Six Highlands and Islands food and drink businesses will find out tonight (Thursday 30 May) if they have won an award at the prestigious Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards, for which they have been shortlisted.
With 17 award categories celebrating excellence across Scottish food and drink, the awards promise to be the food-lovers’ event of the year and will take place on Thursday 30 May.
The awards range from Food & Drink Tourism, Scottish Food & Drink Entrepreneur to nine food product awards that are largely judged on taste.
In the course of their assessment of the entries, the judges tasted 121 food and drink products and examined submissions from 100 businesses across Scotland.
The shortlist represents a broad spectrum of Scotland’s food and drink: from small companies like the family-run Hebridean Sea Salt Ltd to organisations with a global reach like Associated Seafoods Ltd.
The writer, broadcaster and all-round foodie, Hardeep Singh Kohli, will host the event at the glamorous Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh. Dubbed the Scottish food and drink ‘Oscars’, the ceremony will be bigger than ever before with 400 guests attending the awards. Attendees will be treated to a champagne reception and sumptuous dinner, showcasing the very best of Scotland’s larder.
The awards are organised by Scotland Food & Drink in partnership with The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS). The event’s headline sponsor is Asda.
Chief Executive of Scotland Food & Drink, James Withers, said: “The Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards recognise Scotland’s best products, businesses, outstanding individuals and industry achievement. Our fifty finalists illustrate the tremendous quality of products and strength of our companies in fields ranging from skills to research, sustainability and exports. It is these companies who contribute to and build our reputation of Scotland as a Land of Food and Drink. We wish all our finalists good luck and look forward to revealing the winners at the awards ceremony on the 30th, which sold out in record time.”
Adding his praise to the shortlisted businesses, Stephen Hutt, RHASS’ Chief Executive, said:
“As a membership organisation representing the interests of primary food producers, we are delighted to support these awards. With such a focus on food provenance, we are committed to showcasing those involved in the food industry who share our passion for excellence and innovation. We look forward to showcasing the award-winners at this year’s Royal Highland Show.”