Scottish Food and Drink News – May 2018

May's food round-up stars returning beer festivals, eco-friendly coffee parties and street food everywhere

Preview by Peter Simpson | 27 Apr 2018

A busy May kicks off at the Food and Flea in Edinburgh, with the Scottish leg of the British Street Food Awards. Among the confirmed food trucks to battle it out are Spanish tapas-slingers Moskito, the New Orleans-inspired grub of Fatboys, The Peruvian (go on, guess what their angle is), and last year’s winners The Buffalo Truck. 4-6 May, various times, Sibbald Walk.

Over in Glasgow, the bank holiday weekend brings a Cinco de Mayo special from West End beer champs The Grunting Growler, who host a Michelada Tasting to celebrate. Micheladas for the uninitiated are a blend of tomato juice, spices and beer; think ‘incredibly refreshing Bloody Mary riff’ and you’re most of the way there. GG will serve up four of the fellas, made with a host of exciting craft beers in styles you might not expect. 5 May, 2pm, 51 Old Dumbarton Rd, tickets £19.

Staying on the beer theme, Stewart Brewing’s Mayfest party returns at their headquarters just outside Edinburgh. Expect a boatload of one-offs and collab beers, with Stewart promising everything from a smoked lager (interesting) to a Raspberry & Chilli IPA (interesting, but in a different way), alongside the beer fest prerequisites of live music, street food, and a generally lovely vibe. 11 May, 6-10pm; 12 May, 12-8pm, 26A Dryden Rd, Loanhead, tickets £16, stewartbrewing.co.uk

Also returning in Edinburgh this month is the Whisky Stramash, the now-annual experiential whisky party at Surgeon’s Hall. They say “an event of mystery, entertainment, comicality and madcap pioneering”; we say it’s a chance to see the greatest excesses and extravagances of your favourite whiskies brought to life. Expect tastings a-plenty, a dramatic air to proceedings, and a few surprises too. Can you expect a surprise, we hear you ask? Only one way to find out… 19 & 20 May, various times, Nicholson St, tickets £27.50, thewhiskystramash.com

May also marks the return of Glasgow Coffee Festival to the Briggait for a weekend of highly-caffeinated hijinks. 40 exhibitors from across the coffee scene, a pleasingly hardline on the environment (there’ll be no disposable cups at all this year, so best dig your travel cup out of the cupboard), and a mix of art, film, coffee competitions and general java-based chit-chat. Oh, and all the profits go to charity, which we unironically endorse. 19 & 20 May, 10am-6pm, 141 Bridgegate, tickets from £14.50, glasgowcoffeefestival.com

Meanwhile across town, The Scottish Street Food Festival pitches up at the Riverside Museum for a weekend packed to the gills with loads of our favourite food trucks and vendors. This one will be ideal for those of you who keep missing the best street grub, as it seems like anyone who’s anyone in the Scottish scene will be here. 18-20 May, various times, 100 Pointhouse Pl, tickets from £5, facebook.com/scottishstreetfoodfestival

On a slightly different but no less edible tip, Edinburgh Food Studio host Savouring Bolivia, a trio of dinners from chef Mauricio López of GUSTU in the country’s capital La Paz. López is an alumni of two of the world’s top restaurants – Noma in Copenhagen and Azurmendi near Bilbao – and his food celebrates Bolivia’s natural and cultural diversity while making heavy use of indigenous products and processes. If you head along, you’re in for a palate-expanding, mind-exploding treat. 17-19 May, 7.30pm, 158 Dalkeith Rd, £50, book via edinburghfoodstudio.com

Finally, there’s the return of Edinburgh Craft Beer Festival. The weekend-long celebration of the best beer from across the UK and beyond sees dozens of breweries bring exclusive and classic tipples, there are DJ sets from Mogwai and Metronomy bassist Olugbenga, and the festival format encourages you to float around trying out different beers rather than resolutely sticking to one favourite. As fans of both beer and milling about, we’re fully into it. 25-27 May, various times, 4 Anderson Pl, tickets from £35, edinburghcraftbeerfestival.co.uk

http://theskinny.co.uk/food