‘Bigger and better’ food festival returns for third year

The third annual food fair, now rebranded as the Taste of Shetland Festival, got underway at Clickimin Leisure Centre tonight.

An array of exhibitors, demonstrations and special guests will delight foodies over the course of three days of culinary-themed activity at the leisure centre.

This year’s event will be promoting a grow your own theme with people being given the opportunity to learn what is required to start gorwing your own produce from stalls such as the Brae Building Centre.

Food and drink will on offer from a number of well-known local businesses including Caffe Volare, Mackenzie’s Farm Shop and Cafe and Anderson Butchers.

Headline attraction is always the demonstrations from seasoned chefs and this year’s line-up includes chef Michelle Lepherd and baker James Morton.

Northmavine man Morton rose to fame as a runner-up on the 2012 series of the Great British Bake Off while Lepherd has worked for Michelin-starred restaurants as well as serving as head chef for the Refugee Community Kitchen in Calais.

Well-known local chef Akshay Borges (who appeared in this week’s Shetland Times podcast) will also be in attendance, cooking up seafood from the So Much To Sea stall, with the added excitement of working with some unusual species.

On Sunday the Shetland Cooking Challenge will take centre-stage with the three finalists successful from earlier rounds battling to be named this year’s winner.

Jill Franklin, who recently became the first paid member of staff for Shetland Food and Drink Ltd, said that the festival, now in its third year, keeps getting “bigger and better”.

She added: “Each year folk are showing more and more interest in locally produced food and this year we hope to reach out to more people than ever before.”