TV presenter Andrea McLean was set loose on a top Scottish sheep farm to learn more about Scotch Lamb production and lend her support to a major campaign to encourage more Scots to eat lamb.
During a day of ‘lambassador’ activities with Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), Andrea visited a flock near Galashiels and spent time with Graham and Kathleen Lofthouse at Bankhouse Farm, the current Scottish Sheep Farm of the Year.
She then joined a group of top Scottish bloggers for a session in Edinburgh cooking some of her favourite Scotch Lamb dishes to help raise the profile of quality assured Scotch Lamb and highlight QMS’s on-going ‘Wham Bam Lamb’ campaign.
During the interactive session at The Edinburgh Cook School, busy mum-of-two Andrea – who is a huge fan of lamb – shared her top tips on creating nutritionally balanced meals which are tasty enough to appeal to the whole family.
She confessed: “Juggling appearances on Loose Women and the hectic social lives of two kids means, as a family, we can’t always dedicate the time we’d like to creating laborious meals in the kitchen so it’s great to have a go-to ingredient which is quick and easy to cook.
“Scotch Lamb is perfect for ensuring we can rustle up great, versatile mid-week meals and, as it’s packed with protein, iron and vitamins, it keeps our family’s diet balanced and my mind at ease.”
During her visit to Bankhouse Farm, Andrea also learned more about the quality assurance, traceability and animal welfare standards which underpin the iconic Scotch Lamb brand.
The Lofthouse family run 439 ewes and 72 suckler cows on around 300 acres of land in the Scottish Borders and, during her visit, Andrea also tried her hand at rounding-up sheep, with help from the farm’s working collie, Kip.
“Andrea is a great ambassador for healthy eating and as she’s already a fan of Scotch Lamb, it’s been fantastic to be able to give her a better understanding of the commitment involved in the production, from farm to fork,” said Carol McLaren, QMS head of communications.
“Scottish farmers are justifiably proud of the Scotch Lamb they produce and QMS is working hard with the industry to communicate just how quick and easy lamb is to cook. Andrea did a great job of helping us to share that message with the influential foodie mums who took part in the cooking session with her,” she added.
Research from IGD found that 70% of the target shoppers agreed that Scotch Lamb is ‘produced to a higher standard’ and 60% agreed it is ‘the best available’ after the 2016 ‘Wham Bam Lamb’ campaign.
Last year’s successful campaign also saw identified Scottish origin sales of lamb in Scotland increase by 10.5% in value and command a retail price premium of 11%.
Now in its fifth year, QMS’s campaign hopes to further establish lamb’s credentials as an ideal staple for the weekly shopping list.
For more information and recipe inspiration, visit www.whambamlamb.com.