Maggie and Mark Bush of Summer Harvest with some of their many awards
Three innovative Strathearn food companies working in collaboration are set to be featured on this week's episode of BBC Landward.
Date:
Mon, 10 Oct 2011
Source:
Summer Harvest/Dalchonzie Fruit Farm/Wild Thyme
Summer Harvest Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil of Madderty, along with Dalchonzie Fruit Farm and Wilde Thyme of Comrie, jointly produce Summer Harvest’s range of multi-award-winning dressings.
It was the collaboration of these three local companies that caught the eye of the Landward production team.
Mark Bush, managing director of Summer Harvest Oils, said: "Our three companies hold similar values in aspiring for top-quality food.
"It made so much sense, therefore, to work together using our premium produce and top-quality skills to jointly produce four delicious dressings."
In the short time since launching the dressings just over a year ago, the products have received two leading awards including a UK-wide Great Taste Award from the Guild of Fine Food and a ScotHot Product Award. ScotHot is a biannual trade show for the Scottish hospitality, tourism and catering industry.
The process of developing the dressings started over two years ago with Andrew Hamer, managing director of Wilde Thyme and former executive chef of Gleneagles, developing various recipes.
This was followed by consumer taster sessions held at farmers' markets and shows before deciding on four dressings. These are Apple & Walnut, Bramble & Juniper, Lemon & Honey, and Raspberry.
As well as being the only dressings that are made predominantly with Perthshire produce, they also have the added advantage of being flexible and can be used not just as salad dressings but also as dips or marinades.
In addition, they boast the health benefits of the cold pressed rapeseed oil which has 6% saturated fats, half that of olive oil. Cold pressed rapeseed oil also has 10 times the omega 3 of olive oil, making it one of the healthiest oils on the market.
The cold pressed market in the UK is growing over 25% year-on-year with a market value upwards of £5 million.
Summer Harvest, a member of BACPOP, has won also two Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards.
Meanwhile, Dalchonzie Fruit Farm began growing fruit in 1989. Over many summers it has refined its techniques to produce fruit full of natural flavour and goodness, with minimal intervention.
One of Scotland’s leading event caterers, Wilde Thyme's ethos is to deliver excellence in everything it does. The company was awarded Best Caterer at the UK Event Awards 2010, following on from winning the Catering in Scotland Award for Independent Event Caterer of the Year in 2006 and Outdoor Caterer of the Year in 2008 at the Scottish Event Awards.
In 2011, Wild Thyme won the CIS Excellence award for Independent Event Caterer of the Year" 2011.
BBC Landward will be screened on BBC2 Scotland this Friday (14th October) at 7pm.
More information:
Summer Harvest.
Dalchonzie Fruit Farm.
Wild Thyme.
Looking to source oils and dressings in Scotland? Use Scotland Food & Drink's Buyers' Guide.