There is a wealth of fantastic local produce farmed in Badenoch and Strathspey. Locally farmed cattle and sheep provide tasty ingredients for delicious recipes; both traditional and with a modern twist. The extensive grazing that is a feature of the Strath farmland also delivers great areas for wildlife, especially the massively declining population of breeding waders of the Strath – lapwing, redshank, snipe and curlew. To promote produce from the Strath and encourage people to use these wader-friendly ingredients, RSPB Cairngorms Futurescapes, supported by Scottish Natural Heritage and in association with Kingussie Food on Film Festival 2014, has launched a recipe competition with a fabulous prize. Not only do you get a voucher for some top quality Creag Meagaidh venison, but you also get your recipe demonstrated on stage at the Food Hall in the Badenoch Centre on February 1st by a chef, and your recipe published!
Some of our most recognisable farmland birds, such as lapwing, redshank, curlew and snipe, are in decline throughout Badenoch and Strathspey – lapwing and redshank by over 50% between 2000 and 2010. There are many reasons for this decline including changes to land management due to various pressures that have led to declining livestock numbers and a reduction in cropping. Waders depend on the significant area of farmland which is either near the water table level or occasionally floods. These areas in the Strath have been grazed for centuries. Hardy traditional breeds of livestock can cope with the harsh conditions, and also create the right habitat for a range of wildlife, including these hugely declining breeding waders. Promoting livestock farming and local farm produce is a win-win for farming in the Strath and for wildlife.
There are of course a few rules for the competition. They are listed below and in the word document, but basically the recipe must be based on beef or lamb / mutton, as these are the livestock that most contribute to efforts to sustain the breeding wader population, and we encourage the use of other local and wildlife-friendly ingredients. It also needs to taste good!
E-mail Hebe on insh@rspb.org.uk or call 01540 661518 for more information, and watch out for updates posted here on what the partnership project is up to as the competition develops.
Prizes and Rules for Wader-friendly Recipe Competition
1. The recipe must be based around local lamb / mutton or beef2. It must include local produce and biodiversity-friendly ingredients3. Ingredients plus instructions must be less than 250 words4. The weights and measures must be in metric5. The recipe must be supplied in electronic format and emailed to insh@rspb.org.uk6. The closing date for recipe entries is receipt at the above email address at 12 mid day Thursday 19th December 20137. The finalists will be announced in mid-January8. The winner will be announced at Food on Film Festival 2014 in the Food Hall on Saturday 1st February 20149. The judges decision is final10. The finalists recipes will be available to RSPB Futurescapes and SNH for future media and web use11. We regret that RSPB and SNH employees and their immediate family (children, parents, siblings), are not permitted to enter
Prizes
1. The winning recipe will be demonstrating by the celebrity chef at the Food on Film Festival in the Food Hall on Saturday 1st February 2014 2. The winning recipe will be published to promote wildlife-friendly local produce and farming3. The winner will be presented with a voucher for a haunch of venison from Creag Meagaidh National Nature Reserve