Black Isle blast off for Blasda!

16 August 2011

THE Black Isle is taking part in Scotland’s first nationwide celebration of local food, Blasda, on 10 September.

Community groups from across the country are joining forces to host great food experiences, including ceilidhs, suppers and feasts, picnics, talks, food-films and soup kitchens.

Blasda is Gaelic for tasty, delicious, appetising or sweet and the Blasda network is open to cafes, retailers and businesses supporting local food. The movement represents a response to the growing domination of the supermarkets.

The Black Isle is one of the finest food growing areas in the Highlands. On 10 September Transition Black Isle will hold two Blasda events featuring mouthwatering local produce.

Loch na Mhoid Community Garden near Muir of Ord will play host to a ‘pot luck picnic’ with people invited to bring along a dish using ingredients grown at home or in the community garden.

“If you’ve not been to Loch na Mhoid before this is the perfect opportunity to meet some of the community gardeners, tour the garden and polytunnel have a blether and sample some fine homegrown fare,” said Toni Clark of Transition Black Isle. “The festivities take place from 12noon to 4pm – all are welcome.” 

On the east of the Black Isle, Cromarty is marking Blasda with a special local lunch at the village’s new community market in the Victoria Hall. Stallholders will be selling a delicious array of food from the area, and lunch will be provided by Cromarty Primary School. You can even wash your food down with a cup of locally grown herbal tea. Food will be served throughout the market from 11:30am to 2:30pm.

Blasda is funded by the Climate Challenge Fund and is a project of the award-winning Fife Diet.  Feast organiser, Mike Small, who came to Cromarty last winter and addressed a packed Victoria Hall, said:  “The main idea is to get a sense of the change of appreciation in local food that's underway.

“All the groups involved are part of the growing movement to try and create a better food system, one that connects with nature, values taste over uniformity and feeds the economy of a community instead of ripping it off.”

There are now over 8000 supermarkets in the UK representing 97% of grocery sales. Many of these projects represent the growing alternative to this unhealthy market domination. In the two years up to November 2010, planning permission was granted to 480 new stores which works out at one supermarket every other day. One pound in every seven spent in Britain goes to Tesco alone.

Visit the Blasda website for more information on Blasda and events being held across the Scotland.