Scottish Food News - June 2015

It's a feast of festivals in this month's food news, with gin, science and magic all getting their moment in the sun – and there's a giant model of Edinburgh made of cake.

Feature by Peter Simpson | 03 Jun 2015

June begins in calculated and precise fashion, with a pair of tasty events at the Glasgow Science Festival. First up, there’s the Gin-o-mics event lead by scientists at the University of Glasgow Polyomics department – eagle-eyed readers may remember this lot from their Edinburgh Science Festival event, when we wondered out loud just what their name was punning on. They quickly got on Twitter and set us straight, the moral of the story being ‘don’t try to be smart around genuinely smart people’. Anyway, Gin-o-mics explores the science behind gin, with plenty of cocktails sloshing around as well. 4 Jun, 7pm, The Griffin, 266 Bath St, £26. 

From drinks powered by science to The Perfect Meal, and a talk by every modern chef’s favourite experimental psychologist, Professor Charles Spence. Spence, whose work alongside the likes of Ferran Adria, Paul Bocuse and Heston Blumenthal has been influential in the ‘smoked fish served with a mist of liquified seaweed’ world of high-end dining, presents new research into why we rate some meals over others, and the factors which impact on our perception of what’s on the table in front of us. 7 Jun, 5pm, Boyd Orr Building, University of Glasgow, Free.

Next up, it’s a return to gin, courtesy of this month’s Scottish Juniper Festival at Summerhall in Edinburgh. There’s a wide array of gins from across Scotland, the UK and beyond, talks from the folk behind the bottles, and a genuine (if a little cramped) distillery on site courtesy of Pickering’s. Basically, if you like gin, this is probably the event for you this month. You’re welcome. 12-14 Jun, various times, Summerhall, 1 Summerhall Pl, £21.50.

If you don’t like gin, perhaps you’d like a slice of cake? Or maybe you’d like a scale model of Edinburgh made entirely from cake? You would? Terrific, because we actually have one of those. CakeFest takes over the capital’s Royal Botanic Gardens with an edible map of the capital, produced by a crack team of home bakers. The map will be assembled throughout the day and devoured in the evening – in the meantime there will be live music, market stalls, and, of course, an entire botanic garden to potter around in. You don’t get that on the Bake-Off… 21 Jun, Royal Botanic Gardens, Inverleith Row, Free.

In further cake-related news, the Talbot Rice gallery in Edinburgh is celebrating its 40th birthday this month with, among other things, an “edible exhibition”. The gallery is inviting artists to whip up conceptual masterpieces that can also be sliced up and sit nicely alongside a cup of tea, and as nibbling on the art is usually frowned-upon by galleries, this feels like a chance you shouldn't pass up. 5 Jun, 7pm, Talbot Rice Gallery, Old College Quad, Free.

Finally this month, magic! Yes, you read that right, magic! Magic a la Carte to be precise, an Edinburgh International Magic Festival event combining close-quarters trickery with a tasty meal. Leave your credulity to one side and bask in the skills of magicians who know what they’re doing… then go home and annoy your friends and family with some half-remembered second-hand dinner table tricks. We’re sure they’ll appreciate it. 27 Jun, 7pm, Summerhall, £50, 


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