OUR PRODUCE
A MARK OF ORCADIAN QUALITY
PARTNERING WITH THE BEST MAKERS AND PRODUCERS
The relative rarity and distinct attributes of Orkney Boreray sheep means we’re especially selective about how wool, meat, horn and bone is used. This means partnering with handpicked producers that we know understand the significance of this breed, its history and, when it comes to dining, its unique Orcadian ‘terroir’.
In our still young history as a community, we have already partnered with a small array of fine establishments — including MacBeth’s butchers in Forres, L’Escargot Bleu restaurant in Edinburgh and highly skilled, Orkney-based craftspeople.
We believe in forging strong relationships with our produce partners — reinforcing standards, guaranteeing provenance and ensuring that the Orkney Boreray name and logo are a mark of the utmost quality.
Restaurant Quality
Distinctly Delicious, Farm-to-Table Mutton
"Cooking Boreray mutton is a sheer joy. Slow-cooked in its own juices with seasonal roots that also take on the wonderful flavours, it is hard to beat. Please resist the temptation to add spices as Boreray is naturally spiced and it is a crime to mask its wonderful flavours!"
— Wendy Barrie, Leader in Scotland for Slow Food Ark of Taste, Member of Slow Food Cooks Alliance
Highly sought-after by chefs — amateur and professional alike — Orkney Boreray mutton retains the unique 'terroir' of the sheep's slow growth to maturity and their island home. Macbeth's butchers in Forres have exclusive rights to hang and process it, and we've been delighted to see Orkney Boreray served at L'escagot Bleu restaurant in Edinburgh.
Orkney Boreray Mutton Meatballs & Colcannon — Scottish Food Guide
Scotland's Worthy Beast
In 2017 Gillian MacDonald was working on a research project on native sheep breeds of Scotland for an internship she was completing at Edinburgh Food Studio, a restaurant and research hub focussed on Scottish food culture. This research produced information highly informative for those with an interest in the native sheep breeds of Scotland and the products they produce. Of significance to Orkney Boreray was their mutton tasting and evaluation, for which Burnside provided the sample of Boreray mutton.
This important research was available online through the Edinburgh Food Studio website, but sadly that is no more.
Orkney Boreray is delighted to make this work, Scotland’s Worthy Beast, available for anyone to access by hosting it on this website.
If anyone wishes to contact Gillian MacDonald please get in touch here.
Work With Us
INTERESTED IN BECOMING A PRODUCER PARTNER?
We are always happy to hear from interested parties — including butchers, restaurants, weavers, craftspeople and artists — about opportunities to produce Orkney Boreray products or serve mutton to customers.
While our standards are high and our passion for the breed permeates everything we do, our approach to new ventures is always an open-minded one.
