Ambassadors Appointed To Drive Awareness of Scotch Beef and Lamb in UK and Overseas

Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, today (Monday 14th March) met four top chefs who have been appointed by Quality Meat Scotland as ambassadors for Scotch Beef and Lamb in the UK and overseas.

Her Royal Highness was attending a Scotch Beef Club event at Butchers Hall in London in her role of patron of the Club which organises regular academy courses to encourage members to learn more about how Scotch Beef and Lamb is produced and how best to serve it.

To spearhead its promotional activities in key markets, QMS has appointed the chef ambassadors to help promote Scotch Beef and Scotch Lamb. The ambassadors include Cees Helder for The Netherlands. Cees and his wife Rosalie owned and ran The Parkheuvel in Rotterdam, the first restaurant in The Netherlands to be awarded three Michelin stars.

Pierluigi Portinari is the new Scotch Beef and Lamb Ambassador for Italy. Mr Portinari and his brother, Nicola, own and run Restaurant La Peca in Vicenza The brothers set up La Peca in 1987 and in 1996 it was awarded its first Michelin star. In 2011 it was awarded two Michelin stars for the third year in succession.

For generations the Portinari family ran a butcher’s shop in Lonigo and this was where Pierluigi became an expert in meat.

The new ambassador for France is Christophe Marguin, chef/proprietor of Restaurant Christophe Marguin, Les Echets en Dombes near Lyon. He is President of Toques Blanches Lyonnais and Toques Blanche du Monde. Mr Marguin worked in The Connaught Hotel , London and Inverlochy Castle at Fort William Scotland in the early 1990’s before returning to France to the family restaurant in Lyon.

Simon Hulstone, UK finalist at the 2011 Bocuse d’Or, has been appointed UK ambassador for Scotch Lamb. Mr Hulstone is chef/proprietor of The Elephant at Torquay. He was awarded a Michelin star in 2006 and was 2009 UK Chef of the Year and to date he is the only UK chef to win Gold at the World Chef Championships.

In January 2011, Scotch Lamb was the main course ingredient cooked by 24 of the world’s top chefs at the Culinary World Championships held biennially in Lyon – The Bocuse d’Or.

This year saw the Nordic countries sweep the board at Bocuse d’Or lifting gold, silver and bronze awards at the revered event.

Her Royal Highness also made presentations to the overall winner of the 2011 Bocuse d’Or, Rasmus Kofoed from Denmark and the runner-up, Tommy Myllymäki from Sweden.

The Nordic countries are now well recognised for their culinary expertise and have been identified by QMS as potential growth markets for the coming years.

“Having a high profile at events such as Bocuse d’Or helps open the doors for the Scottish red meat industry to potential new customers including third country markets,” said Laurent Vernet, QMS Head of Marketing.

“Among these are the Nordic countries which are now firmly establishing themselves as centres of gastronomic excellence. Copenhagen, for example, is a firm favourite with jet-set foodies and home to some of the world’s top restaurants,” Mr Vernet added.

Her Royal Highness and others high profile guests, including members of the Scotch Beef Club in London, also enjoyed a Scotch Lamb demonstration from Aberfoyle butcher Jonathan Honeyman and chef John Webber, chief lecturer at the Nick Nairn Cook School, at today’s event.