Scran heads to the Highlands as Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight ends
In the latest episode of our podcast Scran, Rosalind Erskine chats to more business owners
Scran is back on a socially distanced culinary journey to help celebrate local businesses and producers as part of the Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight, which ran until 20 September. The campaign saw Scotland’s food industry celebrate local legends with regional producers showcasing their produce through their social media, with the aim of encouraging people to source, buy and eat Scottish food and drink. This week, I’m on a socially distant tour of the Highlands as I chat to entrepreneurs about why their location is key to their business success and at the heart of their product.
My first guest is Jamie Delap of family-run business Fyne Ales. The business began in 2001 when his parents decided to turn their dwindling farm into a brewery after sampling craft ales down south and seeing a gap in the market. Fast forward to 2014, after building a strong reputation they converted a sheep shed into a modern British brewery which seels beers all over the world.
Next up is Jill Clark of Highland
Connage cheese, an award-winning family-owned organic cheese maker, which started 15 years ago on a farm at Ardersier. They started as a wholesaler but after locals turned up looking to buy cheese they decided to convert a spare room into a retail shop. I talk to Jill about the craze of wedding cheese cakes, how to pair cheese with what’s on your plate and why being organic and ethical in their approach to dairy farming is an important part of their ethos.
Finally I speak to Keith Paterson, founder of Shore Seaweed. Based in Wick, they are growers, harvesters and processors of natural Scottish Seaweed. The idea for the business began in 2016 when Keith, along with three others, looked for commercially viable opportunities in their local area whilst also wanting to give back to the Highland community.
They discovered that seaweed found on their shores was a way to start a sustainable business.
My conversation with Keith was very interesting as we talked about his mission to make seaweed a sustainable plant-based food of the future which brings lots of health benefits whilst being good for the planet.
To listen of this episode, search Scran wherever you get your podcasts.