Celebrity chefs join local talent at popular Perth food festival Showcase will celebrate Celtic connections
Rankin has heard good things about Perthshire The popular Perthshire on a Plate (POAP) food festival is turning to “Celtic connections” as it prepares to serve up another two days of the finest Perthshire produce in association with Perth Show.
This year, favourite Irish chef Paul Rankin and Scotland’s own Jak O’Donnell will take centre stage for a fun-filled celebration of food and drink at Perth’s South Inch on Friday and Saturday, August 3 and 4.
Hosted by Perthshire Chamber of Commerce, the two-day food festival will showcase not only celebrity chefs creating delicious dishes with local produce, but also the outstanding culinary talents of some of the district’s top chefs in a non-stop twoday rolling programme of cookery demonstrations.
Supported by Sodexo, Perth College UHI and Quality Meat Scotland, POAP will also showcase a selection of Perthshire’s finest food and drink producers and feature a pop-up restaurant area where visitors can dine on sample size portions of meals created by local restaurants. The food pavilion,
cookery in Baillieston. So as you can imagine Scotland is very dear to my heart.
“I’ve seen a fair bit of Scotland between cooking events and filming with my pal Nick Nairn but I’ve never spent any time in Perth - shame on me.
“My auntie Ella who used to stay in Airdrie used to say: ‘Oh Perth is lovely. I’d like to live in Perth.’ So folks, I’m expecting great things.
“I’ve been talking to Nick [Nairn who appeared at POAP last year] and he says not only is Perth great but the Perth Show and POAP are fabulous too. I’m really looking forward to it - great produce, great folk, great craic and hopefully new friends. And some of the cooking demos should be pretty good too.”
Topping the bill on the Saturday will be Scottish favourite Jacqueline (Jak) O’Donnell.
Acclaimed chef Jak, who is patron of The Sisters restaurants in Glasgow and regularly appears as a celebrity chef on television, said she is really looking forward to making her debut visit to Perthshire On A Plate: “The team behind POAP should be congratulated on an event which goes from strength to strength each year. It showcases the very best of local produce to the general public – who not only have a great day out but also get a better understanding of how great food is produced in the area. I can’t wait.”