From Harvey Nichols To Gleneagles - Royal Deeside Company Supplies Product To ‘Big Cheeses’

Nestled in the heart of Royal Deeside in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, local business woman Liz Marchant along with her husband Neil and team strive to produce beautiful cheeses using traditional, hand-made methods with the highest quality, unpasteurised milk which is sourced from a local organic dairy, Glasgoforrest at Kinellar. Recently announced as a finalist in the 'Young Business' category of the Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise, the duo will find out if they have beaten off the competition to take the coveted Enterprise award at a gala evening dinner on 7^th June at Ardoe House Hotel.

The awards are organised by Enterprise North East Trust (ENET) and sponsored by The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Business Gateway (supported by SE Grampian).

Liz Marchant, co-owner of The Craigmyle Cheese Company says, "My husband and I embarked on the idea of artisan cheese making as we wanted to combine something that was a passion for us both and good food and wine were top of the list. We toyed with the idea of a restaurant but finally decided on cheese making as not only do we adore cheese but our research showed us there was a gap in the market in Aberdeenshire for artisan, organic produce."

"We decided to nominate the company again this year after being shortlisted for the New Business Award at last year's Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise. I feel that if you are at all competitive there is an element of disappointment if you don't win so we decided to try again. As a team, we have put so much physical and mental effort into the business that it would be wonderful to receive the recognition not only for ourselves and our staff but also to help stake Aberdeenshire's rightful place as an area rich in fabulous food produce."

"The Craigmyle Cheese Company is a good example of what can be achieved thorough research and planning when you combine it with sheer determination and drive. Two years of research were carried out prior to starting the business and it has proved invaluable to the development of the business."

Liz continues, "Our cheeses can be found in locally run delis and at Aberdeenshire Farmers Markets as well as establishments such as Gleneagles and Harvey Nichols. For being such a small business which has only been trading for 16 months it has been a real coup to be able to supply such reputable outlets. There are four cheeses in The Craigmyle Cheese Company range including Wee Wummle and Muckle Wummle - a mould ripened, Camembert style cheese, Morven - a springy textured waxed cheese, Clachnaben - a traditional, hard, pressed cheese and Learney, a naturally ripened cheese matured for four months. A blue cheese, Babbity Blue will be launched at The Edinburgh Speciality and Fine Food Fair in May."

"We also supply the artisan Crannach Bakery (Ballater and Aberdeen) with the whey from our cheese which they use to produce The Craigmyle soda bread, created using a traditional Irish recipe that uses buttermilk or whey to produce bread as it would have been made many years ago. To use whey as it was often used in past times is great and means there is less wastage for us. Its encouraging that our waste can go on to help create someone else's product."

Stuart Heslop, Director of Commercial Banking for RBS in Aberdeen says, "It's encouraging to see that The Craigmyle Cheese Company has made the finals in the Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise for the second year in a row. The company is a perfect example of how extensive market research is vital to give you an insight into how your product or service will be received by your target market, which in turn helps to ensure that you provide them with a high quality product that they will have interest in and subsequently buy. The two years of research that Liz and Neil carried out was definitely the foundation for the start of a very successful business and they have managed to set themselves apart from their competitors by using the best quality ingredients and traditional artisan methods to create their award-winning cheese."

Stuart continues, "In 2006 the company won various awards including the Scottish Food & Drink Excellence Awards (Dairy), two gold medals in the Grampian Food Forum Innovation Awards, a silver and a bronze at The Royal Highland Show and a bronze and a `commended' at The Nantwich International Show. The company continues to go from strength to strength with the backing of loyal distributors and I wish them all the best of luck for the awards evening."

Winners will be announced at a black tie awards ceremony on Thursday 7 June 2007 at Ardoe House Hotel by Aberdeen. Simon Woodroffe, known to many as one of the panel from the BBC's Dragon's Den and founder of the successful YO! Sushi restaurant chain, will be the keynote speaker at the prestigious event. All finalists will receive a certificate with category winners picking up a coveted enterprise award and a cheque for up to £5,000.

Tickets cost £80 per guest (plus VAT) or £800 (plus VAT) for a table of ten. The event begins with a champagne reception at 7pm, with carriages at 12.30am. Tickets for the event can be booked by calling 01467 672535, or emailing karen.clark@enetrust.com or filling in an on-line booking form at www.enetrust.com

More information about the awards can be found at www.enetrust.com. Winners will not be announced until the awards ceremony takes place on 7^th June at Ardoe House Hotel, by Aberdeen.

ENDS

Picture caption – Husband and wife team Liz and Neil Marchant, of The Craigmyle Cheese Company, will find out if they have scooped the coveted 'Young Business' award at the Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise gala evening dinner on 7^th June at Ardoe House Hotel.

For more information contact:

Sarah Bremner

Senior Account Executive

Tricker PR

Telephone: 01224 646491

Direct: 01224 654082

Email: sbremner@trickerpr.com