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Minger makes the cut for Highland Fine Cheeses of Tain after Scottish Retail Food & Drink Awards shortlisting


By Hector MacKenzie

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Rory Stone is thrilled with the latest award nods for the quirkily named cheeses produced in Tain.
Rory Stone is thrilled with the latest award nods for the quirkily named cheeses produced in Tain.

Highland Fine Cheeses, the Tain-based artisanal cheese producer, is celebrating the shortlisting of its iconic cheeses in the small producer food category of the highly regarded Scottish Retail Food & Drink Awards (SRFDA) 2023.

The winners are set to be announced at a lunchtime ceremony in Glasgow’s Radisson Blu Hotel on Thursday, May 25.

Among ninety nominated food products selected following five weeks of intensive judging by a panel of more than 50 industry experts, four of the company’s best-selling cheeses have been shortlisted.

Strathdon Blue by Tain-based Highland Fine Cheeses.
Strathdon Blue by Tain-based Highland Fine Cheeses.

They are: Strathdon Blue, a rich creamy blue cheese made from pasteurised cow’s milk; Blue Murder, a bold, strongly flavoured cheese made with cows’ milk; Fat Cow, a Gruyere-style semi hard, washed rind cheese with a strong meaty aroma, delicate sweet flavour and smooth texture, and finally, the pungent, washed rind cheese, the celebrated Minger.

Launched in 2020, the SRFDAs aim to help get more high-quality Scottish food and drink products onto more retail shelves in Scotland. The awards, strictly for products made and marketed in Scotland, encompass the entire food and drink retailing sector – from the smallest deli all the way up to major supermarkets.

Similarly, the SRFDAs encompass producers and suppliers of all sizes from one-person artisan businesses to global giants. All winners and shortlisted entrants are permitted to carry an on-pack logo which research has shown helps influence buying decisions and grow sales.

Highland Fine Cheeses Owner, Rory Stone, whose parents established the near-£2 million turnover company in the 1950s, said: “The SRFD Awards are watched closely by retailers and food service companies all over the world, so it is a huge honour that four of our cheeses have been shortlisted.”


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