Scotland Food News – November 2014

This month in food news, there are high-brow burgers, duelling street food sellers, documentaries about the art of selling fish, and there's even a vegetarian option

Feature by Peter Simpson | 31 Oct 2014

There’s plenty going on across Scotland this month so we’ll get going quickly, starting with that enticing aroma wafting over from the west. It's coming from the direction of the Scottish Coffee Festival, which will bring together producers, baristas, street food vendors, musicians and enthusiastic beardy types for a day of sniffing, quaffing and latte art admiration. A portion of every ticket sold goes to the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice, which is nice, and the event is set in the shiny surroundings of the Drygate Brewery, which is also nice. All round, a solid day of food, drink and fun, with enough caffeine to see you through to 2015. 29 Nov, 11am-6pm, Drygate, 80 Drygate, £8, scottishcoffeefestival.com

Next, vegetables. Yotam Ottolenghi helmed the ‘New Vegetarian’ column in The Guardian for over a decade, and his cookbooks Plenty and Jerusalem have scooped up awards by the armful. The man, quite literally, knows his onions. Pick his brains as he introduces his new book Plenty More at Edinburgh’s Lyceum Theatre, and find out just how rewarding and delicious a veggie diet can be. Not as rewarding as a diet laced with bacon sandwiches and cheeseburgers, obviously, but Yotam can get pretty close. 10 Nov, 7:30pm, Lyceum Theatre, 30b Grindlay St, £12.50.


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Speaking of cheeseburgers, Burger Meats Bun have got something pretty special lined up. In the latest of their ‘Meat Up’ events (someone call the pun police) they’ve cajoled chef Mark Donald, formerly of Danish experimenters Noma and the two Michelin-starred Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, to try his hand at burgers. There’s lobster mayonnaise on the burgers and cronuts for dessert – we think he may have got the hang of it. Ironically, this all takes place at exactly the same time as Yotam’s talk on the joys of eating those weird flowery things called vegetables at the other side of town. Guess it’s time to pick sides after all. 10 Nov, various times, Burger Meats Bun, 1 Forth St, £22.50, tickets from facebook.com/burgermeatsbunedi

Having dealt with meat and vegetables, let’s move into the middle ground – fish. The Sturgeon Queens, playing as part of the UK Jewish Film Festival’s programme in Glasgow, documents the family behind the New York institution that is Russ and Daughters. Get an insight into what it takes to run one of the city’s most revered food shops, and find out how to work with your siblings for a serious length of time without reverting to adolescent name-calling and telling on each other. 15 Nov, 8pm, CCA, 350 Sauchiehall St, £8.

It seems fitting to end this month’s food news with a culinary scrap, and the latest edition of the Southside Street Food Showdown is just the ticket. Glasgow mainstays Babu Street Kitchen square off against Malaysia-inspired Beep Beep Tuk Tuk Street Eats in a four-course battle at the Glad Cafe. No matter which side comes out on top, you’ll get some cracking Asian street food, so you’re the real winner here. Congratulations – you’ve earned it. 7-8 Nov, various times, Glad Cafe, 1006A Pollokshaws Rd, £5 (£15 payable on night), tickets from streetfoodshowdown.bigcartel.com.