I went to the Foodies Festival recently, which was kind of like letting a kid loose in a candy shop – there was a lot of grabbing of free samples

and general giddiness.

The festival offered cooking demonstrations, food and drink masterclasses, restaurant tents serving taster portions of signature dishes, bar pagodas and market stalls. It was hot, packed full of people and the queue for the portable toilets was staggering, but the setting and selection of food

made it all worth it.

I spent most of my time in the producers market, tasting everything from cheddar and chocolate to gin and ginger liqueur. Here are some of favourite producers and products from the festival:

• SeaVeg sells sea vegetables that are hand picked wild in Ireland. I bought a bag of the leafy green Irish Spirulina, which looks a bit like cannabis but tastes like the ocean. I sprinkled it into a ramen soup I made that night, which gave it a great umami flavour. Sea vegetables are a good source of B vitamins that are often lacking in the veggie diet, so I plan to cook with them more often.

• Thistly Cross cider is, without a doubt, the best cider I’ve ever had. While it’s quite strong (7.2%), it doesn’t have that sharp, medicinal taste that I associate with a strong alcoholic drinks. And here’s the best part – it tastes like apples! This surprised me, because most ciders taste like sickeningly-sweet approximations of an apple. I’d love for it to become a pub staple in Glasgow.

• Jo Jo’s Danish Bakery and Café stand sold Danish pastries with a smile. I had an amazing poppy seed pastry with an almond filling that was sweet without being cloying. They’re opening up a shop on Nicholson Street in Edinburgh in September, so stop by if you’re in town and try one of these:

Edinburgh Foodies Festival

Holyrood Park

13th – 15th August 2010

www.foodiesfestival.com/edinburgh