse of a selection of top West Highland chefs. The festival falls in the middle of the Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight which launches on Saturday 3rd and runs until Sunday 18th September. Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight is the annual celebration of Scotland’s fantastic produce which takes place in September. Delivered by industry leadership organisation Scotland Food & Drink since 2009, the Fortnight is funded by Scottish Government
James Withers, Chief Executive of Scotland Food & Drink and Organiser of Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight, said:
“It’s fantastic to see a growing number of artisan food festivals across Scotland such as Taste the Wild. Each of these are unique in their own way, but together contribute hugely to the over-arching aims and responsibilities of showcasing Scotland’s food and drink.”
“This year’s Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight follows our Year of Food & Drink 2015, which was incredibly successful in building awareness of Scottish provenance across the world. Over the coming fortnight there will be a variety of events which support and promote Scotland’s produce, and the people who grow, make, cook and sell it. We hope everyone gets involved and enjoys the best that Scotland’s larder has to offer.”
Mallaig is one of the main commercial fishing port on Scotland’s West Coast, and so it’s a fitting location to hold one of the festival highlights, The Big Fish Debate. Hosted by Shirley Spear, Chair of the Scottish Food Commission, the panel will debate the controversial and current issues affecting Scotland’s fishing industry such as the impact Brexit may have on the sector.
Jak O’Donnell, Ambassador of Taste the Wild and Chef Proprietor of The Sisters Restaurant, said:
“The Big Fish Debate is an incredibly worthwhile discussion between everyone linked to the fishing world. I’m excited to be sitting on the panel among five key influencers in this industry. Fishing and food affects everyone in one way or another, so I encourage you to come along and find out more about it.”
“Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight is an opportunity to recognize the wealth of produce that is available 365 days a year. During these two dedicated weeks we can stand on our soap boxes and let the UK know about our great Scottish food and the producers, fisherman and farmers that work year round to deliver our greatest export. Our larder is world-renowned let’s show everyone how much it means to us.”
As well as a harbour-ful of the Highland’s finest stallholders, chef demonstrations and talks will take place in the The Fish Market from 11:10am – 2:30pm.
A ‘Scran & Dram’ dinner and ceilidh will see the festival off in style. Four of the Highlands top chefs will each create a course to offer a truly one-off dining experience. Tickets are available from Eventbrite.
Food and drink is the largest industry in Scotland with an annual turnover of £14.3 billion. Aside from whisky – Scotland’s ‘water of life’, seafood is the second largest export. It is sold to over 100 countries around the world and is one of Europe’s largest seafood producers with currently over 5,000 working fishermen.
Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight celebrates all sectors of the food and drink industry, supporting and promoting Scotland’s produce, producers and chefs.
Taste the Wild has been organised by The Road to the Isles Marketing Group in partnership with West Highland College, UHI and Scotland Food and Drink. It has been partially funded by a grant from the Highland Council and from the Community Food Fund, which is financed by the Scottish Government and was created to promote local food and drink in line with Scotland’s National Food and Drink Policy.
Taste the Wild opens to festival goers at 11am on Saturday 10th taking revelers dancing into the wee hours of the morning. For more information on Taste the Wild visit here
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