The local producers behind the development of a very special "Strathearn Pie" are delighted the culinary creation proved a huge hit during this week's visit by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
The royal couple, known in Scotland as the Earl and Countess of Strathearn, described the pie as "delicious" during their visit yesterday to The Famous Grouse Experience at Glenturret Distillery, Crieff.
The special pie was carefully crafted using two ingredients Strathearn is famed for - top quality Scotch Beef PGI and award-winning Glenturret Scotch whisky. The pie's ingredient list also included locally-grown root vegetables - however the exact details of the recipe remain a closely guarded secret!
The couple sampled the Strathearn Pie, along with guests, during a visit to The Famous Grouse Experience at Glenturret, Scotland's oldest working distillery. During their visit to the distillery, William and Kate also bottled their own Glenturret whisky as well as officially opening the new-look Famous Grouse Experience, which attracts more than 100,000 people to the distillery each year.
Crieff, the town at the hub of Strathearn, is proud home to Scotland's oldest working distillery, and is also a historic market town which hosted the sales of thousands of cattle in years gone by from which the iconic, and now world-famous, Scotch Beef brand evolved. Indeed, the Perthshire town still celebrates the ancient "trysts" which historically saw huge numbers of cattle and their drovers converge from throughout Scotland in a spectacular gathering in the area each year.
The idea to create a special local pie to celebrate the proud "Scotch" heritage of Strathearn - as a producer of quality beef and whisky – originated from Lesley Williamson, a Member of staff at The Famous Grouse Experience at Glenturret Distillery.
Ms Williamson congratulated the chef who was commissioned by Glenturret Distillery to create the special pie, Andrew Hamer, Managing Director of Comrie-based Wild Thyme Ltd. She was also joined by butcher Gary Conacher of Simon Howie Butchers and Strathearn-based beef farmer, Matthew Mauchlen of Woodburn Farm, near Crieff.
Ms Williamson and the proud chef, butcher and farmer trio sampled some of the fabulous Strathearn Pies, and raised a glass of Glenturret malt whisky to toast a very special week for the people of Strathearn.