Last weekend I was very kindly given tickets to the Edinburgh Foodie Festival from drinks company Sparkling Ice. I have to admit, I’d never heard of this brand before but since attending the festival I’ve been seeing their ads pop up all over Edinburgh, so maybe I’m just a little late to the party? The Foodie Festival took place in Inverleith Park (just opposite the Royal Botanical Gardens and just a 10-minute walk from Stockbridge) on the 4th, 5th and 6th of August.
I took my mum and Penny and we spent most of our time stuffing our faces with all kinds of culinary delights. As soon as we arrived we headed straight to the Bonne Maman Desserts stall to try some free puddings including their heavenly Creme Caramel and Strawberry Mousse. Put it this way, there were tears from both myself and Penny once we got to the bottom of our dessert pots. We then stopped by the Chef’s Theater to watch Tony Rodd (Master Chef Finalist) and Le Roi Fou’s Jerome Henry prepare his signature recipes. Over the course of the weekend, there were opportunities to meet a whole host of culinary celebrities including new Great British Bake Off Judge Prue Leith, Great British Menu Winner Michael Bremner and Michelin starred chef Marcello Tully. We also caught a quick glimpse of Amy Lorimer of Baking with Granny making Tiffin Tray Bake at the Cakes & Desserts Theatre.
We treated ourselves to a bag full of mouthwatering delicacies from Mademoiselle Macaron (Salted Caramel, Chocolate & Passionfruit, Lavender and Lemon if you were wondering) and Penny and I devoured a few cupcakes at a stall which, sadly, I can’t remember the name of. We wandered through Street Food Avenue where we drooled over all the dishes on offer from pop-up restaurants and there was even a Gousto stall which you can find out more about here. There was also an Artisan Market packed full of local producers and I couldn’t resist picking up a few handmade doggy treats and a Deadpool & Punisher print from a local artist for my hubby. There was also a Healthy Living section with yoga lessons, a kid’s cookery school and play area, a beautiful vintage tea tent, live music stage and even a chilli eating competition! There were also opportunities to try craft beer and refreshing cocktails from the Bar Bus and Pimms Teapot throughout the day.
I stopped by the Sparkling Ice stall where I got to try all their latest flavours. If you didn’t already know, Sparkling Ice is a flavoured sparkling water combining natural flavours, fruit juice, vitamins and antioxidants; making it a better-for-you alternative to calorific fizzy drinks on the market. It’s lightly carbonated and full of flavour so I was surprised that it contains just 12 calories a bottle! My favourite flavours were Black Raspberry and Peach Nectarine whereas my mum stocked up on their Kiwi Strawberry. We probably shouldn’t have purchased so many bottles as it was a struggle walking all the way back up to Princess Street before the shops closed but we couldn’t resist.
We had a lovely day out and I’m so thankful to my friends at Sparkling Ice for this opportunity. The festival had a friendly, welcoming and upbeat atmosphere and none of the sellers were overly pushy. Penny had a wonderful day stuffing her face with Oreo cupcakes and watching all the dogs walk around while my mum and I discovered so many unique, local and artisan food and drink brands and were in our element sampling all the scrumptious food. My only wish was that we had space in our bellies to try one of the Freak Shakes we saw people walk about with too!
Have you ever been to a food festival before?
Have you heard of Sparkling Ice?
