Partnering the industry showcase for the first time and to mark the collaboration, our teams created a new award category, designed to recognise an innovative company or person who has made a ground-breaking impact on Scottish food and/or drink.
The public vote on our Scotsman Food and Drink site resulted in more than fifty nominees such as The Crema Caravan, Chillilicious and Mara Seaweed, as well as individuals including Ben Reade of Edinburgh Food Studio, Ewan Henderson of Scotch Broth Events and Craig Stevenson of Braehead Foods.
After much deliberation, the judging panel made up from members of the team from Scotland Food & Drink and The Scotsman’s editorial staff settled on a shortlist of three they believe perfectly embody the description of Food Pioneer.
The nominees are Fred Berkmiller, restaurant owner of L’Escargot Bleu and L’Escargot Blanc in Edinburgh; Arbikie Highland Estate, based in Inverkeilor, and Beth Berry, business manager at Stockbridge Market in Edinburgh.
The winner will be announced at the Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards ceremony at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on 2 June.
