Scottish Food Events and Festivals: May 2019

First up this month is Boilermaker, an event that brings together prominent women from the worlds of beer and whisky. Hosted by the Campervan brewery in Leith, you’ll get three great beers, three drams of whisky and some inspirational booze chat to go with it. If that wasn’t enough to convince you, all proceeds from the event will go to Keymoves, an Edinburgh charity that provides help and accommodation for homeless women. 16 May, 7pm, 112 Jane St, Edinburgh, tickets £25 via kaskwhisky.com

Staying with whisky, the annual Whisky Stramash returns to Surgeons Hall this month. The Stramash, now into its eighth year, tends to stick to the more ‘flamboyant’ end of the booze festival scale, promising experiential gubbins from some of your favourite distilleries. There will be costumes, it will be overblown, the whisky will be delicious. If you want a drinks festival that you won’t forget in a hurry, this looks like the one for you. 18-19 May, times vary, Nicholson St, Edinburgh, tickets £31.44 via Eventbrite

And completing this whisky-powered trilogy, Dundee cocktail bar 3 Session Street plays host to a tasting of Japanese Spirits. In addition to some of the much-vaunted whiskies coming out of Japan, there will also be the chance to check out some Japanese gin and vodka. 22 May, 7pm, 3 Session St, Dundee, tickets £15 via Eventbrite

Over on the west coast, Slow Food Glasgow presents a documentary designed to get you thinking about what you put in your mouth. Food, Class and Transformation in Glasgow, by filmmaker Zev Robinson, looks at the changes to the city’s food consumption, and the ways in which issues like population change and food poverty intertwine. The screening’s followed by a discussion and Q&A. 22 May, 7pm, Project Cafe, 134 Renfrew St, Glasgow, tickets £6.88 via EventBrite 

Next up is a tasty outdoor event from one of your favourites from our 2019 Food and Drink Survey. Tomillo host an all-vegan BBQ at Spiers Lock on the Bank Holiday weekend – expect the kind of inventive veggie food you’ve seen at their pop-ups, only this time with the added danger and intrigue that you only get with fire. 25 May, from 4.30pm, 8 Spiers Wharf, Glasgow, tickets £17 via Eventbrite

And we wrap up May with a pair of gin festivals. In Glasgow, it’s the west coast leg of the True OriGINs festival at The Briggait. True OriGINs' USP is that it focuses solely on Scottish gins, of which – as you well know – there are loads. You'll find yourself amid dozens of Scottish gins across eight bars; truly, there are worse problems to have. 31 May-1 Jun, various times, 147 Bridgegate, Glasgow, tickets £12.50 via mfgfevents.ticketco.events

Across in Edinburgh, the Juniper Festival’s hook is that it was the first of the now-endless parade of gin fests across the country. Now in its sixth year, the festival features chances to sample a host of gins from distillers across the country, as well as a range of talks on gin, plus cocktails created by some of the city’s best bars. 31 May-2 Jun, various times, Summerhall, tickets £22.50 via summerhalldrinkslab.co.uk  

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