Scotland Food & Drink chair steps down

Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne, chair of Scotland Food & Drink, will be stepping down from her role when her tenure ends in October this year.

She has been in the role since 2021, when she took over from Dennis Overton, who was in the role since 2018.

Iain Baxter, chief executive of the industry body, said: “Lucinda is a greatly valued ambassador for our industry, bringing passion and commitment to supporting the sector and helping create opportunities for growth.

“Myself, the board, the partnership and the team at Scotland Food & Drink has enjoyed working with her and she’ll be greatly missed; we wish her all the best for the future.”

With more than 20 years’ experience in the industry as a chef, teacher, entrepreneur and board director, Bruce-Gardyne trained as a chef at Leith’s School of Food and Wine and went on to run a private catering company in Italy and London, before returning to a teaching role at Leith’s.

In 2008, she founded ‘free from’ bakery brand Genius Foods, after discovering a lack of options catering to her son’s gluten intolerance.

Genius remains based in West Lothian and caters to customers across the UK, Europe, Australia and America. However, Bruce-Gardyne stepped down from the business a few years ago to pursue other interests.

She also co-founded the Gluten Free Industry Association in 2016, in collaboration with the Food & Drink Federation.

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