A FISH trader's tireless work in bringing the 300 year old Arbroath smokies product into the modern age has been rewarded after he was voted the first-ever Herald Food Hero.
Following an impressive number of impassioned nominations from our readers, Iain R Spink of Original Smokies from Arbroath Limited has won the award.
The salmon and troust specialist's efforts even inspired a poem from one reader.
Mr Spink was presented with his accolade by broadcaster Kaye Adams, host of the glittering Scotland Food and Drink Excellence Awards ceremony the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.
The Herald Food hero was a brand new category in the annual Food & Drink Excellence Awards, and Herald readers were invited to nominate the person they thought had done most to deserve the award. It was the first time members of the public could take part.
Our shortlist also included organic farmer Bruce Bennett of Pillars of Hercules near Falkland, Fife, and forager Mark Williams of Galloway Wild Foods, Gatehouse of Fleet.
Winners of the 2015 Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards
Elsewhere, 19 Scottish food and drink businesses and individuals were selected from a record breaking 239 entries and a shortlist of 50 businesses to take the titles. Charlotte Flower Chocolates in Perthshire won the Product of the Year for their meadowsweet flavoured single origin chocolate thins; Golspie Mill's Cranachan Rustic Bites won in the Bakery and Bread category; Katy Rodger's Artisan Crowdie and Creme Fraiche won the Dairy award, while Peelham Farm Charcuterie in the Borders won the Meat category. Jamie Hutcheon of Cocoa Ooze in Aberdeenshire was given the Young Talent award, and James Watt of BrewDog was named Scottish Food and Drink Entrepreneur. Bruichladdich Distillery & The Agronomy Institute of UHI won the Innovation gong.
Isle of Skye Sea Salt Co, The Argyll Smokery, Highland Game, The Scottish Salmon Company, Dawnfresh Seafoods and Ian McLeod Distillers also won in their categories.
Siblings Jo and James Macsween of Macsween Haggis were jointly awarded a surprise Outstanding Contribution to Food & Drink accolade on the night. The award was presented in recognition of the company's growth which is primarily driven by their vision and dedication to creating new consumers through innovative product development and social media marketing.
A record breaking 239 entries were received for the awards, up 56% from 153 entries in 2014. In the course of their assessment of the award applications, the retail and foodservice judging panel tasted over 260 products during two day tasting session, examining submissions from 116 businesses across Scotland.
The awards are organised by Scotland Food & Drink in partnership with The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS). The title sponsor is Asda and the awards are supported by Think Local.
Chief Executive of Scotland Food & Drink, James Withers, said: "This year's Awards have been a huge success with a record number of entries and our biggest ever award dinner with over 800 people there to celebrate the sector.
The skill, passion and innovation that mark our industry is represented in the diversity of the finalists and winners. Food and drink is now a national success story for Scotland and the Awards let us shine a light on just some of the people and world-class products that are behind that success. Crucially, it gives us the complete confidence that our industry will continue to grow in markets at home and overseas in the years to come."
Magnus Llewellin, editor of The Herald, said: "We are delighted with the volume and quality of our readers' nominations for The Herald Food Hero. It is clear that Scottish food and drink is something our readers are passionate about."
Entries for 2016's Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards will open in January.
For a full list of 2015 winners, visit www.heraldscotland.com/food&drink
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