The Perthshire butcher Simon Howie has released their first ever chocolate haggis just in time for Burns Night 2024.
The butcher, known best for his haggis, bacon and black pudding, has taken things one step further this year with a new dessert haggis to complete your Burns Night celebrations.
This is the first dessert released by Simon Howie, who already sells vegetarian, gluten-free and family size haggis.
Simon says: “It’s something different, isn’t it? We wanted to make something interesting and tasty.
“This is the first foray into a dessert. We’re not going to become a dessert supplier for the world, but we want to do something with a twist on it for haggis.
“It’s not something we’ll make profit from, but we’re doing it to broaden the appeal of the whole event for people. So they can go and shop for vegetarian or original haggis or a chocolate pudding haggis for dessert.”
‘Moreish’ chocolate brownie haggis to be served piping hot, says creator
Simon Howie will produce more than 1.3 million haggis for Burns Night 2024 at their Perthshire factory, with around 40,000 of the limited edition chocolate haggis.
The chocolate haggis is in essence a brownie, made with dark and white chocolate chips to mimic the look and texture of real haggis.
The flakes of white chocolate is a stand-in for the barley and cereals in haggis, and the colour of the chocolate brownie is similar to the traditional haggis too.
So how did Simon’s “foray into a dessert” go?
“We’re used to working with cooked products [at the factory], so in a sense you treat it the same way,” explains Simon.
“We sell it as something that has to be cooked when you get it, but you could eat all the ingredients raw.
“It goes into the oven and gets heated up. You serve it piping hot.
“It has the consistency and taste of a really high quality brownie, so it’s great with ice cream or cream.
“It’s very moreish!”
Cadbury’s gorilla ad inspires chocolate haggis drummer
To celebrate the addition of this tasty treat, Simon Howie has released an advert which pays homage to the iconic 2007 Cadbury’s gorilla advert.
The video shows drummer Callum Wallace following in the footsteps of the gorilla in the original chocolate ad, playing the drums while in his haggis costume.
“Callum is a guy I’ve known for thirty years. He’s from a musical family,” says Simon.
“I also play the accordion in a Scottish dance band. I’m very keen on Scottish traditional music too.”
The chocolate haggis, represented by musician Callum, also offers a chance for fussy eaters to enjoy haggis on Burns Night.
While Simon Howie already sells vegetarian and gluten-free haggis, this is another option for those with more particular taste buds.
“You might not like haggis,” he says, “but everyone likes chocolate.
“For us, it’s about owning the whole haggis event, making sure that we’re giving customers absolutely everything that they need for Burns Night.
“From haggis bon bons, the main event haggis and chocolate haggis for dessert now too.”
You can get your hands on Simon Howie’s new chocolate haggis in Tesco, Morrisons, Asda and Sainsbury’s across Scotland for £5.00.
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