A Message from our Ambassador

Last October we saw the welcome return of The Highlands and Islands Food & Drink Awards following a two-year hiatus and I was given the immense honour of being awarded Ambassador of the Year for the second time in my career.

It was great to see a huge number of entries from food and drink businesses across the Highlands and Islands region. Finalists across the ten categories truly represented the very best of food, drink and hospitality across the region - covering everything from Highlands and Islands classics such as whisky and salmon, to trend-led innovations including seaweed snacks and vegan chocolate. The array of innovative and passionate producers and eateries in our region is nothing short of inspiring.

As part of my duty as Ambassador, I will be joining the Highlands and Islands Food & Drink Awards steering group - joining the likes of Sam Faircliff from Cairngorm Brewery, Marian Armitage from Shetland Food and Drink, Douglas Hardie from the Highland Food and Drink Trail, the team from Highlands and Islands Enterprise and our latest young ambassador of the year, Ella Moxon from Midge Bite Café. The job of our group is to shape the future of the awards - making sure we continue to represent the ever-changing industry and ensure our awards remain nationally recognised.

For 2023, we’ve developed three new categories that allow participation from an even wider-cross section of the industry: an E-commerce Award, the Best Start Up Award and a Best Street Food Award.

This is the second time I’ve been awarded Highland and Islands Food & Drink Awards Ambassador of the year. I was first given this incredible honour in 2013. A lot has changed in the last nine years but the purpose of the awards stays the same - we want to help raise the profile of food and drink businesses in our region and entering the awards is a great way of doing this.

Whether you’re looking to drive awareness amongst peers; get your name into the media; create buzz across social media; or if you’re looking for a new buyer; the Highlands and Islands Food & Drink Awards are a recognised and trusted accolade.

We all have a huge role to play in growing our industry and with this ready-made platform to show off what we’re doing in the Highlands and Islands, I would encourage brewers, bakers, restaurateurs and everyone in between to join us for Highlands and Islands Food & Drink Awards 2023.

Businesses can submit their nominations across fourteen categories at   www.hifoodanddrinkawards.com before the closing date of Friday 16th June.

Shortlisting will take place during the summer with the winners being revealed at the prestigious awards ceremony at Kingsmills Hotel, Inverness on Friday 27^th October. Tickets will be available to buy later in the year.

Good luck everyone!