Moray’s larder was showcased at the weekend as hundreds of people showed their appetite for Elgin’s annual food and drink festival.
Shoppers sampled local flavours from bakeries and butchers as well as tipples from breweries and distilleries from the Highlands and Aberdeenshire at the more than 100 stands on offer.
Sizzling smells from the drifted down the High Street on Saturday as festival-goers picked up lunch on the move at the event.
Cooking demonstrations run by Darren Sivewright, development manager at Baxters, who stormed to the semi-final of Masterchef the Professionals, and Lance Corporal Scotty Gray, who regularly serves meals for 150 troops as part of his duties with 39 Engineer Regiment at Kinloss, added to the atmosphere.
Mr Sivewright said: “I really enjoyed the day. It’s a good event for the town and it gives me a chance to show what I can do.
“For example, for one of the dishes I cooked I used a box of vegetables dropped off from Gordon Castle and lamb from the local area. It shows people what can be achieved with good local produce from our area.”
Shoppers sharpened their culinary skills with hands-on demonstrations, while farming exhibits gave children the opportunity to try out their milking skills and learn how other food is made from the land.
Throughout the day, members of Elgin’s Out of the Darkness theatre group added colour as they performed dressed as fish and chickens.
Gill Neill, manager of organisers Elgin Business Improvement District, was thrilled to see the town centre packed for the festival.
She said: “We had more people than ever before taking stalls or running competitions – not just our own businesses, we’ve noticed more people coming from further away.
“It’s brilliant to see so many people come into the town for it – it gives us the chance to promote more parts of the area that they might not know about.
“The town centre being so busy also has a knock-on effect for the shops that are based here too. There are a lot of benefits that come from it.”
