Making Scotch Lamb the star of the show with Lamb for St Andrew’s Day competition

An exciting collaboration between Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs (SAYFC) this year brings an opportunity for members of the SAYFC to enter a Lamb for St Andrew’s Day competition, which will showcase the versatility and provenance of Scotch Lamb combined with the creativity and flair of Scotland’s Young Farmers.

Each November, St Andrew’s Day offers an opportunity to bring Scotch Lamb to the fore, with QMS’s support for the Lamb for St Andrew’s Day campaign. This industry-wide initiative sees lamb recipes and cooking inspiration spread across digital channels and Scotch Lamb served at events across Scotland, and indeed the world, encouraging consumers to see Scotch Lamb as the first choice for St Andrew’s Day celebrations.

Jenny Murtagh, Agriculture & Rural Affairs Partnership Manager at SAYFC says: “Young farmers relish a challenge, and this competition run by QMS and SAYFC offers a unique and fun opportunity for our members to get imaginative, work together in small teams, and highlight a product that Scottish farmers are incredibly passionate about producing and promoting to the world - Scotch Lamb. I encourage members that fit the entry criteria to take part in this exciting competition and look forward seeing the results of our members’ talents!”

Teams of two to three full junior or senior SAYFC members no older than 28 years on the day of the competition can enter the recipe creation, cooking and video making competition to be in with a chance of winning a Scotch Lamb Hamper which includes an apron, hat, canvas bag, cap and t-shirt.

The competition is virtual, with teams each producing a video that shows creative ways to cook and prepare a family meal, with chefs wearing QMS Scotch aprons, mentioning St Andrew’s Day and why they love Scotch Lamb, whilst applying their skills to the main star of the show - a rack of Scotch Lamb provided by QMS. Judges of the fun competition will allocate marks for creativity of the recipe, quality of the video presentation, visual appearance of the finished dishes, and the promotion of Scotch Lamb. Competitors are required to create their own recipe, with a detailed list of ingredients, measurements and the method given to QMS for judges to recreate and taste test, before they whittle down the entries and select the winning team, who will go on to have their recipe and video showcased by QMS.

Lamb for St Andrew’s Day was started by an auctioneer, George Purves, and a sheep farmer, Willie Mitchell in 2010, to make Scottish lamb synonymous with the patron saint’s day. It has grown every year with industry-wide support. The Institute of Auctioneers and Appraisers in Scotland (IAAS) works closely with QMS to provide secondary schools across Scotland with Scotch Lamb, as part of the campaign.

IAAS Executive Director, Neil Wilson said: “It will be excellent to work with QMS again and to put lamb from Scotland in the spotlight to drive the desire to eat and buy Scotch Lamb, across the generations. We have just launched our Lamb Bank for 2024, which invites sheep farmers and industry to donate a lamb, or the equivalent monetary sum of, so that we can donate Scotch Lamb to schools across Scotland, allowing pupils to learn more about lamb as they cook with, or eat it, in the canteen. Last year we delivered 22,000 portions.”

Up to nine teams can enter this competition, at £20 entry per team by closing dates of 24 October. Please use the SAYFC entry form. Videos to be submitted no later than 15 November. Final judging will take place on 21 November, with the overall winner announced on 31 November. Competition videos to be shared on the QMS social media channels from 28 November. Teams will be provided with rack of Scotch Lamb and Scotch Lamb aprons.

Sheep farmers and industry leaders can help celebrate St Andrew’s Day by donating a lamb through the Lamb Bank 2024 link. IAAS is calling on farmers to support the Lamb for St Andrews Day campaign, which has enabled over 65,000 schoolchildren to cook and enjoy Scotch Lamb over the past four years. By simply donating the value of a store, prime lamb, or breeding sheep when next selling at auction, farmers can make a direct impact. The IAAS will manage these donations through the Lamb Bank, helping to add to the impressive 130,000 portions of Scotch Lamb already served in schools across Scotland.