The famous Forfar bridie remains on course to join a prized world list of culinary specialities.
Just days after Stornoway celebrated achieving Protected Geographical Indication status for its black pudding, aspirations to see the Angus town alongside the likes of champagne, parma ham and the Arbroath smokie are hotting up again.
A Stornoway butcher has urged the makers of the Forfar favourite to “keep the faith for the bridie” in pursuit of protected status success.
The bridie bid has been on the back burner for a couple of years as other famous food producers have found it a notoriously slow bureaucratic process, but things are now set to move forward in a drive spearheaded by the council.
Food and tourism spokesman Mairi Evans said: “The council’s still working with local producers to get this much-coveted PGI status for our bridies.
“We recently had a really helpful meeting with representatives from the Food, Drink And Rural Communities division of the Scottish Government to get some advice about our application.
“The next step is a Forfar Bridie Producers Association and producers are working on that.”
Town baker Michael Saddler said: “We have had a meeting with the council and are looking to take this forward with the producers group.
“There are three main producers in the town and we’re absolutely committed to securing PGI status, which would be great for the bridie and the town.
“The bridie goes with Forfar and people come here just so they can pick up a bridie to take home. PGI would be a great thing for the producers and I’m totally behind it.”
PGI status would mean a product could only be described as a Forfar bridie if it is made locally and Stornoway butcher John Smith, of W J MacDonald, in the Hebridean town’s Francis Street, said official international recognition for the island’s famous black pudding had been well worth the wait.
“The whole thing here started back in 2006, but it’s just one of those things that you have to be patient with,” Mr Smith told The Courier. “It has put our name right up there with Harris tweed and other famous food products from all over the world and the interest here since it was granted PGI has just been amazing.
“My message to the Forfar bridie makers would be to keep the faith and just be patient about jumping through the hoops that you have to it’s great for sales and it will put Forfar on the map even more. Stick to it and it will be really worth it.”