David Lawson

Fat chance! Could sweets in our checkout aisles be causing obesity?

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“Stressed spelt backwards is desserts…coincidence?” Anon
We’ve all been caught out by them. We see them in the corner of our eye, glistening away and tempting us in.

They’ve got us exactly where they want us!

But could the days of sweets and sugary goods crowding our supermarket checkouts be coming to an end?
The government looks set to be urged to revisit proposals to ban these after a survey discovered more than 90 per cent of shoppers think it contributes to obesity.
A campaign called Junk Free checkouts was launched last month aiming to force supermarkets to stop selling sweets near the tills as 75 per cent of people admitted to giving in to their children’s pestering about buying junk food while they queue.
But at a time when competition between food suppliers is as rife as ever will the supermarkets and the sweet manufacturers not see this as a money spinning scheme being swept away from them.
Experts though are more sceptical, claiming that stocking the checkouts with sweets is a cynical ploy by the powers at be to tempt shoppers into buying sweets and other fatty and salty foods at the end of a tiring haul round the aisles.
Agnes Nairn, professor of marketing at EM-Lyon Business school said: “Consumers are more likely to go for something unhealthy when they are tired because they aren’t able to make the radical decision they would make otherwise.”
What are your thoughts on the placement of sweets in checkout aisles and do you manage to resist temptation? Would you prefer to see healthy alternatives such as fruit bars or salads or do sweets belong where they are?

Let us know by commenting below, get in touch on our Facebook page or Tweet us @speypuds.

Good food for cold nights

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“You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces — just good food from fresh ingredients”- Julia Child
What is your favourite comfort food? You know, either something your mum used to make, or something you’ve discovered and just means ‘home’. For some people, it’s spicy in the form of a favourite curry, for others, it’s laden with carbohydrates such as a well-browned and crispy-on-the-outside macaroni cheese, but for many people in Scotland, it’s mince and tatties.


This humble dish has yet to grace the menus of too many upmarket bistros after it’s , maybe because it is perfect as it is. While the dish may differ from family to family slightly depending on vegetable and gravy preferences, the basic ingredients remain the same of steak mince, onions, gravy, skirlie (a Scottish dish made of good quality oatmeal, onions, and suet), and mashed potatoes (tatties in Scotland).

We have a mince and tatties recipe for you today, but rather than dumping the skirlie on the side, we’re doing something a wee bit fancy with it that you might just find ends up being a new family favourite – let us know and send us your photos!
Have a good weekend making comfort food!
From, the Speyside Specialities team
Ingredients
500g steak mince, preferably from a butcher
One onion, chopped
Optional veg, depending on your preference – quarter of a turnip, swede or two parsnips
Optional veg, depending on your preference – two carrots, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon gravy granules
Water, to cover
Five large potatoes, cut into large chunks
Dash of cream
50g of quality Speyside Specialities skirlie
Method
1)      Boil potatoes under tender. Usually takes 20 minutes to 30 minutes, depending on how small a chunk they were cut up into
2)      Brown mince in a pan, along with onion and optional veg
3)      Add a small grinding of salt and pepper, and the gravy granules
4)      Add water to cover and leave to simmer until the potatoes are ready
5)      Heat the skirlie gently in a pan
6)      Once potatoes are tender (a fork slides easily in and out of them while cooking in the pan), drain the water out.
7)       Mash the potatoes with the cream
8)      Mix the heated-through skirlie with the mashed potatoes and serve.
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Awards or Word of Mouth?

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“Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust.” – Jesse Owens.
Heston Blumenthal, the chef who mixes chemistry and cooking to spectacular effect, has just been awarded his sixth Michelin star.
The accolade is this time for his London restaurant Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, in the latest edition of the annual guide to the best food in the UK and Ireland.



The Michelin Guide, regarded by many as the pinnacle of gastronomy, made the award due to the restaurant’s “glorious celebration of Britain’s culinary heritage”. It serves food ranging from the unusual-sounding Frumenty, which is grilled octopus, smoked sea broth, pickled dulse and lovage, to something a bit closer to our north-east home, Fillet of Aberdeen Angus, with mushroom ketchup and fries.
It is actually the second star Dinner by Heston Blumenthal has been awarded, and the man himself said he was delighted: “It’s been an incredible two and a half years for Dinner and this is just simply the highlight. As a Brit, I am very proud that a restaurant inspired by and celebrating historic British cooking has been recognised today.”
However, getting a table at the restaurant is probably rarer than hen’s teeth (thankfully, these aren’t on the menu) which will no doubt be even more difficult now with the extra accolade. It would be interesting to find out if the restaurant had simply been called “Dinner” and the Mr Blumenthal had not declared his involvement in it, how much less popular it would be.
Would word-of-mouth have been enough for diners to flock in and swallow down the high prices regardless (£29 for the cheapest main course, and £38 for the most expensive)?
You would imagine the impeccable Michelin Guide judges are not swayed by the cult of celebrity so there is a fair chance the restaurant would have been awarded the two stars anyway. You can also understand the chef is naturally going to promote his own restaurant using any way he can.
What do you think – are you more swayed by an award, or a friend telling you about this great restaurant you should try?
For the latest from Speyside Specialities, remember to like us on Facebook (Speyside Specialities) and follow us on Twitter @speypuds.


Crazy for Cakes

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“My aim really is to get everyone to love baking.” – Mary Berry.
The Great British Bake Off – or GBBO to us fans – has made the country go crazy for cakes.
Whether it’s George Clooney-eque looks of judge Paul Hollywood, the contestants’ longing to please co-judge Mary Berry, the terrible puns of hosts Mel and Sue, the pastel kitchens with every piece of kitchen armoury you could wish for, or simply a competition with an old-fashioned British sense of integrity and comradeship, the formula is certainly a winner.

Who could fail to be caught up in the quiet drama of what each contestant is going to make in the showstopper round after they have triumphed – or failed dismally – in the technical contest. Rob’s Dalek made of biscuits just didn’t cut it and Frances’ showstopper collapsing did feel a bit like “what goes around, comes around” with her increasingly over-the-top presentations.  
And now, that the chaff has been separated from the wheat with the more obvious weaker candidates chucked out, the competition is, excuse the pun, really hotting up.
Ruby is a favourite – you can see her good looks and charm gracing the cover of a cook book and many a TV appearance already – but the quiet assured manner and quite frankly consistently amazing creations of Christine might win supreme.
I think this is part of the show’s appeal. After the influx of celebrity and celebrity-wannabe TV competitions, it is refreshing to have contestants who are there because they simply really love baking and want to be the best. Some of the cakes are familiar to us and we’ve made them ourselves at home so when one of the complicated showstoppers is made, we can appreciate how difficult the task is – there’s a world of difference between making pancakes for the kids and a shortbread Bavarian clock tower.
Baking is helping fuel the home cooking revival as we increasingly want “real” food, cooked properly and without the ping of the microwave letting you know it’s ready. Whether that is sausages from a butcher’s on a BBQ when it’s warm and sunny, or mince and tatties and skirlie on a cold rainy day, there’s no substitute for home cooking.
However, some technology most definitely has a place in the kitchen  – for those of us with a Pinterest account, who doesn’t have a “Gorgeous Food” section? And who hasn’t spent 30 minutes looking for a recipe which will use up the two almost-gone carrots and an aubergine lurking at the bottom of the fridge? Mary Berry has just launched an app for your smartphone or tablet with her Christmas recipes, there’s no excuse to at least try your own mini GBBO at home – with considerably kinder judges.
For the latest from Speyside Specialities remember to like us on Facebook (Speyside Specialities) and follow us on Twitter @speypuds.

Best bar none : Brian Sollitt – the chocolatier magician

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“In cooking, as in all the arts, simplicity is the sign of perfection.” – Curnonsky
Any food manufacturer will tell you that each day they strive for perfection. Many have tried and failed but for others the painstaking days of food trials and tribulations finally bore fruit.
It was sad to read this week that one such man, Brian Sollitt passed away at the age of 74.

For many of you Sollitt may not be a name that lives in the memory, but he was involved in creating some of the most popular household chocolates of his generation.
During his illustrious career at Rowntree’s in York, spanning 53 years Sollit was involved in creating the Yorkie, Matchmakers, Drifter and the Lion Bar.
But it was another chocolate that would mark his greatest crafting achievement – the After Eight Mint.
Sollitt was the first person to work out how to get the mint filling inside the chocolate without it spilling out the sides.
Since that day, the technique has remained a closely guarded secret and more than a billion boxes of the sweet delights have been snapped up.
Loved by so many, Mr Sollitt was known as a larger than life character who would leave chocolate Santas out for his factory staff to take home, and his love of After Eights saw him amass one of the largest paraphernalia collections in the world.
Alex Hutchison a historian for Nestle who now owns Rowntree’s said: “He spent months – sometime years agonising over the technical details of his creations. He was an incredible man.”
Sollitt leaves behind a legacy that he created through hard graft and determination. An example to any young foodie entrepreneurs that hard work pays off in the end.
So next time you tuck into your after dinner After Eight, remember the name Brian Sollitt.
Which of Sollitt’s creations do you think was the greatest?

After Eight/Yorkie/Lion Bar/ Drifter/ Matchmaker
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Scottish food industry continues with boom

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“The secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside” – Mark Twain

Some great news for the industry this week with the suggestion that more than 5,600 extra jobs could be created by expanding food and drink companies in Scotland’s booming sector by 2018.

Bank of Scotland carried out research that showed the demand for new workers will increase as companies target new export markets.


The sector has targeted annual turnover of £12.5bn a year by 2017.

More than 100 firms with an estimated turnover of £6bn were surveyed. Two thirds said they expected to increase their workforce in the next five years.

A number of companies have shifted their target market from Western Europe to the Far East/Asia along with South America following the emergence of the Brazilian economy.

Scotland’s Food and Drink chief executive James Withers was full of praise for the outlook of the industry.

He said : “The food and drink industry has been Scotland’s best performing domestic sector in the past five years and is the fastest growing export sector.

“Ambitious sales and exports are in place for 2017, but the rapid progress so far means we are having to upscale our ambitions already.”

It’s pleasing to see the hard work of so many companies that produce high quality Scottish food paying off and hope that the thriving industry will encourage more people to take their homemade products to market.

What changes have you noticed within the food industry over the last five years? Have you noticed new foods from further afield on the shelves in your supermarkets?