Scottish catering and hospitality news in Scotland

The Shetland Isles are staging their first ever Food Festival to celebrate the ilands' local produce. Running from 3rd-12th October, festival will feature Jean-Christophe Novelli and Master Chef George McIvor, and will include cookery demonstrations, workshops, talks on Shetland food and a farmers' market at Clickimin Centre in Lerwick.

'Shetland is well-known for producing exceptional lamb, beef, fish and shellfish and I'm looking forward to sampling it all,' says Jean-Christophe.

Meanwhile, McIvor, a former chairman of the Masterchefs of Great Britain, will be assisted in his cookery demonstrations by Grampian Chef of the Year 2007, David Littlewood of The Milton at Crathes.

'The clear seas around Shetland produce some of the finest seafood in the world and what a thrill it is for a chef to get his hands on fresh fish straight from the boats,' said George.

The Food Festival is being organised by Shetland Islands Council's Economic Development Unit. Visit www.shetlandfoodfestival.co.uk for more information.

Michael Caines' fine dining restaurant in the ABode Glasgow hotel has been listed as the best place to eat in the city by The Good Food Guide 2009. The restaurant scored the highest rating in Glasgow for restaurants in their category.

'To receive positive feedback and comments about the experiences here is always a great thing but to be listed as the best in the city by such a well knownpublication is just amazing,' said Declan Kelly, General Manager of ABode Glasgow.

Now in its 57th year, the Good Food Guide independently reviews restaurant across all of the UK.

First Minister Alex Salmond chaired Scotland's first ever Supermarket Summit yesterday, with retailers from across the UK discussing how they can work with the Scottish Government to achieve sustainable economic growth.

'At a time when households across Scotland are struggling with soaring fuel bills and the rising cost of living, the Scottish Government is working hard to bridge the gap between the producers and consumers of food,' said Mr Salmond. 'That is why we have gathered together Scotland's major food retailers, to look at how we can work together to provide the public with Scotland's freshest finest food.

'Farming has an integral part to play for our economy, health and rural communities. I want to see a dynamic and competitive industry play its part in helping to achieve sustainable economic growth through food production and environmental management of agricultural land.

'The Supermarket Summit is an opportunity for the Government to bring together the country's leading retailers and for us to discuss how we can work together to ensure a sustainable and profitable future for Scottish retailers and Scottish farmers.'

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Environment Richard Lochhead said: 'It is timely we should meet to discuss these important issues as we continue to develop our first national food and drink policy. There has already been a seismic shift in demand for Scottish produce, with encouraging sales increases across a number of companies represented today. We hope by working closely with retailers over the coming months, we will help meet this growing consumer demand for the freshest, finest Scottish produce.'

Specific measures agreed by retailers today included:

1)Agreeing to join a retail forum to take forward the national food and drink policy, to achieve the freshest, finest future for Scottish produce
2)Continuing to work towards reducing waste, including a new target to reduce carrier bag use by 50 per cent by Spring 2009
3)Considering how to support 2009 Year of Homecoming.

KPMG Restructuring have completed the sale of Beanscene to Fifi & Ally, securing up to 130 jobs across the coffee house chain in the process.

Fifi and Ally was launched by Fiona Hamilton and Alison Fielding in 2005 and currently has outlets at Wellington Street and Princes Square in Glasgow. The acquisition will see the company treble its turnover to £6m through branches in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, St. Andrews, Hawick and Ayr.

'We are delighted to have acquired a strong Scottish brand as part of our expansion of Fifi and Ally,' says Fiona Hamilton.

Food costs for foodservice operators, which have grown by nearly 14% over the past 12months, are at last seeing a slowdown, according the new figures from foodservice analyst Horizons.

In August, annualised food costs rose by 0.8%, compared with an increase of 3.1% in July.

'This slowdown in the rate of growth is largely due to several factors,' says Peter Backman, Managing Director of Horizons. 'These include the relatively good harvest for certain commodities; the stability of the pound against the Euro, and world commodity prices starting to readjust. In August price rises for fresh fish and vegetables were well below the average.'

'While foodservice operators increased their prices to consumers in August, since the beginning of the year they have raised prices by one-third of the level of food price inflation,' continued Mr Backman. 'This means that operators have clearly been absorbing much of these increased costs to avoid frightening off increasingly edgy customers with significant price rises.'

However, despite food costs levelling out, Backman says operators should still try to reduce portion sizes, purchase more cost-effectively and use cheaper cuts of meat to help mitigate cost increases. 'We are still in a period of economic instability and while the eating out market has yet to be significantly hit, the run-up to Christmas could see consumers tightening their belts even further.'

Claire Macdonald from Kinloch Lodge on the Isle of Skye has been selected to represent Scotland at the international gourmet Lust auf Genuss Festival in Stuttgart later this year.

Together with her head chef, Marcello Tully, Claire was chosen participate as one of the 11 pairs of guest chefs representing Scotland in the ranks of the master chefs.

The Lust auf Genuss Festival is an international gourmet event which launched onto the international food scene last year. Taking place for the second time in Baden-Württemberg from the 20th?23rd November 2008, the festival focuses on 10 restaurants from the local region, selected by jury to showcase their talent alongside 10 star guest chefs or 'pairs' from around the world.

Representatives from all over Scotland converged on the Scottish Parliament last week to discuss the impact of climate change, increased legislation and rising food costs on commercial livelihoods.

Scotland Food & Drink, the industry-led organisation formed to grow the value of the country's food and drink sector, has called on producers, retailers and Government to work in unison to secure the future of the industry.

Paul McLaughlin, chief executive of Scotland Food & Drink, said: 'Scotland's food and drink industry encompasses a wide variety of disciplines, each of which has its challenges to overcome. The Scottish food and drink industry is a major component of the Scottish economy, contributing £7.57bn of annual sales and employing more than 335,000 people in farming, manufacturing, foodservice and retail. One in five people in Scottish manufacturing work in food and drink.

'Elements such as climate change cannot be tackled overnight but there are things we can do to limit emissions. A supply chain working in unison from farm to fork and net to plate will be of benefit to the whole economy.'

The event at the Scottish Parliament, ?Profiting from Sustainability? was hosted by Robin Harper MSP to mark Scottish Food Fortnight which runs from 6 to 21 September.

'It is encouraging to see that Scotland Food & Drink is taking the first steps on the road to sustainability,' said Mr Harper, who will step down as Co-convenor of the Scottish Greens later this year.

A Glasgow seafood restaurant was left thousands of pounds out of pocket after Scottish Power left the venue without electricity for nearly five hours earlier this month. Striped Bass received an unannounced visit by a representative of the utility giant at lunchtime on 5th September, during which a warrant was served and £3,000 demanded to keep the electricity supply switched on.

Owner Ian Fleming was shocked at the demand and figured a mistake must have been made: 'With all our bills up to date and no warning from ScottishPower, I assumed it was a case of mistaken identity,' he said.

'There have been three telephone calls from Scottish Power in the last nine months, looking for information confirming the transfer of tenancy and we have tried to provide them with everything that we could.
'Scottish Power recognised that Striped Bass had paid all its bills for the proceeding nine months in full and that we had taken on the tenancy from the previous incumbents, Barca Tapas. Even though the warrant was in the name of Barca Tapas they chose to shut us down on a busy Friday lunchtime.'

'We lost all of our lunchtime, afternoon and early evening trade, plus the goodwill of many customers,' continued Fleming. 'They had their meals ruined and a pleasant lunchtime turned into a terrible experience for them.'

Finally, after handing over £3,000 as a security deposit, Scottish Power switched electricity supply back on.

Mr Fleming has gained the support of Glasgow Kelvin MSP, Pauline McNeill in his bid to be compensated for the loss encountered that afternoon: 'At a time when utility companies are getting a bad press for their lack of sensitivity to the economic situation facing many of their customers it is shocking to hear of a restaurant being cleared of diners enjoying their meals as a result of what appears to be a misunderstanding,' said Ms McNeill. 'I will be writing to Scottish Power to ask for an explanation and I hope in the future they will think twice before taking such heavy-handed action.'