The Scotsman's Scran Awards took place for the second year recently. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet with the great and good of the Scottish food and drink industry. The shortlisted businesses and individuals are testament to the vibrant and thriving industry. Rosalind wanted to get a couple of the winners to come on Scran to talk about their business and explain what the awards mean for them and their teams.

First up she is joined by Chef Neil Forbes Cafe St Honore in Edinburgh whopicked up the coveted award of 'Outstanding Contribution to the Industry'. Neil talks about his long and varied career as well as his love for traditional Scottish fayre and quality local produce. Neil's not shy with his opinions on modern dining but his passion for his craft and his desire to create a rewarding dining experience for his customers is clear.

Blair Sterrick UK Sales Manager for Isle of Harris Distillers also joins Rosalind to chat about their wins. They picked up 'Best Spirit' for Harris Gin and 'Best Whisky' for The Hearach. Blair talks Rosalind through how the distillery was set up with the explicit intention of creating industry on the island to help sustain the working population and combat depopulation. They talk about their hugely popular Harris Gin both for the liquid but also that distinctive bottle and about The Hearach which is relatively new on the block and now too making waves in the whisky world. Rosalind also uncovers an exclusive story about a new bottle that will be available very soon.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in May Rosalind took a trip to Speyside to witness some of the celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of The Macallan. As part of these celebrations they undertook an extraordinary collaboration with Cirque du Soleil. It would appear that more and more often these days whisky brands are going to extreme lengths to market and promote their products. Macallan has certainly become a part of the high end of the market so Rosalind set out to learn more about the celebrations and whether the industry is being changed by this drive to create luxury lifestyle products and more and more elaborate collaborations.

First up she spoke to Ruth Wylie who is Global Experiential Lead at Macallan who tells her about the celebrations which are afoot and the importance that nature plays for the distillery. She also chatted to Marie-Hélène Delage, Creative Director at Cirque Du Soleil about how they developed their show with Macallan.

Finally, Rosalind wanted to speak to a whisky expert about recent changes in the whisky market and how this is affecting sales and availability of certain brands. Mark Littler, Whisky Broker and Market Analyst, talked to Rosalind about the significant changes that have taken place since 2015 and how collaborations like this one are becoming more the norm for those interested in investing in whisky. It's a fascinating listen and a subject matter no doubt we'll be returning to again and again.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First up Rosalind speaks to Louise Elder, Director of the Royal Highland Agricultural Society of Scotland and Chief Steward of Scotland's Larder. Louise has been involved in the show for many years and talks about how it represents so many different things to so many different people.

Su Cox also joins Rosalind on this episode. Su who comes from some serious foodie lineage and is the Communications and New Business Development Director at Bakkafrost Scotland & Scottish Hebridean Salmon. Su has been involved with the Royal Highland Show in different ways over the years from simply attending to education and now as a producer and sponsor. She tells Rosalind about why the event as a gathering of rural communities is so important.

Rosalind's final guest is Aylett Roan, Director and Chief Steward of Scottish Championships at the Royal Highland Show. She also runs Roan's Dairy in Dumfries and Galloway. Aylett tells Rosalind about how she ended up in dairy farming despite the challenges it presented at agricultural college and talks about what it's like to judge food competitions and the Scottish Championships at the RHS which awards best cheese, dairy, butter, ice cream, honey and new for this year, milk and cream. And she has some great tips on buying vanilla ice cream!

The Royal Highland Show runs from Thursday 20th to Sunday 23rd June 2024. You can find more information about it and buy tickets here. You may see Rosalind there with her microphone if you make it along!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode Rosalind chat to Rodney Wages, chef-patron of Avery, who is gearing up to fully open the doors to his restaurant in Stockbridge. 

Kansas native Wages moved to California as a young chef to work in the kitchen at The French Laundry. He honed his culinary skills in other popular San Francisco restaurants and in 2016, he launched his pop-up RTB, which would later evolve into the Michelin star-winning Avery Restaurant.

In 2022 he visited Edinburgh and, after falling in love with the city, decided to close the doors to Avery Restaurant San Francisco and move here with his family. He has taken over the Stockbridge Restaurant and, after a period of preview dinners, will soon open Avery in Edinburgh. 

Thanks for listening.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You may have noticed a growing popularity for day time clubbing events in recent months. It would appear nightlife is changing, with a shift towards the day time for socialising and dancing. On this episode we learn more about this new trend, where it came from and what impact it is having on the local industry.

First up Rosalind speaks to Line of Duty actress Vicky McClure and partner the writer/producer Jonny Owen about their day-time clubbing experience Day Fever. Vicky's mantra is 'music is medicine' and the couple tell Rosalind how this is translating into packed dance floors at 4pm up and down the country.

Meryl Gilbert, the Arts and Business Director of SWG3 in Glasgow, also joins Rosalind to talk about the changes she has seen in the industry. She tells her that the rise of day time events is something that's been happening in New York and elsewhere for quite a while and it's not necessarily all about ageing clubbers wanting to be home to let the babysitter go!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to this special partner episode of Scran where we are teaming up with St James Quarter in Edinburgh to preview the forthcoming Edinburgh Seafood Festival which runs for the May Bank Holiday weekend from Saturday 4th to Monday 6th

May.

Many of the diverse eating and drinking destinations in St James Quarter are embracing this year’s Edinburgh Seafood Festival by creating exclusive dishes and menus that guests can enjoy over the weekend including Ka Pao and Duck and Waffle.

The festival will showcase a selection of the highest quality, locally sourced seafood in the heart of the city and we wanted to learn more about some of the restaurants who will be at the forefront of the weekend's activities.

First up Rosalind spoke to Sandy Browning, Executive Chef at Ka Pao. Sandy's love of cooking has taken him to far flung parts of the world, he tells Rosalind all about his culinary journey and how you go about combining great Scottish produce with Southeast Asian flavours. He also gives us a sneak preview of what he'll be demonstrating on the Seafood Stage at the festival.

Rosalind also went along to Duck and Waffle where she met Sommelier Roberto Bravo who shared his passion for wine with her delving into top seafood and wine pairings and how the characteristics of wines can be comparable to those of people. Roberto's singular enthusiasm is infectious as you will see....

If you want to find out more about Edinburgh Seafood Festival, download the St James Quarter app to discover the full schedule of events. You'll also find more information about the return of the Secret Seafood Supper Clubs - where guests are invited to join leading Chefs for a private dinner cooked in front of them. Tickets for these intimate events are limited so make sure to check that out soon. Thanks to our partners on this episode St James Quarter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode we're coming at food and drink from a slightly different angle. Word of Mouth (WOM) is an exhibition of new artworks and writing exploring our relationship to food, cooking and kitchens. With work spanning across print, writing, textile, collage, and paint, Word of Mouth encourages us to consider how much food and cooking inform and sustain us in our everyday lives.

Word of Mouth is currently running at the Scottish Storytelling Centre on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. Rosalind went along to check it out and talk to curator Maisie Wills about how it all came about. They look at some of the works in detail and give you a flavour for what you can expect from the exhibition.

You can find out more about Word of Mouth on The Scottish Storyelling Centre website. It is free and unticketed and runs from now until the 20th of April, daily from 10-6pm.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode Rosalind's guest is chocolatier Chloe Oswald of Chocolatia - a business she founded during Covid, in her brother's flat in Forfar and which has gone on to do great things. Chloe has been the recipient of many awards and her chocolate continues to impress many a palate. Chloe talks to me about her time in some of Scotland's most respected kitchens and why ethically-sourced chocolate is so important to her.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we're getting very excited about one of the international cultural events of the year. The Oscars take place this weekend and in an amazing turn of events, two Scottish businesses have reason to celebrate. Fetcha Chocolates and The Gin Bothy will both see their products feature as part of the famous "Everyone Wins" gift bags which the nominees receive. These bags have an approximate value of $125,000 and include such exclusive contents as luxury skincare and a lavish holiday in St Bart's.

On this episode of Scran Rosalind speaks to Fiona MacArthur from her business Fetcha Chocolates in Campbelltown about this exciting development, as well as how she's got to where she is today. You'll hear about how she has gone all out to capitalise on this opportunity.

Rosalind also speaks to Kim Cameron, owner of The Gin Bothy about the 'pinch me' moment of being asked to contribute one of her gins to the gift bag. She also tells Rosalind the great story of how she went from jam making to gin making and how both businesses are reaping rewards.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rosalind's guests on this Bonus episode of Scran are Martin Compston and Phil MacHugh, stars of Martin Compston's Norwegian Fling which has recently started on BBC Scotland and BBC Two. You may be familiar with Martin Compston from his acting roles in hit TV series' such as Line of Duty and The Rig and Phil MacHugh is a TV personality and owner of Skapa PR which is based in Edinburgh. A couple of years back, Martin and good friend Phil set out to film a Scottish travelogue adventure and its success has seen this second series commissioned. 

Rosalind chats to Martin and Phil about their time in Norway, the interesting, even challenging food and drink they encountered, Martin's plans to produce a beer and how what they encountered compares to their travels in Scotland. Both Martin and Phil share their tips for eating and drinking in Scotland and Rosalind takes the opportunity to ask about their desert island drams!

Martin Compston's Norwegian Fling is available on BBC iPlayer now.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a special partnership episode of Scran with the Scotch Whisky Experience.

Nestled on Castle Hill, within a stones throw of Edinburgh Castle, the Scotch Whisky Experience has been welcoming visitors from all over the world since the late 80s - a time when the world of whisky was very, very different to what it is now.

Rosalind went along to experience this popular tour and speak to some of the people in the know about how it came about, what it has to offer and how it has played a not insignificant role in nurturing much of the talent found in the whisky industry today.

Rosalind chats to Angela Dineen, Operations Director about the history of the experience as well as modern undertakings, including the recent investment of £3.5m into a new tour and how it houses one of the world's largest collections of scotch whisky.

She also speaks to Michelle Pizzi, Site Director of The North British Distillery and Alex Thomson, Visitor Attraction Manager at The Glenturret Distillery who share their memories of their time working at the Scotch Whisky Experience and how it helped shape their future careers in the industry. They offer some great insight into working in this thriving industry and how the Scotch Whisky Experience has played its part in their careers.

If you're interested in opportunities with them, check out their website where you can find more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices