A competition to find the world’s best buttery is yet to receive any entrants from the city widely considered to be the home of the snack.
The World Buttery Championship was announced in March, with organisers encouraging professional and amateur bakers to put their recipes to the test next month.
Since it was launched by the Slow Food Aberdeen and Shire charity, entrants have come forward from Dundee and across Aberdeenshire.
But event co-ordinator Martin Gillespie yesterday revealed his astonishment that not a single baker from Aberdeen has thrown their apron into the ring.
He said: “I have visited every bakery in Aberdeen inviting them to apply and they seemed amenable to the idea, but I have been surprised by their deafening silence.
“When people think about butteries, they think about Aberdeen. Some even call them an Aberdeen roll.
“Nonetheless, we haven’t even had any home bakers from Aberdeen, though we have a recipe available on our website which they could practise.”
Mr Gillespie fears that some buttery producers may have been put off by rules stating that only “traditional” forms of the delicacy will be eligible – ruling out modern versions which replace butter and lard with margarine and palm oil.
But he revealed a possible incentive for Aberdonians to take part, explaining that a specially commissioned granite trophy will be presented to the winner.
The sculpture has been prepared by Robertson Memorials in Westhill.
And, in the interests of research, he and several others from the organising group recently gobbled up dozens of butteries on an “odyssey” exploring the region’s bakeries.
Mr Gillespie said: “We went around 18 bakeries in the shire and six in the city, having a buttery at every single one and I reckon some are world-class.”
The competition will take place on Saturday, June 16, at the North East of Scotland College in Aberdeen.
Organisers hope that far north firm Reids of Caithness winning a prize for their butteries at the Scottish Baker Awards last week might encourage more entries from the Highlands.
Buttery enthusiasts can also win a place on the judging panel on the Slow Food Aberdeen and Shire Facebook page.
It is hoped they will give a “person on the street” perspective.
