In recent times, innovative Scottish chefs have made the most of the quality produce from land and sea to raise the profile of Scottish cuisine in international food circles. From oatcakes to oysters and black pudding to venison, the list of high class Scottish food products grows year on year enhancing the reputation of Scotland as a 'foodie' destination.
The column this week features the contrasting fortunes of porridge and Scottish lamb, two classic Scottish staples.
The 14th annual Porridge World Championships, held recently in Carrbridge in Speyside, might not appear to be one of the most exciting events in the world, but in terms of media coverage it certainly featured prominently during the weekend of the event.
The porridge produced by the world's best porridge makers was judged on appearance, consistency and taste; and the winner of this year's Golden Spurtle award was a guest house owner from Argyll who claimed that the secret of her success was pinhead oatmeal from Oban which was soaked for 24 hours before cooking.
As well as the Golden Spurtle award there was also an award for speciality porridge. The winner, who this year came from Inverness, scooped the title with a winning concoction which featured porridge, stewed apple, cinnamon, raisins, whipped cream, grape nuts and chocolate.
It certainly wouldn't appeal to me personally as there is almost a laxative dimension to this alternative porridge with all the roughage in the ingredients.
Overall, porridge is going through something of a renaissance. In the five years up to 2006, the sale of porridge and oats went up by 81% to £85 million. In total, last year Britons ate 50,000 tonnes of oats and porridge.
The success of porridge is partly due to its perceived health benefits, such as helping to reduce cholesterol. Porridge is also seen as a convenient hot cereal which can be jazzed up with additional healthy products such as nuts and raisins.
Scotch lamb on the other hand has found itself in the doldrums once again due to the current foot and mouth epidemic in England.
For many years now, lamb producers have been complaining bitterly about the price which they receive for their lambs at market and the extortionate prices of the dressed lamb in supermarkets. Now, another lamb market, for small lambs, has disappeared overnight due to the current problem in England.
Small Scotch lambs were in big demand in Italy and France for spit roasting. Now an estimated 250,000 of these small lambs will have to be culled as crofters and farmers cannot get permission to ship them to overseas markets and they are unable to over winter them due to the costs of buying in feed.
The government has proposed a compensation scheme by paying £15 per lamb culled but it appears that the slaughtered lambs cannot be kept in cold storage and but must be disposed off in ways which mean that they will not be used for human consumption. It is no wonder, therefore, that more and more sheep producers are either moving out of this sector or greatly reducing stock numbers.
Scotch lamb is a premium product and it is very worrying that such uncertainty surrounds the future of this important sector of the Scottish food industry.

Roasted rack of lamb with a herb crust

Ingredients

For the herb crust
200g/7oz fresh white bread
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp fresh rosemary leaves
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely crushed
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
100g/4oz butter
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 lean racks of lamb, French trimmed
For the rosemary jus
500ml hot lamb stock
1 large sprig rosemary
A good glug of red wine
1 small knob of butter

Method

Preheat the oven to 240C/450F
To make up the herb crust, break the bread into large pieces and place in a food processor or blender and chop into fine crumbs.
Add the herbs and garlic and blitz for a further 30 seconds.
Heat the oil in a large pan with the butter until foaming but not coloured.
Season the racks of lamb and add to the pan, skin side down, and cook for about 5/6 minutes on each side or longer if you prefer the lamb well done.
Remove the racks from the pan and leave to cool and rest for about 10 minutes.
Place the racks, fat side up, on a chopping board and brush the mustard over the racks to give a good coating.
Place a generous handful of the herb crust on the racks and transfer to a medium sized roasting tin and roast for 5-15 minutes depending on how you want the lamb.
Cover the bones with foil if browning too quickly.
To make the jus, heat the stock and rosemary on a medium heat and reduce by half. Add the red wine and reduce by a half again.
Remove the rosemary from the pan and add the knob of butter and stir in till well mixed. This will give the jus a nice glossy look.
Slice racks in two and serve with a creamy mash and a variety of root vegetables and a glass of hearty red wine.