][1]The blog was at the launch of Taste Communications, a new, specialist food and drink PR company, in the Scottish Cafe and Restaurant in Edinburgh last night.
Run by ex-STV man Stephen Jardine; ex-VisitScotland boss and Gleneagles chairman Peter Lederer and Jim Duff, former editor of Reporting Scotland, they are a heavy-hitting team who demonstrated their clout last night by securing the First Minister Alex Salmond to give a speech at their launch.
There are already plenty of PR agencies and single PR operators plying their trade in Scotland. Two things make Taste Communications stand out.
First, they intend to concentrate purely on food and drink; a focus which none of their competitors have.
Secondly, as well as straight PR, they hope to become a campaigning voice for the Scottish food and drink sector.
They have already started the ball rolling on a plan to have VAT on cooked food reduced; a scheme which the French have already introduced to help the restaurant industry.
Next in their sights is the damage being done to Scotland’s seabeds by indiscriminate scallop trawling. Expect to see a lot of Guy Grieve, the TV adventurer turned Mull scallop diver over the next few months.
Talking to restaurateurs last night, other concerns that Taste may like to turn their attention to include: restaurants making false provenance claims on their menus and the crippling costs of water rates.
Interesting times ahead.