Turriff Show’s EQ Food and Drink Pavilion is regarded as one of the top attractions at the north east’s traditional yet innovative two-day agricultural show. Running on 3 and 4 August at the Haughs in Turriff, the popular event is set to welcome over 24,000 visitors from around the region and beyond.
Close to 50 local producers and businesses will fill the EQ Pavilion showcasing the best of Scotland’s food and drink and the Quality Meat Scotland Cookery Theatre will, once again, enlighten visitors with practical cookery and butchery demonstrations on both days.
The popularity of this impressive display from truly local businesses is testament to the variety of local produce grown in the region. Businesses from further afield will also be showcasing their wares and demonstrating how they support their rural communities.
To name but a few longstanding and new local businesses exhibiting at the show – Portsoy Ice-cream, Summerhouse Drinks, Mackie’s Ice-cream, Bakery Lane, Glenkindie Pantry, Louise’s Farm Kitchen, Rora Dairy, Ellon Spirits, Wark Farm Pies, and from further afield, the School Yard Kitchen. Also likely to be a hit is The Tatty Shy which will be offering up bags of Taylor’s Crisps.
Tanya Hensel who runs Glenkindie Pantry in Strathdon will be exhibiting and sharing her story of making pink elderflower cordial after discovering a pink elderflower plant in her garden. Foraging for the blossoms takes place in six weeks during June and July and as much as possible is frozen for the creation of this refreshing drink year-round.
Tanya said: “Thanks to high demand for the cordial, I’ve now planted 100 pink elderflower trees creating an orchard. Customers add it to gin for an alcoholic tipple, ice-cream for a sweet treat, to fruit salads and cakes, and the sparkling pink elderflower is a delightful mixer – it’s lovely hearing all the different ways people like to use it. I’m looking forward to meeting new and existing customers at Turriff Show where visitors to our stand can sample and purchase our pink drinks.”
Sabrina March from Wark Farm Pies said: “During the show, the Turriff ‘Traders’ Tryst’ will gather Food & Drink available in the EQ marquee, either paired or used as an ingredient to showcase how to best serve it, adding to the uniqueness of this show, which will be enjoyed by so many making their way to the EQ Food and Drink Pavilion throughout the two days.
Quality Meat Scotland is sponsoring the Cookery Theatre once again; there will be live butchery demonstrations on using a wide range of meat cuts for everyday meals.
Andy McDonald of Oldmeldrum’s Presly Butchers will expertly demonstrate the preparation of tasty meals using Scotch Beef sourced from their beef farmer supplier in Auchterless, as well as Specially Selected Pork, during Monday’s Butchery demo. In his 45-minute session Andy will prepare a beef roast with one half of the carcass rump, and the other half will be diced for kebabs, cut into strips for a stir fry, and flank will be used to make beef roll ups containing cheese and salad.
Andy, whose passion is butchery said: “I’ll be showing visitors some ‘tricks of the trade’ that I’ve learned during my four years as a butcher. I love trying different things with various cuts of meat and demonstrating how to do this is rewarding. I hope to teach showgoers some new ways to enjoy delicious pork and beef at home.”
Sunday’s two cookery demonstrations will be led by World Champion Butcher Gary Raeburn who won the Scottish Butcher of the year title in May and then competed against winners from other countries including, New Zealand, Poland, Germany and more, to win the coveted world title.
Gary commented on his recent success: “Winning the world title was the result of over 20 years of hard work, learning and refining my craft. I’m proud to have created a display that reflected our heritage – using tartan, thistle and a theme rooted in traditional Scottish craft butchery. I involved a local florist, joiner, and other members of the community to ensure it truly represented who we are as a local, family-run business.
“Turriff Show has always been a great opportunity to showcase what we do behind-the-scenes, whilst highlighting the skill and variety involved in butchery – especially to people who might not normally see it. This year, I’ll be demonstrating how to prepare and cook different cuts of local beef and lamb, which not only supports our farmers but also encourages people to shop local. It’s easy to grab something quick from a supermarket, but there’s real value in a personal, local touch.”
Lauren Houstoun of Glenkilrie Larder will be cooking a ragu using a slow cooked venison shin and delicious ‘Sweet Red Balls’ – tomatoes grown by Standhill Farm in the Borders. Lauren comes from a Turriff farming family with long standing connections to the show. Her Grandparents, Eric and Mary Mutch, served as joint secretaries for the show for nearly 20 years. They were affectionately known as ‘Mr and Mrs Turriff Show, and her father Eric has also been President of the Show. During her cooking demonstration, Lauren will explain about their very own cookery school ‘From Land to Larder’, how they champion good school food, and demonstrating how versatile and economic cooking with wild venison is, as well as Scotch Beef and Scotch Lamb.”
Catriona Frankitti who runs the cookery theatre said: “Our wonderful butchers and chefs will be using some of the finest local ingredients to highlight the versatility of our region, the skill of its producers, and beauty of its products. We look forward to welcoming everyone to the show, visitors are sure to go away with ideas and produce to create their own culinary delight and to spread the word to friends and family. We cannot wait to welcome visitors to our vibrant EQ Food and Drink Pavillion!”
Storytelling is also on the menu in this year’s pavilion as the incredibly talented mum and vet Catherine Stables from Keith reads to young visitors in the children’s area. Catherine has written and illustrated three ‘Shona the Vet’ children’s books which explore the life of an Aberdeenshire vet and highlight the link between food and farming to encourage younger people to understand more about agriculture.
Catherine said: “The first two books are about a wildlife vet and the third explains farm animal husbandry. I like writing in rhyme and wanted to support farmers and highlight their importance. I’m really looking forward to reading my books to visitors at the show where I will have a stand in the pavilion.”
Moving from land to sea, Native Hebridean Salmon (sponsor of the Naturally Scottish Salmon slots) will show a wonderful film illustrating the beauty of the Outer Hebrides, and their native breed of salmon. A lovely ‘Inspiring recipes & canapes for every occasion’ booklet will be available, with demonstrations and tasters to capture a sense of place will be available in the pavilion. Quoting the booklet: “Descending from the wild salmon of rugged and remote North Uist in the Outer Hebrides and raised on the Hebridean Islands and west coast, Native Hebridean Salmon offers a sea fresh taste of Scotland.”
Turriff Show President, John Ledingham of Fintry Farm said: “Seeing food and drink producers from across the north east of Scotland and beyond showcasing their range of delicious food and drink is a real highlight of this show. I’m always impressed with the buzz in the EQ Food and Drink Pavilion, with producers eager to tell the stories behind their labours of love and to demonstrate how diverse and brilliant food and drink production in Aberdeenshire is. It’s particularly pleasing to see so many new stallholders this year, we wish them a tremendous couple of days and thank them for their support.”
Come along to Turriff Show on Sunday 3 and Monday 4 August. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit https://www.turriffshow.org/