Workshop: Step into Orkney’s Food Heritage.

This historic baking event is a hands-on cultural experience that immerses you in the rich heritage of traditional food culture in Orkney. The event begins at the historic Barony Mill, Orkney’s last working watermill, where the ancient grain bere barley is still milled using traditional methods. Bere has sustained Orkney’s people and livestock for centuries—and it’s still at the heart of local food and folklore.  Along with Dr. Ragnhild Ljosland you’ll uncover the fascinating customs, beliefs, and healing traditions surrounding bere and food preparation. You’ll also visit a sacred healing well dedicated to Saint Magnus, and learn how bere, water, and other natural ingredients were once used in folk medicine and healing.

The event continues at Birsay Community Hall, where local chef Lorraine Johnston will guide you through a hands-on baking session. You’ll learn to make bere bannocks —a true taste of Orkney’s past. You will also learn how bere meal and oat meal were preserved through a pre-modern form of vacuum packing, and a traditional fermentation technique for oats, producing a delicious youghurt-like substance known to soothe the stomach – past practices we should take with us into a sustainable future.

This is an Orkney Time Travel event and costs £35 pp. Places are limited. To book visit the Orkney Time Travel website,

https://orkneytimetravel.rezgo.com/details/432950/step-into-orkneys-food-heritage