Scottish Food News – March 2016

First up this month, loveable craft beer scamps Brewdog knock together a turbo-charged beer and cheese pairing evening at their Edinburgh bottle shop. This event features six beers and six accompanying fromages (three from the UK and three from across Europe) over the space of two hours, so you may want to skip dinner. Or just bring along a load of crackers. 3 Mar, 7pm; Bottledog, 25a Dundas St; tickets £20, contact bottledogedinburgh@brewdog.com to book

Sticking with beer, Stewart Brewing host a Celebration of Women in Brewing for International Women's Day, featuring some key female players from across the beer industry. Brewers from Lerwick and Stewart, speakers from Beer52 and the Institute of Brewing and Distilling, and the editor of specialist beer magazine Ferment will all be on hand on the night. 8 Mar, 7pm; Stewart Brewing, 26A Dryden Road, Loanhead; free, book via eventbrite.co.uk

Over in Glasgow, the Declaration Festival uses the issue of ‘Big Sugar’ as a jumping-off point for a discussion on freedom of expression. A panel will discuss the role of free speech in our conversations on health and diet, and the impact that information from both sides of the debate can have on the way we eat. 4 Mar, 12pm; CCA, 350 Sauchiehall St; free, book via eventbrite.co.uk

March also sees the latest in the CCA’s Cooking Pot series of food events. Howling Spoon is a 'performance kitchen', with diners served up vegan grub created from local grocers' surplus, while a mixture of song, live art, theatre, and poetry kicks off around them. If you like your food with a hefty side of intrigue and a mild sense of dread, pull up a chair. 1 Apr, 7pm; Kinning Park Complex, 43 Cornwall St; free.

March also sees a spate of food and drink festivals, which is good news for us, as well as for the vital bar token and folding table industries. First up is the Edinburgh leg of the North Hop beer festival (5 Mar; Assembly Rooms, 54 George St; £17.50, northhop.co.uk), while at the other end of the M8, the Great Scottish Beer Celebration returns for 2016 with three days of beery goodness (10-12 Mar; BAaD, 54 Calton Entry; £8.50, greatscottishbeercelebration.co.uk)

Staying on a boozy tip, NIP Festival hits Inverness at the end of the month, celebrating the dual pleasures of Scottish whisky and gin. The main event is at Bogbain Farm (home of boutique music festival Brew at the Bog), with distillers from across the country presenting their wares to a no-doubt receptive crowd. 2 Apr; Bogbain Farm nr Inverness; £30, nipscotland.com

Back in the central belt, two major fests get underway at the end of March. In Edinburgh, the annual Edinburgh Science Festival judders into life on 26 March, with Casks, Coats and Chemistry (26 Mar) and The Futurist Meal (31 Mar) among the highlights to come this side of April. Casks… takes a scientific look at the world of whisky, while The Futurist Meal is promoted with the promise of “confrontational canapes and disturbing dishes”, so that’s us sold. Details at sciencefestival.co.uk

Over in the west, there are seven nights of quote-unquote 'secret dining' ahead of the official kick-off for the Glasgow Restaurant Festival on 1 April. The festival’s Merchant City spiegeltent will be manned by a pop-up team for the nights leading up to the festival; we don’t know who’s doing the cooking (on account of it being a secret), but given that the main fest features the likes of Martin Wishart and Porter & Rye, we expect it’ll be worth trying to find out. Info at facebook.com/GlasgowRestaurantFestival