TOP UK & SCOTTISH CHEFS RETURN TO THE MEADOWS FOR TASTE OF EDINBURGH
TOP UK & SCOTTISH CHEFS RETURN TO THE MEADOWS FOR TASTE OF EDINBURGH
- Culinary favourites Gary Rhodes and Rachel Allen open fifth year of Scotland’s biggest food and drink festival -
Two of the country’s best culinary talents, TV favourite Gary Rhodes and Irish TV darling Rachel Allen rallied together today (1 July 2011) to open the doors for the first day of Scotland’s largest food and drink festival, Taste of Edinburgh.
A stellar line-up of chefs from fifteen of the country’s best restaurants joined the renowned UK chefs in a gastronomic celebration as Taste of Edinburgh returns to its original location of The Meadows for its biggest and best show yet. From 1-3 July, some of the finest culinary talent in the country will travel from far and wide for what promises to be an unforgettable weekend of fine dining and entertainment.
Foodie fans will be treated to back to back food and drink demonstrations as the crème de la crème of UK chef talent showcase their skills and expertise. Gary and Rachel will be joined by Gordon Ramsay protégé and chef patron of the renowned Pollen Street Social, Jason Artherton, French heart-throb Jean-Christophe Novelli, Bulgarian beauty Silvena Rowe, Scottish culinary ambassadors Tom Kitchin and Martin Wishart as well as Michelin star talents Daniel Galmiche and Martin Blunos as each demonstrate their unique styles of cooking live in specially created theatres.
Theses world renowned chefs will join a stellar line up of restaurants serving up their finest dishes in an unbeatable gourmet feast and representing the very best of Scottish culinary talent including; Café Gandolfi, Cail Bruich, Chez Rouz, Cucina at Hotel Missoni, First Coast, Kama Sutra, Restaurant Mark Greenaway, Restaurant Martin Wishart, Ondine, Plumed Horse, Tigerlily, Two Fat Ladies, VinCaffé and Wedgwood the Restaurant.
Taste Festivals Managing Director, Justin Clarke says: “This year is without a doubt our biggest Taste of Edinburgh yet. We’ve worked really hard to bring together the strongest and most exciting UK chef line-up to date and the very best of Scotland’s restaurants, chefs and producers.
“For the first time, this year we are thrilled to welcome three iconic restaurants from Glasgow and Chez Roux, making sure our line-up really showcases what Scotland has to offer. As well as inspiring dishes, chefs will explain their own ethos on cooking – why they choose different ingredients and what they love about Scottish food and drink, because there is a lot to love! I encourage anyone with a passion of eating or cooking good food to get down to The Meadows this weekend.”
Councillor Steve Cardownie, Festivals and Events Champion, said: "Edinburgh is a culinary delight for food-lovers, with an outstanding range of restaurants and standards that are at the highest level. The festival helps to showcase both the excellent fare and culinary skills that exist in the city. Once again it will surely whet the appetite for locals and visitors and encourage them to taste more of what Edinburgh has to offer."
This year, visitors will also have a chance to brush up on their own culinary skills with hands-on AEG Perfekt Cooking Classes with Cook School by Martin Wishart, and sessions at the Waitrose Cookery School, where they can create stunning dishes with the freshest, local and seasonal ingredients.
Gary Rhodes, Michelin-star chef Martin Wishart and Steven Doherty, the first ever British Head chef to receive three Michelin-stars when working at Albert Roux’s Le Gavroche, will also be swapping their state of the art kitchens to run a pop-up charity restaurant. Each day a different chef will run the restaurant, donating their culinary skills and expertise to make a difference to child hunger and malnutrition, with all profits going to leading humanitarian charity, Action Against Hunger.
Visit www.tastefestivals.com/edinburgh for the full line-up, updates and information.
ENDS
Further information:
If you would like further information on the event, images or if you would like to find out about media accreditation, please contact Sarah Ormerod or Stephanie Maclachlan on 0131 561 8628 or email tasteofedinburgh@stripecom.co.uk
Notes to editors
Taste Festivals is the inspiration of Brand Events, which joined forces with Channel 4 in September 2006. In 2011 Taste Festivals will be held in Edinburgh and London in the UK and internationally in Amsterdam, Auckland, Cape Town, Dubai, Dublin, Johannesburg, Melbourne, Milan and Sydney.
Brand Events also produce Taste of Christmas, the festive foodie event that is held in London.
AEG
AEG is the main sponsor for Taste of Edinburgh 2011. Its appliances will be used throughout the festival by celebrity chefs, other exhibitors and by Taste visitors who will have the opportunity to hone their culinary skills on the very latest in cooking technology. AEG appliances have been created for people who demand superior performance time after time; for cooks who enjoy the whole cooking process, who want to be in total control and who relish perfection.