Cancer care workers enjoy Aberdeenshire food and drink road trip on Dons bus

A group of Maggie's Aberdeen supporters were whisked away last weekend for an exclusive ‘Love of Aberdeenshire’ food and drink tour with The Kilted Chef.

Craig Wilson treated guests on board Aberdeen Football Club’s (AFC) first team bus to an array of tasty treats and more as they toured the north-east.

Departing from Maggie's Aberdeen care facility, the group was piped onboard the AFC team bus, by the Fraserburgh RBL pipe band, before rolling off on their gourmet culinary experience.

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First stop on their food and drink journey was Marshalls Farm Shop in Kintore, where they picked up a breakfast pack from their butchery, then onto Deans of Huntly for a ‘fly cup’ and shortbread taster.

Portsoy was the next location on their foodie tour with a visit to the Glenglassaugh Scottish Traditional Boat Festival, where they sampled Glenglassaugh whisky and met with various food and drink businesses in the food fayre.

Rounding off the trip, the group headed to Banchory for a decadent chocolate experience at Sutherland’s Pastry Academy.

Throughout the journey, tour host and chef, Craig Wilson served up a delicious selection of dishes, including Garioch Sunday Brunch of bacon and sausages with JG Ross butteries, and welcomed on board local producer, Dami of Succulento, to share his delicious ketchup, which the guests enjoyed with their breakfast.

Craig also served up a Deeside cheeseboard, Aberdeen Angus beef cheek, with local vegetables and his signature jus, all whilst travelling the length and breadth of Aberdeenshire.

The tour even featured live music onboard provided by Christian Cooper.

Created in support of Maggie's Aberdeen, the ‘Love of Aberdeenshire’ food tour experience was auctioned off to the highest bidders during last year's ANM Valentine's Ball at the Thainstone Exchange in Inverurie.

Richard Stewart, Maggie's Aberdeen Head of Fundraising, said: "The gourmet taste tour was easily one of the most popular items available for auction during last year's successful Valentine's Ball fundraiser in Inverurie – that helped raise an incredible £142,000 for Maggie’s Aberdeen.

"Fundraising events like the Valentine's Ball are vital to help sustain our day-to-day operations at Maggie's Aberdeen, so we can continue to provide expert advice and support for anyone affected by cancer, and so we can grow and develop to meet increasing demand.

"So many generous people came together to make this unique experience possible, from our friends at Central Coaches and Aberdeen Football Club who donated the use of their bus for the day, to Craig Wilson who pulled the gourmet taste tour together and of course all of the foodie partners who provided such a wonderful and tasty experience for our supporters.

"I want to thank everyone involved - including our group of winning bidders, who no doubt enjoyed their time on the road with the Kilted Chef, enjoying some of the best treats in the northeast."

To share his passion for food and showcase the fantastic suppliers and companies in the food and drink sector in Aberdeenshire, Craig created a series of films, called the ‘Love of Aberdeenshire’ which inspired him to create this special experience just for Maggie’s.

During his tour he visited over twenty establishments and spoke to the people behind the businesses, to find out more about the methods and practices used to create delicious produce from land and sea.

The six-part series will be available to watch and download on the Kilted Chef You Tube channel and on Facebook and Instagram.

Craig Wilson, the Kilted Chef commented: "As a committed supporter of Maggie’s for several years now, I wanted to create an exclusive experience which would not only raise significant funds for this extremely worthwhile cause, but also put the spotlight on the amazing food and drink producers and suppliers around Aberdeenshire.

"The Love of Aberdeenshire food and drink tour was a brilliant day out, all of the guests on board were great fun and really embraced the whole experience.

"I have cooked in a lot of different places over the years, but never on board a bus – it was no mean feat, but I like a challenge and I can now add it to my list of unusual cooking locations! A special thank you to Richard, Aberdeen Football Club and our guests on board for their support."

Maggie’s Aberdeen continues to benefit from the incredible support of the local community. Recently, over 350 supporters completed the charity’s seventh annual Culture Crawl walk around the city and are on track to raise over £40,000, while a team of 81 completed the Aberdeen Kiltwalk at the beginning of June, raising over £15,000.

This ongoing generosity helps ensure that Maggie’s Aberdeen can continue providing essential services to those affected by cancer.

Anyone interested in supporting Maggie's Aberdeen can find more information about the cancer care charity by visiting https://www.maggiescentres.org/our-centres/Aberdeen.

Passionate about local produce and championing Scottish food and drink, Craig Wilson, ‘The Kilted Chef’ is an award-winning chef with over 30 years’ experience in the industry.

A former ambassador for Scotland food and drink, Craig is passionate about championing Scottish food and drink. For further information visit www.kiltedchef.co.uk.