You may think that local Scottish food doesn’t go much further than haggis and Irn Bru, but the Fife Food Festival, run by the St Andrews Fine Food Society, proved quite the opposite.
On Saturday 28th January, Younger Hall was transformed from a place I usually associate with the dread of exams, into a foodie’s heaven, with stalls from a first class line up of independent Scottish food and drink vendors.
I made my way around each and every stall, making sure to try as many free samples as possible, and spoke to the vendors to find out more about the story behind their products. I’ve selected a few brands that really caught my attention and I felt deserve a shout out.
Mademoiselle Macaron
After falling in love with French macarons when living in Paris, St Andrew’s grad Rachel Hanretty has brought these colourful confections from the French capital to the Scottish capital. Her stall was filled with macarons in an array of tempting flavours and colours, each made with the sort of precision and uniformity that would make a French pâtissière proud.
She now has a store in Edinburgh where she both sells her tea-time treats and offers workshops so you too can become a macaron master.
Must try product: Hendrick’s gin macaron
Dunkeld Smoked Salmon
From their artisan smokehouse on the banks of the River Tay, Dunkeld Smoked Salmon’s products have been awarded multiple Gold medals from the Fine Food Retailers Great Taste Awards – and it’s not hard to see why.
The team at Dunkeld Smoked Salmon have focused on quality over quantity, and poured all of their energy into ensuring that there select range of products has been fine tuned to give the best taste possible.
Must try product: Hot smoked salmon
Heavenly Goodies
This lovely lady is a returning favourite at the Fife Food Festival. As well as offering a truly heavenly spread of sweet treats, Heavenly Goodies’ founder Gwen is a delight (and that’s not just because she let me have an obscene number of free samples…).
Her passion for her products is evident, and you can almost taste the love and care that has gone into each and every one of her handmade fudges and truffles.
Must try product: Peanut butter truffles (winner of last year’s Fife Food Festival Best Product Award)
Summerhouse Drinks
Claire Rennie produces this delightful range of all natural soft drinks from her family farm in Fraserburgh. Summerhouse Drinks have also launched Scotland’s first hand-crafted tonic water, the perfect accompaniment to St Andrews’ own Eden Mill gin.
Must try product: Hint O’ Mint Lemonade
Janetta’s Gelateria
I couldn’t write about local food brands without mentioning this iconic St Andrews establishment. The award winning ice cream parlour have been selling the finest gelato in Fife for over 100 years.
Must try product: Scottish tablet gelato
I know it’s hard to resist the temptation of getting everything that you need on a quick trip to Tesco, but here in Scotland there are so many amazing local retailers selling products of a far superior quality, and often for not much of a difference in price!
So next time you have a special occasion, why not shop around and indulge in some local luxury?