Scots Invited to Celebrate Quality Local Produce During “Love Scotch Lamb Weekend”

The Scottish public is being invited to join farmers, butchers and chefs around the country to celebrate all that is wonderful about Scotch Lamb PGI during “Love Scotch Lamb Weekend” (September 5th and 6th).

The weekend of activity behind Scotch Lamb - part of Quality Meat Scotland’s on-going marketing and PR campaign – will see activities taking part around the country to raise the profile of the simplicity and versatility of one of Scotland’s most natural foods.

The main aim of the on-going campaign is to encourage Scots to discover just how simple and delicious Scotch Lamb is to cook, by trying out one of host of easy recipes like Scotch Lamb Stir Fry or Scotch Lamb Curry.

“This year is Scotland’s Year of Food and Drink and there could be no better way to pay tribute to our wonderful larder than by enjoying Scotch Lamb at this time of year when it is in season and at its most succulent,” said Jim McLaren, chairman of Quality Meat Scotland.

“We’re urging everyone to join in the celebration by cooking a simple Scotch Lamb dish for friends and family and savouring some of our country’s finest food produced right on our doorsteps.”

Scotch Lamb will be one of the main ingredients showcased in the Scotch Lamb Cookery Theatre at Dundee Food and Flower Festival (Sept 4th, 5th and 6th) when the line-up of high-profile chefs includes Masterchef presenter Gregg Wallace who recently launched the Scotch Lamb campaign.

Among the other contestants taking part will be Masterchef: The Professionals winner Jamie Scott, finalist Scott Davies, formerly of the Adamson and now at the Michelin-starred Three Chimneys in Skye. MasterChef finalist and Scottish Chef of the Year 2015, Adam Handing and Brian McLeish, chef/proprietor at the Moonfish Café in Aberdeen will also be demonstrating at the Festival.

The Love Scotch Lamb weekend will also see Scotch Lamb enjoying a high profile at Let’s Eat Glasgow (September 5th and 6th) where Glasgow’s top chefs and the cream of food and drink producers from the west of Scotland will serve up a sensational menu bursting with flavour.

QMS will also be welcoming a host of leading food bloggers to an event in Edinburgh and the surrounding areas to showcase Scotch Beef and Scotch Lamb during that weekend.

The Love Scotch Lamb weekend is part of a high-impact Scotch Lamb advertising campaign being run by QMS targeting 3.7 million consumers. The 2015 Scotch Lamb PGI campaign - set to reach over 90% of Scottish adults – builds on last year’s very successful campaign which boosted retail sales of lamb in Scotland by 11%.

A key objective of the 2015 campaign is to encourage consumers to understand the versatility, simplicity and speed of cooking with lamb. The two month long campaign will harness a range of marketing activities to drive Scotch Lamb sales.

A range of new videos for on-line and social media use, featuring Edinburgh-based chef Daniella Forbes and Glasgow-based chef Justin Maule demonstrating simple, delicious dishes, has also been produced.

The target audience for the campaign is very much young professionals and busy working parents and the message is very much that lamb is not just for roasting at the weekend – it can also make a quick, nutritious mid-week meal for all ages to enjoy.