One of Scotland’s leading
food service providers is launching an initiative to champion local sourcing, by encouraging its Scottish customers to ‘buy local’ and design their menus with more local food and drink. Bidfood Scotland is launching the initiative at a six-course tasting lunch for its customers, who range from small
cafes and pubs to 5-star hotels. The purpose of the lunch is to help these businesses to become more sustainable in their sourcing and buying habits. Speaking about the initiative, Bidfood Scotland’s Supplier Development Manager, Katie Sillars, said, “According to research, the provenance of produce used in pubs and restaurants is already an important factor that people consider when they’re deciding where to eat. “At the moment, we can see that when dining out, consumers are demanding more food that’s locally grown or produced - and are happy to pay a premium for that. “Bidfood Scotland wanted to tap into this trend and support our customers to meet the changing demands of their customers, which is why we launched this project. “There is also an increased demand from visitors to Scotland to sample distinctive, local Scottish food, so sourcing locally can help businesses to be more sustainable and to drive more profit.” The lunch also marks the launch of the
Bidfood Scotland’s 2020 Simply Scottish Brochure, which features products from dozens of suppliers across the north of Scotland, including Cobbs (Inverness) Shore (Wick), Rora Dairy (Aberdeen), Ardgay Game, Mackies, Deans of Huntly, Reids of Caithness, Macleans Highland Bakery, Orkney Cheese Co, John Ross JR smoked salmon, Mackintosh of Glendaveny, Loch Ness Brewery and over to the west coast where suppliers include Colonsay Brewery, Arran Dairies, Highland Meats, Isle of Jura Distilleries, The Island Bakery, and Skye Brewery to name a few. The six-course tasting menu is an opportunity to showcase innovative recipes using some of the delicious produce from these suppliers and to celebrate the quality of the food and drink they produce. In a further bid to promote Scottish suppliers, Bidfood will soon launch an own-label exclusive “Simply Scottish” range made by chefs, for chefs, The new range, exclusive to Bidfood Scotland, uses protected geographical indication (PGI) status ingredients from Scottish food and drink brands. Bidfood have also extended their Scottish alcohol range, which now comprises 90 new gins, beers and whiskies.
