Scottish Food & Drink News – April 2018

Let's pick up where we left off last month, with a pair of events from the GastroFest strand of the ongoing Edinburgh Science Festival. In Best Before, science writer Nicola Temple looks at the science of processed food, and the tendency for that science to run amok; The Angry Chef takes on the pseudoscience/ misinformation/ bullshit that often gets thrown around with respect to healthy eating, so if you've ever wanted to vent about bad diet advice, here's the ideal forum. 5 Apr, 8pm, Summerhall, £6.50-8.50; 15 Apr, 3pm, National Museum of Scotland, £6.50-8.50 

Also making its return this month is Tales on Tour, the Edinburgh leg of the Tales of the Cocktail drinks industry event. With a daytime programme focused on helping the next generation of cocktail movers-and-shakers (drum roll) get their bars in order, and promises of plenty of nighttime partying led by a host of the world's top mixologists, it's definitely one to keep an eye on. 8-10 Apr, various venues, seminars £45, talesofthecocktail.com

Also coming up in April is a celebration of all things plant-based, in the form of Glasgow Vegan Festival. It features more than 50 stalls from a whole range of great veggie-based vendors, plus a string of talks and cookery demos across its two days. 14 & 15 Apr, 10.30am-4.30pm, Trades Hall, £3 on the door

The CCA host a pair of events looking at the topic of mobile kitchens, with a trio of artists who use the kitchens in their practice to research the ways in which we all communicate and collaborate with one another. Eva De Baerdemaeker, Suraia Abud, and Yannick Roels discuss their experiences across Europe and South America (16 Apr, 6.30pm), before investigating the possibilities for one of their collaborative mobile kitchens in Glasgow the following night (17 Apr, 6.30pm). Centre for Contemporary Arts, free tickets via cca-glasgow.com

Next up, a question – how do you feel about eating flowers? Whether you need some convincing, aren't entirely sure how to work them into your fancier recipes, or just want to get an idea of which horticultural goodies to chow down upon, The Secret Herb Garden in Edinburgh are here to assist. A Beginner's Guide to Edible Flowers is led by the Herb Garden's head gardener, and features top tips on what to grow, how, and why. 21 Apr, 11am, Secret Herb Garden, £20, secretherbgarden.co.uk

Speaking of food and drink areas that can be a little bit confusing if you don't really know what you're doing, The Good Spirits Co. Wine Fair  returns this month to help you navigate through the bottles with a bit more confidence as the summer kicks off. The Bath Street greats will present over 120 different wines at this year's fair, from sparkling bottles to old world classics to intriguing and funky organic wines, and they'll be bringing some of their suppliers along for the ride too. 27 Apr, 7-10pm, The National Piping Centre, McPhater St, Glasgow, tickets £25

And finally, it’s time for a swift jaunt to just outside Glasgow for the Paisley Food & Drink Festival. It’s a two-day affair in the shadow of Paisley Abbey – Friday sees gin connoisseurs Gin71 host a tasting session alongside a bar from Glasgow southside favourites The Rum Shack, while Saturday centres around a Farmers’ Market loaded with exciting goodies. There’s also a street food selection curated by The Pitt, cooking demos, and a host of other food festival shenanigans. 27-28 Apr, 3-8pm, Abbey Close, Paisley