Scotland 7s captain Scott Forrest will not only team up with the finest sevens players in Scotland at the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens at Murrayfield on 30 and 31 May, but he has also been impressed by the ‘Fyne’ food on offer for supporters at the event.

The award winning Foods from Argyll partnership of producers will add an abundance of mouth-watering Scottish flavour to the final leg of the IRB Sevens World Series and will be located on the back pitches at Murrayfield amongst the vibrant festival of rugby.

Oyster catcher: Forrest samples some of Argyll's finest

This week, Forrest undertook a 210 mile round-trip to visit Loch Fyne Oysters and Barbreck Farm in order to sample some of the delights on offer at Murrayfield.

On his arrival at Barbreck Farm on the banks of Lochgilphead, Forrest met proprietors Sandy and Katie Ritchie, both of whom are huge rugby fans and play for Mid-Argyll and Oban-Lorne Ladies respectively.

The Ritchies were unanimous in targeting the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens Festival as the perfect setting for their scrumptious food having previously attended the event.

"We are very excited to be taking our produce to Murrayfield,” said Sandy, “and providing the spectators with some delicious Foods from Argyll."

Katie added: "The Edinburgh 7s is a whole new opportunity for us to raise the awareness of what great food is produced in Argyll."

Fergus Younger of the Argyll and Bute Agricultural Forum said: "Scotland is often called the sick man of Europe due to our poor diet.  We look forward to showcasing the abundant high quality produce of Argyll and Scotland - presented as delicious ready to eat healthy meals at Murrayfield."

Foods from Argyll have already rocked the taste-buds of music fans at T in the Park, Connect, Belladrum and the V-Festival in Staffordshire, and Argyll and Bute Council – along with the Argyll and Bute LEADER partnership – have supported the group to go to Murrayfield as an event partner, and are looking forward to Foods from Argyll reaching a whole new audience.

Having chomped his way through three roast beef rolls and two oysters, Forrest managed to say: “The food here is true rustic Scottish fayre and it’s fantastic that Foods from Argyll will be at the Sevens at the end of the month.

“The Sevens runs for two full days so it’ll be good news for supporters to be able to have a hearty meal during their time at Murrayfield.

“The beef today was nice and rare, just the way I like it. As for the oysters, well I have tried them before and it was an interesting experience but I was assured the ones here were caught just this morning and they were much nicer.”

Foods from Argyll menu for the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens Festival:

Barbreck Farms: Roast lamb rolls, Roast beef rolls, Mince and tatties, Haggis neeps and tatties, Beef Carpaccio with potatoes and salad, Breakfast Rolls

Bumble Puddings: Veggie soups, Chocolate pudding, Sticky Toffee Pudding with custard and dates, Stem ginger pudding with custard, Fruit tarts, Warm flapjacks, cakes, slices, Watermelons, Chai, Herb teas, Elderflower cordial with fresh mint

Lochfyne Oysters: Moule Mariniere (fresh mussels steamed in onions, garlic and white wine), Freedom food salmon burgers, Soups (Cullen Skink, Smoked Mussel and Tomato), Smoked salmon pasta, Smoked mussels in vegetable oil, Oysters

Winston Churchill Wild Venison: 5oz Venison burger with salad and sauce, Game pie and beans, Venison steak roll, Large sausage roll

Kingscross Herbs: Organic beef burger, Arran blue cheese sauce and other sauces, Vegetarian chick pea curry, Venezuelan coffee, Mushroom and nut roast with barley risotto, Cottage pie

Forrest samples some of the award winning Barbreck beef

• The Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens Festival is the eighth and final leg of the IRB Sevens World Series. It will be held at Murrayfield on 30 and 31 May 2009.
• Tickets for each day of the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens Festival - priced at £15 for adults, £10 for students and senior citizens and £5 for under 18s – are available to by logging onto www.scottishrugbytickets.com by calling the Ticket Hotline on 0871 200 1511 (open 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday) or in person from the Murrayfield Ticket Centre, Roseburn Street, Edinburgh (open 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday).
• Rugby Sevens will be one of the showpiece events of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Scottish Rugby has worked extensively with event partners Event Scotland, Visit Scotland and the City of Edinburgh Council, to fully promote the world-class events coming to Murrayfield to ensure that everybody attending is fully aware of what Edinburgh as a city has to offer both the resident and the visitor.

Event Scotland - www.eventscotland.org
• EventScotland is working to make Scotland one of the world’s leading event destinations. By developing an exciting portfolio of sporting and cultural events EventScotland is helping to raise Scotland’s international profile and boost the economy by attracting more visitors.

Visit Scotland – www.visitscotland.com
• VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
• The organisation has three key roles:
1. To market Scotland to all parts of the world to attract visitors
2. To provide information – and inspiration – to visitors and potential visitors so they get the best out of a visit to Scotland
3. To provide quality assurance to visitors and quality advice to the industry and partners to help the industry meet and strive to exceed customer expectations
 
City of Edinburgh Council - www.edinburgh.gov.uk
A capital like no other
450,000 people. One city. Countless opportunities.
• Edinburgh is known across the world as Scotland’s festival capital, business capital, and culture capital. The city is home to the Scottish Parliament and some of the most iconic landmarks on the planet. Nearly half a million people call the city home, and we serve each and every one of them, making sure the city is a great place to live, work and enjoy.

• Edinburgh is a unique city, a vibrant city, a growing city, an evolving city. It’s a city that’s at the heart of Europe and the heart of a nation.