Located in Edinburgh’s George Square Gardens, the festival is run by Assembly, and will run from Wednesday 27th until Sunday 31st July.
Sharon Burgess, Managing Director of Assembly Festivals said: “At Assembly we’re always looking for new things to bring to Edinburgh, and last year we did this in buckets with the first Edinburgh Food Festival.
"The response was fantastic, so to up the ante, this year we’ve got an energetic line-up of dance, entertainment, demonstrations and samplings.”
Offering revellers a wide variety of Scotland’s finest produce to enjoy, food producers from around the country will fill the gardens, from Plan Bee Ltd to Breadshare; Fresh Revolution to Alplings, there’s something for everyone.
With the iconic Spiegeltent as its centrepiece, a variety of headline shows will take place over the five days providing great interactive entertainment.
The highly anticipated festival finale spans the whole Sunday. Award-winning chef Tom Lewis and Guy Grieve, diver and owner of The Ethical Shellfish Company are bringing ‘Ready Steady Cook’ to the Edinburgh masses in search of Ed Food Fest Top Cook 2016. Four lucky couples will be chosen to source their ingredients from the festival gardens before cooking up a dish of their choice, mentored by the endearingly rebellious Tom and Guy. Two heats will take place in the afternoon followed by the grand finale in the evening.
The Friday and Saturday entertainment is less high-pressured but equally satisfying. Speakeasy Spiegeltent Swing Dance, an evening of 1920s music, costume and dance, takes place on the Friday evening - with opportunities to learn to ‘trip the light fantastic’. Carrying the 20’s vibe over to the Saturday afternoon, The Ragroof Players will host a participatory tea dance for the bold, the curious and the all-round Gatsby enthusiasts.
Section33, Glasgow’s experiential fine-dining pop-up restaurant, will deliver a five course dinner on the Saturday evening. Bold Scottish flavours, local produce and creative culinary tweaks feature in all their dishes and this event will be no different.
Picture: Section 33
For the younger revellers, Gorgie Farm is hosting a ‘From Food to Fork’ event during the day, while other food and drink talks will keep guests entertained throughout the festival.
• All entertainment events are ticketed and talks are operated on a first come first serve basis. For times, dates and costs, visit www.edfoodfest.com
