By Elizabeth McQuillan
Scotland produces the finest beef and lamb, is blessed with the tastiest crustaceans and molluscs, and we are finally beginning to realise our own larder is better stocked than elsewhere.
While we used to blindly buy supermarket beef from Argentina which – due to some loophole relative to where the meat was packaged – was labelled "British", we are now unhappy to be duped and want to buy meat produced in Scotland.
Our seafood has been getting snaffled for some time, with a sizeable proportion of the Scottish "catch of the day" being loaded onto freight lorries at the pier and transported to the appreciative diners on the continent. If we won’t buy it, they will.
Export of our home produce could increase with other countries keen to sample Scotland’s tasty ingredients. The Bocuse d’Or World Cuisine Contest in Lyon, France, features the world’s top chefs selected from what some consider the best kitchens in the world. Twenty-four countries are represented. Each prepares two exceptional dishes in front of a live audience, and then must face the world’s press and a jury composed of some critical top-notch cooks.
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The competition uses only the finest produce, and Scotland is definitely in the running. Quality Meat Scotland and Seafood Scotland have secured the selection of Scotch Lamb and Scottish monkfish, brown crab and langoustines as official produce to be used in the culinary grand prix. Scottish Development International is also leading a delegation of Scottish companies to the event, which runs alongside Sirha – one of the Europe’s most significant foodservice exhibitions. For the food and drink industry, the event provides an opportunity to recapture market share lost since the beef ban and boost exports at Europe’s leading foodservice exhibition and culinary competition. Commenting on the opportunity, Anne MacColl, chief executive of Scottish Development International, said: “The fact that the world’s top chefs will be showcasing Scottish produce in their menus as they compete to be crowned world champion, provides a huge opportunity for Scottish companies to take advantage of the spotlight and showcase their wares to an international audience. “The food and drink industry contributes heavily to the Scottish economy, with exports worth £3.6bn. This event is just one element of a wider programme of activity lead by SDI in collaboration with our partners to help the industry exploit further international opportunities and to continue to raise the level of international ambition within the industry in Scotland.” Paul McLaughlin, chief executive of Scotland Food & Drink, added: "Scotch Lamb and Scottish seafood are some of the most iconic Scottish products on offer to international buyers and Bocuse d'Or and Sirha provide an ideal opportunity for these, and other great products, to be showcased to key buyers and influencers." At home, consumers are evidently taking a greater interest in where their food is sourced, and the Scottish Environmental Attitudes and Behaviours Survey 2010 showed that 66% of consumers are aware of and make a conscious effort to buy Scotch Beef, with 46 per cent making an effort to buy Scotch Lamb. Encouragingly, Scottish consumers also agreed to the statement that they ‘"try to buy local produce" increased by 7.8 percentage points between 2008 and 2010 to 30.3 per cent. This is higher than that for the whole of GB, which was 28.8% per cent. To buy some of the best local produce, head along to your local Farmer’s Market which the Scottish Association of Farmers’ Markets says is "a market in which farmers, growers and producers from throughout Scotland sell their produce direct to the public. All foods/products sold should have been grown, reared, caught, brewed, pickled, baked, smoked, or made/prepared by the producer."We need your support. Please donate to The Caledonian Mercury
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