The Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight starts on Saturday 1st September and the 5pm Dining blog has all the details.
Running until Sunday 16th September, the annual event is designed to celebrate Scotland’s larder.
Coinciding neatly with the harvest, there are some 200 associated events taking place around the country. These range from food festivals to farmers’ markets and cookery demos.
The 5pm Dining blog will highlight a few over the next couple of weeks but you can get a flavour of the various events here.
Government agency Scotland Food and Drink is also keen to highlight the rewarding career opportunities in the sector for young people.
The organisation has set out a long-term vision to fill around 27,000 jobs by 2022 to ensure the industry continues to grow.
Harnessing the Year of Young People, this year’s campaign, entitled #ScotFoodGoals, is focused on the future of the sector.
Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight: encouraging young Scots
Designed as a platform to champion the talented young people in the industry and promote the amazing career opportunities, the campaign encourages Scots to share their goals for the future of the sector.
At yesterday’s launch event in Glasgow’s Arches, James Withers, Chief Executive at Scotland Food & Drink, was joined by Fergus Ewing, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Connectivity, and young people who are contributing in their own way to the ongoing success of the industry.
Ellie Sinclair, Patrick MacHugh, Rory Campbell and Jenny MacDonald each spoke about their experiences of being a young person working in the food and drink industry. Top of their agenda was why they believe it’s important to attract more under 30s and what their goals are for the future.
Speaking at the event, James Withers said: ‘The global reputation Scotland has for its food and drink is unparalleled. Now is an exciting time to be involved in the sector in Scotland. The opportunity for the next generation to raise the bar ever higher is hugely compelling.
‘By 2030 we want to have doubled the value of Scotland’s food and drink industry. While this is a challenge, we believe it’s achievable, especially with more young people choosing careers in food and drink.’
Promoting outstanding Scottish produce
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy, Fergus Ewing said: ‘Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight is vital in helping to promote the outstanding produce we have here in Scotland, as well as celebrating those who grow, make, cook and sell it. With 2018 being the year of the young people, it is also a fantastic platform to champion and promote the diverse and amazing opportunities within our food and drink sector.
‘The next two weeks is therefore the perfect opportunity for everyone to get involved in thinking more about where our food and drink comes from. I would encourage as many people as possible to visit one of the many exciting events taking place during the campaign throughout the country.
Of course, you can engage with campaign on social media: @Eat_Scottish (Twitter), @Eat_Scottish (Instagram) and @eatscottish (Facebook)