Food&Drink
SCOTTISH Food & Drink
CALENDAR 2012
26–27 MAY THE WHISKY STRAMASH Surgeon’s Hall, Nicolson Street, Edinburgh, 0844 481 8898, thewhiskystramash.com Inaugural Edinburgh celebration of Scotch, with the chance to try as many whiskies as you think you can handle.
31 MAY–2 JUN CAMRA ABERDEEN GRAMPIAN AND NORTHERN ISLES BEER FESTIVAL Pittodrie Stadium, Pittodrie Road, Aberdeen, 01224 575 940, aberdeencamra.co.uk The Campaign for Real Ale’s most northerly festival features real cider, perry and bottled continental beers alongside 100 real ales from the UK.
1–4 JUN FYNEFEST Fyne Ales, Achadunan, Cairndow, Argyll, 01499 600120, fynefest.com The bumper bank holiday weekend of beer, music and food festival on the beautiful shores of Loch Fyne keeps getting bigger. Camping available.
2 JUN TASTE OF GRAMPIAN Thainstone Centre, Thainstone, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, 01224 646488, tasteofgrampian.co.uk Phil Vickery and Ed Baines are the resident chefs at this year’s one-day celebration of the rich larder of the Grampian region.
9–26 JUN ORKNEY FINE WINE FESTIVAL Various venues, Kirkwall, Orkney, 01856 888790, thelongship.co.uk An informal celebration of good wine, food and the matching of the two.
28–30 JUN SCOTTISH REAL ALE FESTIVAL Adam House, Chambers Street, Edinburgh, scottishbeerfestival.org.uk The essential event for serious beer enthusiasts, CAMRA’s Scottish Real Ale Festival features the largest collection of Scottish brews in the world.
15–17 JUN CRAIL FOOD FESTIVAL Crail, Fife, 01333 450935, crailfoodfest.co.uk A celebration of food from Fife, with local producer’s markets, food sampling, cookery demonstrations and top-notch musical entertainment.
21–24 JUN THE ROYAL HIGHLAND SHOW Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston, Edinburgh, 0131 335 6236, royalhighlandshow.org The Royal Highland Show, self-styled ‘Greatest Show on Earth’, is by sheer scale one of the biggest events of the year. Once again, the Food and Drink Hall is the highlight for many visitors.
6–8 JUL TASTE OF EDINBURGH The Meadows, Melville Drive, Edinburgh, 0131 561 8628, tasteofedinburgh.co.uk An annual event showcasing the best of
2 JUN ARDBEG DAY
Foodies Festival
Various venues, Isle of Islay, 01496 302244, ardbeg.com/ardbeg/ardbegday An alternative highland games event organised by the whisky brand, with terrier-racing and sheep-tossing.
2–10 JUN 3 HARBOURS ARTS FESTIVAL Various venues, East Lothian, 07739 021111, 3harbours.co.uk Art, music and storytelling in Port Seton, Prestonpans and Cockenzie. Plenty of stalls, ale and kids’ events.
9 JUN CASTLE DOUGLAS FOOD TOWN DAY Town centre, Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway, cd- foodtown.org A day celebrating the agricultural and commercial life of this market town, with demos, hog roast and pipe bands.
30 THE LIST 26 Apr–24 May 2012
SUPPORTED BY For more food and drink visit list.co.uk/food-and-drink
the capital’s culinary offerings, with everything from local organic farm produce to Michelin-starred chefs. 15 AUG BEST OF THE WEST FESTIVAL
7–8 JUL TARBERT SEAFOOD FESTIVAL Various venues, Harbourside, Tarbert, Argyll, tarbertfestivals.co.uk/festival- seafood.php Chow down on some of the best crab, langoustine, mussels and oysters in the country. Bands play from the quayside while local chefs give demonstrations.
13–14 JUL DUMFRIES FOLK ’N’ ALE FESTIVAL Various venues, Dumfries, 01387 267647, dumfriescamra.org.uk The cheekily named Folk ’n’ Ale festival infuses the erstwhile CAMRA Beer Festival with music and song from around the country.
27–29 JUL THISTLY CROSS CIDER FEST Belhaven Fruit Farm and Ices, Thistly Cross, Dunbar, East Lothian, 07956 655123, belhavenfruitfarm.co.uk Showcasing the best craft beer and real ales, plus Scottish ciders and blends made for the event. There’s also music and local food. Camping is available.
11 AUG CRIEFF BERRY FESTIVAL James Square, Crieff, Perthshire, crieffandstrathearn.co.uk A festival to taste the bounty of berries at the height of Perthshire’s soft fruit season.
Inveraray Castle, Inveraray, Argyll, 01499 302203, inveraray-castle.com This festival offers food from Argyll (Loch Fyne Oysters are a sponsor), whisky, real ale and entertainment.
3–5 AUG WHISKY FRINGE Mansfield Traquair, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh, 0131 524 9380, royalmilewhiskies.com Tickets sell out fast to sample this huge variety of distillers and bottlers. Well over 200 whiskies were available for tasting each day last year.
4–5 AUG ARBROATH SEA FEST Arbroath Harbour, Angus, 07921 311743, arbroathseafest.co.uk An annual festival showing that Arbroath is about more than just Smokies (delicious though they are).
10–12 AUG FOODIES FESTIVAL Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, 0871 230 5573, foodiesfestival.com Levi Roots and Cyrus Todiwala lead this year’s festival of culinary talent with demonstrations and tasting sessions.
25 AUG–9 SEP FLAVOUR FORTNIGHT Various venues, Dumfries & Galloway, flavourfortnight.co.uk Popular events from 2011 included a wild food forage around an art gallery and a gourmet quiz dining event.
31 AUG–2 SEP DUNDEE FLOWER AND FOOD FESTIVAL Camperdown Country Park, Coupar Angus Road, Dundee, 01382 434940, dundeeflowerandfood festival.com The flowers are stunning, but food gets equal billing at this hugely popular staple of the Dundee calendar.
1–2 SEP HUNTLY HAIRST FESTIVAL OF FOOD AND FARMING Huntly Town Square, Town Square, Huntly, Aberdeenshire, 01466 720247, huntlyhairst.co.uk There’s a larger than usual farmers’ market at this year’s two-day festival, with events and competitions.
1–16 SEP SCOTTISH FOOD AND DRINK FORTNIGHT Scotland-wide, 0131 524 8621, scottishfoodfortnight.co.uk Expect more than 200 events under the banner of the fortnight, which celebrates Scotland’s food and drink culture. Bigger events include the East Renfrewshire Food Festival (1-15 Sep), Glasgow Beer Week (7-14 Sep), EatBute (dates tbc) and Scotfest (15 Sep).