But what are they full of? Mine is often full of raw meat and fish, random yellow sticker items and unlabeled leftovers – much of which is unlikely to ever reach its full potential of filling the plate of a hungry householder. In fact, come springtime, I may even have to clear out a load of freezer burned non-identifiable hellery – to give room to new, probably unlabeled items – and so the cycle continues.
But – what if there’s a better way? What if we took on some tips and tricks from our special guest – Suzanne Mulholland; AKA The Batch Lady? Could we find that a larger percentage of our freezer was stocked with easily identifiable, ready prepared meals? It certainly sounds like an excellent option.
After meeting at the Royal Highland Show in 2022, Marian and Suzanne began planning to take The Batch Lady to Shetland – and show us all how to use her methods to organise our freezers, our meal plans and our lives!
Two public workshops were scheduled for the beginning of November 24 – one in Scalloway Public Hall and one in Bigton Community Hall. We also planned a private session for the young folk from SIC Youth and Employability Services and one for families referred by organisations including Anchor for Families.
In the run up to the workshops the Taste of Shetland Team bustled about making sure we had got all the required ingredients and received all the items that our extremely organised visitor had sent up in advance of her arrival.
Soon Workshop Week had arrived, and we’d decided we should offer great traditionsl Shetland Hospitality, so turned our attention to making soup and ordering fresh bannocks from Da Voe Bakery, ready for collection from QA Fish Shop. We dared to dream that we’d see 40 to 50 folk at the evening workshops and prepared the appropriate quantities of Leek and Tattie and Lentil Soup. Little did we know we’d be making more come Thursday!
Suzanne arrived bright and early on Tuesday morning and went with Marian to visit some of our members, and for a trip around the fish market led by Sheila Keith joined by Norma Williamson from Shetland Seafood Auctions who showed them the fish being landed and laid out on the market floor.
Later, Suzanne led the TOS Team in a session of Batch Lady style preparation – ensuring we had ample tasters of her delicious recipes to give out to those who attended the workshops in the following days. I was delighted to find that Suzanne was warm, friendly and fun to be around – and we had a great day together getting everything ready.
And just as I was feeling like my job couldn’t get any better, it was off to Hayhoull for a delicious dinner of Scalloway Meat Company lamb, dauphinoise potatoes made with Ness Tatties and Shetland Farm Dairies cream, and seasonal vegetables – all lovingly prepared by Mary and her ever hospitable family. We had a wonderful meal with wonderful company, it was really fascinating to hear more about Suzanne’s life; and all about her journey to becoming The Batch Lady.
However, we had a big day ahead of us, so it was soon time to head home and get a good night's sleep...
On Wednesday morning 
Suzanne and our team were ready to welcome the young people from SIC Youth and Employability Services, along with the support workers and even some parents. Suzanne demonstrated some budget recipes – including a spaghetti bolognaise and chilli con carne recipe which shows you how to make both at the same time. The completed recipes are put in zip lock bags and frozen flat, making them ideal for small freezer spaces.
All the meals Suzanne prepared at the session were sent home with those who came along – who were also being gifted slow cookers by SIC Youth and Employability Services – ensuring they could make the best use of all the knowledge they’d gained.
Next up we had an equally successful session with some lovely families who had been referred by organisations including Anchor for Families. Not only did this mean that we got to coo over the most beautiful of babies, we also got to see one of the bairns getting involved in the workshop – helping Suzanne to make meatballs! He was brilliant.
By the time evening came around, we were all buzzing with excitement – but also anxious to see how many people might turn up for the workshop. Scalloway Meat Company and Shetland Farm Dairies were set up, ready to welcome attendees and share their amazing produce; with special offers available. The hall soon began to fill up, with nearly 90 folk coming along to see what was in store. Included in the crowd were representatives from Cooke Aquaculture– who had generously donated salmon for us to use at the workshops, Sheila and Norma from Shetland Fishermen and Shetland Seafood Auctions, and a range of foodies, family cooks and friends hoping to gain some new time saving, freezer filling skills.
Suzanne demonstrated 6 recipes during the workshop; a Filo Fish Pie, Fish Parcels, Burgers, Meatballs, Korean Lamb, Gnocchi Vegetarian Bake and a Speculoos Traybake. All made using the best local fish, meat, dairy and fish – but showing that cheap and convenient supermarket ingredients can be used to complement the best produce on the market. For example, the Filo Fish Pie used incredible local salmon, smoked haddock and ling - as well as deliciously indulgent local double cream; but included the cheapest brand of frozen peas and sweetcorn.
Using these cheaper options for the ingredients which are not grown or produced locally can make it much more affordable to use our excellent local produce for the main feature of the dish – something we felt was an excellent tip for anyone who might want to make their food budget go further.
During the demonstrations the TOS team dished out tasters of the Filo Fish Pie, Korean Lamb, Gnocchi Vegetarian Bake and the Speculoos Traybake. Despite seeing more than double the number of folk than we’d expected – the team bustled behind the scenes to make the tasters go far enough!
After the session was finished there was a rush of folk keen to get their hands on a copy of one of Suzanne’s books, and a large queue forming to get them signed. The team were over-the-moon to be receiving lots of immediate and enthusiastic positive feedback from everyone on their way out the door. What an absolute rush for us all!
It all felt like a bit of a whirlwind as we loaded the last boxes and bags in the assorted vans and cars, with many helpful hands having stayed behind to help us out. Could we possibly see anywhere near this many folk the following night in Bigton?
Thursday saw us restocking, chopping and prepping various bits and bobs; as well as setting up the Bigton Community Hall. Mary even found a moment to make up a fresh batch of bannocks to add to the stock – as these workshops were proving quite popular!
Suzanne had spent her day meeting some more locals – including a peerie visit to Island Larder to meet Nicola and get some photos taken together – Suzanne’s daughter Zara is a big fan of Nicola’s TikTok videos, so there was a bit of marshmallow shopping to do too!
The evening’s workshop proved almost as busy as Scalloway; with nearly 80 folk coming along! We were delighted to host Shetland Farm Dairies and Sound Butchers and have them sharing their special offers with the audience. I’ve since used my voucher to pick up the Sound Butchers Batch Cooking Meat Pack and, my goodness, it was spectacular – and incredible value too.
We also hosted representatives from VisitScotland; who had generously sponsored the workshops, Shetland Arts, Blyde Welcome, the Peerie Shop Cafe and Bigton Farm – it was a great opportunity to forge links between producers and suppliers.
Again, we found ourselves witness to a captivated and enthusiastic audience, who welcomed Suzannne’s tips and tricks – not least her exceptionally easy method of lining a baking tray! We also found Bigton’s audience to be equally as complimentary about the event – with lots of positive feedback coming in as we sold numerous copies of the Batch Lady cookbooks. It was so valuable to hear directly from members of the public, and there was a great deal of enthusiasm for these smaller-scale events; and even some calls for some bannock making workshops – watch this space!
After the crowd had dispersed, we had a low key, but delicious feed of local beef stew followed by cheese, Shetland Butter and Skibhoull oatcakes. It was a wonderful end to what had been an extremely positive few days for the team.
It was Mary’s job to return Suzanne to the airport on Friday morning – where Loganair delivered her back to Edinburgh in plenty of time for her to prepare for her next adventure; interviewing Dame Prue Leith about her new book.
We have lots of people to thank; including our own families and friends for lending us vans, and hands whenever we needed them, our members who offered us free and discounted ingredients, Sheila and Norma for the excellent tour, the warm and welcoming audiences who offered such positive feedback and both halls for being such wonderful venues. Logainair for the discounted rate, and our generous sponsors, VisitScotland.
And last, but certainly not least, the most muckle of thank yous to Suzanne, who gifted her time to Shetland for free, and went above and beyond for us all – only to then send us delicious Borders goodies on her return home! We would happily host you anytime.