Stephen Jardine: Focus on film and food at Kingussie

LIKE salt and pepper, they just go together. Ask anyone what they like to do with their spare time and among activities that are mad, sad and dangerous, two favourite pastimes always crop up: we like eating out and we like going to the cinema.

So it’s not surprising that some of our best-loved films revolve around food. From the sumptuous banquet laid on against the odds in Babette’s Feast to Jack Lemmon cooking spaghetti with a tennis racket in The Apartment, from the frantic spaghetti sauce scene in GoodFellas to the 50-boiled-egg challenge in Cool Hand Luke, food looms large in life and also in movies.

But there the connection ends. Our cinemas stubbornly remain some of the worst places to eat in Scotland. While local and seasonal produce spreads through our shops and restaurants, in the foyer at the flicks we still have to put up with the same old muck. Namely stinking hot dogs and gloopy nachos.

Given that sad state of affairs, it was only a matter of time until someone spotted the potential to link film with good, proper food. Cue the Kingussie Food and Film Festival, which this weekend celebrates it’s fifth year with the biggest and best programme yet. Alongside screenings of great food-linked movies, the event also has cookery demos and a hall packed with great local producers like Great Glen Game, Auld Alliance Kitchen and Highland Eggs.

Filmmaker Helen Graham is one of the organisers, and is clear why the Food and Film Festival is going from strength to strength: “It’s quite a basic thing – if you look back in history people gather to eat and to share stories – we’re putting the two together.” The celluloid stories on offer this weekend include Toast, recounting Nigel Slater’s fond memories of a foodie childhood, the Mexican love letter to food, Like Water for Chocolate, and an Oscar-nominated American documentary called The Garden, which tells the story of LA city food producers in the aftermath of inner-city race riots.

“One of the great things about Kingussie Food on Film is the way it involves the local community,” says Helen. “We have a film club who meet throughout the year and we collectively select the films for the festival. Everyone feels very involved.”

The result is one of best little events anywhere in Scotland. This weekend around 700 tickets are expected to be sold and the organisers say there is scope for a little more growth, but they are determined to keep the spirit of the event and its commitment to bringing food and film together.

To that end, for next year they might want to learn from the Food and Film Festival in New York. In the cinema, they pass round things to eat to match what is on screen. With the original Willie Wonka and The Chocolate Factory screening tonight in Kingussie, that is one easy way to ensure a sell out.