Edinburgh Food Festival 2019: chefs, street food stalls, workshops and everything you need to know

Edinburgh Food Festival in the evening. (Picture: Edinburgh Food Festival)

Taking place at Assembly George Square Gardens from 19 - 28 July, the free event for all the family expects to welcome around 25,000 visitors over 10 days.

Alex Fitzhowle, Edinburgh Food Festival producer, said: “As well as new chef demonstrations, our bumper line-up will include a series of meet the local producer events, plus over 20 local producers and street food stallholders serving up some of Scotland’s best contemporary food and drink.”

Here’s everything you need to know about attending this year’s festival.

What chefs will be taking part?

Some of Edinburgh’s top chefs will showcase their culinary flair with food demonstrations.

They are: Scott Smith from Edinburgh Restaurant of the Year, Fhior; Barry Bryson from Cater Edinburgh; Jérôme Henry from Le Roi Fou; Scots-Italian chef Carina Contini; and former MasterChef Professionals winner Derek Johnstone from Borthwick Castle.

Enjoying a panoramic view of George Square Gardens from a specially equipped treetop kitchen, each chef will be offering a rare one-hour insight into their own unique food style and inspiration, as well as sharing some of their top cooking tips.

Edinburgh Food Festival has a range of stalls showcasing the best in contemporary Scottish food and drink. (Picture: Edinburgh Food Festival)

These are all the winners from the Edinburgh Restaurant Awards 2019

Kicking off the new chef demonstration line-up will be Cater Edinburgh’s Barry Bryson on Friday 26 July from 6pm.

Barry will be creating a 30-minute recipe in real time using local and seasonal ingredients - the perfect mid-week meal to make at home.

On Saturday 27 July at 1pm, Carina Contini of Edinburgh’s Cannonball Restaurant & Bar on Castlehill will be adding some Contini sunshine to the menu with Italian-inspired alfresco recipes.

Alanda's Scottish Seafood Grill is one of the producers taking part this year. (Picture: Edinburgh Food Festival)

Scott Smith of Fhior, winner of Edinburgh Restaurant Awards Restaurant of the Year, will be championing sustainable Scottish fish.

With a demonstration on Saturday 27 July at 2pm, he’ll be offering his top tips on the best ways to barbeque fish outdoors this summer alongside Lewis Lowrie of Lowrie Fish Merchants.

Next up, at 1pm on Sunday 28 July, is Derek Johnstone, head chef of Borthwick Castle at Gorebridge, Midlothian.

Derek will be rediscovering some of Scotland’s lost ingredients and reinventing them in a modern and fresh way.

There's plenty of fun for the whole family. (Picture: Edinburgh Food Festival)

Rounding off the line-up at 2pm on Sunday 28 July is Jérôme Henry, chef proprietor of the award-winning Le Roi Fou on Forth Street, who will be joining Barry Bryson in a second one-hour cooking demonstration.

Festival-goers will get a glimpse into their social kitchen, whilst they create a fresh summer menu in real time with a hyper-local flavour.

What street food and producers will be there?

The festival will showcase a range of international cuisine through producers and street food stall holders, who will be serving up some of Scotland’s best contemporary food and drink.

Topping the list of new producers is FacePlant Foods, a plant-based street food truck which travels around Scotland selling vegan goods.

Mana Poke will also be offering up their vibrant Hawaiin street food, with healthy bowls of diced raw fish, rice and colourful accompaniments.

Some of Edinburgh's top chefs will perform demonstrations. (Picture: Edinburgh Food Festival)

Next in the line-up is Edinburgh’s Pickering’s Gin serving up their award-winning gin in their miniature Japanese airport fire engine, EnGINe 47.

They will be keeping festival goers refreshed with their range of cocktails as well as the classic Pickering’s gin and tonic.

Rounding off the five new producers is the social enterprise community café, Punjabi Junction offering traditional Punjab and home-cooked cuisines, whilst supporting women from Edinburgh minority ethnic backgrounds.

Here’s a full list of the producers and street food stalls who will be at the festival:

Jarvis PickleChick & PeaPoco ProseccoBelfield BreweryFace Plant FoodMana Poke BowlsThinking ChocolatePickering's GinAlanda's Scottish Seafood GrillAlanda's GelatoPaddle & PeelPunjabi JunctionEdinburgh Food SocialScoffCargo BurgerCargo SpudCrepe & Waffle HouseGeniusSeabuckthorn ScotlandThe Scottish Bee CompanyKabbabar#CookieDough by R&G CateringNorelli - Neapolitan Street FoodUmami Spice GirlFyne AlesMoskito Bites

What workshops are there?

Free yoga classDaily, 1pm and 3pmTaking place in the treetop studio from 1pm, a special one-hour session for adults only will include personal expert yoga tuition from kilted yoga star Finlay Wilson. He will offer top tips for wellbeing and healthy eating, and opportunity to get a signed copy of his book - Kilted Yoga: Yoga Laid Bare. From 3pm on the same day, children aged 5 to 14 years will also get the chance to enjoy a fun yoga workshop led by Finlay, along with his tips for tasty yoga snacks for younger visitors. Each of Finlay’s yoga workshops are free and non-ticketed, but spaces are limited to up to 30 people per session on a first come, first served basis. Yoga mats are provided, but participants of all levels must come dressed and prepared for movement.

Edinburgh Food SocialEvery day at 2pmEdinburgh Food Social is passionate about teaching kids about great local food and will be hosting daily activities for the duration of the Edinburgh Food Festival. Expect lots of fun food adventures exploring seasonal ingredient, wellness, crafts and more.

Hipsters and Hobos - Find, Forage, Ferment WorkshopFriday 26 July, 2.30pm/ Saturday 27 July, 4pmBring your own jar to this event where you’ll learn to ferment your own food and learn more about foraging and using wild ingredients.

Raw Pop-Up - hand-dived scallopsSaturday 20 & Thursday 25 July: 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pmStarting with fresh live scallops, you'll be shown how to prepare and remove them from the shell. You’ll then learn to cook them three ways over fire, with local vegetables fresh from the market. Three scallops per person are included.

For further information:

Keep up to date with Edinburgh Food Festival 2019 at www.edfoodfest.com and on social media Facebook (www.facebook.com/EdFoodFest), Instagram (@edfoodfest, #EdFoodFest19) and Twitter (@EdFoodFest, #EdFoodFest19).