Bug burgers; scientific cocktails and blues-powered brews are all on the menu as Gastrofest gets underway this weekend.
An important strand of the 2015 Edinburgh International Science Festival, Gastrofest looks at the science of food and drink.
It features a packed menu of events with Scottish and international producers, artisans, scientists and chefs all taking part in events designed to give an accessible, enjoyable and above all tasty introduction to the science behind food and drink.
Sensory experiments
Highlights include SciMart (5 April), the science-inspired farmers’ market which brings together food producers, researchers and chefs, and features demos from award-winning Edinburgh chef Paul Wedgwood.
Diners can explore the surprising links between our senses and our taste buds in Sensory Experimentation (9 April) with Prof Charles Spence leading a series of tasters and experiments exploring flavour, scent and texture.
Give in to Fermentation (15 April) investigates our ongoing fascination with the fermentation process through a series of beer and food pairings while the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party takes a trip down the rabbit hole in a unique and enlightening tea party.
Drink design has now also become a science. LateLab GastroLab: Molecular Mastery (11 April) unveils the mysteries of molecular mixology with Prof Andrea Sella and drinks developers Zoe Burgess and Max Venning from London’s Drinks Factory.
There’s even blues in a brewery with Science Festival brewer Barney’s Beer, who teams up with Will Pickvance for a musical evening in Brews, Blues and a Piano Bar Bike (8-11 April).
Amanda Tyndall, Deputy Director of Edinburgh International Science Festival, said:
‘This year’s Science Festival will celebrate enlightened thinking and doing by drawing together shining lights from the fields of science, technology and beyond, discussing the big ideas, issues and challenges of our time, including topics like food security and sustainability.
‘But it’s not all serious stuff – there are plenty of sociable, foodie science opportunities, with events on everything from taste perception and fermentation, to bug burgers and bears.
Food brings people together
‘Food brings people together like nothing else in the world and there’s science in every mouthful. We want GastroFest to be a valuable showcase for Scottish produce with events that celebrate the expertise of those who grow, make and cook it.’
GastroFest 2015 is supported as part of the Year of Food and Drink Scotland 2015, delivered by VisitScotland and EventScotland in partnership with Scotland Food & Drink, and forms one of the first large-scale events in their calendar.