Customer Service Manager, Serco NorthLink Ferries

Best Food and Drink Tourism Experience

Fiona leads the Customer Service team at NorthLink Ferries Aberdeen . NorthLink Ferries sail daily from Aberdeen to Shetland and from Shetland to Aberdeen, these ships call in at Orkney frequently. NorthLink Ferries also sail from Scrabster on the north coast of Scotland to Stromness in Orkney. NorthLink Ferries are committed to using locally sourced produce wherever possible.

Fiona has a great passion for all things local and enjoy supporting local and small businesses in her area. Let’s shout about what we have on our doorstep!

Specialist Technical Manager, Marks and Spencer

Business Growth Award and Most Innovative Business Award

Global Head of Trade, Consumer Industries, Scottish Development International

Most Innovative Business Award

Ewen is the Global Head of Trade, Consumer Industries with Scottish Enterprise

He leads a team of thirty-five globally dispersed international trade specialists providing trade support to Scottish exporters in the food and drink and consumer lifestyle sectors. Ewen has spent over 21 years working in economic development for Scottish Enterprise in roles supporting the food and drink and energy industry sectors. Prior to joining Scottish Enterprise, Ewen worked in production management, purchasing, and commercial management roles within the food and drink industry with Christian Salvesen, Cargill Plc and Somerfield.

Ewen has a degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Aberdeen.

Head of Membership & Commercial, Scotland Food and Drink

Business Growth Award and Rising Star Award

Tracy Cameron is Head of Membership and Commercial for Scotland Food & Drink, also covering Highlands & Islands. Leading a team of four based around the country, their role is to strengthen the organisation’s membership, by working directly with food and drink businesses to help them grow strategically. Prior to joining Scotland Food & Drink, Tracy worked in the drinks industry for Molson Coors, Coca Cola and Matthew Clark. Tracy is also currently the co-chair of Visit Nairn.

Fiona Carter, Head of Product Development for Meat, Fish & Poultry, Tesco

Best New Food Product

Karen Donnelly Associates

Best Food and Drink Tourism Experience

With over three decades in tourism, Karen founded Karen Donnelly Associates in 2008, collaborating with numerous businesses and projects across the UK and Europe. Her innovative learning journeys for food & drink businesses have sparked new connections, products, and growth. She has produced a Food Tourism Toolkit for Seafood Scotland and Guidance on learning journeys for Scotland Food & Drink. Recently, she led the Scotland Food & Drink Bookable Experiences Programme, supporting 50 Scottish businesses. As Destination Manager at Love Loch Lomond, Karen provides business support and facilitates product development. Her passion lies in helping businesses grow and innovate.

Food & Beverage Development Manager, National Trust for Scotland

Team of the Year &

Best New Food Product

David was born in Aberdeen, and from a young age worked in hospitality in positions both front of house and back of house. After leaving University in 2001, he became Assistant Manager of a local fine-dining restaurant that served six menus daily with a focus on using local & seasonal produce. In 2005 he moved to Melbourne Australia and thoroughly enjoyed exploring the outstanding food and drink scene there. On returning to the UK, he spent some time in various other industries but in 2018, the opportunity to return to Hospitality arose and David joined the National Trust for Scotland. David now works for the central Food & Beverage team as the Food & Beverage Development Manager where his role focuses on the commercial and strategic development of the food and beverage operations.  He works closely with suppliers to develop products for the Trust, has a passion for Scotland and particularly enjoys working with family run Scottish producers.

Strategic Advisor, Non-Exec Director and Angel Investor

Business Growth Award

Gillian is a Strategic Advisor, Non-Exec Director and Angel Investor for start-up and spin-out companies with a background in sales and marketing for the energy and engineering sector.

She has 25 years’ experience in the entrepreneurial ecosystem both advising and nurturing early-stage ideas across multiple sectors to successfully transition to company creation and as an experienced venture capitalist.

As honorary professor and entrepreneur in residence at the University of Stirling she provides strategic input to the International Business Advisory Board and supports women to consider entrepreneurship as a career.

On a mission to make angel investment more accessible to women both founders and potential investors, Gillian is Co – Founder, Director and MD of Mint Ventures (Syndicate) Ltd, a women-led angel group focused on investing in women led and diverse teams with an environmental, ethical or social purpose.

Gillian is an Entrepreneurial Scotland Saltire Fellow, motivational speaker and judges for various accelerator programs and business competitions.

Chief Executive,
VisitAberdeenshire

Best Food and Drink Tourism Experience

VisitAberdeenshire chief executive Chris Foy has over 30 years of tourism industry experience. Prior to moving to the North-east in 2017 his career included roles at the former London Tourist Board, London Development Agency, in the heritage attractions sector and at VisitBritain, the national tourism agency for Great Britain.

During Chris’ time at VisitBritain, Scottish tourism was integral to his roles. As head of Visit Britain’s 2012 Games unit, Chris led the implementation of a strategy to spread the tourism benefits of the Games to the whole of the UK. After the Olympics, Chris led VisitBritain’s global network operations, before moving to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office to work on the UK Government’s GREAT Britain campaign.

Hospitality Development Manager, ScotRail

Best New Drink Product

Chris came to Aberdeen to gain a chemistry degree but discovered his calling in hospitality while working in bars and restaurants. After graduating, he joined Meldrum House as Restaurant Manager, winning “Grampian Restaurant of the Year” three years in a row. He then oversaw the permanent clubhouse development at Trump International, securing another Restaurant of the Year amongst other accolades. Subsequently, he started his own consultancy, advising diverse venues across Aberdeenshire. Missing the bustle of hotels. He returned to Ardoe House, while consulting on the planning and execution of Union Kirk event space in Aberdeen , and Banchory Lodge. Now, as ScotRail’s Hospitality Development Manager, he oversees all the food and drink over our whole business.  He is wholeheartedly passionate about elevating Scotland’s vibrant food and drink experiences.

Founder, Hopkins-Lefevre

Best New Drink Product

With 20 years of experience building e-commerce and subscription food & drink brands, Ben was instrumental in the turnaround of Virgin Wines and additionally Co-founder of Naked Wines. In 10 years, he recruited c. 800,000 new customers to buy wine online. He has since provided strategic support, growth planning and marketing partnerships to many retailers, including the likes of Hotel Chocolat, Beer52 and Gousto.

Now, Ben runs HOPKINS – LEFEVRE®, or H – L® for short, Food & Drink Marketing, a food & drink specialist agency founded on the principles of pro-active marketing planning, driving revenue and customer growth, and exploring the potential for membership or subscription that will engage loyal followers.

The H – L® team help founders and owners of food & drink brands to grow their businesses, stimulate sales through automated email marketing, and identify and deploy scalable growth opportunities.

Ben’s 1 on 1 consultancy for business owners additionally equips them with someone who’s been there before and can help them find the best possible path for their business.

H – L® Food & Drink Marketing work closely with a network of eCommerce partners, including Klaviyo, Shopify, Reviews.io, Recharge and Gorgias – giving invaluable support for brand founders when it matters most.

Manager, Business Gateway

Best Young Business

Jamie has over 19 years of success within the corporate and entrepreneurial environment in providing strategic direction within business development, marketing and sales. A senior Business Leader with experience across food & drink, education, hospitality and manufacturing industries. Jamie has built a food brand from the ground up and is an ambitious and creative individual passionate about the food and drink sector. Jamie works for Aberdeenshire Council and manages the Business Gateway Service along with some wider business support initiatives and has been a previous multiple award winner at the NES Food & Drink Awards.

Buyer, Delicatessen, Fish Deli, M&S Food

Business Growth Award &

Most Innovative Business Award

Rosie has been working at M&S for almost 5 years now in roles covering Marketing, International Buying, and more latterly buying in the very beating heart of the business: M&S Food! She spent her first UK Foods chapter as a buyer within the Red Meat team, working on one of their recently launched transformations, Slow Cooked, which is a versatile range that delivers real quality at-home convenience with options for the whole family. She now works within Delicatessen, specifically Fish Deli which is hugely important to us at Christmas, and also support on novelty events such as Halloween.

Lawyer, CMS

Most Innovative Business

Rachel is based in Aberdeen, and is part of the Technology, Sourcing, IP and Commercial Contracts team.  Rachel advises a broad range of clients on their tech, sourcing, IP and commercial contracts arrangements, including start-ups in the food and drink sector.  Rachel is delighted to be on the judging panel of the NES Food and Drinks Awards this year, to celebrate the excellence, success, and innovation of the local food and drink market.

Interim Director, Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) North East

Rising Star of the Year Award

Aimee has a strong background in operational HR and learning and development, primarily gained within the energy industry. She graduated with an MA (Hons) in Geopolitics & International Relations from the University of Dundee in 2010 and gained her MSc in Human Resource Management from Robert Gordon University in 2014.

Aimee joined DYW North East as an Employer School Coordinator in 2021, progressing to Regional Lead in 2022 before taking up her current role of Interim Director.

She is passionate about bringing schools, businesses and partners together to support young people to enter sustainable positive destinations.

CEO, Scottish EDGE

Best Young Business

Scottish EDGE is the private sector led, social enterprise, Scottish EDGE C.I.C. which runs a competition aimed at supporting Scotland’s early-stage, innovative, high-growth potential, entrepreneurial talent.  Scottish EDGE has helped 663 businesses with grants and loans of over £28 million creating over 4000 jobs across the length and breadth of Scotland.

Prior to joining Scottish EDGE, Evelyn had a long career at the Prince’s Scottish Youth Business Trust, firstly in Operations and then running a revolving Growth Fund which awarded loans of up to £25k.  Evelyn is also the Chair of Scottish Design Exchange, an assessor of the Small Business Charter Award and an advisory board member at the IoT accelerator, STAC.

Head of Food & Beverage, P&J Live

Best New Drink Product

P&J Live is Scotland’s largest live entertainment venue, leading the Aberdeen-based catering team and supporting in the delivery of ASM Global Europe’s F&B plans for the iconic venue. 

With extensive and varied experience in the hospitality sector, Graham is a seasoned food and beverage executive who is a leader in directing world-class end-to-end culinary activities, with a proud and strong background in the training and development of kitchen and catering teams from grassroots to the highest level.

 Graham has a creative flair and passion for culinary excellence and a keen eye for the latest gastronomic trends. 

David Orr Sales

Team of the Year

David has 30 years food & drink sales experience in several sales channels working with both brands & own label.

His career progressed to the role of Sales Director. This led him to setting up his own food & drink sales consultancy 13 years ago.

He offer clients account management & sales development with a focus on growing sales profitably.

BSc(Hons) Microbiology - The University of Edinburgh and Fellow of The Institute of Food Science and Technology

Best Young Business

Duncan has over 30 years’ experience in senior management and technical roles in the beef, poultry, whisky, and smoked salmon industries. He was an auditor and mentor for BRCGS, QMS, Organic and SALSA standards for 20 years. In 2023, Duncan established Outsource Laboratory Ltd in Glenrothes to service the food industry in Scotland using a variety of testing including PCR, chromogenic dry plates, traditional plates, ELISA and lateral flow testing technologies.  

Executive Chef, Tesco PLC

Best New Food Product

With over 15 years of culinary experience, Jamie has been in many great roles within culinary world. Within his current role, as the Executive Chef at Tesco PLC, Jamie is at the forefront of culinary innovation and driving forward food trends. He has extensive expertise in various cuisines and techniques, and pushes the boundaries of culinary creativity.

At Tesco PLC, Jamie leads a talented team, developing innovative products to inspire customers, protect the quality of the food products they sell and support the business in engaging internal and external stakeholders through events and showcases. Jamie’s commitment to high-quality, sustainable ingredients ensures exceptional taste and alignment with modern food values.

Director of the Food, Drink & Agriculture team, ONE

Most Innovative Business Award

Alan spearheads initiatives that foster entrepreneurship and business innovation, supporting leaders and founders with the tools, knowledge, and resources to scale their businesses and accelerate international growth to establish north east Scotland as a world-leading food and drink economy, focusing on growth, innovation, and global expansion.

Alan’s wealth of experience includes senior roles at The Compleat Food Group, SK Chilled Foods Ltd, and Marmum Dairy. He’s passionate about supporting ambitious businesses to innovate, enter new markets, and scale production.

Rural & Maritime Industry Support Executive, Aberdeenshire Council

Team of the Year

Keith Whyte is a seasoned Food and Drink businessperson with over 35 years’ experience in a variety of key sectors within the industry. He is passionate about fostering and developing businesses with a view to them growing and significantly contributing to the economy of the North East as well as looking further afield to global markets, where relevant.  As the Rural and Maritime Economic Development Executive within Aberdeenshire Council, he works to develop and grow the sectors here, realising the huge contributions these organisation make to the economy and the vital role food and drink businesses with the skills and passion of their, people make to Aberdeenshire.