A distiller who works at Dunnet Bay Distillers in Thurso has won NFU Mutual’s Inspirational Young Person Award.
Craig Chambers, 23, won the award, which looks to uncover inspirational examples of talented 16 to 26-year-olds who own, work or study in the food and drink sector.
He began his career with Dunnet Bay Distillers when he was 18 and after obtaining a university degree in brewing and distilling, he secured a position as a distiller.
Mr Chambers has thrived in this role and identified improvements to the business processes, represented the brand at events and helped create new recipes designed to reduce energy consumption during distilling by 90%.
‘I am delighted to be presented this award’
Mr Chambers said: “I am delighted to be presented this award, it’s been a great first year working as a distiller. I have to thank Martin and Claire for putting my name forward.
“I am heading off to Argentina in November to work at a whisky distillery out there for six months, so the money (£500 cash prize) will be going towards that. I’ll maybe squeeze a few celebratory beers out of it as well.”
‘A fantastic ambassador for the sector’
Deputy chief executive and strategy director for Scotland Food and Drink, John Davidson added: “Scotland’s food and drink industry is full of innovative and talented young people who are going to be driving our sector forward in the coming years
“Craig is an excellent example of this and a fantastic ambassador for the sector. His passion for distilling combined with his ability to think outside of the box makes him a deserving winner of this award.”
Conversation