What does food tell us about who we are? Writer and food critic Chitra Ramaswamy joins broadcaster and author Gemma Cairney for a conversation exploring how we are shaped by what we eat.

From the nourishment we seek to the places where we come together to eat, the discussion will consider the cultural and personal significance of food, what sustains us and what makes a truly memorable place to eat.

Chitra Ramaswamy is a writer, journalist and critic. Her book Homelands (Canongate), about her friendship with German Jewish refugee Henry Wuga, won the Saltire Non-Fiction Book of the Year and was included in The Guardian’s best memoirs and biographies of 2022. Her first book, Expecting: The Inner Life of Pregnancy (Saraband), won the Saltire First Book of the Year Award and was shortlisted for the Polari Prize.

Chitra is the restaurant critic for The Times Scotland, for which she has won Food and Drink Writer of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards for four consecutive years. She is also an occasional restaurant critic for The Observer and a contributor to The Guardian and Writers Mosaic. Her latest book, Rich Things, a collection of micro-essays for the Alasdair Gray Archive, was published in spring 2026. She lives in Leith, Edinburgh.

The event is hosted by Gemma Cairney, a multi-award-winning broadcaster, published author and founder of a production company. Known for her curiosity and enthusiasm for people and ideas, Gemma brings a wide-ranging perspective to conversations about culture, creativity and identity.

Make the most of your visit…