O U R FA R M SHOP
I’m Hazel Mackenzie, born in Shetland and brought up on the South Mainland Croft at Aister in Cunningsburgh. Our family have been stewards of our croft for, literally, hundreds of years! Together with my Husband, Kenneth and family we own Mackenzie’s Farm Shop & Cafe (Shetland’s only Farm Shop & Cafe and Britain’s most northerly Farm Shop & Cafe to boot) and Nortower Lodges - two 4 star self catering holiday lodges. We enjoy knowing that we provide a destination for visitors and locals alike that is warm (sit and relax next to our real fire), welcoming and has knowwhere-it-came-from homegrown food! Our Visit Scotland 4 Star accommodation is on our working Croft, where visitors can meet the animals, enjoy the
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peace & quiet and have exquisite wildlife, flora & fauna literally on their doorstep. ‘It all started with an egg!’ We had extra eggs one week and needed an outlet - so we put an honesty box at the end of our road once a week. This proved so popular that we added more produce (and The Shetland Times). Our honesty box was soon too peerie (Shetland word for small) and so we put our (very clean) Livestock trailer to good use and added lots more local produce such as bakery and dairy products. Our newly build Nortower Lodges guests were also asking where they could buy and eat ‘local produce’ when they arrived for their holiday. So, on discussion with my late Fatherin-law around our kitchen table,
the idea of a Farm Shop was born! For us, as a family, we regularly sit down to eat meals that are completely produced on our croft. We know that our produce is mouth wateringly delicious as we took care to plant, breed, birth, harvest, rear and fatten it! We are situated on the edge of Shetland’ cliffs and the air and water are pristine. Our animals eat the finest of what Shetland has to offer - be it banks (cliff) grass, arable silage, neeps (turnips), meadow hay, Shetland Kale or heather moorland plants – all these homegrown foods for the animals make the meat taste truly delicious. Mackenzie’s Farm Shop is situated at the side of the main A970 that runs through Shetland. My dream was to
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create a destination that is also a community hub. It’s spacious, modern & clean. We succeed in finding products that are different. Our Chef & Cooks make delicious foods using our own and local produce. Our local food supper nights are legendary! We’ve a Beauty Salon, free wifi, visitor information, toilets, ample parking, and an outside seating area for people who want to bring their dogs. We have easy access for those with restricted mobility throughout the whole building. There are super walks around about us and locals & visitors alike park up, go for a walk and then come back along for lunch/afternoon tea. Why not visit our Peatland Restoration Project up on our hill above the Farm Shop? My sister-in-law makes our own range of jams, marmalades (available onboard Northlink Ferries), chutneys and relish in our Farm Shop kitchen. Our Spiced Pepper & Tomato Relish is delicious - it has just won a prestigious 2-star award from The Guild of Fine Food Awards! It’s only available in our Farm Shop at present. Another favourite is our award-winning Beetroot Chutney made with delicious home-grown Shetland beetroot. We’ve recently released our newest product - home grown Aister ‘oo’! We shear our 100+ native Shetland sheep by hand and the wool is processed into a beautiful range of natural and dyed shades. We’ve had patterns made up of gloves and keps (hats) and the results are very satisfying for both the sheep and the Crofter!
