Scotlands Natural Larder

Chefs around the world are sourcing the best quality ingredients from Scotland, fusing them in exciting new ways to produce mouth watering modern cuisine from traditional ingredients.

Top produce

When we stop to consider how rapidly Scotland’s food production has grown in the last two decades, the figures alone are staggering: Scotland’s booming food and drink industry generates over £7.5billion per year for the country’s economy, and accounts for 27 per cent manufacturing exports. The industry comprises in excess of 1500 companies, including famous global brands and small, speciality firms.

In the world of fruit and vegetables Scottish producers now grow 2,400 tonnes of raspberries and 4,600 tonnes of strawberries each year. Impressive though this is its nothing next to our potato output: over a million tonnes, cultivated on more than 3,700 holdings in Scotland, mean that the spud business is worth over £100 million a year to Scotland!

Poultry is thriving too: today approximately 900 million eggs are produced annually in Scotland, with a value of over £30 million and there are approximately 4 million egg-producing hens and 10 million chickens for meat in the country.

Dairy has always been a major industry in Scotland and now produces around 1,300 million litres of milk, worth more than £230 million.

But beef is bigger than all of these. Scottish beef has become synonymous with quality for today’s top chefs and we produce nearly 30% of the UK’s breeding cattle. Beef is now the single most important sector of Scottish agriculture, worth around £400 million a year: more than fruit, dairy and poultry combined!

Scotland's climate and geography are also well suited to cheese making. Today there are more than two dozen cheese-makers across Scotland, ranging from the industrial cheddar creameries to much smaller-scale cheese producers. The last two decades have seen a huge revival in traditional farmhouse cheeses and new versions inspired in some cases by the soft and flavourful cheeses found in Europe and elsewhere.

However, the real jewel in Scotland’s food crown is arguably her fish market. Today there are nearly 200 shellfish farming companies are based in Scotland and Peterhead near Aberdeen has become the largest white fish landing port in Europe. Commercial fish farming now accounts for about 50% (in monetary terms) of all Scottish food exports - generating around £500 million per annum.

Special mention must go to the King of fish, the salmon. Salmon farming is the most important economic development in the Highlands and Islands over the past 30 years, and the retail sales value of Scottish salmon is around £300 million per annum. Scotland is the world’s third largest producer of Atlantic salmon and enjoys a reputation for quality fresh and added-value products such as smoked salmon.

Taste for yourself...

Far more persuasive than dry lists of statistics however is seeing Scotland’s food industry in the flesh. There are options to suit every taste and palate: You could join the foodies who make the pilgrimage to Skye every year to taste the incredible dishes and take in the gorgeous scenery of the Highlands and islands. Or there’s Oban, with its bustling harbour where a huge range of fresh seafood is landed every day.

Heading north there’s Stonehaven. The picturesque coastal town is an ideal place to sample the flavours of Scotland's natural larder in the north east of Scotland: a fascinating history and distinct culture, combined with fantastic food and a warm welcome.

Or, down in Dumfries and Galloway, there’s Cream o’ Galloway, famous for its luxury organic fairtrade dairy ice cream. The family run farm and visitor centre sits amongst beautiful countryside in the south of Scotland.

To understand how far Scotland has come in terms of cuisine, just go to the pub! Scottish gastro-pubs are now recognised as being among the best in the world. Long gone are the days when a pint and a packet of crisps were considered traditional pub fare. In the Michelin Eating Out in Pubs guide for 2009, 24 Scottish pubs have made it on to the list of recommended British pubs. Three of the Scottish listings - The Sorn Inn, Ayrshire, The Kilberry Inn, Kintyre, and The Anglers Inn, Guildtown, Perthshire - have even been named as inspectors' choice establishments, making them a favourite with hard-to-please critics. "The quality of food offered in the pubs on the list is even better than ever," one of the inspectors said. "Traditional pubs are now offering restaurant-quality food, prepared to a very high standard, in many cases a superior standard.”

And now Scotland has its own body devoted to making its food world-renowned: Scotland Food & Drink was created in the summer of 2007 to bring everyone involved in the food and drink industry together to work towards delivering even greater global success. The goal is to grow the industry from its current £7.5 billion to £10 billion over the next decade and to help ‘realise the ambition of Scotland being internationally known as ‘The Land of Food & Drink’.

An ambition that, surely, cannot be too far off...