There’s a changing of the guard at Fife farmers Market after Barbara Wardlaw, known to so many over the years, has handed the coordinator’s baton to Yvonne Alexander. We caught up with Yvonne to find out more …

Yvonne runs a business with her husband Mark. Together with their two sons and Harris – “a very handsome cocker spaniel” – they live close to Falkland but, as she explains, will soon be on the move to pastures new: “It will be local – we’re just not 100% sure of the destination.”

Hailing from Northern Ireland, Yvonne has always had a passion for produce. She loves cooking, saying: “I am lucky enough to have some great cooks in my family and they are always a wonderful source of inspiration.” and her career has seen her working in the field of provenance: “I used to work as a part-time project coordinator for Local Food Works at The Centre for Stewardship in Falkland.” She adds: “Food is brilliant at bringing communities together.”

The inside track …

Her new role – coordinator for Fife Farmers Market – will see her getting to know Cupar’s customers on the third Saturday of each month (9am-1pm). When in Falkland, she ran a weekly local food market along with organising food workshops and community meals. “That was in the town hall. Now I’m moving outside, I will be sure to invest in some warm coats!”

The Fife Farmers Market promotes “the very best of Scottish food and drink“. Yvonne says: “We are very lucky to have such a talented bank of stallholders ranging from selling game and condiments to breads, cakes, gins, specialty drinks and beautiful home-made crafts. We even have Arbroath Smokies being smoked at the market! It’s a real feast for the senses, never mind the belly!”

As well as her part time role with the market, she runs a marketing and PR business with her husband. They have been married for just over 20 years and, as Yvonne explains, were together for a decade before they said “I do”. “I’d say that’s pretty good going, especially as we work together too. There is no escape for him!”

Their business – The Word Association – works with a variety of businesses including golf clubs, tourism organisations and entrepreneurs throughout Scotland and beyond. She adds: “A lot of what we do is based around creating content, delivering coverage and promoting our clients’ businesses by telling their stories. We do this in a number of ways, but often through copywriting, photography and videos. There’s never a dull moment!”

Long lasting

Yvonne has been self-employed for the last 13 years. She says: “During this time, I have worked alongside some great people and really contributed towards maximizing their exposure. I think being able to have long lasting and effective working relationships is probably the one thing that I am most proud of professionally ?Ķ hopefully I will be able to do a good job for Fife Farmers Market too.”

As with all of our Blog profiles, we always ask our interviewees what they’d recommend to anyone visiting Cupar for the first time – or for the first time in a long time. Yvonne says: “Cupar is a great market town. There is a growing number of cafes and restaurants. My particular favourite is Ostlers Close. I haven’t been there for a while but always enjoy going when we have something special to celebrate. Excellent food and service always.”

 

We’d like to extend a warm Cupar welcome Yvonne – and also pass on our thanks to Barbara.

Barbara was a supporter of CuparNow from the outset and we wish her well in her retirement.

 

Thanks for reading.