It is with great sadness that QMS has learned of the untimely death of Huub Schoemaker who will be remembered by many in the Scottish red meat industry for his unwavering commitment to champion Scotch Beef and Scotch Lamb in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Huub Schoemaker came from a family of Dutch master butchers and his long association with Scotch Beef began way back in the early 1990’s when he was the meat specialist with Food from Britain, Netherlands. Beef exports from the UK were booming and the flagship product was Scotch Beef. FFB were the contractors for Scotmex, the Scottish Meat Export promotional partnership comprising SQBLA, Scottish Enterprise and MLC. The first Scotch Beef Club was launched in Milan in 1990 closely followed by Amsterdam, Paris, Cologne and Brussels - high profile events targeting the food service and independent retail sectors. Things were looking good, but there was a cloud on the horizon – BSE. In 1996 for 10 years – the export markets closed.