A month-long celebration of local food and drink, the Great Perthshire Picnic, will champion home-grown produce and talent..
From street food to bread-making and fish-tasting, a huge variety of food events will taking place in September during an open invitation to enjoy a culinary tour of Perth and Kinross.
The event is the brainchild of Perth’s leading social enterprise, Giraffe Trading, which will be getting into the thick of the picnic activities by hosting a Scottish tapas evening in their South Street café.
Support is also coming from around the region, with street food being served at an outdoor performance of The Taming of the Shrew by The Handlebarettes in Coupar Angus, chilli, garlic and ginger tasting at Glendoick Garden Centre and a tour of the Hugh Grierson Organics’s operation at Newmiln Farm, Methven.
Excel Wines of Perth is holding a Perthshire whisky tasting, Taymouth Courtyard in Kenmore is holding a pop up market and chef Graeme Pallister of 63 Tay Street, Perth, is preparing a special menu.
Gareth Ruddock, Giraffe Trading CEO, is leading the project and said he has been overwhelmed by the level of support the idea has received.
“Perth and Kinross is rightly famed for its food and drink producers,” he said. “We have award-winning restaurateurs, chocolatiers, distilleries, breweries and produce right on our doorstep, so an event to celebrate this has a huge amount of talent to draw on locally.
“I’ve been absolutely overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of businesses to get involved and see the idea develop. We’ve had far more interest than I could ever have hoped for and September’s looking like it’s going to be a really tasty month.”
Mr Ruddock explained why Giraffe Trading had become involved in organising a food and drink event.
“As a social enterprise which concentrates on helping people with barriers to the workplace we are always looking for new ways to engage with local employers,” he said.
“The Great Perthshire Picnic has given us a reason to meet with and talk to a much broader range of potential employers than we would in our normal business. It also gives them a chance to find out more about what we do, and the value that one of our job seekers could bring to their workplace.
“Food and drink was the obvious link for us, because we are already involved in producing fresh food from our Perth sites, giving opportunities for people to gain experience in the catering and retail industries to prepare them to move into employment.”
Giraffe Trading is being supported by the Community Food Fund to launch the first year of the event which they hope can get established and sponsored in future years.
To learn more go to greatperthshirepicnic.uk
