Food festival served up alongside beer bash

Paisley is gearing up for a taste sensation when the town’s first-ever food festival is served up alongside the ever-popular Paisley Beer Festival!

Article Source: Renfrewshire Council
Last Updated: 21 April 2015 15:46

The day-long food event is being dished out as a side order to the 28th edition of Renfrewshire CAMRA’s real-ale extravaganza in Paisley Town Hall.

The beer festival – from Wednesday 22nd until Saturday 25th April – is the biggest of its kind in Scotland and thousands of visitors are expected to turn out to sample hundreds of ales, beers, ciders and more.

The family-friendly food festival – run by Renfrewshire Council – will take place on the Saturday only from noon to 6pm in Abbey Close and highlights include outdoor markets and an appearance from kids’ TV favourite Mr Bloom.

Both events are taking place as part of Scotland’s Year of Food and Drink, supported by EventScotland and VisitScotland, which aims to showcase the abundance of local produce and artisan food and drink available across the country.

This year’s beer festival will see the addition of an all-new Scottish wine bar from Perthshire, as well as extra seating and catering within Paisley Town Hall.

Attractions at the food festival include the following:

- live shows on the main stage from Mr Bloom at 2 and 4pm;
- an outdoor food market boasting a hearty mix of the finest Scottish food and global cuisine with stallholders from across the country;
- workshops showing kids how to make their own pizza and chocolate. Advance booking is needed, details at www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/events
- the chance to browse the work of talented crafters from Renfrewshire and beyond at the Slug in a Bottle market;
- Paisley Farmers' Market in its usual place at Paisley Cross from 10am to 2pm

Renfrewshire’s Provost Anne Hall said: “Renfrewshire CAMRA’s Paisley Beer Festival is a long-running success story and is always a popular event.

“We are adding to the mix this year by staging the food festival for the first time and are expecting the town to come alive with activity over the weekend.

“Hosting days out like this will be an important part of the town’s push for UK City of Culture status in 2021, so I would encourage people to come down and help support this new event.”

Bob McWilliam from Renfrewshire Branch CAMRA said: "This 28th Paisley Beer Festival will certainly be the biggest yet with the support from Renfrewshire Council.

"The festival will have the biggest selection of beers from Scotland and so much more plus using the full facilities of Paisley Town Hall.

“That means more comfort for people to include seating, cloakrooms and generally a great atmosphere with the Caledonian Brewery Pipe Band on Saturday afternoon. This is great for Paisley and great for real beer."
Annique Armstrong, VisitScotland Regional Director, said: “It’s fantastic news that visitors to this year’s Paisley Beer Festival will also get to sample some fine Scottish culinary fare.

“From an outdoor food market to chocolate-making workshops, there is plenty to whet the appetite of visitors to this year’s festival.

“The Year of Food and Drink is all about celebrating our natural larder and mouth-watering dining experiences, so I would urge people all across the country to come along and enjoy what promises to be a delicious year for the Paisley Beer Festival.”