Officially titled “A Celebration of Local Food in the North West” because “Food Festival” sounded like maybe we needed permits… this was a wonderful afternoon of getting together with other people who love to grow, prepare, or even just eat, good local food.
Unfortunately the date (30th September) clashed with a lot of other events in the area, particularly the Shore Street re-opening in Ullapool, but we still had quite a good turnout, with people from Kinlochbervie, North Assynt, Achiltibuie, Lochside, and even the Black Isle, and lots of places in between. There were tours of a Keder Greenhouse and a home-made butchery unit (the highlight for many people!), demonstrations of a home-made cold-smoker, advice about fermenting and foraging, talks about fruit trees (and windbreaks!) and some standing around admiring tractors. There was also a lot of amazing food to eat, made almost entirely of local ingredients that people had brought with them. What a treat!





The real magic of the day though was not the organised tours or the amazing food, but the connections that were made between people, the information that was passed on, and, I think most importantly, the enthusiasm and love of local, seasonal, fresh, regional food that was shared. Eating what we can grow, loving what we eat and fostering a real connection with our land and our neighbours through food.
Feedback was resoundingly positive and everybody is keen to do it again next year (bigger and better!!!) so stay tuned!
It wouldn’t have been possible without a huge amount of work from Chris, Virginie, Gabriel, Karen and Hannah, as well as all of our Green Bowl team who shared their experiences and knowledge… and everybody who came and brought their amazing produce, and their interest and enthusiasm. Thank you all!