Shetland food and drink producers react to trio of success
Stuart Prestidge
Shetland’s Thule Ventus has won two awards in the inaugural Scottish Retail Food and Drink Awards, one of three isles food and drink producers to be recognised.
Its salt cod pate won both the Small Producer Fish category and the Platinum Small Producer award, chosen from the overall category finalists for products the judges deemed as having “absolutely outstanding quality”.
Managing director of Thule Ventus, David Polson said: “This is excellent news for us, and I’m absolutely delighted to have won both awards. The Scottish Retail Food and Drink Awards showcase the very best food and drink products on sale in Scotland and the fact that we have won is a true testament to the quality of our produce.
“I salt and air-dry the locally caught fish by hand, using the same methods that have been used in Shetland, and by my family, for hundreds of years. The salt cod pate is one of our best-selling products, so it is great to see it receiving such recognition.”
Lerwick Brewery’s Azacca Amarillo, the first crafted from start to finish by head brewer Jonny Sandison, won a bronze award.
Mr Sandison said: “We are absolutely delighted Azacca Amarillo won bronze in the Small Producer Beer category. It is our newest release and is a fruity hop explosion of mangoes, peaches and citrus, perfect for summer.
“As we open again for tours on Thursday, 6th May, we are sure this will be a new favourite in our tasting line-up.”
Completing a triplet of isle success stories is Uradale Farm, as their beef sassermaet romped home with the Small Producer Award in the Meat; Sausage and Burger category.
Jakob Eunson, who runs the meat side of the farms operations, said: “Its a traditional dish of Shetland that is a big part of its heritage. Sassermaet is a way of using the trim and the scraps to produce something they would heavily salt and season so they could have meat last longer.
“It’s kind of had modern updates to the recipe because the same amount of sass isn’t used as we now have refrigeration, so its not needed.”
“I thought why not enter, everyone seems to like my sassermaet. And I thought it would help to show the rest of the UK what Shetland has to offer in terms of quality of food.”
