The BBC Good Food Show Scotland

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The BBC Good Food Show Scotland is set to be an exciting showcase for some of the very best tasting food produced in Scotland when the doors open at the SECC, Glasgow on 31st October. For three days, visitors will be able to see and try for themselves a range of different top quality foods in the Slow Food Pavilion. Thanks to a partnership between the BBC Good Food Show and Slow Food UK, many of the small producers in the Pavilion who would not otherwise have been able to be at the show are now able to make the most of this fantastic opportunity to showcase their superb tasting products to a large and varied food-loving audience. The partnership offers a selection of Bursary and subsidised stands to producers with foods exemplifying Slow Food UK's Good, Clean and Fair criteria. The judging was presided over by well-known Scottish chef and Slow Food supporter, Christopher Trotter.

The Slow Food movement is committed to preserving our cultural food heritage and it champions regional diversity. It sets high standards for its accredited producers to meet insisting on a product with great taste and no additives and preservatives which is produced in a manner that is fair to all involved – be they animals or humans. The movement is gaining popularity as more people are becoming conscious of how little we know about how our food is produced and where it comes from. Local food has also become more high profile as the "food miles" debate has made people think about the advisability of buying food that has travelled far when products of equal or better quality are available locally.

Successful applicants who will be appearing in the Slow Food Pavilion will include Ardalanish Farm with their superb tasting organic beef and mutton. Located in a remote south western corner of the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides, the owners of this farm rear Highland cattle and Hebridean sheep, allowing them to mature slowly roaming freely on the farm's heather hill or Hebridean coast line. The farm is well known not just for the quality of the organic meat it produces but for the organic tweeds and knitwear they make from the sheep's wool.

Creelers of Arran will be bringing their range of fresh fish, shellfish and smoked food from the Isle of Arran to the show. Owner, Tim James, is a fisherman with many years' experience which he now uses to source only the very best local fish and shellfish to serve in his two restaurants and at Farmers' Markets. He also set up the Arran Smokehouse which uses salmon from an independent fish farm which is sustainable and a leading member of the Freedom Food organization. In addition to smoked salmon and gravadlax, the Smokehouse also produces Loch Fyne Kippers, smoked duck and smoked Arran venison.

Fletchers of Auchtermuchty have used another skill as the basis for their specialist venison business. Founder John Fletcher is a qualified vet who specialised in deer and has now built up a small family business selling their fabulous tasting venison through a farm shop, at Farmers' Markets and by direct mail order. The deer are reared on their farm in Auchtermuchty, Cupar with total respect for their need to be in a natural environment and enjoy natural behaviour and the result is wonderful tasting meat. The animals are humanely shot on the farm with no distress to the animal and are made into products ranging from all cuts of venison to venison sausages, burgers, mince and even venison haggis! John's wife, Nichola, is an award-winning author of a book on venison cookery.

Hugh Grierson Organic specialise in free range organic chicken and eggs. The chickens are home reared on the farm in Tibbermore, Perth where they are allowed to mature slowly and roam freely. Meeting strict organic and animal welfare standards, the chickens are provided with a secure 'house' in a field which they roam during the day foraging for grass, clover and insects. On average the chickens are kept for twice as long as with standard producers making for an enormously flavourful bird. They are the only producer in Scotland breeding organic chickens for the independent market. The family-run business also produces organic pork, lamb and beef.

St Andrews Cheese Company is a brand new venture. The Stewart family has been farming at Falside Farm in Pittenweem, Fife for fifty years but with the falling price of milk, they needed a business sideline as a way of adding value to their product. In January 2008 after considerable investment, the first cheese was produced solely from the unpasteurised milk of the cows on the farm. Made using traditional methods, the Anster cheese is fresh and dry with a crumbly texture that dissolves in the mouth with a full-flavoured finish. The cheese is available to buy directly from the farm or in local delis.

Falko Konditormeister rounds off the bursary stand winners at the show. Falko is a qualified German Konditormeister which means master of anything made with sugar! The Edinburgh based specialist is an Observer Food Monthly award winner and he will be bringing a range of superb artisan bread and cakes to the Slow Food Pavilion.

Enjoying subsidised stands at the show will be Monachyle Mhor, based in Lochearnhead, who will be showing and sampling their traditional hand-made artisan breads, made using flour milled in Scotland with no preservatives. They produce new varieties including poppy seed and cheese and onion bread alongside more traditional recipes and a pan loaf made with quality ingredients but sliced and packaged for those who prefer the more 'processed' style. They will also be selling sustainable fish and seafood from the north coast of Scotland caught fresh every day.

Also on a subsidised stand with be Nethergate Larder who breed free range rare breed pigs and sheep on their farm in Dunlop. Owner Thomson McKenzie believes in slowly produced, wholesome food and in giving the animals a good life and then making the best possible products from them. Breeds include Tamworth pigs, Castlemilk Moorit lambs and White Park Cattle and in addition to all the usual cuts of meat, they also produce speciality burgers and meatballs.

Steve Mitchell is the owner of the Puddledub Buffalo, the last subsidised stand in the Slow Food Pavilion. He is the fourth generation of Mitchells to farm at Clentrie in Fife and alongside his uncle's pigs, he farms water buffalo recently seen on Gordon Ramsay's F word. Steve is selling buffalo meat and burgers as well as his Aberdeen Angus beef.

The Slow Food Bursaries and subsidised stands were awarded by a special panel presided over by Christopher Trotter. With over 25 years of experience working in Scotland and all over the world, Christopher is passionate about food, its regional specialities, tradition and heritage. Christopher commented on the Slow Food Bursaries:

"I am delighted by the high quality of the participants in the Slow Pavilion, it shows off the variety of food produced at this level in Scotland. The energy and enthusiasm of the producers will take visitors to the SECC by storm and I am greatly looking forward to being a part of it." The BBC Good Food Show Scotland will take place at the SECC in Glasgow between 31st October and 2 November. Tickets are available to book now so why not treat yourself (or a friend!) and ensure your chance to enjoy the Slow Food Pavilion alongside the great range of other high quality food on offer. You can even stock your festive drinks cabinet or make a start on the Christmas shopping.

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