Spring Food Festival at Glamis Castle this weekend

A food festival hosted at one of Scotland’s most historic visitor attractions is set to be the first chance many local businesses have had to meet with the general public in an event trading environment in over a year.

Glamis Castle is hosting a Spring Food Festival, showcasing quality produce from a variety of local food and drink traders.

Taking place in front of the castle from 11am-4pm on Saturday May 29, 2021, the family-friendly event will feature a dedicated food and drink area offering visitors a taste of Angus.

An array of Scottish food and drink companies will have a presence at the Festival including Brown Street Brewing Company, The Littlest Herb Company, Turadh Distillery, Strathearn Cheese, Glenkilrie Larder, Carnoustie Distillery, Woodmill Game, Screaming Peacock and Spice Harmony.

The local traders are excited to be part of the event offering many the first opportunity to see potential customers in ‘real life’ at an event of this kind since the beginning of the Coronavirus Crisis in early 2020.

Drew and Pierre from Strathearn Cheese Company

Daniela Mather founded Spice Harmony, a homemade chutney business, in 2018 and had been building the business through attending markets, food shows and Highland Game events before the rise of Coronavirus.

Since then Daniela has diversified by growing the business’ online presence, selling her chutneys through wholesale avenues and has now opened her own shop, ‘Coorie’, in Broughty Ferry. She can’t wait to be back at events and seeing people face-to-face to talk about her products.

Daniela said: ‘I’m looking forward to meeting people in person and chatting about my chutneys. Shows like Glamis Castle’s Spring Food Festival have a special atmosphere, especially when there are lots of people attending. That’s something I’m really looking forward to experiencing again.’

The Comrie-based Strathearn Cheese Company are hoping to build their presence in the Angus area. As a food supplier to many hotels and restaurants, the business also faced many challenges due to the knock-on effect of many hospitality venues being closed.

Andrew Wilson, co-founder of Strathearn Cheese Company said: ‘This will be a great opportunity to showcase our cheeses. We look at the Spring Food Festival at Glamis as being a terrific re-launch of our cheese directly to customers and an opportunity to introduce our cheese to lots of potential new customers in a great location.’

The iconic Angus visitor attraction has a busy events calendar planned for the summer and is looking forward to welcoming more people to Glamis after such a difficult period for so many.

Afternoon tea at Glamis Castle

Helen Buchanan, general manager at Glamis Castle, said: ‘We are thrilled to be hosting the Spring Food Festival here at Glamis Castle, offering many local food and drink traders one of their first opportunities to meet with customers in a lively and vibrant outdoor event environment. We hope many people will come along to see the very best of Scottish produce on display and support our local businesses after such challenging times.’

As well as the many food and drink traders, there will be an outdoor food operator called Screaming Peacock on site offering visitors options for a tasty lunch or snack. Also, Glamis Castle Kitchen, an original Victorian kitchen experience is currently hosting newly launched afternoon teas, an exciting lunch menu and a table d’hote offering, curated by the Castle’s new Executive Chef, Kevin Hanlon.

Visitors are currently required to pre-book for both the Spring Food Festival and to visit the Castle Kitchen. Access to the gardens and grounds can also be enjoyed for anyone who has purchased a ticket.

The castle is already welcoming visitors for guided tours where the history of the castle is brought to life. For the full list of events taking place at Glamis Castle this summer, from Forest Bathing wellbeing sessions to a series of outdoor plays including Romeo and Juliet from The Three Inch Fools, go to https://www.glamis-castle.co.uk/events/

Spice Harmony

Glamis Castle is known around the world as the inspiration for William Shakespeare’s much-celebrated play, Macbeth. The Macbeth Trail at Glamis, located in the Pinetum is another must-see in the grounds. Figures from major scenes in the play have been sculpted from Oak, Douglas Fir and Noble Fir trees grown on the estate, capturing the atmosphere and drama from Shakespeare’s words.

Please note, all castle visits must be pre-booked to allow Glamis to monitor visitor numbers while Covid-19 safety measures are in place. Friends of Glamis annual passes for the 2021 season are now available.

These special passes offer unlimited access and exclusive discounts to regular pass holders. For more information visit HERE.

To find out more about Glamis Castle and for the full event calendar visit www.glamis-castle.co.uk

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