There is an urban myth that the population of Edinburgh effectively doubles each August. The city is thronged with hundreds of thousands of people participating in the world’s largest arts festival, and associated fringe. Great as all this culture is, it’s also exciting that my home city will once again see a celebration of all things culinary, when the Foodies Festival Edinburgh returns to ‘Auld Reekie’ from 9-11 August.
As someone who loves food and drink – and writing about my passion for these – I’m very much looking forward to attending the Foodies Festival for the first time. The programme for the event certainly appears busy. As might be expected, a number of leading chefs from across Scotland – including Jeff Bland from Edinburgh’s Balmoral Hotel, Mark Greenaway from Restaurant Mark Greenaway, Café St Honore’s Neil Forbes, and Paul Wedgwood of Wedgwood – will be demonstrating their signature dishes and how these can be prepared at home, in the Chefs’ Theatre.
For those with a sweet tooth, the festival also boasts a Cake and Chocolate Theatre, but anyone who prefer things a bit more savoury should fear not, as there will also be a “specially designed” BBQ Arena where visitors can learn how to achieve the perfect chargrill. To complement all this food, the event also boasts both a Wine Village and a Drinks Theatre, with the latter featuring demonstrations from some of the UK’s top sommeliers and drink experts. As someone with a passion for Spanish cuisine, I shall certainly be looking out for the class on matching sherry with food.
Two areas of the event I shall be making a beeline for are the Producers’ Market – where there will be an array of artisan Scottish produce on offer – and the Street Food Avenue. Not only am I a big supporter of locally-produced food and drink, but am also delighted that the UK finally seems to be embracing great quality snacks and meals served by mobile street vendors.
On paper, the Foodies Festival Edinburgh certainly does appear action packed, and I shall be reporting back on any enticing discoveries I make there, in the near future.
Foodies Festival Edinburgh takes place at Inverlieth Park on Friday 9 to Sunday 11 August 2013. For full event details and to obtain tickets, visit www.foodiesfestival.com.
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