On this special bonus episode of Scran we are looking back to the Scottish Food and Drink Excellence awards which took place in Glasgow a few weeks back. The Excellence Awards shine a light on the incredible businesses that call Scotland home.   Underpinned by people, passion, and perseverance, it is an opportunity to toast the industry’s fantastic achievements over the past year, whilst looking to the future and supporting the next wave of innovation and creativity Rosalind is joined by...

Rosalind's guest on this episode needs little introduction these days as he has become one of Scotland's best known food ambassadors. Coinneach MacLeod aka The Hebridean Baker joins Scran once again to fill Rosalind in on his adventures - sharing his love of hebridean baking, cookery and culture all around the world. He's just launched a new book, The Scottish Cook Book and Rosalind delves into what he's included in this one and hears all about his recent trip to America which included some...

On this very special bonus episode of Scran produced in partnership with Diageo we are heading north as Cardhu distillery celebrates 200 years of producing whisky. Licensed in 1824, it was the first distillery to be officially pioneered by a woman. And what better way to mark this special occasion than by celebrating all women pioneers, and three in particular? This episode was recorded at Cardhu Distillery in Speyside and features snippets from a celebratory event where the team welcomed-in...

On this episode, we take a deep dive into Halloween traditions, folklore and food with food historian and writer Peter Gilchrist and Rebecca McEwan from Arnprior Farm. As we really get into autumn season this month, many of us will be looking forward to Halloween and possibly going to a pumpkin patch to pick one to carve for Halloween. Rebecca’s farm, Arnprior in Stirlingshire, started growing pumpkins in 2015 and is now one of the many pick your own pumpkin patches in Scotland - offering a...

On today's episode we're learning a lot more about cask trading as well as about a whole new way of profiling whisky flavours - by mood! On this episode Rosalind takes a trip to her homeland of Fife to visit Single Cask. Established in 2010 Single Cask bottles award-winning whiskies at natural cask-strength and trades whisky all over the world. In an attempt to set themselves apart from other independent whisky bottlers they have invented a whole new marketing method which allows customers to...

This episode it's all about women in whisky. Rosalind is joined by Becky Paskin, drinks journalist, broadcaster and founder of Our Whisky Foundation which supports and promotes women in the whisky industry. Rosalind is also joined by Sarah Burgess, whisky maker for the Lakes Distillery. The trio discuss the reasoning behind setting up the Our Whisky Foundation and what it's doing for women in the industry. This includes a very successful mentorship programme which is growing by the year....

To mark the 900th anniversary of the Royal Burgh of Stirling, Forth Valley Food and Drink has launched a series of four captivating short documentaries that delve into the lesser-known stories of Stirling’s rich food and drink heritage. Rosalind wanted to learn more about this series so spoke to Lesley Wilkinson who researched and commissioned the films and Murray Cook, Stirling Council's archaeologist to learn more. Lesley talks about why the films came about and some of the amazing finds...

It's that time of year again when team Scran cannot resist the temptation of the world's biggest arts festival. Rosalind went along earlier this week to enjoy a foodie's day out at the festival and bring you some top shows to consider if you're heading to Edinburgh this August. First up she hit C Venue for coffee, a croissant and Shakespeare for Breakfast. This show has been performed at the Edinburgh Fringe festival for 33 years. Rosalind chats to Mary Gensich, Company Manager for C Theatre...

We've got something a little different for you today - the first ever Scran Live! which took place at this year's Royal Highland Show in Ingliston. The Royal Highland Show is such an inspirational and vibrant event it was wonderful to be part of it. Our panel session looked at what it's like for small producers to get their products on to supermarket shelves. We welcomed back some previous Scran alumni Kim Cameron of Jam Bothy and Gin Bothy, and Tim Chisholm of Buck and Birch. And new to the...

On this special partner episode of Scran Rosalind pays a trip to an historic hostelry in the South of Scotland - the one and only Globe Inn in Dumfries and Galloway. Famed as the favourite haunt and second home of Robert Burns, it was purchased by David Thomson and Teresa Church in 2018. Their investment in this famous bar and restaurant has seen it go from strength to strength.  Rosalind's visit starts with a tour of this fascinating establishment, guided by Kathleen Cronie (Mostly...

The Scotsman's Scran Awards took place for the second year recently. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet with the great and good of the Scottish food and drink industry. The shortlisted businesses and individuals are testament to the vibrant and thriving industry. Rosalind wanted to get a couple of the winners to come on Scran to talk about their business and explain what the awards mean for them and their teams. First up she is joined by Chef Neil Forbes Cafe St Honore in Edinburgh...

Back in May Rosalind took a trip to Speyside to witness some of the celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of The Macallan. As part of these celebrations they undertook an extraordinary collaboration with Cirque du Soleil. It would appear that more and more often these days whisky brands are going to extreme lengths to market and promote their products. Macallan has certainly become a part of the high end of the market so Rosalind set out to learn more about the celebrations and whether...

First up Rosalind speaks to Louise Elder, Director of the Royal Highland Agricultural Society of Scotland and Chief Steward of Scotland's Larder. Louise has been involved in the show for many years and talks about how it represents so many different things to so many different people. Su Cox also joins Rosalind on this episode. Su who comes from some serious foodie lineage and is the Communications and New Business Development Director at Bakkafrost Scotland & Scottish Hebridean Salmon....

On this episode Rosalind chat to Rodney Wages, chef-patron of Avery, who is gearing up to fully open the doors to his restaurant in Stockbridge.  Kansas native Wages moved to California as a young chef to work in the kitchen at The French Laundry. He honed his culinary skills in other popular San Francisco restaurants and in 2016, he launched his pop-up RTB, which would later evolve into the Michelin star-winning Avery Restaurant. In 2022 he visited Edinburgh and, after falling in love with...

You may have noticed a growing popularity for day time clubbing events in recent months. It would appear nightlife is changing, with a shift towards the day time for socialising and dancing. On this episode we learn more about this new trend, where it came from and what impact it is having on the local industry. First up Rosalind speaks to Line of Duty actress Vicky McClure and partner the writer/producer Jonny Owen about their day-time clubbing experience Day Fever. Vicky's mantra is 'music...

Welcome to this special partner episode of Scran where we are teaming up with St James Quarter in Edinburgh to preview the forthcoming Edinburgh Seafood Festival which runs for the May Bank Holiday weekend from Saturday 4th to Monday 6th May. Many of the diverse eating and drinking destinations in St James Quarter are embracing this year’s Edinburgh Seafood Festival by creating exclusive dishes and menus that guests can enjoy over the weekend including Ka Pao and Duck and...

On today's episode we're coming at food and drink from a slightly different angle. Word of Mouth (WOM) is an exhibition of new artworks and writing exploring our relationship to food, cooking and kitchens. With work spanning across print, writing, textile, collage, and paint, Word of Mouth encourages us to consider how much food and cooking inform and sustain us in our everyday lives. Word of Mouth is currently running at the Scottish Storytelling Centre on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh....

On this episode Rosalind's guest is chocolatier Chloe Oswald of Chocolatia - a business she founded during Covid, in her brother's flat in Forfar and which has gone on to do great things. Chloe has been the recipient of many awards and her chocolate continues to impress many a palate. Chloe talks to me about her time in some of Scotland's most respected kitchens and why ethically-sourced chocolate is so important to her. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we're getting very excited about one of the international cultural events of the year. The Oscars take place this weekend and in an amazing turn of events, two Scottish businesses have reason to celebrate. Fetcha Chocolates and The Gin Bothy will both see their products feature as part of the famous "Everyone Wins" gift bags which the nominees receive. These bags have an approximate value of $125,000 and include such exclusive contents as luxury skincare and a lavish holiday in St...

Rosalind's guests on this Bonus episode of Scran are Martin Compston and Phil MacHugh, stars of Martin Compston's Norwegian Fling which has recently started on BBC Scotland and BBC Two. You may be familiar with Martin Compston from his acting roles in hit TV series' such as Line of Duty and The Rig and Phil MacHugh is a TV personality and owner of Skapa PR which is based in Edinburgh. A couple of years back, Martin and good friend Phil set out to film a Scottish travelogue adventure and its...

This is a special partnership episode of Scran with the Scotch Whisky Experience. Nestled on Castle Hill, within a stones throw of Edinburgh Castle, the Scotch Whisky Experience has been welcoming visitors from all over the world since the late 80s - a time when the world of whisky was very, very different to what it is now. Rosalind went along to experience this popular tour and speak to some of the people in the know about how it came about, what it has to offer and how it has played a not...

On this episode of Scran Rosalind takes the long trek north to experience a singular event, Shetland's Up Helly Aa which takes place in Lerwick at the end of January each year.  Rosalind spent two days on the island learning about the festival and its long tradition as well as exploring Shetland's world of food and drink, both past and present. You'll hear an array of voices, music and sounds on today's podcast.  First up Rosalind meets Ryan Leith of the Up Helly Aa Committee to learn more...

On today's episode we are looking at the changing face of the dairy industry. With a rich heritage of dairy farming and production in Scotland, challenges over the last 20 years have meant that dairies have had to diversify or die. Today we talk to three such businesses whose roots in traditional farming are still informing their work today. First up Rosalind chats to Bryce Cunningham of Mossgiel farm.  Having experienced a number of devastating blows the business was forced to go back to...

We're still in party mode for another little at Scran so we're talking about cocktails. More specifically we're talking to Iain McPherson of Edinburgh's Panda & Sons about his career, the cocktail business, trends and what to expect from cocktails in 2024 and beyond. Iain tells Rosalind about the fascinating work he's been doing around using freezing processes in cocktails, having gone to great lengths to study the science and craft behind it all. She also find out how it feels for him...