Food producers in the Highlands were encouraged yesterday to follow the lead of lowland Scotland and forge better links between consumers and their businesses.
Farm Stay Scotland director Marion Oates said a food trail linking farmhouse bed and breakfasts and their suppliers had taken off in Fife, the Lothians and Borders and in Lanarkshire, benefiting all sides.
Mrs Oates made her call at a breakfast held to mark the start of the UK’s annual Farmhouse Breakfast Week. It was hosted by Rosanne MacKay at her farm-based bed and breakfast at Leanach, Culloden Moor, near Inverness.
There were 25 guests from local food suppliers and businesses and Visit-Scotland.
Mrs Oates, who runs her own farm-based bed and breakfast near Hawick, said the lowland food trail was the first of its type in Scotland.
She said breakfast was important in establishing good relationships with guests and in showcasing the very best local produce.
“For FarmStay, breakfast is our unique selling point as local produce is essential to us. Breakfast time is a great opportunity to get that over to guests,” she added.
“The food trail provided a direct link back to the butchers, the cheese makers and others who supplied produce. It’s the first time, I understand, that the accommodation providers and the food suppliers have been linked.
“I’d love to see more of these trails in other parts of Scotland, including the Highlands.
“We’ve linked 30 food producers with 60 farm-based accommodation providers. Of course, funding and assistance for them is essential.”
Mrs MacKay’s guests were served homemade porridge, fruit, yoghurt, croissants and rolls from baker Harry Gow as well as a full cooked breakfast featuring produce from A and I Quality Butchers at Culloden and John M Munro, the Dingwall-based meat processor and butcher.
Eggs came from Gordon Whiteford, of Highland Eggs. There was also smoked salmon.
She added: “It sounds quite exciting if it could be got off the ground. There could be quite a lot of interest. Restaurants could be brought on board too.”
FarmStay has 1,200 farm-based accommodation providers throughout the UK in 93 groups, including one that covers Scotland and which, this November, will host the organisation’s annual conference near Edinburgh.