Those of us who plan our days around our taste buds are spoiled for choice this weekend as both Edinburgh Whisky Festival and The Scottish Street Food Awards open their doors in the capital.

We have already blogged about the former and you can find out about it here.

If street food is more your thing then make tracks for The Pitt on Pitt Street. Main pic above shows The Pitt in full swing.

The popular street food venue is hosting The Scottish Street Food Awards from noon on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th June.

Supported by Hellmann’s, The Pitt will see sixteen of the best Scottish vendors serve their wares to thousands of visitors over the weekend.

From crispy haggis bao buns to venison pastrami sliders, the event promises to showcase a range of flavours from Scotland’s thriving street food scene.

Customers can vote for their favourite vendor alongside guest judges, Ben Reade, of Edinburgh Food Studio, and Scott Smith of Fhior.

The winner of the Scottish Street Food Awards will go on to compete at the British Street Food Awards, with a view to making it to the European finals, held in Malmö, Sweden.

The Pitt opens from noon. Entry is £3 on the door, or £2 purchased in advance.

As ever with street food traders, many use the experience, and the income, to open more permanent businesses further down the line.

Perhaps you will spot the restaurant hot shots of the future among the street food traders?

Edinburgh Cocktail Weekend

Looking further into our crystal ball, Edinburgh Cocktail Week is back for a third time.

Taking place in the capital from Monday 14th to Sunday 20th October it has expanded with a new cocktail forest, rooftop cocktail domes, an expanded Cocktail Village and some 70 participating bars.

We will cover this in more depth in the coming months but our interest was piqued by the thought of cocktail domes on the roof of The Glasshouse Hotel.

Fully transparent - so as better to admire the stars - each dome will be styled with sofas, cushions, blankets, rugs and fairy lights. Seating eight to ten people comfortably, the domes are expected to be in high demand so a reservation system will be in place.

Organiser, Gary Anderson commented, ‘We’re excited to be expanding Edinburgh Cocktail Week across the city this year and further develop the experience for wristband-holders with the introduction of new features and pop-up spaces. The forest and street food areas are both exciting additions to the Cocktail Village and we’re delighted to be the first festival to bring cocktail domes to Edinburgh. The rooftop garden at The Glasshouse Hotel is the perfect setting for these and we’re working with fantastic partners to make the pods a really special space to enjoy cocktails and time with friends.’

Wristbands are on sale now priced at £6 for a weekday wristband (valid Monday-Friday), £8 for a weekend wristband (valid Saturday & Sunday) and £13.50 for a week-long wristband.

Participating bars