The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
All-star line-up revealed for popular food festival
Cooking: No shortage of celebrities at north-east’ s Taste of Grampian
A popular north-east food festival is serving up another year of culinary excellence for its 20th anniversary, with a celebrity chef as its star attraction.
Taste of Grampian’s latest programme was launched yesterday with Masterchef co-host John Torode announced as the headline act.
The line-up was revealed at an event at Thainstone Mart, where the festival will take place on June 1.
The Australian chef said he was relishing the chance to sample the best cuisine the region has to offer.
He said: “I’ve heard the produce in the northeast is some of the best to come out of Scotland. I’m looking forward to finding some new food and drink producers and using their ingredients in my dishes on the day.”
Joining Mr Torode will be reality TV star Spencer Matthews, best known for appearing in Made In Chelsea and reaching the final of Celebrity Masterchef last year.
He will be demonstrating on the day, as well as joining Mr Torode for the main highlight of Taste of Grampian – a joint demonstration.
The event will also feature Scotland’s national chef, Gary Maclean, who was crowned the winner of Masterchef: The Professionals in 2016.
Mr Maclean will be demonstrating with Scotch Beef in partnership with Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), which is sponsoring the event once again.
Completing the celebrity line-up will be awardwinning pastry chef Helen Vass, who was part of the winning team on hit TV show Bake Off Crème De La Crème in 2016.
In total there will be more than 180 stands on offer, with head-tohead cooking school competitions.
Organisers have also booked musicians from the area to entertain the crowds throughout the day.
Carol McLaren, director of marketing and communications with QMS, said: “We have supported Taste of Grampian each year for the past two decades and for the 20th anniversary it will be the Scotch Beef brand, which will be title sponsor.
“Scotch Beef has earned a global reputation for taste and quality and is underpinned by worldleading quality assurance which makes animal welfare a priority.
“We are looking forward to showcasing the brand, along with Scotch Lamb PGI and Specially Selected Pork, at this year’s special festival.”
Early-bird tickets are available on Eventbrite for £8 for over-16s, while entry on the day is £10.
T i c k e t s f o r demonstrations will be sold separately and will go on sale in due course.
Car parking is free, and business organisation We Are Inverurie will also be running a park and ride service throughout the day.