August Food News: Best of the Rest

If you can't stomach the Fringe, Scotland still has plenty to offer this month, namely beer, yachts, smoke and silence

Feature by Peter Simpson | 05 Aug 2014

So Edinburgh has a whole world of fun food activities going on this month, with unparalleled scope and unmatched variety. It’s the centre of the food-slash-cultural-event universe in August, and it’s just lovely. These things are all true, but can Edinburgh offer you the chance to learn how to smoke your own salmon? No. No it can’t.

Tasting Scotland’s day-long Food Smoking at Home course will run you through all the basics of food smokage, leaving you the envy of your friends, provided your friends really like bacon.

You’ll get tips on how to do it all at home without setting yourself on fire, as well as the chance to try out some of the great treats you can make by locking your ingredients in a smoke-filled box. So take that, Edinburgh – the only thing you’ll see emerging from a thick, meat-tinged mist this month is an £18-a-head comedian delivering 45 minutes of ‘banter.’ Skibo House, Rutherglen nr Glasgow. Sat 20 Jul, £75.

Also in the west this month, gin! The Glasgow Gin Club makes its second appearance in the Hidden Lane after launching several months back, with an evening of botanical-based chit-chat and some tasty, tasty gin. Try a range of gins, catch up with other members of Glasgow’s gin-loving community, and see how many times you can use the word ‘gin’ in one evening. Go on, make a game of it. Hidden Lane Tearoom, 1103 Argyle St, Glasgow. Fri 8 Aug, 8pm, £12.50.

We have been a little Central Belt-centric so far, and we apologise. If neither Edinburgh nor Glasgow really do it for you, why not try Dundee? Not permanently of course, but for the duration of the Alba Real Ale Festival.

The fest features over 40 beers from independent brewers from up and down Scotland, all jammed into one Dundonian yacht club with a lovely view of the Tay. It’s basically a giant bar crossed with a Scottish remake of the video for Rio by Duran Duran. If that won’t sell you on the idea, then we don’t know what will. Royal Tay Yacht Club, 34 Dundee Road, Dundee. Fri 22-Sun 25 Aug, from £3.

And finally, if this is all too much and you just want to sit in a darkened room, we’ve got you covered. Dining in Darkness in Deafening Silence, a Glasgow fundraiser for Deafblind Scotland, will feature tasty food in said darkness alongside the aforementioned silence. A meal in complete silence and the pitch-black that also counts as a charitable deed – sounds like a good night to us. The Arthouse, 129 Bath St, Glasgow. Fri 29 Aug, 6.30pm, £35.