In 1868, George Baxter borrowed £100 from his uncle and opened a small grocery shop in the village of Fochabers. He had geography on his side. Fochabers is situated in the Laich of Moray one of Britain's finest natural larders. The Laich is a coastal plain whose sandy loam is unrivalled for the quality of its vegetables. A short way inland, on the warm lower slopes of the Grampian hills, grow superb raspberries and strawberries, redcurrants and blackberries. Beyond are the deer forests and grouse moors and nearby lochs and woods are the habitat of wild duck, pheasants, partridges and hares. Prime beef cattle graze the low-lying meadows. And through all this glorious landscape the salmon-rich Spey winds its way to the Moray Firth, famed in turn, for lobsters and crabs, scallops and prawns.

It was a good place to set up as a grocer. And as George's shelves and counters groaned under a cornucopia of fresh local produce his wife Margaret took to making jams and jellies in the back of the shop. The rest, as they say, is history, a history that takes in four generations, the creation of Baxters Royal Game Soup in 1929 and the subsequent storming of Harrods, Fortnum and Masons, Macy's and beyond. A history of culinary innovation, enterprise and fierce independence that have made Baxters a world-leading brand and its visitor centre one of the biggest tourist attractions in Scotland with close to 230,000 visitors each year.

The world's best-selling malt whisky is distilled not far away, just some miles further upstream on the Spey near Dufftown. Starting with just a sixpence between them in 1859 it took William and Elizabeth Grant and their family eighteen years to realise their dream of producing arguably the finest dram on Speyside. That eighteen years was spent learning the craft, perfecting the recipe and saving the money. The first Glenfiddich spirit flowed from the stills on Christmas Day 1887. Today it is the world's favourite single malt Scotch whisky and is sold in 180 countries. And it is still a family firm. A remarkable family to be sure, for it was innovation again, in 1963, that assured the firm of its predominance. With Glenfiddich, Grants were the first Scotch malt whisky distillers by a long chalk to market their spirit as a single malt rather than simply supply it to the blenders. Today, Scotch malt whisky is one of the most spectacularly booming sectors in the world drinks market. So, there's a lot to thank the Grant family for.

Twelve years after Glenfiddich was first produced another Speyside family saga began. In 1898, twenty-one-year-old Joseph Walker took a loan of £50 and opened the doors of his own bakery in Torphins. His dream was to make the finest shortbread in the world.

There's a theme here: boldness, borrowings and dreams. And . . . recipes. Joseph spent every moment of his first year in business perfecting his shortbread recipe. A few years later, as his shortbread won more and more converts he moved to a larger shop in Aberlour. A hundred years later his grandchildren export Walkers shortbread to over 60 countries around the world. Made to Joseph's original recipe Walkers shortbread won the first of three Queen's Awards for Export Achievement in the 1980s and have gone on to win many international awards including five gold Mondiale medals and the Food from Britain Innovation Award.

Families like these three household names from Speyside epitomise Scottish mettle, innovation and pride. These families are not alone – just to the north, near Inverness, the Frasers of Moniack have transformed their 400-year-old seat into a unique winery producing wine liqueurs from wildflowers, fruit and silver birch sap. The family involvement is now into its second generation and they have added a range of 22 marmalades, sauces and preserves to the list. And just over the Moray Firth, the Gladwin family have started brewing award-winning organic ales, stouts and porters under the label of the Black Isle Brewery. With Wagtail, the cask-conditioned 4.5% abv porter, championing this year's Salisbury and Wiltshire CAMRA Beer Festival it bodes well for future generations to create yet another commercially outstanding Scottish dynasty.

Watch this space for More Family Secrets (tales from the West).