Loudoun Academy bake off for Newmilns Festival Weekend
“It was a tough job but someone had to do it”, said Councillor Douglas Reid, Leader of the Council after judging twenty Victoria Sponges at a Newmilns Food Festival baking competition held at Loudoun Academy.
The competition, organised by the team behind Newmilns Festival Weekend, involved pupils from S1 designing a kitchen safety poster, S2 baking scones, S3 baking light and fluffy Victoria Sponges and S4 tackling the difficulties of Lemon Meringue pie.
The winner plus second and third place in each category will be announced at Newmilns Food Festival on Saturday 21 September.
Councillor Reid said: “I was really pleased to join Graham Vincent, Lorna Graham and Andrew Johnston from the Newmilns Festival Weekend organising team to judge the cookery competition with Andrena Reid from the Council’s Catering Service. The young people from Loudoun Academy had really outdone themselves. The level of skill on display was exceptional and I am sure that many will end up with a career in the food and drink industry.
“The Council is proud to support Newmilns Festival Weekend. It is a brilliant, family focused weekend, with something for everyone to enjoy.”
The Newmilns Food Festival, which is now a well-established foodie event, runs from 11am until 5pm and will have a mix of food and drink stalls, workshops and demonstrations, including the Council’s Catering Service who will be cooking nutritional and healthy school meals for you to try.
Top Chef Tony Singh will be on hand demonstrating his exceptional culinary skills and will be talking about his wealth of experience at a special Audience with Tony Singh.
At 11.30am, Tony will be cooking Ayrshire Tattie Tikka and Bryson’s Tomatoes salad in the first of two demonstrations during the day; up next will be Catering Services top chef, Mark Hunter for the first of his demonstrations. He will be cooking Roasted Monkfish with Sumac and Za’atar seasoning. Alisdair Hood, from the Coffee Press in Kilmarnock, will be up next with a delicious main course for easy entertaining and La Dragon’s Luke Gwynne who will be impressing with a cocktail masterclass.
The full Newmilns Food Festival timetable is available online at www.newmilnsfestivalweekend.co.uk
On Sunday 22 September, the Newmilns Arts and Crafts Festival will run from 11am until 4pm and will include over 100 stalls highlighting arts and crafts vendors and community groups. There will also be fun workshops and demonstrations from Vink & Hare who will be making paper roses and pompoms; the Scottish School of 3D Decoupage will be providing advice and tops and Slime Time will be holding a slime station where people will be able to create their own customised slime.