Forum East Dining Club

The inaugural East of Scotland Food & Drink forum Dining Club will take place on Monday 17th October at The Scottish Cafe & Restaurant, Edinburgh.

Located within The Scottish National Gallery, overlooking Princes Street Gardens, The Scottish Cafe & Restaurant is the Scottish focused venture of Victor and Carina Contini, the hugely successful partnership that brought the George Street restaurant Centotre to Edinburgh. 

Buying directly from over 50 Scottish suppliers, the restaurant and café team pride themselves on their philosophy of "Happy Food" - food which is good because it's good for the environment; good for local producers and good for our health & well being. Happy food is real food which is simply prepared, sustainably produced and then leisurely shared.

Proudly celebrating the very best ingredients from over 50 Scottish artisan producers and growers, it sources only seasonal Scottish produce to offer delicious, fresh, simple, good value food in a beautiful setting. Head Chef Suzanne O'Connor has worked in a number of renowned Edinburgh establishments and with a wealth experience under her belt, is very proud to be working hands-on with one of the best larders in the world. Building close relationships with suppliers is central to The Scottish Cafe's ethos, ensuring quality fresh ingredients are always on the menu while in turn supporting local producers directly.

Guest speaker for the evening is Christopher Trotter, renowned Scottish Chef with over 25 years of experience, beginning his career at the Savoy & Connaught and then returning to Scotland to run “Scotland’s Larder” a restaurant and food destination in Fife, ‘Showcasing the best of Scottish produce’.

Christopher now runs a consultancy, Momentum, which works with businesses to develop quality &innovation in their food & drink products.

Supplying meat and joining the evening will be members of the team from Peelham Farm.  Family-run by Cayley Walton Partners , Peelham is a mixed farm with a diversity of habitats influenced by its proximity to the sea in Berwickshire. Peelham is also a certified organic farm with the Scottish Organic Producers Association.

The Forum Steering Group would like to take this opportunity to meet businesses from the East of Scotland who'd like to work together, share ideas and create a stronger voice for the food & drink industry in our area.

Steering group members:- Steve Stewart, Stewart Brewing; James MacSween, MacSweens of Edinburgh; Elizabeth Waugh & Trevor Milne, Kettle Produce; Fiona Edgar, East Lothian Food & Drink; Alasdair Cox, VION; Garry Wallace, Mark Murphy & Partner Ltd.

The East of Scotland Food & Drink Food Forum Dining Club is an initiative aimed at promoting greater use of local produce in the region's hotel and restaurant menus. It provides a forum for hoteliers, restaurateurs and chefs to meet with producers and suppliers to build relationships and explore opportunities to work more closely together. The forum has been brought to you by Scotland Food & Drink and Scottish Enterprise.

Cost per ticket: £25 + VAT per person

For more information and to register please click here.

Find out more about Scotland Food & Drink and the many benefits of membership