Just back from the Border Union Show – what a breath of fresh air. If you missed it this year, be sure to mark your calendar for next year. The location is picture perfect Scotland, set amidst the rolling Border hills on the edge of the lovely market town of Kelso where there’s a thriving farmers’ market. Easily navigable with much to see, everything at the Show is local: crafts, clothing, comestibles and creatures – notable exceptions being the giant tortoises and camels that were quite a draw for young and old alike!

Border Union is one of the few shows that still exhibit and show chickens and pigs in addition to cattle, sheep and goats. The equestrian events take centre stage on the first day with the guest appearance of camels taking centre stage on the Saturday. Whilst the tortoises weren’t as speedy as the Bactrian camels, they were pretty spectacular to see close up.

The Food Hall, sponsored by Kelso Farmers’ Market was home to carefully curated food stalls including Errington Cheese, Hardiesmill, Going Native, First & Last Brewery, Demijohn, Greenknowe Honey, Over Langshaw Farmhouse ice cream, Doddington ice cream, Cairn o’ Mohr wines, Leonard’s Hemp Teas and many more, providing inspiration and produce for the cracking cookery theatre and the many presenters on stage.

We created a varied and dynamic programme over the two days and my thanks go to the presenters, who generously gave of their time and were ambassadors for Scotland’s fabulous produce: the dynamic Angus Ferguson, creator of Demijohn, always inspiring and passionate, with tales and tasters of his foraging, elixirs, producers and suppliers;

Sam from First & Last Brewery explaining the mysteries and intricacies of brewing whilst the audience could delight in the differences; Bosse Dahlgren highlighting the value of heritage grains with crispbreads and oatcakes to demonstrate their flavours, and Gareth Gilder, Borders Head Chef Saltire Hospitality, awesomely butchering and expertly cooking venison.

Leonard Harper Gow gave us the lowdown on the intriguing topic of culinary hemp; Dr Mark Barnett of Greenknowe Honey immersed us in the fascinating life of bees, Morven Hastie entertained us with colourful tempting dishes and QMS, represented by Bethany Ferguson, joined us on stage with Scotch beef recipes.

The finale was an artisan wine and cheese tasting sponsored by Cairn o’ Mohr wines and Scottish Cheese Trail featuring five contrasting Scottish cheeses with matching wines. The Cookery Theatre Co guys who supply and manage our stage are a joy to work alongside. Professional and attentive, helpful and good-humoured, they are always there to lend a hand.

Elsewhere in the Food Hall were the Competitions. Now in their second year, they are gaining in reputation thanks to entrants from across Scotland and Northumberland, and to our teams of dedicated judges:   cheese expert Robert Spencer, chef Morven Hastie and food writer Lauren Gourlay on Dairy;  award-winning baker and food writer Emily Cuddeford, Deacon of the Incorporation of Baxters (Bakers) Lynne Halfpenny and Scotland The Bread Trustee Iain Waghorn in charge of Border Union Bread, and Head of Food & Beverage Operations at Gleneagles Darren Miranda in charge of the Butchers Sausage category.

Many congratulations go to those awarded Gold, Silver and Bronze, with Best in Show going to:

The Ethical Dairy’s Fleet Valley Blue

Doddington’s Simply Vanilla Ice cream

Sunrise Bakehouse’s Seeded Rye Sourdough

Granny Jeans’ Beef Sausage

Lastly, my heartfelt thanks to all the organisers of this splendid Show, in particular to Alison Tuke with her Kelso Farmers’ Market team and Zoe in the office who was so helpful in spite of all my requests! See you all in 2027!

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If you’re looking for other unique events in Scotland, look no further than the Orkney International Science Festival, led by its creator and Festival Director Dr Howie Firth since its first inception on Orkney in 1991. It is the second of its kind in the world, and second only to one in Edinburgh, held in 1989, with an original format by an Orcadian, Howie Firth. Back on home turf, the OISF has been successfully running on Orkney ever since, drawing increasingly massive worldwide interest.

As many readers will know, we visit Scottish Food Guide’s wonderful Orkney members each year and enjoy book signing at The Orcadian Bookshop in Kirkwall however this year, for the first time, we have also been invited to speak at OISF on “Meadows: The What and the Why” and are very much looking forward to joining in this highly respected festival. If you are about, do come by and say hello.