A Highland seafood restaurant which sources its mussels from Shetland and scallops from the Isle of Harris, has become the latest foodie pearl in Inverness to scoop an industry award.

River House restaurant, on the banks of the picturesque River Ness, is the first standalone restaurant in Inverness city centre to receive a VisitScotland Taste Our Best award. Chef proprietor Alfie Little has gone to great lengths to source food and drink from all over Scotland, to ensure ingredients are the finest and freshest anywhere north of the border.

Taste Our Best is a joint initiative between VisitScotland and the Scottish Government. Launched in 2013, the scheme is designed to recognise businesses including hotels, restaurants, cafes, takeaways, visitor attractions and B&Bs that not only offer a quality food and drink experience, but include and promote Scottish produce on their menus, to give consumers choice.

River House, located in Greig Street, has not only gone the extra mile – but hundreds of miles – to keep its customers happy. Its menu includes Isle of Harris scallops, Ardgay venison sausages, west coast cod, Wester Ross salmon, Kyle of Bute oysters, Shetland mussels and halibut, Scrabster hake, Kinlochbervie smoked haddock, Orkney crab and cheddar cheese, Clava brie and Scottish rib eye steak. They also stock ales produced by the Loch Ness Brewery, at Drumnadrochit.

Chef proprietor at River House restaurant, Alfie Little, said:
“We are immensely honoured and very proud to receive this award as it has been our ethos, since we opened in 2002, to source and use local produce, which is fantastic, wherever possible.

“We hope that we will be the first of many restaurants to achieve this special recognition.”

Alfie prides himself on the great rapport he has built up with local fishermen, fishmongers, butchers, farmers and fruit and vegetable producers, allowing him to use ‘the best of the best’. Such is the reputation of River House, it is now recognised in many restaurant guides, including the AA and Lonely Planet.

2015 is Scotland’s Year of Food and Drink, and River House has pledged to continue its local food and drink sourcing strategy, to maximise use of Scottish produce. Earlier this month, as part of this themed year, Alfie organised a sumptuous showpiece seafood and wine dinner, which involved a celebration of Scotland’s bounty from the sea.

VisitScotland Regional Director, Scott Armstrong, said:
“I would like to congratulate Alfie and the staff at River House on receiving this award, but it comes as no surprise, as the scope of locally-sourced food featured on their menu really is commendable.

“We know that visitors love authentic, quality Scottish food and drink and Taste Our Best is all about taking this knowledge to the next level and really encouraging the tourism industry and businesses to recognise the real benefits of sourcing, using and promoting local and Scottish produce. We have such a rich natural larder in the Highlands, with some of the best products in the world right on our doorstep.

“2015 is the Year of Scotland’s Food and Drink and we hope that all the visitors to our shores this year who are experiencing the range of exciting events across the country will also get to taste the best of Scotland.”

Funded by the Scottish Government (£450K over three years) and VisitScotland (£470K in kind) with support from Scotland Food and Drink, the Taste Our Best initiative brings together the tourism and food and drink industries.

Research has shown that visitors are willing to pay up to 15% more for food that is of Scottish or regional origin and businesses that provide local food can typically enjoy higher level sales of up to 20% per year. It’s estimated that Scotland’s food and drink tourism industry is worth £2.5 million per day to the economy with sampling traditional dishes and local produce among the top activity undertaken by visitors to Scotland.

The Taste Our Best scheme is the latest addition to VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance (QA) Schemes, which aim to drive up quality in tourism products across the country. Taste Our Best will provide businesses with an assessment of their food provision and their menu by qualified assessors, with those meeting the necessary criteria gaining the award.

For accommodation providers and visitor attractions, the assessment will take place at the same time as the main VisitScotland Quality Assurance grading, meaning that many tourism businesses that already participate in the QA Scheme will no longer have to apply and pay for a separate food and drink assessment.

Taste Our Best replaced the EatScotland food and drink QA scheme, which is being phased out. Further details can be found at: www.visitscotland.org/quality-foodanddrink.aspx