Press Release: Highland cheese tasting

HIGHLAND CHEESE TASTING - A HOT TICKET IN THE FESTIVAL CITY

Connage Highland Dairy's award-winning organic cheeses are no stranger to the cream of Edinburgh deli's and restaurants. Famed for their background story of on-site production from cows to cheese at their own family dairy near Inverness. Connage's unique range has features prominently in the top awards and reviews of Scottish produce over the last decade.

In celebration of Scotland's Year of Food & Drink Dairy Month runs throughout August, Connaige set up its own festival event today (Tuesday) in the form of a tasting lunch held at the trendy Pickles of Broughton Street. Edinburgh foodies and food writers jumped at the opportunity to sample and learn more about the acclaimed range, and the delightful venue was a hive of excitement and chatter.

Connage Highland Dairy owners Jill and Callum Clark presented the full Connage cheeseboard to the gourmet guests, outlining the origin and inspiration behind each unique cheese, its popular pairings and uses. Whole six kilo cheddars were brought south from the maturing larder, along with the ever popular and versatile Crowdie, the unique Whisky Dunlop, and the ultimate romantic touch of the Highland Heart Brie.

Delighted with the enthusiastic reception from some of Scotland’s top foodies, Jill commented:

“It can be daunting to face a room full of knowledgeable foodies but we are proud of our cheeses and equally delighted that they continue to receive a fantastic reception from those ‘in the know’!

“We have a wonderful herd and luscious pastures on the farm, which help make the cheese so deliciously creamy, and a fantastic team of staff, without whom we would not be able to succeed.

“The Year of Food & Drink Dairy Month is a great opportunity for us all to champion not only our own produce but also the wider Scottish dairy industry, at a time when it is in need of public support. So I do hope that the Scottish public is able to get behind our industry, at the same time enjoying some great dairy products!”

Fiona Richmond, Project Manager, Scotland Food & Drink said:

“Scotland is blessed with an incredible natural larder, which includes some of the best produce in the world, and to celebrate this 2015 has been designated The Year of Food and Drink. With August focusing on Delicious Dairy, we are delighted that Connage are hosting this event, helping to raise awareness of this vital sector, encouraging the public to get behind it and offering a taste of their outstanding range of cheeses.”

A family business in the true sense of the word, Connage is owned by brothers Callum and Cameron and their wives Jill and Eileen. Cameron and Eileen run the dairy herd and the farm, from breeding to milking, while Callum and Jill manage the cheese business using their years of experience to produce a top quality end product from the farm milk. The Connage organic herd consists of around 150 cows, mostly Holstein Friesian with Jersey crosses and Norwegian Reds, the secret to the richness of the Connage cheeses lying in the luscious clover pastures the herd grazes around the dairy and along the shores of the Moray Firth.


Connage Dairy is growing rapidly in its national and international reach, and the range is featured increasingly on some of the most prestigious cheeseboards in the British restaurant and hospitality industry. Scotland will watch and celebrate as this rural business, alongside a number of its artisan peers, champions the value of top quality produce from the purest of roots.