Scran Laudable

Welcome to this special partner episode of Scran where we are teaming up with St James Quarter in Edinburgh to preview the forthcoming Edinburgh Seafood Festival which runs for the May Bank Holiday weekend from Saturday 4th to Monday 6th
May.
Many of the diverse eating and drinking destinations in St James Quarter are embracing this year’s Edinburgh Seafood Festival by creating exclusive dishes and menus that guests can enjoy over the weekend including Ka Pao and Duck and Waffle.
The festival will showcase a selection of the highest quality, locally sourced seafood in the heart of the city and we wanted to learn more about some of the restaurants who will be at the forefront of the weekend's activities.
First up Rosalind spoke to Sandy Browning, Executive Chef at Ka Pao. Sandy's love of cooking has taken him to far flung parts of the world, he tells Rosalind all about his culinary journey and how you go about combining great Scottish produce with Southeast Asian flavours. He also gives us a sneak preview of what he'll be demonstrating on the Seafood Stage at the festival.
Rosalind also went along to Duck and Waffle where she met Sommelier Roberto Bravo who shared his passion for wine with her delving into top seafood and wine pairings and how the characteristics of wines can be comparable to those of people. Roberto's singular enthusiasm is infectious as you will see....
If you want to find out more about Edinburgh Seafood Festival, download the St James Quarter app to discover the full schedule of events. You'll also find more information about the return of the Secret Seafood Supper Clubs - where guests are invited to join leading Chefs for a private dinner cooked in front of them. Tickets for these intimate events are limited so make sure to check that out soon. Thanks to our partners on this episode St James Quarter.
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On today's episode we're coming at food and drink from a slightly different angle. Word of Mouth (WOM) is an exhibition of new artworks and writing exploring our relationship to food, cooking and kitchens. With work spanning across print, writing, textile, collage, and paint, Word of Mouth encourages us to consider how much food and cooking inform and sustain us in our everyday lives.
Word of Mouth is currently running at the Scottish Storytelling Centre on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. Rosalind went along to check it out and talk to curator Maisie Wills about how it all came about. They look at some of the works in detail and give you a flavour for what you can expect from the exhibition.
You can find out more about Word of Mouth on The Scottish Storyelling Centre website. It is free and unticketed and runs from now until the 20th of April, daily from 10-6pm.
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On this episode Rosalind's guest is chocolatier Chloe Oswald of Chocolatia - a business she founded during Covid, in her brother's flat in Forfar and which has gone on to do great things. Chloe has been the recipient of many awards and her chocolate continues to impress many a palate. Chloe talks to me about her time in some of Scotland's most respected kitchens and why ethically-sourced chocolate is so important to her.
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This week we're getting very excited about one of the international cultural events of the year. The Oscars take place this weekend and in an amazing turn of events, two Scottish businesses have reason to celebrate. Fetcha Chocolates and The Gin Bothy will both see their products feature as part of the famous "Everyone Wins" gift bags which the nominees receive. These bags have an approximate value of $125,000 and include such exclusive contents as luxury skincare and a lavish holiday in St Bart's.
On this episode of Scran Rosalind speaks to Fiona MacArthur from her business Fetcha Chocolates in Campbelltown about this exciting development, as well as how she's got to where she is today. You'll hear about how she has gone all out to capitalise on this opportunity.
Rosalind also speaks to Kim Cameron, owner of The Gin Bothy about the 'pinch me' moment of being asked to contribute one of her gins to the gift bag. She also tells Rosalind the great story of how she went from jam making to gin making and how both businesses are reaping rewards.
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Rosalind's guests on this Bonus episode of Scran are Martin Compston and Phil MacHugh, stars of Martin Compston's Norwegian Fling which has recently started on BBC Scotland and BBC Two. You may be familiar with Martin Compston from his acting roles in hit TV series' such as Line of Duty and The Rig and Phil MacHugh is a TV personality and owner of Skapa PR which is based in Edinburgh. A couple of years back, Martin and good friend Phil set out to film a Scottish travelogue adventure and its success has seen this second series commissioned. 
Rosalind chats to Martin and Phil about their time in Norway, the interesting, even challenging food and drink they encountered, Martin's plans to produce a beer and how what they encountered compares to their travels in Scotland. Both Martin and Phil share their tips for eating and drinking in Scotland and Rosalind takes the opportunity to ask about their desert island drams!
Martin Compston's Norwegian Fling is available on BBC iPlayer now.

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This is a special partnership episode of Scran with the Scotch Whisky Experience.
Nestled on Castle Hill, within a stones throw of Edinburgh Castle, the Scotch Whisky Experience has been welcoming visitors from all over the world since the late 80s - a time when the world of whisky was very, very different to what it is now.
Rosalind went along to experience this popular tour and speak to some of the people in the know about how it came about, what it has to offer and how it has played a not insignificant role in nurturing much of the talent found in the whisky industry today.
Rosalind chats to Angela Dineen, Operations Director about the history of the experience as well as modern undertakings, including the recent investment of £3.5m into a new tour and how it houses one of the world's largest collections of scotch whisky.
She also speaks to Michelle Pizzi, Site Director of The North British Distillery and Alex Thomson, Visitor Attraction Manager at The Glenturret Distillery who share their memories of their time working at the Scotch Whisky Experience and how it helped shape their future careers in the industry. They offer some great insight into working in this thriving industry and how the Scotch Whisky Experience has played its part in their careers.
If you're interested in opportunities with them, check out their website where you can find more information.
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