Crail Food Festival recognised at Scottish Rural Awards

The festival, now in its eight year, landed runner-up spot in the Rural Tourism category.

The festival was established to provide an attraction which would extend the tourist season in Crail.

It has grown year on year to now provide a large indoor market with a huge number of local businesses attending.

Only 40 per cent of visitors to the event are from Fife, the other 60 per cent are from surrounding areas, with many from abroad.

The overall winner of the Rural Tourism category was DD8 Music, a charity based in the Angus town of Kirriemuir who run events such as Bonfest, a tribute to the AC/DC singer Bon Scott.

Other finalists from Fife included Cupar-based Meadowsweet Organics (Agriculture category); Puddledub, from Kirkcaldy (Artisan Food category); The Very Lovely Sauce Company, from Anstruther (Artisan Food category); and Cairnie Fruit Farm and Mega Maze, Cupar (Rural Employer category, Rural Tourism category).

The Scottish Rural Awards are the ultimate benchmark of success in Scotland’s countryside, highlighting the enterprise, skill and innovation of those who live and work in rural areas.

The awards evening, held at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh, was the culmination of a fourth year of partnership between Scottish Field and the Scottish Countryside Alliance to host the awards, in association with the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS).

Veteran broadcaster Dougie Vipond took to the stage as compere for the evening, hosting more than 400 guests and presenting awards in 13 categories.

Those who have made special contributions to the Scottish countryside were honoured with two separate accolades last night.

The Rural Hero award was presented to the team behind ‘Are Ewe Okay?’ a mental health campaign aimed at young farmers, while the Lifetime Achievement accolade was awarded to Douglas Watson, senior project manager with the Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society.