Diners Enjoy a Taste of Deeside

The Glen Tanar Estate ballroom was the spectacular setting for the latest Grampian Food Forum Dining Club held on Monday 14th September. A number of local producers were on-hand to showcase their fabulous fare and guests had the chance to sample some beautifully produced tasters, including Aunty Betty’s, Cairnton Aberdeen Angus, Cambus O’May Cheese Company, Chocolat Passions, Crannach Bakery, Devenick Dairy, Finzean Estate, Hillside Brewery, Mackintosh of Glendaveny, Mitchells, The Deeside Smokehouse, The Deeside Water Company Ltd, The Store and Wark Farm.

The event attracted over 70 delegates, demonstrating how vibrate the sector is and the obvious desire there is for suppliers to meet, network and work together to grow the food and drink sector in Grampian.

The speaker for the evening was Neil Forbes, Executive Chef of Atrium, Blue and more recently Cafe St Honoré in Edinburgh. Neil is an avid promoter of the use of local seasonal produce as well as the slow cooking movement in Scotland. “I feel so positive to see so many high quality producers attending the Dining Club and also to see a number of new companies here, keen to make new connections. Deeside and Grampian are renowned for the outstanding choice of fresh, local, produce and to see suppliers and producers working so closely together is a real lesson for the rest of Scotland” said Neil.

The event was run in conjunction with the Royal Deeside & the Cairngorms Destination Management. John Carnie, their representative said: ‘It’s important we do all we can to encourage food producers, restaurants and retailers to work together to promote the area and the industry and we are committed to encouraging this collaboration. Our latest venture is the Food Tourism Innovation Workshops which we hope will inspire, motivate and encourage new thinking in the sector.’

If you would like details on forthcoming dining clubs, please email the team at grampianfoodforum@aberdeenshire.gov.uk.