The Edinburgh Food Festival launched its 10th edition last night promising an eclectic line-up of workshops, demonstrations, panel discussions, and more celebrating Scotland’s culinary credentials.
The event is Edinburgh’s only free-to-enter city centre food festival, taking place in the festival hub of Assembly George Square Gardens, Friday 19 - Sunday 28 July 2024.
This opening weekend is all about Scottish food excellence as the Edinburgh Food Festival hosts the 15th annual Scottish Street Food Awards. Nine mobile kitchen teams will duke it out for a place in the British Street Food Finals and serve up their very best menus to be considered for the all-important People’s Choice Award.
Included on the judges panel are gourmet greats Gaby Soutar, Food Editor of The Scotsman; ex-Head Chef of Condita Conor Toomey; and comic Jay Lafferty. They’ll be sampling dishes from Steam Bunny, Knights Kitchen, Pitt Beef Boys, and more as they battle for the chance to be crowned this year’s Street Food Champion.
With the competition heating up in the garden, Edinburgh Food Social returns to the Tree House Kitchen with a series of interactive workshops for all ages to help find Scotland’s next rising food stars.
Pit your wits with a Food and Drink Quiz on the evening of Monday 22 July. Separating the gourmands from the gormless in kitchen know-how, Edinburgh’s premier quiz company Goose’s Quizzes will lead proceedings with rounds designed to discover who really knows their onions.
Back in the Tree House Kitchen, there is a line-up of chefs, distillers, butchers, and brewers with a series of live demonstrations and panel talks.
MasterChef 2022 Finalist Sarah Rankin examines Scotland’s indigenous food chain, cooking up a delicious rabbit dish whilst discussing how eating game can be used as a form of pest control.
The team from Butchery @ Bowhouse will be in residence with two detailed demonstrations of butchery, preparing both a hogget and hog from meat reared on Balcaskie Estate.
Edinburgh brewery Vault City will deliver a flavoursome introduction to the world of sours with a guided tasting of some of their most unique brews, and Southside-based distillery South Loch Gin will be joined by industry peers from across the country to discuss the future of one of Scotland’s most prolific artisan products.
The second weekend of the festival will host a bustling producers' market, with stalls from across the country offering everything from hot sauce to coffee beans. If the events in the Tree House have whetted your appetite, Butchery @ Bowhouse, South Loch Gin, and Vault City will be on hand with fully stocked stalls.
Edinburgh locals and festival favourites Baby Faced Baker and Lady and the Bear will be in attendance with their scrumptious baked goods and pastries; plus, more sweet treats from Chardon Macaron, handmade cannoli from Itadeli, and gooey brownie goodness from the Chock Shop. The team from Seabuckthorn Scotland will be serving up ethically sourced drinks made from one of Scotland’s earliest natural ingredients, and Quas Drinks will be back with their naturally fermented, alcohol-free beverages.
For anyone looking to spice things up in the kitchen, look no further than Heriot Hott Sauces and Everything Chilli; or pick up a magical spice mix from Aberdeen-based Succulento, connecting Scotland with the soul of food one dish at a time.
From their motorcycle to your morning brew, Ride & Grind will be bringing their retro-inspired specialty coffee blends, and Bambú will be on hand with their range of plastic-free, sustainable kitchen solutions.