Scottish food industry professionals were able to sample top quality Scotch Beef PGI and Scotch Lamb PGI at The List’s 26th annual Eating and Drinking Guide launch event, held at the Arches in Glasgow recently.

Showcasing delicious, quality-assured Scotch Beef and Scotch Lamb, The Scotch Beef Club, run by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), highlighted the versatility and fantastic flavour of the meat at its sampling station run by well-known Fife chef, Scott Lyall.

The event, which was attended by more than 350 industry professionals including restaurant owners, chefs and food bloggers, gave attendees the chance to enjoy a host of exciting and flavourful food and drink samples from some of Scotland’s most well-known brands.

Marino Donati, head chef at Glasgow’s Battlefield Rest was on the Scotch Beef Club stand to cook one of his most popular recipes – pan fried fillet of Scotch Beef set on a sun blush tomato crostini topped with burrata mozzarella and Parma ham, finished with a sweet marsala sauce.

Battlefield Rest also picked up the highly sought-after The List Readers Award which recognises the publications reader’s favourite restaurants, rewarding the most popular eateries in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Ciara El-Mansi, QMS pr and marketing executive said: “We had a brilliant night sampling Scotch Beef and Scotch Lamb at the launch of The List’s Eating and Drinking Guide, alongside so many renowned Scottish food and drink businesses.

“The event was a great success and, along with the sampling, we spent a lot of time educating consumers about the benefits of eating Scotch Beef and Scotch Lamb as well as the quality assurance and high welfare standards which underpin the brands.”

The Scotch Beef sampling activity is part of Quality Meat Scotland’s ‘Know Your Beef’ campaign which champions the unsung heroes of the Scotch Beef industry and educates consumers about the quality, sustainability and welfare credentials of Scotch Beef.

To become a member of the Scotch Beef Club, restaurants must serve Scotch Beef PGI, Scotch Lamb PGI or Specially Selected Pork.

For Scotch Beef recipe videos and inspiration visit www.scotchkitchen.com or follow Scotch Kitchen on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Quality Meat Scotland shortlisted for prestigious PRCA Dare Awards

Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) is celebrating national recognition for its marketing and PR team after reaching the shortlist for three categories at the PRCA Dare Awards:

• In-House Team of the Year

• Campaign Challenges for Scotch Lamb, Naturally (with Weber Shandwick)

• Consumer Relations for Scotch Lamb, Naturally (with Weber Shandwick)

QMS worked with integrated marketing communications agency Weber Shandwick to devise and develop the Scotch Lamb, Naturally campaign to encourage consumers in Scotland to eat more Scotch Lamb PGI.

The nine-week long campaign, which launched in August 2018, included television advertising along with billboard, press, digital, social media, radio and PR.

The campaign resulted in a 27% increase in spend per buyer and a 20% increase in volume purchased per buyer during the 12-week campaign period, according to figures from Kantar Worldpanel to the week ending 4th November.

A key focus of the campaign was to raise awareness of Scotch Lamb as a simple, quick mid-week meal and independent consumer tracking before and after the campaign by IGD revealed an 11% increase in the view that lamb is quick and easy to cook with (up from 59% to 70%) among respondents who had seen the campaign.

Alan Clarke, Chief Executive of Quality Meat Scotland, said: “We’re hugely proud of the Scotch Lamb, Naturally campaign and to be recognised in this way is further evidence of the incredible work our team, industry and agency have delivered.

“To also be shortlisted as In-House Team of the Year is hugely exciting and I’m thrilled that our team is being celebrated for the high standard of work they deliver on a daily basis.”

Moray Macdonald, Managing Director, Weber Shandwick Scotland, said: “We’ve been working with QMS for just under a year and in that time we’ve developed a really collaborative and highly productive working relationship which results in stand-out campaigns that truly deliver. Scotch Lamb, Naturally was our inaugural piece of work for QMS and the entire team at Weber Shandwick is thrilled to see it recognised at this level.”

The PRCA DARE Awards strives to seek out and reward the very best PR and communications professionals across the UK, decided by a panel of highly respected industry experts across six regions.

The PRCA Dare Scotland award ceremony takes place on Thursday 27 June in Edinburgh.