Welcome to the Ayrshire Food Network

Newsflash

 Update . February 8th

HEADLINES:  New 2010  bedroom pack  leaflet and separate map available  for download  from  introductory section  (see  just above here  ) as from   February 1st

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 The exciting Balvenie Whisky tasting  on the 3rd Feb   was  an amazing  event  and all those attending  were able to  experience the journey from the new make spirit to a 20+ year old  port finished   gem .We thank Andrew Forrester for his  expert yet  very user friendly  guidance  and insights.... a true  Ambassador..BCSH provided a very flavoursome  buffet  and Carrick Wines  introduced us to two of their  most  interesting  Italian wines .

 The Food Fayre  at   Alloway 1759  was  an eye opener  for many  visitors,as they experienced  flavoursome local produce  including dirty carrots!! 

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Ayrshire  Food Network/Slow Food  were  delighted to be  invited to  attend/contribute to the big environmental debate BBC 1  at  22.45 wednesday 16th December.This   was  a special  Copenhagen related programme with  Sorbie  Farm   and  the editor present .

The Ayrshire Food Network   was very pleased  also  to  support  the  recent succesful Nostalgia Weekend in Troon .Cooking in the  Kitchen from Kilmaurs   provided  suitable  flavoursome nostalgic  simple hot food during  the interval  at the fantastic  In the Mood Concert ,and the  Glen  Miller Orchestra UK  was able to enjoy fayre  from  the owners of the Pinewood Restaurant ,who are providing"outside catering "  for the event

In mid December  we  were asked to present at  a consultative meeting   in the Mansefield Hotel  Elgin, Morayshire  on our experiences of setting up and maintaining a food and drink network .The event was   joint hosted by SAC and the keynote speaker was Richard Lochhead  MSP Moray ,Cabinet  Secretary  for Rural Affairs and the Environment.

His   recent  announcement  about a Scottish  initiative to boost  farmers' markets  and the local food sector during the next 3 years is  great news . Congratulations  to Douglas Watson of SAOS  on being appointed to the role of National Development Officer .

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Welcome  back also  to the  sixth   week   of  Homecoming 2010   activities (In fact we have had  over 370 visitors  from26 countries visit this web site in the last 4 weeks  looking at  a total of  over 1300 pages information- Amazingly  over 170 different  keywords were used in their search for information.94 referrals came from 40 sites   .Also over 50% of visitors are clicking through on the hypertext links  below ..dont miss out on the fun!)..Twitter/LinkedIn  are having  increasing  impacts it seems,  responsible for at least  4% of  all visits with 25% of visitors overall coming from referral sites rather than search engines

 The use of local food at   Homecoming and other events  continues to be   strongly encouraged .See  the  attached link   to the very useful guide  facilitated by the Tourism Innovation Group and Scotland Food and Drink http://homecomingscotland2009.com/get-involved/food_events_guide.html

We are pleased to reconfirm our  that our  video  outputs  from our joint venture   project  with  Ayr based Video 3  has been published and are  viewable at http://www.video3uk.com/afn .There are  7 brief interviews with members .

The  Video 3 facility   will enable  members of the Ayrshire Food Network  and other associated innovative tourism /food  groups to work  and meet together in  virtual environment  using the latest internet and video conferencing technology .We  hope it will prove very cost effective  as well as environmentally   sensitive .  .The facility is ready for use ,so contact the editor  to be among those  to benefit   .The facilities  and ease use of the site  have just been enhanced again since the  start of 2010 so it is even more user  and environmentally friendly to take up .

 Strong  cross referrals have continued to  flow from  www.stewarton.com .Thanks. to our colleagues there

 Contact   howard.wilkinson2@btinternet.com regarding  immediate   home page  vertical  banner  advertising  opportunities  for AFN members  at  attractive   monthly rates.  -see opposite .New advertisements are about to appear

Homecoming  Scotland 2010  presents us with  very significant  opportunities  relating to the Burns 251st  anniversary and   culinary tourism in general ..see www.homecomingscotland2009.com   see also  www.comebacktoayrshire.com  for information on Alloway 1759 on the 24th January and other opportunities

www.nethergatelarder.co.uk or Nethergate  also launched   in December   a  very flavoursome  new cooked products range and a series of attractive hamper offerings  .

Congratulations to Cosses  Country House and Langside Farm  for   both winning the coveted "Gold Award"  under the Visit Scotland   Quality Assurance Scheme ...Accolades  well deserved .see www.cossescountryhouse.com and www.langsidefarm..co.uk

 The exciting  new Woodlands hotel   continues its development  and Festive offerings (see the events  listed opposite ) ..see  www.woodlandfarm.co.uk 

See  also the events listing opposite  for their Terra Madre day event  in conjunction with Petrie Fine foods-Christmas  puddings  ,held on December 10th ... listed at www.terramadre.org   The Saltire Convivium is likely to be featured  in the  spring   2010  Slow Food Newsletter

The  Pinewood restaurant   in Prestwick is   continuing to create an impact locally   ..check out   www.thepinewood.co.uk  They  have recently gained also  the formal  dining  Eat Scotland  certifiicate  and  are   contunuing to link up with other AFN members  ...watch this space

 Our Congratulations.. the  restaurant  is well worth  a visit with flavoursome   innovative food , knowledgeable staff, excellent service, an intimate atmosphere, and  very good value for money .

also  Divine Inspirations in Kilmaurs  at  www.lovedivineinspirations.com  who provided complimentary  confection favours for guests at Dalduff

William  Grant and Son ltd  have a very  exciting web site at  www.williamgrant.com.

We thank them  all for their recent  involvement and look forward to their  participative influences

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  South  Ayrshire   Council  along with  visit Scotland and  Cooperative Development Scotland  are hosting  a Collaboration for Growth   conference on  Feb 18th  at the Western  house hotel in Ayr . The event is free of charge to attend .To register for the  event  e mail  bgatewayayrshire@go.uk.com  or call 01292 284839

SSMI (South of Scotland Marketing Initiative ) held a very insightful  internet/social media related workshop at  the Woodland  Bay hotel on  Wednesday the 20th of january .Contact 01465 831363  for more details   of outcomes

  The Ayrshire Food network were delighted to support the Alloway 1759  event  organised by  South Ayrshire  Council  on Sunday 24th January  at the Burns Heritage centre in Alloway.review more details   at www.comebacktoayrshire.com   or in the local press reports

Glasgow Caledonian Sustainable Enterprise unit  hosted   a special  free of charge event to which all AFN were  invited at the  Parkstone Hotel in Prestwick   27th January  between 12.00 and 14.30 ,looking at the opportunities to measure and thereafter  cut costs by  reducing your  business Carbon Footprint . To follow up  please contact   paulo.cruz@gcal.ac.uk

 The  Slow Food/AFN  Balvenie Whisky tasting  was held on Feb :3rd 2010-the  venue being     Burns Country Smokehouse Minishant  ( see brief report  above  ) .check out their food offerings at www.burnsmoke.com.  prices were set at £10 per ticket to include  a tutored tasting  featuring some   local food and  whisky matching ,followed by  a light buffet  accompanied by wines supplied by our newest AFN member  Carrick Wines .Numbers were  restricted to   a maximum of  20 participants 

We are about to start   in conjunction with the Scottish Agricultural College a trial   customer  service research  project  involving   AFN  members and their customers ..we look forward to your involvement and support

We also participated on Monday 25th january  in the  very important branding  exercise for Ayrshire  which has started i conjunction with ACCI and Visit Scotland

Confirmation is awaited  regarding  a special  feature on Ayrshire , as  a weekend  destination....it  is scheduled for   potential publication in the February 2010  edition of a  leading UK  lifestyle magazine.?

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  ... .We saw  many  of  you  at  the January  farmers' market    despite the snow and freezing temperatures &  the next   ones  are  the 12th February   in Glasgow Partick or Paisley and on the the 14th Valentines Day   several of the AFN members will be at the specially themed   Falkirk farmers' market  12.00-16.00  see www.falkirkbid.com  

Congratulations to Fins  see www.fencebay.co.uk on being runners up  for the Taste of Scotland  Thistle award on the  23rd October...Check  out   the Fencebay  new enhanced mail order service, which was launched on   December 1st

Congratulations  also to our colleagues at www.holidaysouthernscotland.co.uk  for the ongoing  development   of this exciting  new   tourism initiative to which AFN has become formally associated.Their blog and use of  new social media  is  invitingly  interractive .

  The  annual AFN/ Slow food /SSMI event held   on October 27th. continues to  win praise.  It .was an  excellent  local food event , .Congratulations to James Mcfadzean  for hosting such an innovative and enjoyable event .The Dalduff barn is certainly  a  flexible  stylish  venue see www.dalduff.co.uk     

 BBC  Good  Food Show  Scotland . saw considerable AFN  activity  with   www.jambojambo.co.uk ; www.littledoone.co.uk; www.theepwoodfayre.com and www.kellyturkeys.com   present    More than  22,000 people attended  spending on average £88 excluding  entry charges ..no wonder the  exhibitors were in the ,main pleased with the results !!

In addition www.taste-of-arran.co.uk  had an impressive  collective stand .They ran their excellent on line  mail order Christmas  campaign.. allowing  customers  take advantage of the  inviting offers  on their web site

As we gear up fully   for the  2010  opportunities  ,it is clear  people will  looking  for authentic & interesting food and drink offerings  to eat  ,and as presents ..Little Doone Foods  has  had  a great  reception  also  from the Trade  at the  recent Speciality Food show  .  see www.LittleDoone.co.uk

Good luck with   continuing February  trading . 

Please recommend one another to your customers and  encourage visitors  & use this site : also to advise /post  your   latest news and forthcoming  events. (see opposite )

p.s Next week we hope to have more information available regarding our  intended presence at Tourism Expo in April  at the SECC  ..April 14th-15th

thanks.

Happy    early spring time  

Howard Wilkinson 

Chairperson-February  8th   2010