PICTURES: Chef at Oversteps Care Home in Dornoch holds shortbread tasting session with residents choosing which flavour he should bake for Highland Shortbread Showdown
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A CHEF who works in a Dornoch care home is representing the town in the 2024 Highland Shortbread Showdown competition.
David MacDonald, who works at Oversteps Care Home, is being put forward for the contest by Visit Dornoch and is believed to be the first care home chef to enter.
The event, which aims to find the best shortbread in the north baked by anyone from any type of business, is being organised by Visit Inverness Loch Ness (VILN) with support from other destination management organisations.
It is part of a wider food and drink strategy to promote the Highlands as a foodie destination and also to showcase businesses.
The competition has been expanded this year to include three new categories in addition to the overall winner – best traditional shortbread, best flavoured shortbread and the public’s choice.
Mr MacDonald is being cheered on by the staff and 23 residents of the care home who enjoyed an afternoon tea and shortbread tasting session last week to decide which of four flavours of shortbread he should make at the grand final at Eden Court, Inverness, on March 17.
Originally from Lairg but brought up in Tain, Mr MacDonald has many years experience in the hospitality industry, having worked in hotels and restaurants throughout the Highlands and Islands including the former MacGregors at the Ben Bhraggie in Golspie. He moved to Oversteps, where his wife Jen is manager, last September.
He is passionate about food and food technology and is particularly keen to change what he believes is the widespread perception that care home food is not of a high standard.
“I think there is a stigma attached to care home food with the general opinion that it is ‘slop on a plate’, and it really is not like that, it can be of restaurant quality,” he said.
Mr MacDonald, who came third in a national cookery competition in 2021, is using a 1940s family recipe handed down by his grandmother for the traditional shortbread category.
And after much thought, he has come up with four varieties of shortbread for the flavoured shortbread category – cranachan, lemon and ginger, banoffee and Irn-Bru.
At last week’s tea party, residents sampled all four varieties and were given cards to mark their favourite. Everyone had a great time!
And banoffee came out on top with its delicious banana flavour.
Mr MacDonald will face stiff competition from bakers across the region in the final.
Venture North, the lead body for tourism in Caithness and Sutherland, held a far north heat at Mackays Hotel in Wick on February 20 with five bakers taking part.
Two were selected to go through to the final - Patricia Custer of Mrs Baverstock’s Bakery and David Buchanan (Blackstairs House).
The finalists will have to impress the panel of expert judges including Jeni Iannetta of Bad Girl Bakery and Kirsten Gilmour of KJ’s Bothy Bakery.
BBC MasterChef finalist Sarah Rankin is hosting the grand finals.
She said: “I’m excited to see how the Highland businesses who have thrown their wooden spoons into the ring will wow the judges with their sweet, buttery, crumbly bakes.”
