Scottish Food Events Guide: March 2020

Blood & Wine – the Game of Thrones-inspired cocktail bar from The Pop-Up Geeks – is the kind of wildly successful idea that really deserves to rinsed as much as possible, so it’s welcome to see that it’s making a return this month (albeit with a new, Witcher-inspired twist). The action decamps to the excellent Nightcap bar as Pop-Up Geeks’ home at the Waverley Arches undergoes a refurb. From 13 Mar, 3 York Pl, Edinburgh, thepopupgeeks.com

Now we all like beer, but a whole festival of beer? A beer festival? Would that work? Only one way to find out, as the Royal High Beer Festival brings together three of Scotland’s finest breweries – Top Out, Tempest and Cross Borders – for an afternoon of sampling and quaffing. Drinking, basically. 14 Mar, 4.30pm, Royal High Clubhouse, East Barnton Ave, Edinburgh, £10 + booking fee, tickets via Eventbrite

Beer *and* comedy? Another unlikely pairing, but the fantastic Grunting Growler are bringing the two together for a series of Hoppy Days beer tastings with added laughs at this year’s Glasgow Comedy Festival. Try five great beers and hear from a pair of stand-ups – this seems like a solid idea to us. 15, 22 and 29 Mar, 2pm, 51 Old Dumbarton Rd, £25, tickets via glasgowcomedyfestival.com

Tim Anderson is, in this writer’s opinion, the greatest contestant ever to appear on Masterchef. Come at me on Twitter if you like, that’s your prerogative, but his ludicrously OTT takes on Japanese food were just the best. Anyway, Anderson launches his latest Japan-inspired cookbook – Vegan Japaneasy – this month, with his tour stopping off in Edinburgh for a chat through the book and demos of some of its recipes. 26 Mar, 8pm, Topping & Company, 2 Blenheim Pl, £10-22, tickets via toppingbooks.co.uk