A quartet of businesses in the north-east and the Highlands and Islands are celebrating after being recognised in the recently announced 2020 awards.
Honouring those who have went above and beyond during the coronavirus pandemic which hit the UK last March, the businesses celebrated range from a variety of industries.
Organised by SME News, the Scottish Enterprise Awards highlight small and medium sized firms whose efforts have yielded top-class products and services within Scotland.
Hospitality innovator
In the north-east it was catering firm and events specialist caterers Entier Limited who received the title of Best Bespoke Catering & Hospitality Company 2020.
Founded by CEO Peter Bruce in 2008, the business, which is based in Westhill, Aberdeenshire, has been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic with its events services stopping almost immediately overnight.
By diversifying and ensuring it can still operate effectively for those catering clients who rely on the business’ services, Peter and his team have managed to weather the pandemic and have also launched a new fine-dining at home service called Dine at Home by Entier.
Young gin firm
In the Cairngorms, Carrbridge-based firm the Cairngorm Gin Company is also celebrating having been awarded the title of Small-Batch Gin Producer of the Year 2020.
Established in November 2019 by Jack Smith, the small-batch spirits firm makes around 70 bottles per batch, and uses locally-sourced ingredients for the botanicals in the gin, with cloudberry, a native bramble to the Cairngorms used, too.
With 70 bottles in each batch, Jack says winning an award during a pandemic is a great feeling. Having only just been operating for a few months before Covid-19 hit, he is delighted with the outcome.
Jack Smith, said: “It feels really good to have one. We were nominated for it by someone and we were contacted to send some supporting materials. We did that and told them a bit about the story, how the gin is made etc., and fortunately enough we ended up winning it.
“I think our tagline ‘Inspired by the land we live on’ sets us apart as we’ve really drawn inspiration from the area. We collect water from the River Spey and we filter it in-house. The cloudberry is native to the Cairngorms and I think we were the first distillers in the UK to use them as they are quite rare. We’re just trying to be a bit different as there’s so many gins around.
“It is unfortunate that we had just started trading in November 2019 and then when lockdown kicked in a few months later, we just tried to build up a name. All of our sales were primarily on a local level and before we knew it everyone was being forced to close. We had to focus locally and built things up that way. We’re a small company so it is great to have been awarded this accolade.”
Diversifying baking services
Winning Best Highlands Small Restaurant 2020 was Stacks Bistro & Coffee House in John O’Groats.
Run by mother and daughter duo Teresa and Rebecca Wymer, the venue is the most northerly restaurant on the UK mainland.
With hospitality hit badly by the pandemic, the business had to adapt, and by launching an online brownie box service, not to mention starting a takeaway offering where locals could come and collect meals and bakes, the business has so far managed to survive the pandemic.
Honesty box
And in Shetland, it was Lynn Johnson, owner of The Cake Fridge who won the Northern Isles & Emerging Rural Enterprise of the Year 2020 award for her bakery and tearoom.
Established in 2012 as a roadside cake fridge which operates using an honesty system where the public can access freshly-made bakes and cakes, as well as farm produce, Lynn opened her first tearoom in 2019, giving her customer the chance to pop in for a cuppa.
Located on a single-track road between Voe and Aith at East Burrafirth, the business has continued to keep its fridges fully stocked throughout the pandemic to ensure customers didn’t go without.
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