Food News – May 2012

May's Food News celebrates the circle of life, invokes economic game theory, and looks a little confused

Feature by Peter Simpson | 01 May 2012

The world of food is a broad and inclusive church. For example, this month marks the 6th annual World Potato Congress, where dignitaries from across the globe will gather in Edinburgh to talk spuds. We mention this to point out that, in context, a recreational demonstration of butchery techniques isn't as unsettling as it perhaps should be.

Hopetoun Farm's resident butcher Derek Mackintosh will talk you through the ins and outs of turning a lovely spring lamb into a disembodied pile of tastiness, as well as showing you the processes and skills needed to rear livestock, lull them into a false sense of security, then slice them up into kebab-friendly pieces.

If killing isn't your thing, then what about finding? Let chef Paul Wedgwood and his foraging pals take you on an educational rollercoaster of mud, wild berries and belligerent cyclists, as you learn all you need to know about wild food from the best in the business. We know we keep harping on about foraging, but it's only because we reckon the fresh air will be good for you. There's lunch included as well, if that swings it for you.

If not, then you could do worse than Flavour Taster in Dumfries, which combines the dual pleasures of brevity and good food.

A miniaturised version of Dumfries & Galloway’s Flavour Fortnight food festival, it's a chance to try stuff from off the beaten track and go through the array of workshops, tastings and markets without having to stick around in that part of the world for too long. And it's on a Bank Holiday weekend, so it's something of a zero sum proposition anyway.

Something more urban would be better, though, wouldn't it? Glasgow's Ubiquitous Chip has just the thing, with their May Feast line-up of special events. You can craft your own whisky with distillers from Burns Stewart. You can eat lots of posh cheese at a gourmet tasting evening. You can even – and this is stretching credulity, even for this column – go onto the Chip's roof terrace to try an array of German sausages while a man reads Franz Kafka in the background. Broad and inclusive, this food lark, broad and inclusive.

Hopetoun Farm Shop Materclass, Hopetoun Farm, 3 May, £10; Go Foraging, Wedgwood Restaurant Edinburgh, 26-27 May 10am, £85 pp; Flavour Taster, 4-6 May, various venues, Dumfries; May Feast, Ubiquitous Chip Glasgow, 19-24 May, various dates/prices