Enjoy a fine food and drink festival in great outdoors

Independent street food market PLATFORM is bringings its biggest and best food and drink festival to Scotland.

Paisley Food and Drink Festival is one of Scotland’s largest outdoor food and drink festivals and will take place in Paisley town centre on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 April.

This year’s line-up will showcase the finest street food with more than 40 traders and vendors, a demonstration kitchen with celebrity chefs, live entertainment and picnic areas in the stunning surroundings of Paisley’s historic Abbey.

More than 15,000 people turned out to enjoy the two-day extravaganza in 2018.

This year, organisers are working with the PLATFORM independent street food market, who reside in the iconic Argyle Street Arches, Glasgow. This will be the popular market’s first outdoor tour date of the year.

PLATFORM on Tour will bring ten of Scotland’s best street food traders, giant Kata tee-pee tents, colourful furniture, the PLATFORM DJ’s, a range of Innis & Gunn craft Arch Brews, and cutting-edge cocktails utilising some of Scotland’s finest craft spirits.

PLATFORM traders coming to the Festival include, British Street Food Awards finalist Ginger and Chilli, Brigston & Co. Artisan Hot Dogs, Winners of the Scottish Street Food People’s Choice Award 2017 Shrimpwreck and delicious desserts from Crema Caravan.

Hilary Goodfellow, project manager for PLATFORM on Tour said: ‘Platform is a community of some of the very best street food traders in Scotland, and we love taking our traders out on tour. We are bringing a brilliant selection of genuinely authentic traders to the Festival, all with the same objective: to provide tasty, seasonal food that is sourced sustainably at an affordable price.

‘We have handpicked a delicious range of food with everything from artisan hot dogs to wood fired pizza, golden arancini, crispy calamari and ice-cream tacos! As a buddie myself, I can’t wait to bring PLATFORM on Tour to Paisley Food & Drink Festival, it’s a great event and offers something for all the family.’

There will be something to suit all tastes at the Paisley Food and Drink Festival 2019, including gluten-free and halal options with smaller portion sizes designed for children.

New for this year’s Festival is a dedicated vegan and vegetarian zone offering a range of delicious options.

Returning festival favourites include Babu Bombay Street Kitchen, Scozzese woodfired pizza, Dispensary Bar cocktails, the unique Fizzbuz prosecco van and the popular Rum Shack.

The award-winning Gin 71 bar will also be back to host tasting sessions, with visitors sampling the very best artisan gins.

Managing Director of Gin 71, Paul Reynolds, said: ‘We’re really excited to be bringing Gin 71 back to Paisley Food and Drink Festival this April. Our gin bar and tasting sessions proved to be a real hit at last year’s event with so many people coming along to sample some fantastic craft gins.

‘Gin’s popularity is continuing to soar, and our expert bar staff will be on hand to showcase the excellent range of craft gins we have available and maybe even give people the chance to try something new.’

Event organisers are teaming up with Renfrewshire CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) to host a dedicated Beer Tent at the town’s Bridge Street, with around 70 craft conditioned ales and craft beers available.

Paisley Food and Drink Festival is one of Scotland’s largest outdoor food events

The Festival will see a variety of food workshops and cookery demonstrations, as well as live music and entertainment programmed by Paisley’s famous The Bungalow music venue.

A cooking demonstration tent, sponsored by Zero Waste Scotland’s Love Food Hate Waste campaign, will feature celebrity chef Gary Maclean, winner of MasterChef – The Professionals 2016, who will teach visitors the tricks of his trade and Three Sisters Bake.

There will also be plenty of entertainment for the kids, with the chance to enjoy some hands-on foodie experiences and fun games.
Visitors will be able to purchase some great produce from the Farmers’ Market and trader stalls, including the Paisley Drinks Company and the Kilted Fudge Company.

Louisa Mahon, head of marketing, communications and events at Renfrewshire Council, said: ‘This is the fifth year of our Paisley Food and Drink Festival and the appetite has continued to grow each year, attracting thousands of visitors to Paisley town centre.

‘The Festival is one of the highlights in Renfrewshire’s events calendar, with the British Pipe Band Championships hot on its heels in May.

‘We look forward to welcoming everyone to Paisley for two-days of great entertainment and the very best of Scotland’s street food.’

Traders at Paisley Food and Drink Festival 2019 include: Babu Kitchen, Burger & Keg, Cindy’s, Coast Coffee, Dispensary Bar, Earthworm Kitchen, Edin Burger, FizzBuz, Flip n Fast Crepes, Food in the Hood, Gin 71, Haggisman, Hygge Foods, Kilted Fudge Co, Lebenease, Linton & Co, Morettis, Muffin Break, Paisley Drinks Company, PAPAMACS, POKE, Porrelli – Gelato, Renfrewshire CAMRA Beer Tent, Rum Shack, Scozzese Wood Fire Pizza, Tastebuds, Tempo Tea Bar, The Nut Shack UK, The Sly Fox, There’s No Catch!, Three Sisters Bake, Threepwood Fayre, Truckle & Loaf, West Coast Coffee.

PLATFORM on Tour traders at Paisley Food and Drink Festival 2019: Bowl Food, Box Office Wood Fired Pizza, Brigston & Co. Artisan Hot Dogs, Chunks Ice Cream Tacos, Crema Caravan, Freddy + Hicks, Fritti, Ginger + Chilli, Shawarmarama, Shrimpwreck.

To find out more about this year’s Paisley Food and Drink Festival and more fantastic events taking place in the area, visit www.paisley.is.