Food News – October 2012

We begin this month with not one but two art shows vaguely themed around the concept of food. Handmade is artist Clementine Sandison’s contribution to the Hidden Garden’s Culture Kitchen relay, an epic road trip around Scotland which substituted Kerouacian beatnikkery and heavy drug use with portraits which celebrate regional food. Handmade dovetails nicely with Soil, a light installation / photo project from Daniele Sambo based around urban farming. Turns out that line about waiting ages for anything for two of it to come along at once is completely true. Handmade & Soil, Briggait, 141 Bridgegate Glasgow, until 5 Oct.

From high culture to the basest of the base. Yes, it’s Tesco! We know, but put down your pitchforks, for they come bearing the dual gifts of value and humility with the annual Tesco Wine Fair. Set in the palatial confines of the Edinburgh Conference Centre, the fair offers the perfect chance to test your wine nosing and pretentiously appreciative noises without having to worry about only liking bottles which cost small fortunes. EICC, Morrison St Edinburgh, 20-21 Oct, tickets from £7.

Tequila! Everyone knows that shouting the Mexican spirit’s name and thumping the table is the only true way to enjoy it, so the Good Spirits Co.’s Tequila and Mezcal tasting evening could get interesting. Aim to be the first person to ever tell the difference between shots of tequila, gaze at the worms in the mezcal bottles, and prepare for freshers’ week flashbacks involving promotional sombreros. 23 Bath St, 5 Oct, £15.

We’ve reached the point in the round-up where you, dear reader, could reasonably accuse us of making some of this stuff up. Well you’re in for a treat this month, as Edinburgh’s Botanic Gardens will play host to an Apple Weekend. Marvel at the ‘apple displays!' Dare to enter the rough-and-tumble world of apple identification! Overexert yourself as you learn how to make apple juice! Genuinely, this is an event that is happening for real. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Inverleith Row, 20-21 Oct.

And to finish, something worthwhile. An Edinburgh pub with its own bespoke beer on tap, to be exact. The Hanging Bat will be open at some point in October, with an impressive range of local and international beers from independent brewers alongside its own in-house brew. It also features a cracking Lothian Road location, in the latest stage of Tollcross’ mass exchange of mad old jakeys for art students and men with fancy beards. We say ‘at some point,’ as last we heard the guys behind the Bat were having some issues with the wiring. That’s food news for you, where even the useful information has bizarre caveats.