Portsoy’s Scottish Traditional Boat Festival serving up tasty treats with food fayre
Award-winning businesses, from artisan producers and gourmet treats to Scotland’s finest whisky, will be on display in the food fayre at the Glenglassaugh Scottish Traditional Boat Festival.
The bustling marketplace on Saturday, June 28 and Sunday, June 29 will feature a range of culinary delights, taking visitors through a gastronomic journey from Aberdeenshire to Orkney and Perthshire to Inverness, with more than 40 different food and drink vendors taking part.
David Urquhart, chairman of the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival said: “While the festival is renowned for its stunning boats and nautical activities, it is also a food lover’s paradise.
“This year we have businesses from as far as the Orkney Islands and Isle of Skye showcasing their produce together with award-winning local brands.
“We also have a variety of catering options located around the harbour, to suit all tastes and diets.
“Kippers are back on the menu, alongside freshly caught fish, seafood and Aberdeen Angus beef, there will also be international flavours including paella, pizza and German sausages.
“Global brand ambassador, single malts, Stewart Buchanan from Glenglassaugh Distillery will take visitors through a guided tasting of their coastal malt expressions on Saturday and Sunday at the festival.”
A delectable array of vendors will be taking part in the Food Fayre, sponsored by Gray Composting Services.
Zingy-Tingy Beetroot return with their range of delicious pickled onions, beetroot, cabbage and their new product, spicy cauliflower.
Hamlyns of Scotland’s fine Scottish milled oatmeal bags and products will be available to browse and buy.
From classic beef and onion pie, made with aged, belted Galloway beef to the ultimate classic pork pie or lush lamb and prune, Wark Farm Pies are delicious.
The Damn Fine Cheese Company from Aviemore will be showcasing their range of delicious cheddar cheeses, look out for the wee yeastie beastie - which tastes like Twiglets.
Award-winning fourth generation butchery in Inverbervie, Bannerman Butcher brings its high-quality range of meats including burgers, steaks and sausages, plus Gerald’s famous pies.
Isle of Skye Baking Company’s wide range of baked goods are on offer, including scones, bread and loaves, quiche and cakes.
Based in Perthshire, Allan’s Chilli Products include award-winning jellies, chutneys and sauces and are made using their own specially created recipes.
Also visiting from Perthshire, is Highland Boundary which produces an innovative range of botanical spirits and liqueurs using the unique flavours of the Scottish wilderness.
Travelling to Portsoy from the Orkney Island of Shapinsay, Orkney Isles Preserves is a small family run business specialising in fine quality jams, marmalades and chutneys made using traditional recipes handed down through the generations.
Highland Park is one of Scotland’s oldest distilleries, capturing the essence of Orkney’s rugged landscapes, people can find their award-winning range at this year’s festival. Each whisky is meticulously crafted using traditional methods, including floor malting with Orkney peat, which imparts a distinctive smoky sweetness.
Tikka Box serve homemade Indian street food, cooked Punjabi style, including samosas, pakoras, vegetarian and meat curries.
Producing the best honey in the Highlands of Scotland, Loch Ness Honey is a beautiful, soft set honey produced from apiaries in the south Loch Ness hills.
Portsoy Ice Cream will be serving up their famous sundaes, waffle cones and tubs.
The Queen of Scottish confectionery, Val’s Scottish Tablet is made to her mother’s traditional Western Isles recipe and produced in small batches so it is always fresh and melts in the mouth.
A wide range of fudge, in lots of different flavours, can be found at Kilted Fudge.
Dips with a difference are available from Dip Club! With flavours including Papa Don’t Peach and Tequila Little Time, they are guaranteed to elevate snack time, liven up a burger or add some zing to nachos.
Scrumptious home baking is on offer from Gladstone Bakery from Peterhead, with its traybakes, cookies, fudge and handmade butteries.
The festival will also be bringing Glasgow’s first brownie bar, Berto’s Brownies to the event.
Ovenbird Coffee Roasters from Glasgow will be serving coffee and their delicious hot chocolate, which is a must try. For the tea lovers Highland Tea Box has high quality, traditional and loose-leaf teas.
Spey Valley Brewery’s distinctive beers are made using the same water and barley as world-renowned whiskies.
Take home a bottle of Swally, Belter, Beamer or Sonsie from Scottish microbrewery, Outlandish Brewing Company.
Producing cordial from locally sourced pink elderflowers, Glenkindie Pantry from Strathdon will be serving its refreshing and healthy drink and spicy fruit chutneys.
The Wee Scottish Cider Company returns with its delicious Siedear, the first Scottish cider created using the champagne method.
Discover juicy fruity, berry loaded, blossom scented, award-winning country wines from Cairn O’Mohr.
Tayport Distillery will be attending for the first time with its range of authentic Scottish spirits.
Green fingered visitors can find a selection of high-quality plants from Eden Plants, located beside the Sail Loft.
“Posh tucker by the sea” will see Stonehaven’s Seafood Bothy serving up wraps, nachos, rolls and specialities including seafood lasagne.
Aspire Restaurant will be serving up kippers from Messrs J Smith fish shop at the New Harbour, served with oatcakes from J Donalds Bakery in Portsoy. Messrs J Smith will be open all weekend with a wide variety of fish available to buy.
Those in the mood for a burger can head to Sarah’s Burger Shack or G&M Whyte. G&M Whyte is a family run outdoor catering business and it will also be serving traybakes and muffins with specialist barista coffee from The Italian Coffee Bar.
Enjoy an authentic taste of German street food from Edelwurst Catering while The Little Kitchen from Buckie has fish and chips, along with a range of loaded fries on the menu.
Salt and Chilli will be serving salt and chilli chicken with fries or noodles.
In the Coastal Crafts area, visitors will find Café Sal from Aberdeen, which will be serving espresso coffee, loose leaf tea, hot chocolate, summer iced drinks and bakes and cakes.
Returning to the festival for their sixth year is Haydn’s Woodfired Pizzas.
Desserts and sweet treats are available at Popsey’s Pancakes, and no festival visit would be complete without a scoop, or two of the famous, Portsoy Ice Cream.
Savour a taste of summer with juicy strawberries and cream from Deeside Soft Fruit, along with waffles, pancakes, muffins and crepes.
Beside the Sail Loft there will be a taste of Espana at The Spanish Kitchen, which will be offering two different paellas, chicken and chorizo or seafood. They are made using locally sourced fish and seafood from Messrs J Smith. All paellas are gluten, egg and dairy free.
Or visit Italy with Auld Smokey Pizza and its handmade Neapolitan pizzas.
Across in the Kids’ Zone, Mo and Wendy’s Street Food will be keeping hungry children, and parents, refuelled with its range of burgers, hot dogs, chips, toasties, tea, coffee, hot chocolate and whippy ice-cream.
For more information and to purchase tickets visit www.stbfportsoy.org
The festival is sponsored by Glenglassaugh, Puffin Wood Fuels, Hamlyn’s of Scotland, Portsoy Thrift Shop, Portsoy 75 Club, Urquhart Joinery Services, Macduff Shipyards, Messrs J Smith, Camwater, Gray Composting Services and North East Scotland Preservation Trust.
The Glenglassaugh Scottish Traditional Boat Festival was first held in 1993 as an event to celebrate the tercentenary of Portsoy’s old harbour.
Since then, it has been firmly anchored in the town’s calendar, taking place annually each summer and attracting thousands of visitors from across the region, and further afield.
The festival is set around Portsoy’s 17th century harbour and is run by Portsoy Community Enterprise which also manages Portsoy Links Caravan Park, The Sail Loft Bunkhouse, The Salmon Bothy and The Boatshed.
For more information visit www.stbfportsoy.org or on social media at @STBFPortsoy #ahoyportsoy
