FOOD & DRINK

The judges were Jill Asher, of Ashers Bakery, title sponsor of Taste of Nairn, Adam Bell, of Haim and Awa, the Instagram food influencers, and Laura Sutherland from Oakwood Cookery School.

Anew World Tattie scone Champion and Showstopper cake winners have been crowned at a three-day festival celebrating a north-east town.

Taste of Nairn took place from April 28 to 30 and showcased over 45 businesses with hundreds of visitors attending the events.

Organised by Nairn Connects BID, it featured over 20 individual events including foraging along the river, live music events, an African BBQ, and a Cellar Raider.

Non-food retailers also got on board with kayaking, paddleboarding, needle felting and many shops offered customer discounts.

On Saturday and Sunday, Nairn Community and Arts Centre was the venue for a market featuring stalls, tasters and food and drink demonstrations.

It was also the location for the World Tattie Scone Championship, sponsored by Oakwood Cookery School. Gary Grant beat off stiff competition from 20 other contestants to take home the accolade with his gluten free tattie scone made with sweet potatoes. He served it with cream cheese, smoked salmon and balsamic pearls made with sea vegetable agar agar.

Gary, said: “It was a great experience, I like to be creative and it is great that the judges recognised that. I am speechless. The trophy will take pride of place in my house.”

On Sunday, the Showstopper Cake Contest, sponsored by this very magazine took place. Amateur bakers were asked to create cakes with a Royal theme.

Eight cakes were entered but it was Sarah Hollifield in the adult category and nine-yearold Isla MacLennan in the junior category who scooped the awards.

Rhona Patterson, editor of Lifestyle Magazine said: “Once again it was such a tough decision. The standard of cakes was excellent, and the detail was amazing. It was particularly difficult to make the choice between the junior entries. The work they put in was outstanding.”

Speaking about the event overall, Lucy Harding, Nairn BID manager said she was delighted with the turnout: “We have had a fabulous weekend not just at the community centre but at other events across the town. One event that we know of, sold out their stock in an hour and other premises, we are told have been really busy.”