Food festival Let's Eat Glasgow! has been given its own beer to get visitors in the mood.
The specially-crafted Let’s Eat Glasgow! ‘Saison’ is a collaboration between the East End’s Drygate Brewery and Williams Bros, one of the sponsors of Let’s Eat Glasgow!
The ale is a twist on the style of beer that used to quench the thirst of parched farmers.
Watch: Restaurant owners say what makes Let's Eat Glasgow so special.
So this festival tipple has been updated with Scottish gooseberries and elderflowers to add an extra fruity dimension,
The event takes place at SWG3, Finnieston, on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 of September.
Three of the chef proprietors taking part spoke to Glasgow West End Today this week about the festival.
Ivan Stein of The Gannet, Giovanna Eusebi of Eusebi Deli and Christopher Charalambous of Cail Bruich said they were excited at what this year's festival had to offer.
Let’s Eat Glasgow! is staged by the Real Food, Real Folk not for profit co-operative of top city restaurants.
Cail Bruich, Crabshakk, Guy’s Restaurant, Mother India, Ox and Finch, Stravaigin, The Gannet and Ubiquitous Chip created the event, which is free to enter, to celebrate the great food and drink being reared, grown, fished and cooked across the West of Scotland whilst raising money to help tackle food inequality across the city.
Colin Clydesdale, Chair of Real Food, Real Folk, says: “As a fundraising event, Let’s Eat Glasgow! is only made possible through the in-kind support of great, like-minded businesses across the food and drink industry like William Bros and Drygate Brewery.
“We’re hugely grateful for the support of sponsors William Bros, Makar Glasgow Gin, Alliance Wine and Glengoyne which are all supporting Let’s Eat Glasgow! for the second year running along with a host of others from across the food and drink industry in the West of Scotland.
“From the visitor’s perspective, their participation, along with the great artisan drink producers in the pop-up market, means we have an incredible food and drink showcase for everyone to discover and enjoy.”
As well as the Let’s Eat Glasgow! Saison, visitors will be able to enjoy vibrant and well balanced Makar Glasgow Gin and great wines chosen by Alliance Wine.
The two Real Food, Real Folk bars will also be serving a whisky-based cocktail blended by Glengoyne especially for the fiesta of food.
Refreshing craft beers from Jaw Brew and Harvieston Brewery as well as Plan Bee’s honey beer will be available to buy in the pop-up market along with fabulous hand-picked wines from Judith Hardy Wines, enlivening Makar Glasgow Gin and a range of spirits from Strathearn Distillery including Scotland’s first brandy made using Scottish cider apples.
As well as the European style market, which also features a wide range of West of Scotland foods, from oysters, venison, rare breed meats, cheeses and fruit through to artisan breads and delicious chocolates and ice creams, visitors will be able to enjoy restaurant food from just a fiver.
The Real Food, Real Folk restaurants will be joined this year by eight guest restaurants - Banana Leaf, Café Gandolfi, El Perro Negro, Eusebi Deli, Lychee Oriental, Martha’s, The Hanoi Bike Shop and Wee Guy’s - altogether serving 46 dishes reflecting the very best cuisine from Scotland, Europe, Asia and the Orient.
Free to enter, Let’s Eat Glasgow! takes visitors on a journey from ‘field to fork’.
Other highlights include a small farmyard, entertaining and inspirational cooking demonstrations by guest celebrities and chefs and great live music.
All 16 restaurants are donating their time to the event, which is believed to be the UK’s first major food festival working to help tackle food inequality.
Any profits made by Let’s Eat Glasgow! including the new ‘Saison’ will go towards Real Food, Real Folk’s work to address food inequality in the city.
Restaurant food vouchers are available now at www.letseatglasgow.co.uk Advance purchase highly recommended.
