The 23rd annual in-store festival is bringing together thirteen of the best breweries from all corners of Scotland.
Aldi has revealed the line-up for its 23rd annual Scottish beer festival, which will showcase 30 exceptional craft beers from thirteen breweries across the country, with prices starting at just £1.39.
Kicking off in-store on Thursday (29th April), the festival comes just in time for the bank holiday weekend. The breweries featured span the length and breadth of Scotland in a deal worth over £110,000 to those involved.
Aldi’s Scottish Beer Festival will celebrate the vast range of beers, lagers and ales brewed across Scotland, including products from Loch Lomond Brewery, which was named Brewery of the Year at the 2020 Scottish Beer Awards.
The line-up includes 26 new products, including wheat beers, stouts, IPAs and pale ales, as well as the return of four customer favourites, including Bellfield’s Bohemian Pilsner and Fyne Ales’ Hurricane Jack.
Multi-award-winning brewery Fierce Beer will also have nine of its craft beers featured in the festival. Fierce Beer won ‘Breakthrough Brewery’ back in 2017 and most recently received 14 awards at the 2020 Scottish Beer Awards, including gold awards for Split Shift and Café Racer, which both feature in Aldi’s festival line-up.
Graham Nicolson, Group Buying Director, Aldi Scotland, said:“Our Scottish Beer Festivals always give our customers something to look forward to and I have no doubt that this year’s will do the same.
“While we hope that many people will be able to get down to their local for the first time in quite a while this bank holiday weekend, the next best option is to support your local brewery at our Scottish Beer Festival.
“We are immensely proud of the strong partnerships we have built with local breweries in Scotland, and I am certain that our customers will enjoy discovering some quirky new brews at everyday Aldi prices.”
The Aldi Scottish Beer festival, will take place in all 96 Scottish stores from Thursday 29th April. You can find your nearest Aldi here.
Local charities in the Lothians helped Aldi donate 12,088 meals to people in need over the Easter school holidays.
The supermarket paired up its stores with local charities, community groups and foodbanks to donate surplus food, prioritising donations to those focused on feeding children.
Around 36 tonnes of food were donated throughout Scotland, with more than 61,000 meals, including over 47,500 meals for children, donated to causes supporting families and children in need.
The donation is part of Aldi’s commitment to donate 10 million meals across the country in 2021, in partnership with community giving platform Neighbourly.
So far this year, Aldi stores across the UK have already donated more than two million meals to good causes.
Mary Dunn, Managing Director of Corporate Responsibility at Aldi UK,said: “We’re proud to support good causes in the Lothians, helping them to provide meals to those in need over the Easter period.
“At a time when more people are experiencing financial hardship and food insecurity due to Covid-19, we are committed to doing what we can to donate more meals in 2021 than ever before.”
Steve Butterworth, from Neighbourly, added:“The school holidays are often a busy time for the nation’s charities and food banks. I’m sure Aldi’s donation will have been a massive help for so many of these vital organisations.”
Aldi customers are set for a sweet taste of the warmer months ahead following the launch of the supermarket’s delicious range of new ice cream flavours.
There is no need to play flavourites as customers can pick and choose from three refreshing new ice cream creations as part of Aldi’s much-loved Strachan’s range: Peach Melba, Mixed Scottish Berries, and Raspberry Pavlova.
At just £1.99 per litre, each tub takes advantage of the best produce Scotland has to offer and are the perfect treat to cool down with on a warm summer’s day.
Peach Melba is swirled with sweet raspberry and peach pieces; Mixed Berries uses various Scottish berries to create an indulgent fruit compote; and Raspberry Pavlova boasts a smooth dark pink raspberry ripple, as well as crunchy meringue pieces.
On sale now, the new Strachan’s ice cream flavours are 100% Scottish and are made in Scotland using Scottish milk and cream.
If you’re more of a chocolate ice cream fan, then why not try Aldi’s recently launched indulgent Specially Selected Belgian Chocolate ice cream?
Created by Equi’s, who currently offer Specially Selected Double Cream and Madagascan Vanilla and Specially Selected Scottish Isles Sea Salt and Caramel, it is guaranteed to go down a treat with anyone looking for a little indulgence this summer, customers can scoop this up for only £1.99 per 500ml.
Aldi’s new summer flavours are sure to be the ice cream of the crop and are on sale now at all 96 Aldi stores in Scotland.
Aldi currently works with over 90 Scottish suppliers, and after reaching their initial goal of stocking over 450 Scottish products by the end of 2020, the supermarket has now increased this target to stock over 500 locally sourced products in the next two years.
Customers won’t face any fruitless trips to Aldi from this weekend as punnets of the first Scottish strawberries hit stores across Scotland today. Aldi is the first retailer to offer punnets of delicious Scottish strawberries to their customers this year.
The first crop of Scottish strawberries to arrive on Aldi’s shelves have been grown by Tim Stockwell at his farm in Fife for Angus Soft Fruits. Berry specialists Angus Soft Fruits supply Aldi stores across Scotland with fresh berries from a select group of 18 growers based across Tayside and Fife, the heart of the traditional Scottish berry growing region.
Aldi, who currently stock over 450 products from 90 Scottish suppliers, aims to increase the number of Scottish products available in its stores to over 500 in the next two years and has been working with Angus Soft Fruits to ensure shelves are fully stocked with their delicious berries for the warmer months ahead.
Tim Stockwell, owner of Barnsmuir Farm in Fife, commented:“I am really glad that we are able to supply Aldi with the first Scottish strawberries again this year.
“The last 12 months certainly haven’t been without their challenges, but it’s great to see that Aldi remains committed to supporting local, quality produce.”
Graham Nicolson, Group Buyer Director, Aldi Scotland, said:“We’re very pleased to be the first supermarket to offer the first Scottish strawberries of the season once again.
“The Scottish strawberry season is always eagerly anticipated by our customers, and we hope that this first crop of strawberries, grown locally in Fife, give them a sweet taste of summer in the months to come.”
Aldi’s stores in Scotland will be stocking the first pick Scottish strawberries from today (Friday 16 April), with availability increasing throughout spring.
Aldi has teamed up with long-term supplier Williams Bros to give customers the chance to name a brand-new beer which will be sold in stores across the UK.
Beer loving Scots have the opportunity to choose the perfect name for Aldi’s next collaboration with Williams Bros and win the very first case of the brand-new brew, which is a tropical New England White IPA.
Check out Williams Bros’ website for inspiration, where you’ll find everything from Joker IPA to Ceasar Augustus, alongside some of the beers that have cemented their partnership with Aldi like Perfect Storm and Iconic.
The New England White IPA has all the juicy, tropical aromas and flavours of a NEIPA but balanced by the refreshing, spicy addition of citrus peel and a pinch of coriander seed.
It’s heavily dry hopped (with Mosaic, Citra & Sabro) and less bitter than a typical IPA, creating a smoother, rounder flavour which, combined with the presence of wheat and oats, result in a full body and natural haze.
Head over to Aldi Scotland’s Facebook or Instagram (@AldiScotland) before Sunday 11 April to enter.
The supermarket has partnered with award winning Chef David Hetherington to show customers how to create the perfect Easter roast
Spring is a fantastic time to celebrate seasonal ingredients and this year Aldi has partnered with award winning Scottish Chef and professional MasterChef contestant, David Hetherington, to show customers how to cook an extra special Easter roast.
Choosing the perfect centrepiece is key and Chef David Hetherington has created a delicious recipe using Aldi’s Scotch Whole Leg of Lamb (£5.49 per kg), which is available from all 96 Scottish stores from today (29th March).
David Hetherington is Head Chef at Glasgow’s Locker Hyndland and is a former MasterChef: The Professionals contestant and Provenance chef of the Year 2018. As well as sharing his favourite Scotch Lamb recipe, David has recently been working with Aldi to show customers how to create tasty meals that will feed a family of four for less than £6.
Chef David Hetherington commented: “With spring comes such an abundance of stunning Scottish ingredients, which is why I was so thrilled when Aldi asked me if I would share a recipe for their new Scotch Whole Leg of Lamb – arguably the finest centrepiece for an Easter roast.
“This recipe brings together an abundance of fresh, seasonal ingredients that can be picked up from your local Aldi store. For an added twist, I suggest getting outdoors and foraging for some wild garlic which grows in abundance at this time of year around Scotland – the smell is unmistakable and adds the finishing touch to this dish.”
Aldi’s whole leg of Scotch Lamb is PGI certified, which means it is guaranteed to come from animals born and reared on assured Scottish farms that meet the most stringent animal welfare and natural production methods, meaning customers can be sure they are buying produce of the highest quality.
Graham Nicolson, Group Buying Director, Aldi Scotland said: “We are absolutely committed to supporting Scottish farmers and producers and I’m proud that Aldi sources 100% of its everyday lamb right here in Scotland.
“Every spring we look forward to Scotch Whole Leg of Lamb hitting our shelves, which is why we asked David if he would share his favourite recipe to make the most of this fantastic product. I hope our customers enjoy trying out this recipe; there is nothing quite like serving up roast Scotch lamb at Easter!”
Aldi’s Scotch Whole Leg of Lamb is available from all 96 Scottish stores from today (29 March)
Roast Aldi Scotch Whole Leg of Lamb, anchovy, wild garlic and rosemary.
Tossed spring greens and roast potatoes
Chef David Hetherington
This recipe calls for wild garlic, however you can leave it out and just use regular garlic and throw in some spinach leaf for colour.
Serves 6/8
2kg leg of @aldiscotland scotch lamb
6 anchovy fillets
500g wild garlic (normal garlic is fine to substitute – 6 cloves)
½ a bunch of fresh rosemary
1.5 kg potatoes
1 lemon
olive oil
1 pack tender stem broccoli
2 bunches spring onions
1 bag spinach
1 bag kale
Crank the oven on to 200°C/Gas 6 and let it pre heat. Stick a roasting tray on the bottom to heat for our radical roasties!
Try to take the lamb out of the fridge at least an hour before cooking, this allows the meat to come up to room temperature and cook more evenly.
Peel the garlic and pop it in a food processor with the wild garlic and anchovies, blend to a pulp, adding two tablespoons of oil to loosen it up. A mortar and pestle will also work well with this. Set aside.
Peel your potatoes and pop into a large pot of cold water. Bring them to the boil, and let it boil for about 5 minutes. It’s important here we soften the potatoes a little, but we’re also not wanting to make mash… so just soft enough that a knife goes into a potato with little resistance.
Chop up the rosemary, drain the potatoes and toss in the rosemary with some salt and pepper, just enough to rough the edges a little.
Score the skin of the lamb and rub generously with our wild garlic anchovy mix, (leave a little to toss our veggies in) and zest some lemon over, then place directly onto the bars of your oven so that it is perched above the roastie tray.
Now here’s the genius bit, pop the tatties into the roasting tray that will now catch all the lovely lamb juices as it cooks!
Cooking the lamb for around 1 hour and 20 minutes will give you a lovely medium rare.
Meanwhile wash all of the greens, blanch all, bar the spinach, in boiling water for no more than 1 ½ minutes and plunge straight into cold water to keep the colour, taste and nutrients vibrant.
Once the lamb is ready, leave it to rest for at least 30 minutes.
Warm up the leftover wild garlic mix and toss the veg in it to warm through, adding the spinach at the last moment.
Carve the Scotch Whole Leg of Lamb, serve with gorgeous spring veggies and our radical roasties!
The popular flavoured jellies are returning to Aldi’s 96 Scottishstoresas part of store’s everydayrange
Following a Specialbuy sell-out in January, Millions Iron Brew Jelly Babies have returned to Aldi stores across Scotland as they go on sale as part of their everyday range.
Developed by Greenock-based confectionary producer, Golden Casket, the Millions Iron Brew Jelly Babies (99p, 200g) were originally launched as part of Aldi’s Next Top Product competition. The unique product brings Scotland’s best loved flavour to the market in an exciting new format.
The 2020 Aldi’s Next Top Product competition, which ran in partnership with Scotland Food & Drink, saw the supermarket launch a variety of new products in 2021 from eight local Scottish suppliers including Fife-based Growers Garden, Kilmarnock’s Nudie Snacks, and Arbroath drinks company, Bon Accord.
Sandra Fisher, Sales and Marketing Director, Golden Casket, said:“Aldi’s Next Top Product search has given our Millions Iron Brew Jelly Babies fantastic exposure and we’re so pleased how well they were received by customers.
“To sell out in less than a month after launching in January was just brilliant, and we are thrilled that the product has returned within Aldi’s everyday range and will again be available across all Aldi Scottish stores.”
Aldi currently works with over 90 Scottish suppliers, and after reaching their initial goal of stocking over 450 Scottish products by the end of 2020, the supermarket has now increased this target to stock over 500 locally sourced products in the next two years.
Graham Nicolson, Group Buying Director, Aldi Scotland, said: “The search for Aldi’s Next Top Product was an opportunity to uncover fresh talent and hidden gems in Scotland’s thriving food and drink sector.
“When we sampled the Millions Iron Brew Jelly Babies as part of the judging process, we all thought that they would prove a hit with customers, and I’m pleased that we can bring back the product for our customers to enjoy.”
Millions Iron Brew Jelly Babies will be available from all 96 Scottish stores from Saturday (26 March).
Are you looking for some recipe and meal inspiration to impress the family and want to test your culinary skills to make restaurant quality dishes at home without breaking the bank?
Then you’re in luck because Aldi has partnered with award winning Scottish Chef and professional MasterChef contestant, David Hetherington, to help customers re-create a range of vibrant and delicious meals that will feed four people for less than £1.50 per person using fresh local Scottish produce.
David Hetherington, Head Chef at Glasgow’s Locker Hyndland, Provenance Chef of the Year 2018 and winner of Inspiring Chef of the Year 2020 has developed a variety of recipes using local Scottish produce from Aldi to help inspire customers to create high-quality and affordable meals from their own home.
Starting with a Mother’s Day Spring Pea, Thyme & Lemon Ricotta Tart and Berry Pavlova, over the next four weeks David will release a series of healthy meal ideas for four, with suggestions on how to spice up your lunch whilst working from home, as well as offering a step-by-step guide on how to create the ultimate Aldi Easter Sunday roast.
Weekly recipe suggestions and step-by-step cooking guides will feature across David’s (@chef_hetherington) and Aldi Scotland’s (@aldiscotland) Instagram and Facebook pages starting from 8th March.
David Hetherington, Head Chef at Glasgow’s Locker Hyndland said:“It has been brilliant to see everyone get more involved in cooking at home and by partnering with Aldi, who lead the way on Scottish provenance, I aim to build on this culinary excitement and share both affordable and nutritious recipe ideas for everyone to enjoy.
“By taking advantage of the selection of fresh Scottish produce available at Aldi, my weekly recipes will help guide both experienced cooks and kitchen novices to produce an array of tasty meals. Along the way, I will also provide some top cooking tips on how to find the best produce in your local Aldi store and how to be more adventurous in your own kitchen.”
Graham Nicolson, Aldi Scotland, Group Buying Director said:“We are thrilled to be able to help our customers test their culinary skills and experiment with cooking by using Aldi’s extensive range of quality fresh local produce and ingredients.
“As well as access to great quality Scottish ingredients we know that what matters to our customers is getting great value for money, and that’s why keeping our prices the lowest in Scotland is our number one mission.
“Over the past year, David has done an excellent job in engaging with people to encourage cooking at home but recognising at the moment that keeping dishes affordable is also of key importance, and for the next four weeks I hope our customer are excited to try out the new recipes that David has created.”
Full Recipe Calendar:
· W/c 8 March: Creating a restaurant-quality Mother’s Day feast for under £6
· W/c 15 March: How to spice up your lunches when working from home
· W/c 22 March: How to create a healthy meal for four for under £6
· W/c 29 March: The ultimate Aldi Easter Sunday Roast for £6
Mother’s Day Recipe:
Spring pea, thyme & lemon ricotta tart, mixed leaf and cherry tomato salad
Serves 4
Prep time 10 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Difficulty
Total £3.30
1 bag frozen garden peas – 59p
1 lemon – 14p
2 sprigs of thyme/pinch of dried thyme – Store cupboard
Line a rectangular baking tray, or a round one, with baking parchment, then line with pastry.
Next up, line the puff pastry with baking parchment, and fill with baking beans (this could be lentils, raw chickpeas, or you can buy real baking beans online, I choose to use lentils), this stops the middle of the tart rising while you bake the pastry. Leave a little pastry lip hanging out the top for a wee bit of crunch. Pop the tart in the oven and bake for around 20 minutes or until the pastry is looking golden.
While the pastry is cooking, chuck the ricotta into a bowl, add some chopped thyme (or a pinch of dried thyme), squeeze of lemon juice, some lemon zest and some salt and pepper.
Put a pot of water on to boil. Once boiling add in the frozen peas and allow it to come back to the boil and immediately strain off the water and chill, this is important to keep the colour, nutrients and flavour in the peas.
Once the pastry is cooked, and cooled, fire in the ricotta mix, smooth it out to the
edges and fill the pastry, toss the peas with some olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme and a squeeze of lemon, and pile them on top.
For the salad, wash the salad leaves gently under cold water, toss in olive oil, salt, pepper, halved cherry tomatoes and serve up everything with love and a big smile.
Berry Pavlova
Serves 4
Prep time 10 mins
Cook Time approx 2 Hrs
Difficulty
Total £2.60
4 egg whites – 48p
250g caster sugar – 27p
250ml double cream – 71p
½ punnet of Wonky strawberries – 69p
½ punnet of Wonky blueberries – 45p
This recipe will always work better if you have an electric whisk.
In a clean dry bowl place the egg whites, and whisk on a high speed until they become stiff. Place the sugar onto a baking sheet, and place in a hot oven at around 180°C, you’ll want the sugar to heat until it becomes too hot to touch with the palm of your hand. This is a culinary trick so please be careful.
Carefully pour the sugar into the egg whites, mixing at a fairly high speed, again we are working with hot sugar here, so be careful and take your time.
Continue to whisk the eggs on a high speed once all the sugar is in and keep whisking until the mix is cold. It should be shiny and hold itself together.
We need to make a small meringue bowl for our pavlova, so divide the mix into four onto a parchment lined tray. Now the best way to do this would be to pipe a little nest, but you can plop a dollop on a tray and make a wee well in the centre with a hot spoon.
Now switch off the oven, it should still be hot from the sugar warming. Pop in the tray of meringues and wait for about 10 minutes before you close the door and leave overnight. It is really important we dry out the shells of our meringues without colouring them.
When you are ready to serve, whip up the double cream, and spoon into your meringue nests, chop up your berries and arrange on top.
Aldi’s award-winning range of Scottish pies are on sale now for British Pie Week
Hap-pie days, its British Pie Week (1st – 7th March) and what better way to celebrate these marvellous meaty creations than by sampling Aldi’s delicious range of filled pies baked to perfection right here in Scotland.
Starting at only 89p, Aldi’s award-winning range features firm favourites with hungry Scots, including Steak & Gravy Pies (2 pack, £1.39), Scotch Pies (2 pack, 89p), and Brownings the Bakers’ famous Kilmarnock Pie (150g, £1.39).
If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, why not try Aldi’s Macaroni Pies (2 pack, 99p) or Chicken Curry Pies (2 pack, £1.29), perfect as a mid-afternoon snack. Or why not indulge in one of Aldi’s award-winning Specially Selected Luxury Pies, including Steak & Ale Pie, Steak & Black Pudding Pie, or Chicken & Leek Pie (250g, £1.99).
Looking for a traditional treat for two? why not pick up Aldi’s Top Crust Steak Pie (£2.29, 371g), or for the perfect meal for all the family the Large Top Crust Steak Pie (£3.69, 660g) is guaranteed to go down a storm.
Sure to get mouths watering, Aldi’s range of Scottish pies are available now from all 96 stores in Scotland.
The full range includes:
• Specially Selected Luxury Pies. Choose from Steak & Ale, Chicken & Leek, and Steak & Black Pudding (£1.99, 250g)
• Frasers Scotch Pie (2 pack) (89p)
• Frasers Scotch Pie (4 pack) (£1.59)• Frasers Macaroni Pie (2 pack) (99p)
Aldi has been named the UK’s favourite in-store supermarket in Which?’s annual satisfaction survey, while Ocado slipped down the online grocery rankings after shoppers struggled to secure delivery slots during the coronavirus pandemic.
The consumer champion surveyed more than 3,000 members of the public about their experience with supermarkets, asking customers to rate their shopping experience in a range of categories such as in-store appearance and layout, quality of produce, availability of online delivery slots and value for money.
German discounter Aldi emerged as the top in-store supermarket in the UK after receiving a five-star rating for value for money – the only supermarket to achieve this in the survey – and a 73 per cent customer score.
While Aldi received mediocre ratings across all other categories, including two stars for store layout and three stars for the quality of its own-label products and fresh food, price was the most important consideration for customers when choosing where to shop.
In 2020, Aldi was the cheapest supermarket to shop in six of the eight months it was included in Which?’s monthly supermarket price analysis.
In this year’s online supermarket survey, Ocado fell to joint-fifth place alongside Waitrose and Morrisons. It struggled to meet demand when the pandemic hit and was ultimately forced to close its website and app – the latter for several months. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it received just two-star ratings for the availability of delivery slots.
It also received two-stars for value for money, reflecting its regular appearance as the second-most expensive supermarket after Waitrose in our monthly analysis.
One Ocado customer told Which?: “During [the first] lockdown I really struggled to get delivery slots, despite being officially classified as vulnerable and having a monthly delivery pass.”
Sainsbury’s was the highest-scoring online supermarket with an overall customer score of 71 per cent and a four-star rating for the availability of delivery slots.
It was also named a Which? Recommended Provider (WRP) for its online service. The company’s high standards for food hygiene and clear nutritional labelling on its own-brand products also contributed to the decision to name it a WRP.
M&S came second in the in-store supermarkets table after receiving a five-star rating for the appearance and layout of its stores and the quality of its own-label and fresh products.
In joint-third place were Lidl, Tesco and Waitrose. Much like its rival Aldi, Lidl performed well when it came to value for money, achieving four-star ratings, but it failed to impress customers in other categories.
Despite receiving five stars for store layout and food quality, Waitrose was let down by its two-star rating for value for money.
Co-op finished bottom of the in-store shopping table as it failed to impress customers in key categories. It received just one-star for value for money, and two-stars for its store layout and food quality.
Harry Rose, Which? Magazine Editor, said:“Many households have felt the pinch during the pandemic, and value for money was the most important factor when shopping in-store in our annual supermarket survey – which explains why Aldi came out on top.
“Online supermarkets have also been a lifeline for many people during the pandemic, and while Sainsbury’s rose to the challenge by massively increasing its delivery capacity, Ocado’s reputation took a hit after the scale of demand meant it stopped accepting new customers and shut down its app at the height of lockdown.”
