Scottish Food News – July 2017

Feature by Peter Simpson | 30 Jun 2017

The worlds of contemporary art and food run headlong into one another at this year's Embassy Annuale, with Rebecca Green's piece Top Banana. We'll just leave this explanatory text here: "A Top Banana is a banana decorated with markings that are tribal, purposeful and meaningless... great to pull out of your lunchbox at work to impress, or intimidate, your colleagues. Please email the artist at rebeccagreen1@mac.com if you would like one." Are you intrigued? Because we certainly are. Details at annuale.org.

Over in Glasgow, Grist is an exhibition of work by Glasgow drinks design specialists Thirst Craft. You'll find illustration, graphic design and typography from their work across a host of drinks – if you've ever dreamed of starting your own craft brewery but want to start with the visuals and work backwards from there, this is the place to get your inspiration. From 8 Jul, The Lighthouse, Mitchell Ln, thelighthouse.co.uk

Then there's Jupiter Artland's day of Foraging & Wild Pizza Making, in which forager Lisa Cutcliffe will teach you all about the delicious and totally free plants just lying around waiting for you to turn them into something tasty. After a blast through which stuff you should and shouldn't be trying to plunder, you'll put your new foraged ingredients through their paces on some wood-fired pizza. We are in favour of adding wood-fired pizza to basically everything, so thumbs up from us. 15 Jul, 1pm, £55, tickets via jupiterartland.org

CCA plays host to Daily Bread, a workshop led by artist Rowan Markson which tackles issues of sustainability and sociology through the prism of bread in both Glasgow and Marrakech. Examine the ways in which cultural taboos and economic circumstances affect our eating habits; Bakery47 and Sgaia Vegan Meats will be contributing recipes to bring things right up to date. 23 Jul, 3pm, free, book via cca-glasgow.com

Returning to Glasgow this July are a pair of firmly-established fests. The first is the West End Beer Festival, back for its third outing and promising beers from a host of breweries big and small (21 & 22 Jul, various times, Hillhead Sports Club, £9). Then there's the Merchant City Festival, which features a host of street food markets, food tours, and the highly intriguing Glasgow’s Food Chain on Film, exploring the culinary landscape across Glasgow in the 20th century courtesy of archive film from the Moving Image Archive (22-30 Jul, various times, merchantcityfestival.com). 

Elsewhere, the National Whisky Festival follows its successful first edition with an outing at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange. Expect dozens of whiskies, a programme of talks and masterclasses, and everything you'll need to become a whisky convert for the afternoon. 22 Jul, 12-3.30pm, 4.15-7.45pm, £40, nationalwhiskyfest.scot

We close July with a glimpse into our Fringe-heavy future, with the return of the Edinburgh Food Festival. Taking over the Assembly gardens at George Square for a week ahead of the Fringe, there are talks, pop-ups, and a host of local street food aces will be on hand, including Glasgow craft soda creators Rapscallion in their travelling bar. It's called JÜS, it looks like a giant satsuma, and much like the Fringe itself, it's as ludicrous and brilliant as it sounds. 26-30 Jul, George Sq Gardens, edfoodfest.com

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