Amid the gentle hills and coastal breezes of Fife’s East Neuk lies a quiet revolution in the making at Bowhouse on Balcaskie Estate.
The Pitch-Up project, a dynamic initiative bringing together small producers, farmers, and artisans, is redefining the local food landscape.
Like a new reinterpretation of the old bustling high streets, Pitch-Up is creating a vibrant community of collaborators whose collective aim is not only to thrive individually but to grow stronger together.
Toby Anstruther, owner of Balcaskie Estate, hopes that Pitch-Up will encourage budding entrepreneurs to bring their businesses to life and be supported by the others on the estate.
“Running a business is only partly about baking the cake. It’s also about how you account for the cake and how you sell the cake,” he says.
Support for new businesses
“Those are the bits that hold you back – they’re scary and unknown.”
“Pitch-Up is partly there to say, look, if you really want to do something, come and have a go.”
At the heart of this effort is Bowhouse, the hub of activity on the estate.
Here businesses like Baern café, East Neuk Market Garden, Futtle Organic Beer, Scotland The Bread, Stocks Kitchen and Vandyke Bros specialty coffee are shaping the future of food and drink in Scotland.
A Community in the making
Many families and businesses have relocated to Fife in recent years, possibly since the working-from-home revolution during Covid-19 showed not all firms needed to be in big cities to thrive.
Baern, the café within Bowhouse, embodies the spirit of community that defines Pitch-Up.
Baern co-founder Giacomo Pesce says: “Everything on the menu at Baern comes from the producers here at the Bowhouse – meat, vegetables, flour, beer – we literally couldn’t do what we do without them.
“Thanks to them we are able to cook with an ever-changing selection of ingredients that are always seasonal, always local.
Fresh, local food
“It’s a unique and privileged situation, and we work incredibly hard to make sure nothing they produce goes to waste.”
Tony Vandyke, originally based in the Black Isle, echoes this sentiment, noting that being part of Bowhouse has transformed how he sees his business.
“As the newest addition to the Balcaskie Estate, the decision to move here was easy for Vandyke Bros,” he says.
Moving to Fife to expand
“We gained a modern and efficient coffee production space to expand, and were drawn to the active and dynamic Balcaskie community.
“We also have improved access to a bigger market but importantly we gained an immediate lift in attention by being part of the Balcaskie and Bowhouse reputation.”
It’s this collaboration that makes the Pitch-Up project unique. Producers are not just working side by side – they’re sharing knowledge, supporting each other, and collectively promoting a better food system.
“Some people want to grow a really big business, some don’t. They are happy to focus on something that has a limit to scale,” says Toby Anstruther.
Focus on quality of life
“People love to live here, and that balance between work and quality of life is important.”
Being part of the Pitch-up project enables producers to live and work in an area where it’s generally more common to see people leave to find work elsewhere.
“At the end of the day, it’s about creating value – not just for consumers, but for everyone involved,” adds Toby.
“Sometimes it’s about shortening supply chain, keeping things local, building communities so that people have this balance of life as well.”
Traditional techniques for nutrition
This focus on quality of life and of the product, rather than largescale production means traditional techniques can be revived.
“Modern crops and livestock often sacrifice quality for speed of growth,” says Toby.
“For instance, Scotland the Bread’s older grain varieties with deeper roots access more nutrients. Similarly, our Lincoln Red cattle are bred for taste and resilience rather than quick growth.
“Heritage isn’t just about nostalgia – it has real nutritional and environmental benefits.”
Tom Booth, co-founder of East Neuk Market Garden, has found the community and collaborative aspects of Bowhouse to be crucial.
“It’s great being part of the Bowhouse community because it means we’re not working alone, we’re part of a wider community of likeminded people that brings a lot of fun to our lives, as well as helpful connections,” he says.
“As a small vegetable farm, it’s also great being situated on the wider Balcaskie estate as it allows us access to super local, organic materials like manure, straw, wool, etc. that’d be hard to get hold of otherwise.”
The old High Street returns
Just as butchers, bakers, and grocers once supported each other on the high street, the producers at Balcaskie Estate are creating a network where everyone benefits.
Stocks Kitchen, which sells delicious homemade meals, fresh baking, deli produce and kitchenware, also sells East Neuk Market Garden produce.
“Being part of Bowhouse feels like our natural home. We’re amongst our suppliers and producers and it feels deeply good,” says Stocks Kitchen co-owner Amy Elles.
“There’s nothing quite like it when you find the right place, so we feel lucky to be a part of it.”
A model for the future
As Scotland faces challenges like climate change and the need for sustainable practices and more effective local food chains Pitch-Up offers a hopeful vision for the future.
By bringing together people who care about quality, transparency, and collaboration, Balcaskie Estate is proving the value of community to inspire innovation.
For Tony Vandyke, the move to Balcaskie has been transformative. “It’s easy to be inspired and motivated when you are surrounded by like-minded, principled and forward-thinking people.”
Conversation