December 10th marks Terra Madre Day in the Slow Food Calendar. Mother Earth. When we are all in the throws of Christmas menus, order books, packaging and dispatching, planning the shopping and watching the budget, does it really matter? Yes it does. Arguably perhaps another time of year would make more sense, such as a shoulder month that lends more opportunities on all continents: celebrating under apple boughs in May or by a harvested meadow in September. For Northern Europeans, now is a time for hunkering down with little daylight and hearty soups… plus the festive countdown of course!
So why does it matter? Because biodiversity on our planet is not a luxury but a necessity. Industrialisation of agriculture, ubiquitous year-round availability of out-of-season foods, monocultures all requiring chemical inputs, low welfare aquaculture damaging our environment and draining our seas of smaller wild fish, plus narrowing of genetics to ‘improve’ hybrid animals and plants for mass production, culminate in a spinning roulette table – and we all know what happens to gamblers in the end.
It is insufficient to say food culture matters and promote the haggis, pizza, paella or fika of the nations. The provenance of each ingredient, the method of farming, the welfare of the animals and the skills of the producer and cook are all vital for the whole picture. A part thereof is not enough and sadly I still witness too many Scottish ‘food stories’ with more than a hint of snake oil. That is why I created The Scottish Food Guide Charter, setting gold standards to reassure consumers and B2B users that members have been vetted and visited, their produce endorsed and appreciated and their enterprise valued and showcased on Scottish Food Guide, Scottish Cheese Trail and Scottish Farm Shops.
Terra Madre Day is also a celebration of some of our best cooks and producers across the world and the 2025 award winners are announced. In Scotland, Cook of the Year goes to Neil Forbes, Chef Director Cafe St Honore. Neil is a well-deserved multi-award winner, a Slow Food advocate and strong supporter of artisan producers. His Sunday Roast Lunches regularly feature Native Shetland Kye from the winner of The Environment & Biodiversity Award, Uradale Farm on Shetland, Scotland’s first Slow Food Farm.
The Eunson family farm organically, rearing rare breeds and producing superb flavours from largely marginal lands in the extreme north of Scotland, where the spoken language is Shaetlan and the weather can be brutal. In addition to sassermaet from the Kye, they make reestit mutton from their Native Shetland Sheep and produce the world’s only pure Native Shetland certified organic, naturally dyed, unbleached yarns.
SF Scotland Producer of the Year is awarded to Ann Dorward of Dunlop Dairy. A super result for a lovely lady and gifted cheesemaker. Ann is dedicated and passionate about her cheese and her beloved animals, and deserves this accolade. Two of Ann’s cheeses – Clerkland Crowdie & Ayrshire Dunlop – are on SF Ark of Taste, as are all Uradale’s products. It is not easy creating artisan cheese these days, with the 
bureaucracy it entails and distribution challenges, so hat’s off to Ann and lang may her lum reek. This year’s Drink Product of the Year winner is Cairn O’Mohr. It’s great to see a producer so focussed on wild foraged fruits and leaves winning this award for their unique and delicious creations.
Winners are determined by a public vote with the Person of the Year decided on consideration of the UK SF boards. This year’s decision produced Joint Winners: the late Pam Rodway MBE and Chris Young, Real Bread Campaign Co-ordinator and a staunch supporter of bakers and grain initiatives UK wide.
I met Pam through Slow Food and Soil Association Food for Life – I don’t recall which came first as it was over two decades ago but our paths have crossed continuously ever since. She and her husband Nick were great advocates of ‘good, clean & fair’ food for all and many a happy hour was spent eating delicious homegrown food at their table. The memories live on and now Pam is with her soulmate Nick who passed away four years ago. Here she is at Cawdor Castle, a Slow Food event she organised & where Neil Forbes, myself and Ronnie Eunson were among the participants back in 2014.
Congratulations to all and the full list of Scottish winners is here.
https://www.slowfood.org.uk/2025/12/06/slow-food-scotland-award-winners-2025/
Having started this newsletter on my proverbial soapbox about the quality of much of today’s food, it was heartening to experience the marvellous dishes created by young chefs across Europe at the European Young Chef Award 2025, held in Catalonia last month. As Catalonia celebrates its final month as World Region of Gastronomy, it pulled out all the stops for these nine gifted finalists, and I am sure Catalonia sees its year as a launch pad to many more years of gastronomic regional success. I was honoured to be one of the judges for this event, the others being from Cyprus, Norway, Denmark and Estonia, chaired by local award-winning Chef Proprietor Xavier Pellicer.
This highly respected project is promoted by IGCAT, International Institute of Gastronomy, Culture, Arts & Tourism. In the course of my career I have judged many awards and none impress more than this one. The attention to detail, professionalism, product and provenance knowledge of these youngsters is phenomenal. They are mentored all year by a chef in their region, well known in the world of gastronomy, and who accompanies them for moral support (not in the kitchen) along with friends and family who take up the invitation to cheer on their youthful culinary ambassador.
On day 1, the chefs present a traditional dish from their region. The judging process begins however it is also a vital familiarisation day for the competitors and that is taken into account. Day 2 is the moment for them to further excel, taking the traditional and giving it their own interpretation: expressing their region whilst showcasing their skills and allowing their imagination to run riot. The results were courageous, imaginative and delicious and the judges had a hard task – every point scored mattered.
The competition was staged at Hotel-School Sant Pol the hospitality school where the inaugural event took place in 2016. The staff, students, lecturers and facilities were fantastic as was the food served throughout our stay, prepared and presented by students. To say I was impressed was an understatement. After deliberating, cogitating and digesting, the results were as follows:
1st Prize -Ioannis Liapakis (Crete, European Region of Gastronomy 2026)
2nd Prize – Pija Frešer (Slovenia, European Region of Gastronomy 2021)
3rd Prize – Joan Taltavull Juaneda (Menorca, European Region of Gastronomy 2022)
Here is the full movie of Day2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHNnB3SGi8Q
The finale and gala dinner where the winners were revealed was held in the magnificent grand hall of the University of Barcelona. When there, our hosts treated us and the young chefs to some further adventures: chestnuts by a fire deep in the forest, the world’s best food market and human towers! Discover our adventures HERE.
