Isle of Harris Gin

Isle of Harris Gin was awarded Product of the Year 2018

Scotland’s “fantastic” food industry descended on Edinburgh last night as 26 winners celebrated their triumph in the Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards 2018.

The ceremony was hosted by chef and TV presenter Simon Rimmer, with more than 740 guests at Edinburgh’s International Conference Centre.

Selected from more than 275 entries, the judges sampled 197 Scottish products ranging from cheese and chocolate, to ginger beer and gin.

Special recognition was awarded for Product of the Year (Isle of Harris Gin), Business of the Year (Border Biscuits) and Outstanding Contribution (Jim McLaren, Quality Meat Scotland).

Other categories included Environmental Sustainability (won by The Bay Fish & Chips), Young Talent (won by Kirsty George of Luss Smokehouse), Innovation (won by Peel Tech) and Scottish Sourcing (won by The Whitehouse Restaurant).

The awards were organised by Scotland Food & Drink and run in partnership with the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, with Asda as headline sponsor.

“Congratulations to all winners and finalists who have been selected from a record number of entries by our panel of more than 45 judges,” said James Withers, Scotland Food & Drink chief executive.

“Scotland is home to some of the most innovative producers and these awards give us the chance to celebrate just a few of them. We have a fantastic mix of established world-class businesses and a new generation of entrepreneurs coming through.

“Scottish food and drink is now a national success story. Our unique partnership of industry bodies and Scottish government has driven that. However, it is the talent inside individual businesses that make our industry tick and who are putting Scotland on the global culinary map.”

Click here for the full list of winners

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