A delegation of intrepid climbers fly out from Edinburgh airport today to scale Kilimanjaro in an ambitious attempt to create the World’s Highest Burns Supper. We told you the story of Jane Thomson who is part of the team in an article in December.
A special charity event sponsored by the Scottish butcher Simon Howie, the World’s Highest Burns Supper will see Michelin star chef Andrew Fairlie prepare a special haggis for comedian Fred MacAulay and fellow climbers at the summit of Kilimanjaro which, at 5895 metres, is the highest mountain in Africa.
Organised by the Hospitality Industry Trust Scotland, the HIKE (HIT Scotland’s Intrepid Kilimanjaro Expedition) involves people from across the service and hospitality industry in an effort to raise £150,000 for the charity.
At the top of Kilimanjaro the lower air pressure means the boiling point of water is reduced to 78 degrees Celsius causing cooking times to increase. Simon Howie and his team, who sell more than a million haggis every year, have created a special Kilimanjaro Haggis that can be cooked at high altitude.
Simon Howie said: “Due to the challenges posed by cooking at very high altitude, we’ve loosened the texture of our Kilimanjaro haggis by reducing the protein content and increasing the onion, spices, barley and oats to assist the cooking process.
“I’m delighted to sponsor the world’s highest Burns supper, and thrilled our product will be cooked and eaten on one of the world’s highest mountains by one of Britain’s top chefs.”
Simon Howie was named Entrepreneur of the Year in 2008 by the Entrepreneurial Exchange when he was praised for his serial entrepreneurship which has seen his business interests expand far beyond his successful butcher’s empire which supplies many major supermarkets.
The Kilimanjaro climbers include representatives from: Gleneagles; Hilton Hotels; Prestonfield House; Missoni Hotel; The Townhouse Collection; Harvey Nichols; Glenmorangie; Gleneagles and Cameron House.
