This event will bring together food and drink producers from across the Southern parts of Scotland which encompass Lanarkshire, East Lothian, Ayrshire & Arran, Dumfries & Galloway and the Scottish Borders.
Regional Food Groups and Ambassadors have joined forces to create an event to showcase the best the area has to offer in terms of exceptional produce and will have over 50 suppliers in attendance. We have everything from honey, beer, chilli, cheese and meat of all varieties through to fish, gin, pickles and so much more.. The diverse products available are incredible.
Buyers from retail, wholesale, food service, and tourism sectors and everyone in between from across Scotland and the North of England are invited and a special focus on regional. If you serve or sell food, this event is for you. Our ambition is to grow awareness and drive sales of these delicious and diverse Scottish products. We strive to get more local food on local plates and make this a sustainable food destination, tell our local authentic stories and provide a real sense of place.
Not only will the event host a ‘meet the supplier’ marketplace , but there will be a programme of activity including cookery demonstrations and industry information stands.
Iain Gourlay – Head Chef at Cringletie House Hotel and National Chef of the year finalist – Scottish Borders
David Jamieson – Estate Head Chef at East Lothian’s Archerfield, as well as a Regional Food Tourism Ambassador for East Lothian
Jonathan Brett- Head of Cuisine – Annandale Distillery Group – Dumfries & Galloway
Mark Hunter- Strategic Lead Food & Facilities- East Ayrshire Council
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On the day they will be live in the kitchen theatre delivering a cookery demonstration using the ingredients right from the Lowlands Larder!
Iain Gourlay – Head Chef – Cringletie House Hotel
Iain has been a chef for around 23 years and has worked all over the UK in all manner of kitchens from cooking for the army (as a civilian) to top end find dining. He is a National Chef of the Year finalist. Iain has learned the importance of using the very best of ingredients to produce a fantastic product and always tried to source as much as he could from the local area. He says we are blessed in Scotland and have the best produce in the world. At Cringletie they grow a lot in their walled garden and where possible these items feature on his menu which changes daily. He has a huge passion for single origin ingredients which might refer to a heritage breed of beef or venison from a single estate. He loves to add reflections in all ingredients to support the individual farmers and growers which will in turn help the industry as a whole.
David Jamieson – Estate Chef – Archerfield – East Lothian & Regional Food Tourism Ambassador
David is the Estate Head Chef at Archerfield, East Lothian. His culinary journey was inspired by his mother and late grandmother. He was fascinated by their creations, using so few ingredients from his father’s allotment. He has treasured these memories throughout his career and adapted his own style of cooking, using local produce. He extensively shares his knowledge and love of food with others including local schools, The Pr daughter to show people how easy and fun it was to get into cooking, growing food at home and using the country’s very own natural Scottish larder. David is a fantastic Ambassador for East Lothian and you will often see him visiting the local producers to find the next ingredients for his menus.
Jonathan Brett, Head of Cuisine – Annandale Distillery Group – Dumfries & Galloway
Jonathan is the Head of Cuisine for Annandale Distillery Group, overseeing the MICHELIN Guide listed restaurant – The Globe Inn, Dumfries and the current Dumfries & Galloway Life Cafe of the Year – The Maltings Coffee Shop at Annandale Distillery. Jonathan was recently a finalist, placing third in the Scottish Chef of the Year competition at ScotHot 2023. His passion for cooking originated with his parents who ran a successful catering business. Jonathan says, “We are so fortunate to have such fabulous produce right on our doorstep, it’s a delight to work with local suppliers and producers to showcase the amazing larder of the lowlands and highlighting the amazing tastes of the South of Scotland”
Mark Hunter, Strategic Lead Food & Facilities East Ayrshire Council.
Born in Carrickfergus famous for quite a few things including a song. He joined the Royal Navy at 17 years of age and had an excellent career for 23 ½ years taking him around the world, various ships and establishments and delivering some high profile dinners to Royalty and distinguished VIPs. While he was in the Royal Navy, he was appointed and had the privilege to teach young recruits at The Defence Maritime Logistics School in HMS Raleigh going full circle in his naval career. He continues to serve in the public sector and now has the privilege of serving his community in East Ayrshire Council as the Strategic Lead for Food & Facilities and community food.
We have created a promotional toolkit for the event. Within this toolkit it provides key information on the event as well as layouts, social suggestions and all relevant handles and hashtags to use. You can download the assets on the final page of the document.
Whether you are supplier, buyer or industry colleague – please do share on your channels, in newsletters and in your communications. We very much appreciate your support on this and we cant wait to see you there.