I’d heard so much about the Border Union Show however I confess to never having been, so when I was invited to run the Cookery Theatre, set up competitions and generally support the Food Hall, it was most definitely time to rewrite the summer schedule and embrace Border Country. The venue itself is a stunning location, accessible and attractive, with a beautiful Food Hall thoughtfully designed to meet every need. The preceding months were a flurry of activity; approaching chefs and producers, bakers, cheesemakers and ice cream specialists, for 2025 was the launch of a new chapter in the Food Hall and sponsorship from the award-winning Kelso Farmers’ Market. Bring it on!
As the Show concludes for another year there is much to celebrate, many to praise and winners to congratulate. There were three competitions launched this year with a very respectable number of entries and a high standard of exhibits. My sincere thanks to the judges who gave so freely of their time to ensure the success of this new feature.
Following criteria set by Andrew Whitley and myself for the Scottish Bread Championship, entrants for the Border Bread Competition had to meet Real Bread standards. New for this year, only sourdough starters or fresh yeast are eligible as lamentably there is no longer such a thing available as an additive-free commercial dried yeast. Andrew Whitley led the team accompanied by Marie Louise Cochrane and Alison Ramcharran. The Gold and Best in Show was awarded to Wild Hearth Bakery for their Sift & Scald Wholemeal, who also won Gold for their Scottish Lowland Rye. Silver awards went to Cukie Patisserie and Wild Hearth, with Bronzes for Errington Barn , Naked Sourdough and Mhor Bread.
A special mention goes to those who went the extra mile to enter my new Bread Art category – a very popular addition with the visitors and, I think, a lovely nod to tradition and food culture. Mhor exhibited two stunning creations and Bridget Joicey received a Silver for her delicious and naturally decorated focaccia made with flour from the local water-powered historic Heatherslaw Corn Mill in Northumberland.
The Dairy section was also well supported and comprehensively judged by Kathy Biss of West Highland Dairy along with her cohorts Robert Spencer and Morven Hastie. The Gold Award and Best in Show Artisan Cheese was awarded to Corra Linn from Errington, with Silver Awards going to Orkney Dairy, St Andrews Farmhouse, Dunlop Dairy and Ballochmyle Cheese, and Bronzes to The Ethical Dairy and Dunlop.
The Dairy Ice Cream Best in Show was awarded to Lucy of Overlangshaw for her Madagascar Vanilla, with more Golds and Silvers for both Lucy, and Luca of Becattelli. Both had exceptionally impressive entries. Judging was live on the Friday with the results on display and quite a draw, sparking conversations and interest. It was super to see so much artisan produce and I warmly thank all those who took the time to enter as I greatly appreciated their support and enthusiasm in this new venture.
The theatre was buzzing with life: chat, sizzle and flavours from a host of lovely peeps butchering lamb, steaming mussels, searing venison, sizzling sausages and baking puddings, with special thanks to Billy Hamilton of Buccleuch Arms, Katrina Reynolds of Allanton Inn, Morven Hastie, Angus Ferguson of Demijohn, CJ Jackson representing Scottish Shellfish, The LambMan and Debbie from Ladies in Pigs who featured Gloucester Old Spot from Going Native. Thanks to the farmers whose heritage meats featured on stage for tasting: Hardiesmill Ethical Scotch Beef Native Aberdeen Angus, Wilsons Farm & Kitchen Hereford and Urquhart Highland cattle. The theatre finale was a popular Cheese & Wine Tasting, sponsored by Scottish Cheese Trail and Cairn O’Mohr Wines, featuring Honeyberry, Elderberry and Gooseberry & Elderflower wines. It also featured scrumptious rye bread kindly gifted by Alison Ramcharran of the Breadshed.
Moving from the south to the northern reaches of Scotland, Jane Cooper of the Orkney Boreray Community has managed to pull off what no other has achieved in almost a decade – confirmation of an island abattoir. Orkney’s only abattoir closed in January 2018 and, since then, Dingwall has been the only option. Those who know me will be aware many of us have been badgering governments and Councils for regional abattoirs for years, as the numbers have drastically diminished. Whilst Munro’s abattoir in Dingwall is greatly appreciated, the current situation is neither sustainable nor ethical for Orkney, with live animals having no option but to be taken on an expensive ferry crossing and long road trip.
From modest but resolute beginnings (and I do recall some sceptics), Jane has enriched Orkney with her passion and conservation of the Orkney Boreray breed – they may be diminutive in size and scarce in numbers but Jane has proved they are big in flavour, high in wool quality and with strong successful bloodlines. Her fledgling Community has evolved and blossomed: currently eight island farmers with genebank flocks, Slow Food International Presidium Status, collaborative links with award-winning chefs, Macbeths Butchers, Scottish Food Guide, and a beautiful book Jane has written entitled “The Lost Flock.”
Back to the abattoir, it will be known as “The Tiny Trailer Abattoir.” Jane says, “On-farm slaughter will enable an exceptional level of sustainability with far more by-products being able to be used. We currently use skins which are bark tanned for sheepskins and leather and horns are turned into several products by a local Orkney craftsman. [In future] a local soap maker can make soap from excess abdominal fat; black pudding can be made from blood; bone needles for crafting from the lower leg bones, and raw dog food from the offal and guts not suitable for human consumption. The aspiration is for their only waste to be the head and spinal cord.”
After much research about what happens in other countries, especially Nordic countries, the concept of the Tiny Trailer Abattoir (TTA) was born. The abattoir consists of two trailers, each about 5m in length, a slaughter unit and a chiller unit, that dock together back-to-back when in operation and designed only for sheep, with a maximum of 20 at a time. This is NOT a mobile abattoir. Each site where the TTA will operate will have to be approved for use by several different regulatory bodies, as if it were a fixed unit permanently on the site. Each trailer can be towed by a car, and will be suitable for being lifted on and off the North Ronaldsay ferry, allowing it to support the North Ronaldsay islanders’ flock of Presidium native sheep as well.
The Orkney Boreray Community has now become The Orkney Boreray Co-operative Ltd. The Co-operative will own the TTA and operate as a not-for-profit, at a fraction of the cost of a conventional fixed small abattoir and with infrastructure that can be moved, operated in different locations and used by multiple groups and farms. NONE of this would have been possible without the time and monetary support of Jane and her husband Paul who have been working and saving for their ‘abattoir fund’ since 2018, now offering a healthy contribution toward the capital cost on deposit in the Co-op’s bank account. The Co-op is planning to source the remainder in grants from organisations and individuals with an interest in animal welfare, rare breeds, and supporting crofting and farming in the remote parts of the Highlands and Islands. The Tiny Trailer Abattoir will demonstrate that there can be an achievable and financially sustainable means to have sheep slaughtered in areas of the Highlands and Islands that currently have no local abattoir provision.
***
Thanks for hanging in there and reading this topical food news. We need more of these initiatives and ‘can do’ folk if we are to be a Good Food Nation, hold our heads high, and feed our population whilst enriching, and not denuding, our land and seas.
Last but not least SAVE THE DATE for a highlight of the Real Bread calendar: the 2026 Scottish Bread Championship and Scottish Festival of Real Bread. Bakers, the Championship will be judged on Friday 27th February, and everyone is invited to the Scottish Festival of Real Bread on Saturday 28th. Celebrate the craft, culture, and community of Real Bread with a full day of talks, events, stalls and hands-on workshops for all ages, and of course the Championship Award presentations.
