Edinburgh City Centre Management Company News

Scottish Sausage Taste Off at Edinburgh Farmers' Market

18 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Supermarket v Farmers’ Market Sausages - which are tastier?

On Saturday 26th January, the organisers of Edinburgh Farmers’ Market are holding the Scottish Sausage Taste Off. Market regulars Ballencrieff Rare Pedigree Pigs, Piperfield Pork and Puddledub Pork will be pitting their sausages against those from three major supermarkets. With the help of Quality Meat Scotland and Slow Food Edinburgh, market customers will be given unidentified tasting plates and asked to choose their favourite.

Tristan McLean, Market Co-ordinator, Edinburgh City Centre Management says, “This is a fun way of marking national Farmhouse Breakfast Week and celebrating the wealth of high quality regional produce available at the Farmers’ Market. I’d like to thank Ballencrieff, Piperfield and Puddledub for bravely rising to the challenge. It promises to be an interesting day.”

Are supermarket sausages tasty or tasteless? Will the Farmers’ Market sausages triumph or trail behind? Come along to Edinburgh Farmers’ Market on Saturday 26th January and decide for yourself.

Free sausage tastings will be available between 9.30am – 12.30pm.

For further information, contact:

Helen O’Hanlon
Marketing and Communications Manager
Edinburgh City Centre Management
0131 652 5940
helenohanlon@edinburghcc.com

Edinburgh Farmers’ Market takes place every Saturday at Castle Terrace from 9am – 2pm. For more information about Edinburgh Farmers’ Market, go to www.edinburghfarmersmarket.com or call Edinburgh City Centre Management on 0131 652 5940

Falko Voted a Winner - Again

19 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT

For the third consecutive year, customers of Edinburgh Farmers’ Market have voted Falko Konditormeister as the 2007 Stallholder of the Year. East Coast Organics and North Country Lass were also shortlisted.

Falko Konditormeister has now been awarded this accolade each year since 2005. The award was first made in 2004 when Mrs Hamilton’s Organic Beef and Lamb was the winner.

Festive Farmers' Market

19 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT

On Saturday 22nd December, Edinburgh Farmers’ Market will have a definite festive flavour. The market will see the return of the annual Best Dressed Stall competition, giving all customers the chance to vote for their favourite. Carol singers will be singing throughout the market to raise money for charity

The photos shows Mrs Hamilton’s Organic Beef and Lamb, the winner of the 2006 Best Dressed Stall award.

The Great British Menu comes to Edinburgh Farmers' Market

15 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Filming for the new series of the Great British Menu TV programme took place at Edinburgh Farmers’ Market last weekend. Michelin starred chef Tom Kitchin used stallholder Caroline Hamilton’s organic meat to create his dish.

Mrs Hamilton’s Organic Beef and Lamb stall can be visited at the Farmers’ Market, held every week on Castle Terrace.

The programme will be shown in the spring.

Porridge Superbowl Sets World Record

19 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Edinburgh's weekly Farmers' Market is familiar with winning awards but it has now added a Guinness World Record to its collection.

The world’s largest bowl of porridge weighed in at a massive 81kg. Portions were sold to hungry market goers with all money raised going to the Anthony Nolan Trust.

The weight was officially measured and authenticated by Edinburgh Councillor Paul Godzik and Environmental Health Officer David McCall. As Mr McCall wrote in his official report , “ I, as an authorised officer, would confirm that this muckle bowl of porridge is highly satisfactory and fit for a queen.”

Super Bowl: Porridge World Record Attempt

13 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

To celebrate Scottish Food Fortnight, the organisers of Edinburgh Farmers’ Market are aiming to smash the current Guinness World Record for the world’s largest bowl of porridge at this Saturday’s market (15th September).

Accompanied by the George Watson’s College pipe band, the Edinburgh Farmers’ Market team from Edinburgh City Centre Management will be aiming for a world first of a bowl of porridge weighing up to 100kg. The oats to make the porridge are being provided by popular Farmers’ Market regular Stoats Porridge Bars and the porridge will be stirred by a specially commissioned giant spurtle, 1.5m in length.

Ian Broadfoot, City Centre Manager, Edinburgh City Centre Management says:

“Scottish Food Fortnight celebrates the great produce available to us all, a vast selection of which is available every week at Edinburgh Farmers’ Market. This new world record will be an additional accolade for our award-winning Farmers’ Market and it truly has been a team effort with many of our regular stall holders, such as Caurnie Soap and Border Tablet, marking the occasion.”

Tony Stone, of Stoats Porridge Bars, says:

“It is very exciting to get our porridge into the record books. We have a stall at Edinburgh Farmers’ Market every week so it’s great to be able to mark our enthusiasm for the market in this way”.

Councillor Paul Godzik, who will verify the record attempt, says:

“People living in Edinburgh benefit hugely from the Farmers’ Market, with many people I know travelling from across the city to get a bite for breakfast or to stock up on quality food for the week. I am really pleased that the market continues to flourish and this new world record is adding to the buzz that the market creates for its customers and for the area”.
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Notes

The world record attempt will take place at 10.30am on Saturday 15th September, regardless of weather

Photographers are welcome to attend – members of the media will be offered the record-breaking porridge as a late breakfast

Edinburgh Farmers’ Market takes place in the Castle Terrace carpark, off Lothian Road, every Saturday from 9am until 2pm

The current livestock movement restrictions will have no impact on this market

Edinburgh Farmers’ Market is the largest in Scotland with over 70 producers attending regularly

Caurnie Soap are producing a giant soap made with oats whilst Border Tablet have provided pieces of tablet to be sprinkled on top of the world record-breaking porridge

Edinburgh Farmers’ Market won ‘Certified Farmers’ Market of the Year 2007’ from FARMA (national association of farmers’ markets) and ‘Britain’s Favourite Farmers’ Market 2006’ from Country Life

The previous record is for 66.26kg of porridge and was achieved by Home-Grown Cereals Authority and the National Farmers Union in Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, UK on 16 January 2007

Edinburgh Voted Britain's Favourite Farmers' Market

02 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Edinburgh Farmers’ Market (EFM) has just won three prestigious awards:

· Certified Farmers’ Market of the Year 2007, FARMA
· Regional Winner of Britain’s Favourite Farmers’ Market 2006, Country Life Magazine
· Over all winner of Britain’s Favourite Farmers’ Market 2006, Country Life Magazine

EFM was voted “Certified Farmers’ Market of the Year 2007” by FARMA at their annual awards ceremony in Torquay.

EFM has also been voted the best Farmers’ Market in Scotland & the North, and is the over all winner in Britain’s Favourite Farmers’ Market 2006 competition run by Country Life Magazine.

Country Life selected 18 outstanding farmers’ markets from across England, Scotland and Wales to compete for the title of Britain’s Favourite Farmers’ Market. The eighteen were made up of three farmers’ markets from each of six regions: East of England, the Midlands, Scotland & the North, the South West, the South East and Wales.

The public were invited to vote for their favourite market through voting forms in Country Life magazine, Strutt & Parker regional offices and the short-listed farmers’ markets themselves. These votes determined the finalists, representing the six regions:

Scotland & the North - Edinburgh, Scotland
Midlands - Moseley, Birmingham
Wales - Chepstow, Wales
South West - Tavistock, Devon
South East - Deddington, Oxfordshire
East of England - Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire

All regional winners were put forward to Country Life’s panel of expert judges, all high-profile foodie personalities: Clarissa Dickson Wright, Shaun Hill, Mark Hix, John Burton Race, Lady Cranbrook and Tom Parker Bowles

Clarissa Dickson Wright said:

“Edinburgh farmers’ market is [also] held every week, allowing consumers to buy everything that they need from local producers in a community environment…The competition was certainly strong, but Edinburgh was named Britain’s Favorite Farmers’ Market because it really represents the future of farmers’ markets in Britain.”

Ian Broadfoot, City Centre Manager, said:

“I am delighted that the hard work and dedication that our markets team has put in over the last six years has been recognised. The diversity of producers, the locality of produce and the frequency of the market have helped to make Edinburgh Farmers’ Market a multi-award winning event and a firm favourite with Edinburgh residents and visitors.

Our thanks go to everyone involved in this achievement, most importantly our customers and stallholders, without whom the market would not have been recognised in this way.”