Eilean Donan Castle near Kyle of Lochalsh launches food hall that offers local businesses valuable showcase for quality product
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AN iconic Ross-shire visitor attraction has launched a tasty new venture which could play a key role helping other local businesses bounce back from Covid and become a popular destination for foodies.
At its peak, Eilean Donan Castle near Kyle of Lochalsh attracts upwards of 600,000 visitors a year.
The destination has been used as a film location and features in photo albums of visitors from around the world.
The new food hall offers local suppliers a reliable route to market and a prestigious showcase to customers.
Attraction manager David Win said he believes the castle - which is run by a charity and employs 75 people - has a role to play supporting the local community and that he has already been inundated with enquiries from would-be suppliers.
"It will take a little bit of time to get it where we want it to be but the initial response has been fantastic", he said.
Mr Win said that the attraction, which has tripled its workforce over the last 15 years, takes its social responsibility very seriously. He said of the coronavirus crisis: "We have been fortunate to be able to ride out the storm. Now is a difficult time to launch for any company and we are glad to play a part helping locally."
The initial offering includes a variety of ambient and craft products and around 30 gins from the Highlands and islands as well as a range of whisky, jams and preserves. It also offers frozen ready meals - likely to be popular with campervan visitors - and biscuits, cheese, charcuterie and kitchen ware.
He said: "We see it as a year-round operation. There are all sorts of wonderful opportunities to be had. Quality is a major consideration for us."
On the day of opening this week, lots of locals took the opportunity to check it out. In time, Mr Win believes it could become a local destination in its own right. He said: "From little acorns, giant oaks grow."
In terms of the visitor season, Eilean Donan opened on March 2 and was "very pleasantly surprised" by the response. It enjoyed its best ever year in 2019, just before the pandemic hit. While industry analysts have suggested this year could see visitor levels in general being around 65 per cent of pre-Covid levels, Mr Win reckons the castle is already at around 80 per cent.
He said there was evidence of international visitors returning more quickly than expected, adding: "We are very buoyant about 2022 assuming no new Covid variant springs up." The castle plans opening until just before Christmas.
And while recruitment remains a real bugbear for many tourist businesses, Eilean Donan has enjoyed one if its best recruitment drives to date over the past month or so. Thirty-two new staff have been recruited with flexibility being the key, many working shifts that fit perfectly around their other commitments.
Mr Win said the castle is open to approaches from would-be food and drink suppliers meantime. He can be contacted via email at david@eileandonancastle.com
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