Two esteemed businesses in Kinross have been crowned ‘Champions for Scotland’ at this year’s Countryside Alliance awards.
Hunters of Kinross, the popular High Street butchers, won the ‘Best Butcher’ category, while Loch Leven’s Larder came out on top in the ‘Best Local Food/Drink’ category.
The awards, nicknamed the ‘Rural Oscars’, are the Countryside Alliance’s annual celebration of British food and farming, enterprise and heritage and have become the definitive rural business award to win.
They differ from other similar award schemes because they are driven by public nomination and voting, offering customers the chance to tell organisers why their favourite businesses are worthy of national acclaim.
The team at Hunters of Kinross were up against three other butchers from across Scotland in competition for the title, while Loch Leven’s Larder competed with four other businesses in its respective category.
Both businesses received overwhelming support in a vote by the Scottish public, demonstrating the strength of their loyal customer followings.
At an evening awards ceremony at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh last Thursday, members of both teams cheered as they received their ceremonial plaque.
The businesses will now head to the House of Lords in London in May where they will face competition from across the United Kingdom as they vow for the title of ‘Best Butcher’ of 2023.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, Pamela Hunter from the Hunters of Kinross team, said: “Knowing this award has come about because a vote by the public makes it even more special.
“It’s not something we put ourselves forward for, but something the public nominated us for.
“To win this fantastic award is incredible and we are very, very happy.”
Asked whether the butchers will be up for the challenge of competing against other butchers from England and Wales, she replied: “100 per cent! Come on Kinross, we can do this.”
The team at Loch Leven’s Larder, which opened in 2005, said they were “chuffed” at receiving the award.
Their spokesman, Robin Niven, remarked: “It’s a huge honour, not just for us as the business owners but for the staff and the customers.
“We’ve been through an incredibly difficult period coming out of Covid and then entering the cost-of-living crisis, that to get recognition for all the hard work is hugely rewarding.
“It really allows us to showcase what Scotland can do and it shows how much teamwork that we have in our organisation from the producers on the land to the team in the kitchen, to the outward facing staff and to our customers.”
