Forks at the ready in Scotland

brenda
August 29, 2018
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The last forty-eight hours has created the perfect menu for a leisurely day trip or once-in-a-lifetime holiday or celebration in Scotland. Our Director and Chief Tour Curator Brenda Anderson tells you why:

Put simply, Scotland has launched both its first ever Food Tourism Action Plan and the 2018 Scotland Food & Drink Fortnight. This offers great news if like me you step out the front door and use your stomach as your guide! Trying the local cuisine and liquid libations of a nation is one of the very best ways to experience the local culture and really get under the skin of a place. Almost ten years ago, Mr Erik Wolf described Scotland as “one of the most unique, memorable and interesting places for food and drink on the planet”. He’d know. Mr Wolf is one of the world’s leading culinary travel experts and CEO of the World Food Travel Association.

Of course Scotland has always been a place people want to visit and often it involves Whisky! Many are ‘deliberate food travellers’ and seek out the best or have chosen to engage in Tasting Scotland’s personalised tour service. Others may have found the food to be a little ‘hit or miss’. You may even have experienced the food in Scotland in the past to be a too international in style and you’re not really getting that real ‘sense of place’. (Gastronom magazine, photographer Ekaterina Morgunova)

The Food Tourism Action Plan is the cornerstone from which change is really going to happen. We are now a nation who not only appreciates just how important tourism is to Scotland, but are incredibly proud of the enviable larder of premium and healthy ingredients that sits on our doorstep.

Whether travelling from near or far fully expect that Scotland will be a country where you can enjoy high quality, memorable food and drink experiences delivered by proud and passionate local ambassadors, at every step of your journey.

Sixteen thousand five hundred kilometres of coastline is awash with fabulous fish and delicious, plump seafood. Our fertile land ensures high quality fruits, vegetables, barley, oats and other cereals. With plenty of rain our grass is perfect for the outdoor grazing of our cattle; which of course includes our native Aberdeen-Angus beef and the instantly recognisable Highland ‘Hairy Coo’. Our heather clad hills and our forests are perfect for deer and all manner of game birds. And a vibrant workforce, of often young entrepreneurs are innovatively pursuing their own dreams and creating an exciting new wave of Scottish food, whisky, gin and craft beers ready for you to sample.

The Scotland Food & Drink Fortnight, our annual 14-day September celebration where food and drink is at the centre of a diverse range of events across the length and breadth of the country gets better each year. It officially starts this Saturday, running from 1 – 16 September. Whether it’s the Spirt of Speyside Whisky Festival or the fun of the Meat, Heat and Treat categories in the ‘Men vs Food’ Challenges at Floors Castle there is most definitely something for everyone.

So, are you ready to experience for yourself the words of Mr Wolf? Need some help planning your food and drink based day trip or multi-day tour of Scotland? Look no further. We begin your experience with a tailor-made travel planning service starting with what you don’t want on your trip! As humans we apparently find it easier to tell people what we don’t want rather than what we do!

Focusing purely on the creation and first class delivery of culinary and whisky based itineraries means we give 100% of our attention to finding the hidden gems; that special little place where the owner milks his own goat herd to make the most delicious cheese or where the whisky distiller creates an unusual and incomparable blend of Scotch.

Whether a local or a visitor, looking to visit for a day tour, a short or longer break, celebrate a birthday, a honeymoon, a hen or stag do (when the usual event doesn’t quite fit the bill!) or whatever the reason we can help.

We arrange the transportation, accommodation, visits to artisan producers, whisky and gin distillery visits and anything else your heart (and stomach!) desires. We’re only finished when you tell us we are. It’s easy to get started. Contact [email protected] or call Brenda directly on +44 (0)7974 212529.

The Jigger Inn, St Andrews