Scottish Food News – September 2016

Let's kick off September the right way – with gin, in a big warehouse. After a couple of highly successful runnings through in Edinburgh, Glasgow Juniper Festival makes its debut at SWG3 this month. You'll find dozens of gins to try, a heartily-stocked bottleshop, craft stalls, and a host of gin masterclasses. Been making your G&Ts the wrong way round this whole time? Only one way to find out. 10 Sep, various times, 100 Eastvale Pl, £16.50, tickets via Eventbrite

But before that, it's the return of Let's Eat Glasgow. The free festival from the Real Food, Real Folk collective of Glasgow restauranteurs was a runaway success in 2015, as you'd expect from any food fest featuring the teams behind Ox and Finch, Crabshakk and Mother India among its organisers.

There'll be a produce market, you'll be able to get up close with genuine actual animals, and inside a host of Glasgow's best restaurants will be knocking together bespoke dishes for you to get stuck into. Long may this continue. 3 & 4 Sep, 1000 Eastvale Pl, free entry, food vouchers on sale at letseatglasgow.co.uk

Following on from this year's Cooking Pot events at CCA, Ricefield Arts present a Chinese Dessert Night at the Project Cafe. Marking the mid-autumn festival, the night will feature the chance to try out a host of traditional Chinese desserts including the highly festive and red bean-stuffed Moon Cake. 17 Sep, 7pm, 134 Renfrew St, £10, cca-glasgow.com

Sticking with the food-and-learning theme, the Soul Food Sisters community food group returns this month with an Arabic High Tea at the Southside's favourite cake merchants Bakery47. Baklavas, babas, mint tea and a lovely friendly vibe await. 19 Sep, 6pm, 76 Victoria Rd, free, tickets via Eventbrite

Now, if you're anything like us, you'll be prone to the occasional kitchen nightmare of the sort featured in that Gordon Ramsay programme – you know, Hell's Kitchen. Anthropologie's DIY Tea Towel Printing masterclass at their Edinburgh branch will see you end up with your very own hand-printed soaker-upper, meaning that while you may cause havoc in the kitchen, you'll at least be bang on-trend as you do so. 24 Sep, various times, 39 George St, £10, anthropologie.com

Across town on the same day, it's the return of the Great Grog Bottled Beer Fair, a neat twist on the standard beer festival. Instead of the usual 'wander around, drink a load of beers, forget the names of the good ones and go on with your life', the Grog's is all about storing yourself a little treat for later. With nearly a hundred beers on offer, there's bound to be something for everyone. Presumably. 24 Sep, 1-5pm, St Peter’s Church Hall, 14 Lutton Pl, £10, greatgrog.co.uk

October begins with the triumphant return of the Edinburgh Coffee Festival. Heading to Summerhall for its second year, ECF features a host of the best independent coffee-slingers from across the city as well as some from a bit further afield. Expect demos, extensive coffee-based chats, and the whole place to have a delightful smell from start to finish. 1 Oct, 10am-6pm, £10 (£8.50), edinburghcoffeefestival.co.uk

And we end as we began – with gin, in a big warehouse. This time it's the Corn Exchange in Edinburgh, for the imaginatively-titled Gin Festival. More than 100 different gins on offer, live entertainment and plenty of #ginchat both professional and amateur – yep, that sure sounds like a gin festival. Solid name, good execution; gold stars all round. 7-9 Oct, various times, 10 New Market Rd, £8.50, ginfestival.com