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The Science on a Plate festival, taking place at Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden, is shaping up rather tastily.

Not least because of the involvement of René Redzepi, the chef patron at Noma, the Copenhagen restaurant which has taken the culinary world by storm over the last few years.

On Saturday 7th April, as part of the festival, Redzepi will join foraging experts Miles Irving and John Wright via video link from his Copenhagen restaurant for a live Q&A session.

Irving and Wright, of River Cottage fame, will be sharing their experiences of eating on the wild side and cooking up some wild treats while discussing the health and sustainability of nature’s larder, topics that Redzepi is particularly passionate about.

Scotland ’s first festival of food and science, Science on a Plate takes over the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh for ten days of cooking, tasting and discovery starting this Saturday.

The festival has attracted support from the cream of the culinary world. The Science on a Plate ambassador and ‘2011 Chef of the Year’ Neil Forbes will be joined by Scotland’s finest chefs including Nick Nairn and Tom Kitchin in the Real Life Science Kitchen for live cooking demonstrations.

The aim is to bring together chefs and scientists to investigate Scotland’s healthy meat, sustainable fish and so-called super foods.

 Scientist At Your Table Meals

Foraging Walk & Breakfast, April 7, 8.30am, Gateway Restaurant, RBGE, £15

Palm House Fair-trade Tea Party, April 8, 1.30pm-4pm, Palm House RBGE, £4.50

Aphrodisiac Canapé Reception, April 8, 7.30pm-9pm, Gateway Restaurant RBGE, £20

 Real Life Science Kitchen

These are interactive cooking demonstrations bringing together top chefs with leading scientists from Scotland’s research institutes. While chefs prepare innovative dishes, the audience has an opportunity quiz leading scientists about the food on the menu. They all cost £3 a session.

Daily demonstrations at 11am, 12.30pm, 2pm & 3.30pm:

31 March: Healthy Happy Meat with Nick Nairn

1 April: Well Hung and Tender with Neil Forbes of Cafe St Honore.

2 April: Super-foods: Science or Myth with Tom Kitchin (11am & 12.30pm) and Jacqueline O’Donnell of The Sisters (2pm & 3.30pm)

3 April: Made in Scotland with Steve Brown of Edinburgh School of Food and Wine

4 April: Fresh Fish from the Farm with Nick Nairn

5 April: A Future for the Fish Supper? Stephen Frost, executive chef of Prestige Scotland

6 April: Malaysian Spice Kitchen with Norman Musa and ethnobotanist James Wong

7 April: Eating on the Wild Side with Miles Irving and John Wright

8 April: Food of Gods with chocolatier Nadia Ellingham

9 April: From Plot to Plate with Neil Forbes