Edinburgh City FC Women’s team will be sponsored for the forthcoming season by Bellfield Taproom.Bellfield’s logo will feature on the team strips and the partners will hold a number of joint activities such as charity fundraisers and quiz nights.
Bellfield Taproom – in the city’s Abbeyhill district – is a stone’s throw from the club’s home base: the new Meadowbank Stadium.
The team will return to playing home matches at Meadowbank, from November this year, when the newly rebuilt stadium reopens.
Dave Armstrong, Head of Media & Communications, Edinburgh City FC Women said: “Sponsorship is crucial to our team and Bellfield is very local to our home base. Their reputation for being inclusive and ‘supporting local’ means they are a great partner for the club.
“We are ambitious and aiming to get to the top level, so we hope to make Bellfield proud of their association with the team.”
Women’s football in Scotland is growing at a rapid pace and the opportunities for brand and business awareness and promotion are increasing exponentially.
Edinburgh City FC Women’s team currently play in the SWF Championship which is one tier away from Premiership football.
The Edinburgh City Women’s squad boasts many Scotland Internationals as well as former Hibs and Celtic players.
The team has a Turkish International in Yasemin Emek and an American No.1, Kelli Hanman.
Bellfield director Marie Brown said: “We’re pleased to be sponsoring such an ambitious and talented squad and look forward to following their progress this season.
“We’re also looking forward to meeting the players and to hosting events and fundraisers at our Taproom to help them on their way.”
Doughnut shop set to expand and recruit thanks to Scotmid partnership
A popular, independent doughnut shop has opened a second store in Edinburgh following the success of its partnership with a leading Scottish convenience retailer.
Leith-based The Kilted Donut began supplying Scotmid in February. Since then, it has supplied over 10,000 delicious doughnuts to customers at Scotmid’s flagship store in Leven Street. Firm favourites have proved to be the Nutella Bomb and the Brown Butter Biscoff.
As a result of the relationship with Scotmid, the business’s growth plans have been accelerated. Co-Founders, Mark Anderson and Lena Wollan, an ambitious husband and wife team, are now poised to extend their reach across the city with the opening of a second store in Stockbridge – and aim to expand their team by more than 50% through the recruitment of four more members of staff.
The consistent wholesale order has also supported the business to increase their daily output through the purchase of key equipment and an upgrade to a larger kitchen. This has led to new partnerships including one at Easter Road Stadium, helping to feed hundreds of hungry football fans.
Lena Wollan, Director and Co-Founder of The Kilted Donut (above), said : “The partnership with Scotmid means so much to us. It has been the springboard to reaching a broad customer base, which has supported our business in many ways, not least through the opportunity supercharge our expansion plans and open doors to new supplier relationships.
“We genuinely value Scotmid’s commitment to supporting independent producers such as ourselves. We look forward to introducing new flavours into our growing repertoire over the coming months and working in our new premises.”
Influenced by a doughnut shop visit in New Orleans, The Kilted Donut began as a small stall at Leith market before moving into its current site in Great Junction Street.
Lena and Mark have been perfecting their own recipe over the last three years and are committed to creating the best doughnuts from natural ingredients, without the use of pre-made mixes or artificial flavours.
Their existing menu comprises around 40 individual flavours, with six flavours chosen on rotation each week.
Danny Scobie, Food-To-Go Operations Manager at Scotmid, said: “Kilted Donut is a fantastic example of a Scottish business that is committed to supplying the best quality local produce and we’re thrilled to be able to sell their incredible products in our Leven Street store.
“The doughnuts have been extremely popular with customers, who are excited to see the new flavours we have every week.
“We’re delighted to see Lena and Mark’s business go from strength to strength and to have played a role in their journey of expansion and success in Edinburgh.”
The Kilted Donut partnership forms part of Scotmid’s wider local sourcing strategy, which focuses on both provenance as well as supporting local, innovative suppliers. The retailer aims to grow the business through innovation and partnership which comes as a direct response to meeting shifting customer demands for greater choice and top quality, local products.
Other Scotmid suppliers include well-known Scottish names such as Grahams, Tunnocks and Barrs, all the way through to emerging brands such as Confectious Fudge and Lost Orchards Cider.
The retailer is always interested in discovering new and innovative products via Product Guru’s free specialist platform: www.productguru.co.uk/scotmid
Scotmid’s Leven Street store is located at 5-19 Leven St, Edinburgh, EH3 9LH.
After a year hiatus, Aldi’s hugely popular Supermarket Sweep has returned and customers in one of our Edinburgh are now being given the opportunity to ‘go wild in the aisles’ and raise as much money as possible for a local foodbank.
One lucky shopper will be chosen to do a five-minute trolley dash in store and take home all the products they can grab in that time, with Aldi donating the cash value of the trolley to a local foodbank. Run in accordance with current COVID-19 safety guidelines, the shopper will also be given a list of three Scottish products they need to find. If successful, Aldi will double the cash donation to the foodbank, and the savvy shopper will get to pick a Specialbuy item of their choice*.
One of the most enjoyable ways to get in your weekly shop, local residents can apply by filling out an online application form accessed via a QR code, which will be displayed in the Gorgie Park Road store from Monday 20th to Sunday 26th September.
Richard Holloway, Regional Managing Director for Scotland, said:“The Supermarket Sweep is a hugely popular event in the Aldi calendar, and we are thrilled to bring the competition back this year and offer one local Edinburgh resident the chance to win a shopping experience like no other.
“We know how much foodbanks have struggled during the pandemic, and because we had to pause Supermarket Sweep last year, we thought we’d offer to double the cash donation if contestants can find certain Scottish products during their dash around the store.
“From Elgin to Ayr and Inverness to Hawick, we hope to give as many people across Scotland as possible a chance to take part this year and raise as much money as we can for local foodbanks in the process.”
The Supermarket Sweep will be run in line with current COVID-19 guidelines and all safety precautions, including social distancing, will be adhered to. Shoppers will be asked to nominate their chosen foodbank when applying to take part.
Entrants must be over 18 years old to take part and alcohol products are not included in the sweep.
Before the sweep, the winner will be given a shopping list of three products and if they are successfully found, they will get to select a Specialbuy item of their choice. Aldi will also double the value of their trolley and donate it to the chosen local foodbank.
Entry for the competition is free and applications open from Monday 20th – Sunday 26th September.
One lucky shopper will be selected and invited to take part in the event at the Gorgie Park Road store before Sunday 10th October. Entrants must be available to take part in the sweep after 10pm on their chosen date.
*Supermarket Sweep winner can select a Specialbuy item up to the value of £50
It’s all treats and no tricks at Blair Drummond Safari Park this Autumn as the award-winning family destination is gearing up for a roar-some season packed with pumpkins, firepits, hay-bale spiders, and of course … the incredible safari animals roaming the park’s expansive plains.
From 8th – 31st October, marvel at the antics of the cheeky meerkats, look up to the towering giraffes and say hello to the lions. And when you’ve filled your boots with animal magic, take a trip to the dinosaur forest before taking in the special Autumn attractions.
Wrap up warm and skip along to the pretty picket fence-enclosed pumpkin patch to choose your favourite pumpkin before toasting some GIANT marshmallows on the firepits. It’s insta-perfect and great fun!
Feeling peckish? Blair Drummond Safari Park has introduced a new food offering including a wood fired pizza oven, tacos, freshly made donuts, and a seasonal hot chocolate shack.
Speaking about Halloween Adventures, Blair Drummond’s Liz Gunn said: “For us it’s about bringing the season to life in a way that families will love! We have a magic formula of incredible animals, new and exciting things to see and lots of outdoor space so little ones can run freely and enjoy the great outdoors.
“As we are an established visitor attraction, we have a great infrastructure of plentiful parking, accessible toilets and adventure playgrounds designed to delight little ones. This makes for a stress-free, fun filled day out no matter the weather.”
Entry numbers are strictly limited so book now on:
Edinburgh Northern and Leith MSP Ben Macpherson will be pulling pints behind the bar in Joseph Pearce’s today (Friday 17 September) to show his support for hospitality businesses in the local area and the city more widely.
One of the MSP’s first jobs was as a bartender and he worked in a number different hospitality businesses in the city throughout his twenties. While working in hospitality he has said that he developed practical, organisational and interpersonal skills which have benefitted him throughout the rest of his career, including as an MSP.
Brexit has resulted in major staff shortages within the hospitality industry, which is affecting opening hours and the capacity to serve customers.
Commenting on his support for local hospitality businesses and their recruitment drive, Ben Macpherson MSP said: “I developed many practical, organisational and interpersonal skills while working in hospitality, and I learned a lot about different aspects of society from meeting and listening to colleagues and customers alike. I also made a lot of new friends from all over the world, who I’m still in touch with to this day, and had some great times working with them.
“The sector still has some improvements to make when it comes to its fair work responsibilities – but I have seen significant and meaningful change since I worked behind the bar 10 years ago, and today there are many hospitality businesses offering fair pay, good career paths and fulfilling opportunities.
“The experience of the pandemic has reminded us that local hospitality businesses are a key part of our communities and our economy – they are where we so often come together with loved ones and friends, and provide the setting for so many joyful moments in our lives.
“Cafes, pubs, clubs and restaurants are an important part of our society and I would encourage anyone looking for work to consider what either a temporary job or a career in hospitality can offer as a chance to learn new, transferrable skills.”
Anna Christopherson, Co-Owner of Boda Bars, said: “Working in hospitality gives you people skills, integrity and sales skills that you will need in every job you ever have.
“I wish everyone would work in hospitality at least once in their lives. It is a great job that gives you freedom to work everywhere around the world.”
If you are lucky enough to live in Scotland’s capital city, then you are completely spoiled for choice when it comes to eating out. From Michelin starred fine dining and contemporary cuisine through to good old fashioned pub grub, there are many delicious restaurants just waiting to be discovered.
As Scotland’s tourism capital, Edinburgh is a bustling metropolis of different cultures and that’s reflected in its restaurants with every style of food imaginable found on the city’s menus, including a huge array of tempting fish dishes.
As part of its mission to inspire the nation to eat more seafood, Love Seafood has rounded up some of the best Edinburgh restaurants where locals can tuck into tempting white fish which will have you coming back for more:
Spend the day like a tourist and soak up the history and heritage of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile and then enjoy a delicious seafood meal at the White Horse Oyster and Seafood Bar which happens to be located in the oldest inn on the Royal Mile.
The restaurant’s small plates are cooked to perfection including the monkfish satay served with sides of seaweed slaw and straw fries which makes for the ultimate combo.
If fish and chips are your thing then you have to try the Fishmarket in Newhaven. With roots dating back to the 18th century, The Fishmarket offers up some of the finest fish and chips on the east coast.
No ordinary chippy, the family run business serves fish and chips with flare and is renowned for a gourmet cooked-to-order experience, using only the freshest local catch. Crispy haddock served in the takeaway’s signature batter has kept this eatery a firm favourite with locals and tourists alike. If eating on the go isn’t your thing, give their adjoining restaurant a try.
In the popular shore area of Leith, Teuchters Landing is renowned for its great food, whisky hoopla and large outdoor terrace. Serving comfort food at its finest, this relaxed pub is known for its welcoming atmosphere and range of excellent seafood dishes.
Alongside standard plates are a range of dishes served in mugs, including two very Scottish options made using delicious smoked haddock – Cullen Skink (creamy smoked haddock soup) and Kedgeree (curried smoked haddock risotto). Can’t decide which to try? Why not have a small mug of each.
Sandwiched between Edinburgh’s two most prominent streets, Princes Street and George Street, The Mussel Inn is a true hidden gem.
An award-winning establishment, this restaurant is the perfect place to experiment with new seafood dishes. Alongside their epic selection of mussels, we’d also recommend the whitebait served with roasted red pepper and garlic dip and seabass served with a chorizo and butter bean cassoulet.
Booking in advance is recommended as this restaurant is only open Thursday – Sunday and we don’t want you to be disappointed.
If far-away flavours are your thing then look no further than Ondine in Edinburgh’s old town. Famed for its strong sea to plate ethos, Ondine is one of the city’s most famous seafood restaurants.
Try the classic fish soup enhanced with North African flavours of pungent saffron and oranges and a Harissa based Rouille or the spiced monkfish with Bhata aubergine which will take your taste sensations to a whole new level.
So if you’re inspired by some of these delicious sounding dishes then why not treat yourself to a fish feast at one of these fabulous restaurants on your doorstep.
Brand new campaign from Soil Association Food for Life
A brand new campaign from the Soil Association aims to tackle food insecurity and loneliness, starting this World Food Day on 16th October.
Anyone can take part in Cook and Share Month and hundreds of events are expected to take place across the UK. From Edinburgh to Inverclyde, people will be cooking and, you guessed it, sharing food in their local communities between 16th October and 16th November 2021.
Preparing and eating food is a great way to bring down barriers, so the organisers are encouraging people from all walks of life to take part.
Community groups, schools, children’s centres, faith groups and more will be getting busy in the kitchen and making food to share with each other, and with their local area, both remotely and in person where it’s safe to do so.
Need funding? Grants of £150 are available to help people get their cooking events off the ground, provided by Food for Life Get Togethers (FFLGT), a Soil Association programme funded by the National Lottery.
More details are below.
So why should we share our food?
Research has revealed that the more often people eat with others the more likely they are to feel happy and satisfied with their lives. Yet this year we have seen loneliness rise, exacerbating social problems that were already there.
The Office of National Statistics has published a report saying that loneliness in adults has increased during the pandemic by almost a third. From October 2020 to February 2021, results from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN) showed that 7.2% of the adult population (about 3.7 million adults) felt lonely ‘often’ or ‘always’. This is an increase of 1.1 million people since the first UK lockdown in 2020.
Many people have become more isolated as a result of social distancing measures, which can have negative effects on mental and physical wellbeing. Holding a Food for Life ‘Get Together’ is a tried and tested way for people to connect with others in their local communities, through good food, safely.
In a recent survey of Get Together organisers, nearly 90% either agreed or strongly agreed that their activities created new friendships or developed friendships. More than 90% of Get Together organisers also agreed or strongly agreed that these activities supported people’s health and wellbeing.
Helen Browning, CEO of the Soil Association says:“The month is about using the power of great food to bring us together. At the Soil Association, we know that food has got to be good for us, and good for nature and the climate too.
“It has never been more important to create meaningful connections. We have seen over the past year that feeling connected to others is absolutely essential to good health and wellbeing. Food is one of our best ways to unite across barriers – whether that’s the garden fence, cultural or generational divides.”
Dale Cranshaw, Head of Food for Life Get Togethers adds: “Half of the UK population feel that Britain is more divided than ever before. To build stronger communities that can stand up to some of the urgent health, climate and nature crises of our time we need to get together.
“Cooking and sharing food is one of the best tools you have to bring people from different backgrounds or generations together. If you want to bring your community together you can do something about it this month by cooking, and sharing food that’s good for people and planet with your community.”
There are a range of resources available, helping organisers to cook easy, healthy recipes from scratch. Choose your favourite, from an Eritrean Daal to a simple, home-made bread roll.
An important part of Cook and Share month is helping people to cook from scratch, which has health benefits and often has a lower carbon footprint than alternative ultra-processed foods.
After a year of isolation and worry, it is more important than ever that we connect with the people around us. Whether you’re dishing up daal, sharing a sarnie or passing round the pasta, food is a great way to break down barriers and bring people together.
East Lothian based Spice Pots are the latest product to hit Aldi’s shelves for Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight. The tasty and simple to use spice mixes feature in all 96 Aldi stores in Scotland since the 5th September.
The annual campaign, launched on 4th September, celebrates the unbeatable larder which Scotland produces, and, in support of the industry, Aldi Scotland is showcasing its largest ever special-buy range of Scottish produce.
Included in this range are Spice Pots’ Dry Spice Blend in Tandoori Masala (£1.49, 40g) or Bhuna (£1.49, 40g),which are on sale from 5th September. The Dry Spice Blends are a mix of herbs, spices and ground ingredients designed to add a punch of flavour to any meal. After enjoying success in independent shops in the Lothians and beyond, the simple, healthy and tasty curry blends will be available throughout Aldi Scotland’s 96 stores while stocks last.
Founder, Melanie Auld, began the business back in 2014 after being inspired by the Indian chefs and mothers who taught her how to cook authentic curries during her time travelling and working in Chennai, India.
Melanie believes simplicity and ease is the most effective way to encourage people to eat and cook diverse and healthy foods, and with each blend developed from her own culinary experience, she is sure that Spice Pots will be every busy family’s saviour in the kitchen.
She said: “I’m an advocate for making it easy – take the short-cut. If you can do it in one pan – then do it in one pan. The idea for Spice Pots came from watching the amazing mothers and chefs I was staying with in Chennai cook for their families and friends, but it wasn’t until I was a mother myself that I realised the complexity of cooking balanced and varied meals for others.
“I had three very small children and nothing but my creativity and a tiny kitchen when it all began in 2014. From then until now the only thing that has really changed is that I have a team who are as passionate as I am, and we have the capacity to grow and bring Spice Pots to a wider market thanks to retailers such as Aldi Scotland.
“As part of our mission to make dinner time easier, we also provide our customers with recipes, instructions and inspirations for how to use their Spice Pots to complement the seasonal produce available at that time in Scotland. I am proud to be working with a retailer which really embodies my own mission to provide top quality, delicious and local products without all the fuss.”
Graham Nicolson, Group Buying Director, Aldi Scotland said:“Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight is one of the biggest dates in our calendar, allowing us to put the spotlight fully on our fantastic collection of Scottish producers.
Working with Melanie and her team to offer these tasty and simple to use Spice Pots has been a pleasure and I am sure our customers will enjoy cooking up a storm with them.
This year, we are excited to bring our largest ever Specialbuy range of Scottish sourced produce, which will truly highlight the diversity, creativity and passion of our local suppliers.”
Aldi Scotland’s Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight range will be in stores from 2nd September 2021, adding 46 products to its shelves in celebration of Scotland’s natural larder. Aldi currently stocks over 450 products from 90 suppliers and aims to reach 500 products within the next 2 years.
– It’s Good To Grow scheme will see in-store and online spending rewarded by giving gardening equipment and seeds to UK schoolchildren –
– Move to encourage children to eat fruit and vegetables as 70 per cent are more likely to eat produce that they have grown themselves –
Morrisons has launched ‘It’s Good To Grow’, a campaign in all of its stores that will donate gardening equipment to schoolchildren across the UK in the hope of educating kids about where their food comes from.
The scheme will see customers gain one ‘It’s Good to Grow’ token in their My Morrisons account via the app and website for every £10 that is spent in store or online, which can then be donated to any school to redeem equipment such as gardening tools, composting bins and seeds to get growing.
The National Food Strategy, published earlier this year, outlined the need for the UK to improve dietary health whilst protecting the environment, warning that a failure to do so could lead to obesity costing the NHS £15 billion by 2035.
Morrisons hopes the initiative will help build a connection between kids and healthy food by making school children more aware of the journey of food from field to fork.
New research by YouGov on behalf of Morrisons has found that some children aged six to 15 do not have a good understanding of how fruits and vegetables are grown.
For example, only 34 per cent correctly identified how asparagus is grown, with 32 per cent stating that asparagus is grown underground and 21 per cent saying they don’t know how it is grown. This highlights a need to show kids how food is grown to help them eat better now and in the future.
Being Britain’s biggest foodmaker, Morrisons is empowering children to connect with the natural world for them to better understand what they are putting into their bodies. Giving children the tools and knowledge needed can help develop better dietary habits – with research finding that out of 1,115 children surveyed aged six to 15, 70 per cent are more likely to eat produce that they have grown and cared for themselves.
Over half (56 per cent) of the children aged six to 10 in the UK are not currently eating their recommended amount of fruit and vegetables each day. The Morrisons scheme aims to build a closer relationship between children and fruit and vegetables so they can see that it can be easy and inexpensive to grow their own produce once they have the necessary skills.
Rachel Eyre, Chief Customer & Marketing Officer at Morrisons, said: “We’re really proud of the work that we do for British food and with British farmers. It’s great to be able to launch a campaign that will give our youngest customers the knowledge and equipment to gain a better understanding about where food comes from and how to grow it.
“We want children to engage with nature as it will help them to start eating more healthily now and in the future, because they are more likely to eat fruit and vegetables when they understand them or have grown them themselves.”
‘It’s Good To Grow’ aims to transform 14,000 schools in Britain into Morrisons Growing Schools by giving children additional educational resources to demonstrate the importance of improving their health, whilst making use of their environment.
This is the latest initiative introduced by Morrisons that aims to encourage a sustainable future and follows wider business commitments such as pledging to be completely supplied by net zero emission British farms by 2030 and committing to the Peas Please initiative, run by the Food Foundation, to encourage customers to eat more vegetables.
Download the My Morrisons app via the App Store and Google Play to start earning ‘It’s Good to Grow’ tokens that can be donated to schools for them to redeem gardening equipment.
Roast dinners, strawberries and cream, fish and chips – the UK is clearly a nation of food lovers. But new figures show that we are also a nation of food wasters, with the average family throwing away around £350 of food each year.
Divert.co.uk, the food waste collection company that hates waste, thinks that it’s time for the UK to stop throwing away so much food and find new ways to use up all of our produce.
“There are 28 million households in the UK, throwing the equivalent of a pound’s worth of food away every day,” says Mark Hall, spokesman for Divert.co.uk. “We did the maths – that’s over TEN BILLION POUNDS annually.
“Think of how many needy people we could feed with that.”
Crunching the numbers on wasted food
The UK throws away over 9 ½ billion tonnes of food waste a year, enough to fill up the Royal Albert Hall 190 times over.
That’s a total of each household throwing away nearly 2kg of food each day.
And of this waste, 41% of it is thrown away because it wasn’t used in time, 28% because of personal preferences, and 25% of waste is unwanted leftovers.
With this much surplus food being produced and sold across the UK, it’s hard to believe that the numbers of people living in poverty and going hungry are increasing – especially when there’s enough food to go around.
But unfortunately, 8.4 million people in the UK are currently living in food poverty, which is where individuals or families are unable to access or afford food – a circumstance which can be triggered by a personal or financial crisis.
The Trussell Trust, a charity that aim to stop UK hunger, handed out 2.5 million emergency food parcels between April 2020 and March 2021, a 33% increase on the previous year – and 980,000 of these were for children.
Hall: “If we can make the most of what we have across the UK as a collective and find a way to redistribute the good food that is wasted to those that are hungry, we can prevent this unjust behaviour of allowing people to starve when so much is thrown away.
“We’re not a poor country, just a little collective thought will make everything so much better.”
Luckily, there are organisations and charities who are already getting stuck in to make sure good food finds its way to those who need it instead of ending up in the bin.
FareShare – who redistribute surplus food to those in need – provide enough food to create nearly 1 million meals for vulnerable people each week.
The real junk food project – is an organisation that uses food that would otherwise have been discarded from supermarkets, restaurants, and other independent food suppliers to produce meals that are sold on a pay what you want basis
Hall: “We need to expand on this incredible work to make sure it reaches more people, and really tackle the food waste crisis that is drowning the UK under mountains of rotting produce.”
Make your food go further
If like many others up and down the country you are guilty of throwing away perfectly good food, there are plenty of things you can do to try and minimise how much goes in the bin.
Why not try meal planning so you are only buying exactly what you need for the week and try cooking things in bulk and freezing excess portions for easy dinners?
Or you could get creative with new dishes to use up food approaching its use-by date, such as chucking everything into a stir fry, or a everything-but-the-kitchen-sink casserole.
Another simple trick is to make sure you are storing your food correctly to make sure it lasts as long as possible.
Hall: “I didn’t realise until recently that foods like bananas and apples shouldn’t be stored near each other or other fruits and vegetables, because they are highly gaseous and speed up how quickly foods begin to rot.
“You can also use lemon juice to keep cut avocados fresh and put paper towels under leafy greens to make them last longer.”
Finally, look at local charities and organisations to see if there are any ways you can donate food that will not be eaten before it perishes, or try to offer it to friends or neighbours.
So all is not lost, and you can save money and reduce your waste just by planning ahead and getting savvy with the food you already have.
Hall: “But the best tip I can give you is to never go food shopping when you’re hungry – last time I ended up leaving the supermarket with everything for a barbeque and then it rained all week.
“Greed gets the better of us – buy less, make it go further.”
