View Full Version : caithness county show
pig whisperer
11-Jun-11, 09:42
We. " The Sizzling Pig Hog Roast" have tried to book a pitch for the Caithness County Show over the last four years, however due to the catering being outsourced to a company from Keith, Aberdeenshire, we cant get on. Surely there are enough local caterers & food producers to provide a full food & drinks service, for the show, meaning low food miles. Isnt promoting Caithness & all the great things about the county, part of what the show is all about
annemarie482
11-Jun-11, 10:11
thats a real shame :(
your right, you'd think as its a show of caithness, they'd want local.
we'll be at the show, but to show our brand new shiney tractor :D
That is a shame! I only eat local meat so now I know this I certainly wont be buying any food there...
Tilly Teckel
11-Jun-11, 10:57
I think that's a real shame and the organisers need to have a rethink.
annemarie482
11-Jun-11, 11:03
were there enough locals put in for it?
or do they now assume it will be catered outwith as always?
I thought the idea of the county show was to allow local groups to showcase their products but obviously that is not the case. Have you tried the Sutherland show? I only buy and eat local meat and now fruit veg etc so won't be eating anything at the County show!!
How are you managing this, Leanne, as there is no longer an abattoir in Caithness? The closest South in Dingwall. The Closest overall is over the water in Orkney.
How are you managing this, Leanne, as there is no longer an abattoir in Caithness? The closest South in Dingwall. The Closest overall is over the water in Orkney.
Do not know enough about the abattoirs but I do know it is easy enough to buy Caithness beef and Caithness Pork locally. Also no problem with poultry and I guess lamb probably ok too. Do not know where you get the idea that you cannot buy local produce including many veg when in season.
Caithness County Show organisers should hang their heads in SHAME. There is Just No Excuse not allowing The Sizzling Pig Hog Roast a spot. The The Sizzling Pig Hog Roast is fantastic and I have been to many event where they have been and always enjoyed their Hog Rolls.
We all know that local is always the best in lots of ways. Were you after a stand on your own or did you try to get into the Caithness produce tent, with the likes of Greystones, Smokehouse & Berry Good?
At this moment by yourself, can you cater for everybody at the show for 2 whole days & with a selection of food items? Not just the public but all the stewards, judges & competitors on both Friday & Saturday? Sit down meals as well as fast food takeaway.
If you feel so strongly about it, you should organize with the other local food producers & approach the show committee, after this years show in Wick with your tender for next years catering. It would be great to see some good local food rather than the same old fast food vans, but there is more to catering at the show than meets they eye.
Why are Aberdeen caterers in Caithness when we have our own batch of different caterers and if the local caterers cant handle everything that needs done surely then and only then should the non-locals pick over the scraps thats left so to say!!...after all it is called the CAITHNESS SHOW...surely the simple answer is in the name of the show is it not?.Up local vendors and producers you all get together and do something for next year I will be first to sign any petition raised by local foods and beverage producers.
How are you managing this, Leanne, as there is no longer an abattoir in Caithness? The closest South in Dingwall. The Closest overall is over the water in Orkney.
Quite easily - the butchers have notices for which farm the meat comes from. Also we have chickens and pigs so that meat is very local and doesn't see an abattoir :)
We all know that local is always the best in lots of ways. Were you after a stand on your own or did you try to get into the Caithness produce tent, with the likes of Greystones, Smokehouse & Berry Good?
At this moment by yourself, can you cater for everybody at the show for 2 whole days & with a selection of food items? Not just the public but all the stewards, judges & competitors on both Friday & Saturday? Sit down meals as well as fast food takeaway.
If you feel so strongly about it, you should organize with the other local food producers & approach the show committee, after this years show in Wick with your tender for next years catering. It would be great to see some good local food rather than the same old fast food vans, but there is more to catering at the show than meets they eye.
I think if you read the opening post correctly you will see that they only wanted a Pitch Site to sell there Hog Roast from. Not to do all the catering for the whole show.
There will no doubt Hot Dag Vans a B-B-Q's there so why not a Hog Roast as well.
I have gone to the bother of asking a committee member and the response I got was that all the catering is dealt with by G & M Whyte, Keith and if any catering outlet wishes to get a stand they go through them. The reason for this is that this company are then responsible for making sure that each outlet have the relevant insurance certificates etc. It is not that local food outlets are unable to attend the show only they must do it through this company. This in turn frees up the committee members to assist in the organisation of the show which takes a lot of hard work and dedication.
I would suggest contacting Kerry Mackenzie the show secretary she is very helpful and I'm sure she would do anything she could to assist and advise you.
pig whisperer
11-Jun-11, 20:54
Thank you for all the kind comments & yes we have spoken to Kerry Mackenzie who was helpful & gave us the contact details for G & M Whyte. who informed us today that there was no room for us. I wouldnt have put a comment on here if I hadnt. We have full public liabilty insurance & we have booked a pitch in the taste of Caithness tent but thats for our tablet & cakes etc__. We buy our stock feed locally & spend our income in Caithness, we attend Cannisbay Show, The Vintage Car Rally, Latheron Show, Dunbeath Castle Garden Open Day, Halkirk Games, Bfest & private parties. However we would like to have been given the opportunity to take part. Our web site is currently under construction. It will be www.sizzlingpigcaithness.co.uk (http://www.sizzlingpigcaithness.co.uk/)
Its a darn shame that local producers are not represented at the "biggest" show of the year in the county.
Rhe littler shows and bits n pieces accomodate people like you from the locally produced rasps to smoked fish etc...so why why cant the caithness show, show off the best caithness can produce food wise I dont know?
Ok people have to be fed in great numbers on the day,but, there is surely room for quality food as well as the usual burger in the hand stuff.
Punk_Bassist
12-Jun-11, 00:23
Total shambles this can happen in our own county and door step ,whats it all about ?money or people or both.
Pathetic that local people cannot get into the biggest local show in the county
its a pity that the show committee give outsiders the catering rights, i am sure there are quite a few local catering companies who could benefit from show day. Your hog roast is something different from the chips n burgers etc. Hopefully u will be at the RELAY FOR LIFE, cant wait, yum yum !!
I have gone to the bother of asking a committee member and the response I got was that all the catering is dealt with by G & M Whyte, Keith and if any catering outlet wishes to get a stand they go through them. The reason for this is that this company are then responsible for making sure that each outlet have the relevant insurance certificates etc. It is not that local food outlets are unable to attend the show only they must do it through this company. This in turn frees up the committee members to assist in the organisation
Your contact is being rather economical with the truth. The catering companies for these events compete with each other to get an exclusive deal - the one that pays the biggest the fee or passes the largest brown envelope. This allows them to then operate as a monopoly at the event and charge the ridiculous amounts for a burger in a bun. One of the great past masters at this was Stan Buchan of Buchan catering....before he was found out for 'forgetting to pay his VAT' and had to flee to Spain.
The stuff about ensuring that everyone has a licence is just a smokescreen to legitimise the practice.
i'm afraid you need to be quicker of the mark....
better luck next year, i hope you are successful.
I think chodie has got it right they dont' like compition and anyone good isn't going to get on.
pig whisperer
12-Jun-11, 19:28
Mouse, we dont want to run the catering for the county show, we just want to book a pitch [ just like we do for all the other shows we attend ] & be part of a group of Caithness businesses who could cater for the shows within the county.
Very sorry to hear that your not being allowed to sell what sounds like a wonderful local product at the County show. I will look out for your company at other events (sounds very tasty!). I would like to think that the organisers behind the catering service are embarrased by this and make changes for future years, to ensure this isn't repeated.
Duncansby
13-Jun-11, 10:28
It doesn't sound like a case of 'not being allowed', it sounds more like all the stands have been filled and considering the show is only 4 weeks away that's not at all surprising.
As another poster suggested it might be an idea to get a group of producers together and put a bid in for the organisation of the catering at next year's show.
In the first post it states that they having been trying to get a pitch for the last four years. Surely if all the stands had been filled at the time of asking, they could be given a pitch for the next year.
Something is very wrong when a local company have tried to get a stand at their local county show for four years but have been refused.
KILTIECAULDBUM
13-Jun-11, 16:15
In the first post it states that they having been trying to get a pitch for the last four years. Surely if all the stands had been filled at the time of asking, they could be given a pitch for the next year.
Something is very wrong when a local company have tried to get a stand at their local county show for four years but have been refused.
I'm afraid this is nothing new. We used to own a snack/burger van and also new a chap from Wick who had one as well. We both used to do all the other shows as has been said already, but when it came to the County Show, it was a no go? We explained all that has been said above about it being the 'Caithness County Show' and surely local vendors should be given a chance, considering we both had the proper insurance and paid the Council an arm and a leg for a Street Traders Licence? We got told that it has nothing to do with the Council and that the Company mentioned above does ALL the catering and that we couldn't even set up within a 3-5 mile radius of the Show when it was on?
I then asked, if we are too late for this year, can we book ahead for next year, the year after that, 3 years ahead, 4 years ahead? NO, the Company from Keith is doing ALL the catering for all future shows as well and we couldn't even tender for a pitch!!
All this was in 2003, 8 YEARS AGO!! [evil][evil][evil]
This is only starting to come to everyones attention now due to the growth of the internet and the .Org. The only way to get things to change is to use the internet to your advantage, vote with your feet (or should that be your mouth?) Get a petition going on here so that everyone on here can see that this is STILL going on after all this time. Get it on Facebook etc. Print flyers and hand them out at the gate telling everyone that enters the show to stay clear of the food if they can, as it's NOT local, the local vendors are being deliberately kept away and their money is being taken OUT of the County. After all, with the cost of fuel now and having to haul all those heavy vans and trucks away up here, they won't come all this way if it isn't worth their while anymore!!
Rant over!!
Time to boycott the show methinks !!!
It sounds like the brown envelope job to me....Caithness County Show should mean just that......Everything from Caithness!!!!!!!!
Rant over, I for one wont be going this year now that this has all come out in the open!!!
C3.......[evil]:mad:
pig whisperer
13-Jun-11, 18:19
Please DO NOT boycott The County Show, we dont know for sure that there arent local caterers working on the showground, we just commented on our situation. The Taste of Caithness tent is full of wonderful products from the county, The Smokehouse, Bulno Cheese. Greystones, to name just a few. We have taken a pitch in there & will be selling Tablet etc under the Slickly Croft Produce banner, we only took a pitch in there after we were told that we couldnt do the Hog Roast we have to earn a living tho I doubt that we will ever get the Hog Roast on. [Can they really stop you trading within a 3.5 mile radius ??? ] Thank You for all the interesting & varied comments.
If you would like to take a stand at the Sutherland County Show you can get a form of the Sutherlandshow.com web site and all the other entry forms for horses, livestock, handicrafts and flowers can be found there as well. Closing date is 30th June.
Interesting points in this thread.
It does not take a lot of work for a committee member to check all paperwork for local caterers and keep it local.
If council not involved how can show committee and caterers on show ground stop others trading that day. does that mean hotels and cafes in town have to close.
How long does one company have the rights to cater for show.
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