20th Food & Drink Excellence Awards held
SCOTTISH producers from across the country were on top form as they celebrated the national larder at a glitzy award ceremony in Edinburgh last month.
The annual Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards recognised 52 food and drink businesses across 19 different categories.
The biggest winners on the night were Lazy Day Foods, crowned Business of the Year, and Loch Fyne Oysters, which won Product of the Year for its Kinglas Fillet of salmon.
The Business of the Year gong is a major coup for North Lanarkshire-based Lazy Day Foods, which has been producing its free-from biscuits and desserts for a little over 11 years.
Other winners across the 19 categories included Graham’s the Family Dairy, East Coast Cured, Dean’s, Harviestoun Brewery, Wester Spirit Co, Wild Fig, McCaskie Butchers, and Aldi.
James Withers, chief executive of Scotland Food & Drink, said: “The passion of the farmers, fishermen and food and drink producers within the industry is inspiring.
“The pursuit of perfection, combined with a genuine appetite for innovating, means we have some of the best businesses and products in the world.”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who presented the evening’s first award in honour of the late chef Andrew Fairlie, said: “Our food and drink industry is one of Scotland’s success stories, with recent figures showing this growing sector achieved record turnover, so it was fantastic to celebrate the people and businesses who are behind these achievements.”
