The shortlist for this year's Highlands and Islands Food and Drink Awards has been announced for categories including Restaurant of the Year, Drink of the Year and Best Food and Drink Tourism Experience.
Now in their 19th year, the Highlands & Islands Food & Drink Awards (HIFAD) encourage food and drink businesses to be “innovative, forward-thinking, and collaborative and celebrate their excellence and achievement”.
The 2024 judges, including representatives from Scotland Food & Drink, IQ International, Salmon Scotland, Wester Ross Fisheries and Food & Drink TechHUB, were tasked with curating a shortlist which offers a “fair reflection of the enormous talent, quality and choice across the Highlands and Islands”.
Jonathan Farmer from Wester Ross Fisheries, a member of the panel, said he had been delighted to see “so much innovation evident in the many high-quality entries in the awards.”
“We are seeing highly individual, authentic eating experiences created from the very best of Scottish produce from our region,” he continued.
“These influential awards live within that, looking for creativity, sustainability, and quality. They celebrate everything that’s good about Scottish cuisine.”
Chair of the judging panel, Laura Robertson from Highlands and Islands Enterprise, added: “Once again we have seen a high number of entries into these awards, which are now in their 19th year.
“Each category highlights the committed individuals behind a food and drink brand, a start-up, a restaurant, a street food stall, a distillery, or an experience.
“Our thanks go to everyone who has entered this year, and to our judges for whittling down the entries to represent the very best within the food and drink industry in the Highlands & Islands.”
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The final awards ceremony will take place on Friday, November 1 as nominees and event sponsors gather to celebrate together at The Kingsmills Hotel in Inverness.
The full shortlist is as follows:
Finalists for the Independent Retailer of the Year Award
· Brodie Countryfare, Forres
· Simpsons Garden Centre, Inverness
· Sound Butchers Ltd, Lerwick
Finalists for the Primary Producer award (sponsored by Salmon Scotland)
· Island Larder, Lerwick
· Miele's Gelateria, Inverness
Finalists for the Sustainability Award (sponsored by Wester Ross Fisheries)
· Islay Rum Company, Port Ellen, Isle of Islay
· Threaplands Ltd, Elgin
Finalists for the Supply Chain Business award
· Aquascot Ltd, Alness, Ross-shire
· Pro Fish Wholesaler & Retailer, Aviemore
Finalists for the Best Food & Drink Tourism Experience Award
· Eat Drink Hebrides, Outer Hebrides
· Hebrides Cruises, Oban
· Highland Food & Drink Trail, Inverness
· Islay Sea Adventures, Port Ellen, Isle of Islay
· Kintyre Gin School, Torrisdale, Argyll
· The Majestic Line (Scotland) Ltd, Dunoon, Argyll
· The Malt Whisky Trail, Moray
Finalists for the Best Start-Up award (sponsored by Be Personnel)
· Brough Bakes, Orkney
· Bute Yard Ltd, Isle of Bute
· Crofter’s Kitchen Scourie, Lairg
· La Balena, Stornoway
· Loch Ness Ice Cream, Inverness
· Tiny Fish Ltd, Oban
Finalists for the Best Eatery award (sponsored by Highland News & Media)
· Café Cuil, Isle of Skye
· IV10 Café Bar & Deli, Fortrose
· One One Two Wine Bar & Eatery, Nairn
· Puldagon Farm Shop & Restaurant, Puldagon, Wick
· The Store Café Ltd, Thurso
· XOKO Bakehouse & Cantina, Inverness
Finalists for the Restaurant of the Year award (sponsored by Highland Industrial Supplies)
· Delilah’s, Lairg
· Flavour, Isle of Harris
· No 88 Ltd, Lerwick
· Orrin Restaurant, Elgin
· The Boatshed Restaurant, Stornoway
· The Dipping Lugger, Ullapool
Finalists for the Best Street Food award
· Croft & Cuan, Isle of South Uist
· Crust, Isle of Lewis
· Highland Slice, Aviemore
· Lochmaddy Bay Prawns 2GO, North Uist
Finalists for the Young Ambassador of the Year (sponsored by Scotland Food & Drink)
· Paige Dennis, Island Larder, Lerwick, Shetland
· Caitlin Evans, The Lovat, Loch Ness
· Shannon Foubister, Brough Bakes, Orkney
· Alex Reid, Flavour, Isle of Harris
· Elliot Sabor, Orrin Restaurant, Elgin
Finalists for the Best Drink
· North Uist Distillery, Downpour Coast & Croft Gin, North Uist
· Highland Liquor Company, Seven Croft’s Fishermen’s Strength Gin, Ullapool
· Speyside Distillers, SPEY Trilogia, Kingussie
· Islay Spirits Company, Islay Rum Geal, Port Ellen, Isle of Islay
· Islay Sprits Company, Islay Rum Peat Spiced, Port Ellen, Isle of Islay
· Islay Spirits Company, Islay Rum Barrel Aged 46% vol, Port Ellen, Isle of Islay
Finalists for the Best Food: (sponsored by Seafood Scotland)
· Isle of Skye Sea Salt Company
· Ritchies Aultbea from Mellon Charles (haggis)
· Salar Smokehouse from South Uist
Finalists for Innovation Award (sponsored by Food & Drink TechHUB)
· 126 Water for Whisky, Loch Ness
· Braw Liquor Club, Isle of Bute
· Hawthorne Dairy, Inverness
· Loch Ness Ice Cream, Inverness
· The Highland Cake Collab, Inverness
Finalists for Best Marketing
· Great Glen Charcuterie, Roybridge
· The Victorian Market, Inverness
· Island Larder, Lerwick. Shetland
For more information on the Highlands and Island Food and Drink Awards, visit www.hifoodanddrinkawards.com.
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