Cork chefs, producers, and creatives feature at upcoming West Waterford food fest

MORE than 80 food events and activities centred around Dungarvan, and surrounding areas of Waterford, will provide opportunities for people to connect through and with food.

Waterford Festival of Food, one of Ireland’s largest and longest running community food festivals, recently launched this years’ programme inspired by the theme of ‘Connecting People with Food’ taking place from April 19 to 21.

The main hub for the three-day festival is in the scenic harbour town of Dungarvan Co. Waterford with events also taking place in nearby Lismore, Villierstown, Kilmeaden, Cappoquin and Ardmore making it a unique showcase of the flavours and characters local to this food region.

Highlights from the diverse range of events on this year’s programme include guided taste tours, kitchen table talks with influential people from Ireland’s food scene and beyond, high profile guest chef dining events, sustainability workshops, and pop-up experiences in unusual locations.

There will also be foraging trails, food waste talks, bus tours to farms and mountains, live cooking demos, and the festival’s famous market, which is Ireland’s largest outdoor market, in the town’s Market Square on the final day.

At the launch, Eunice Power, Festival Director said, “Waterford has a long tradition of innovative food production, great cafes, and restaurants. This festival acknowledges the important role that food plays in all our lives, from farmers, producers, chefs, restaurateurs and of course customers.

“Our festival has deep rooted connections in the community which I believe is the secret of its success.”

This years’ festival has also looked across the county border into Cork for chefs, producers, and creatives to add a little white and red to the blue and white heart of the festival… Throughout the festival weekend, talented Cork-based photographer, Joleen Cronin, will exhibit her collection of black and white portraits of 40 local food trailblazers from the diverse culinary community in and around the West Waterford region, called ‘Behind the Bite’. The exhibition is on display at Currans on the Quay and free to visit.

SATURDAY APRIL 20

Unlock the Secrets of Sustainability: 12:45, Mount Cosgreve Estate, €45

Cork-based Climate Conscious Chef, Ali Honour, pairs up with renowned CLIFF Executive Chef, Sean Smith, for a unique culinary event set in the beautifully restored Georgian Glasshouse at the world-renowned Mount Congreve Gardens. Take a step back in time with Estate Manager Mr. Ray Sinnott as he guides you through the fascinating history of the glasshouse, revealing its past as a pineapple-growing haven. Today, it houses our thriving grapevines, courgette, cucumber, tomatoes, and more – some of which you’ll find in your lunch.

Kitchen Table Talks: from 11am, Curran’s on the Quay, Dungarvan, FREE

This series of Kitchen Table is the homely heartbeat of this 2024 Festival. Planting the message of the festival right where it belongs: at the kitchen table. These talks bring economists, chefs, actors, storytellers, podcasters, food producers back to the Kitchen Table for some good old-fashioned conversation, and I’ll be hosting two of these talks with two of my favourite Cork food heroines, Sally Barnes of Woodcock Smokery.

11.00am Sally Barnes of Woodcock Smokery. 

Sally Barnes is a key figure in the Irish Artisan food renaissance of the last forty years. A true artisan, Sally has consistently shown absolute dedication to skilled craft combined with an unwavering commitment to provenance such that her world-renowned smoked fish sits at the pinnacle of Irish gastronomy.

2.00pm Darina Allen of Ballymaloe Cookery School and Organic Farm School.

Darina Allen and Ballymaloe are synonymous with the national conversation around Irish food, nutrition and health. Darina will discuss the challenges and factors within economic and government policy that are likely to impact our local food community today and for the future, and how food must be at the centre of the discussion.

Craicly Storytelling: 7pm, Salterbridge House Hotel, Cappoquin

Cork’s Ballyvolane House host and founder of iconic Bertha’s Revenge Gin, Justin Green, will join a panel of lively storytellers with backgrounds in food and farming for an evening of sharing of true stories and experiences to help bring us together. Storytelling is a key, cultural way of communicating the present, past and potential future, and a fundamental leveller of the human experience.

SUNDAY APRIL 21

Taste Waterford: from 11am, Currans on the Quay, Dungarvan, FREE

Taste Waterford sets the stage for a variety of entertaining and informative discussions on many aspects of food and dining. Cork-based food campaigner, Niamh Condon, of Dining with Dignity, is an expert on cooking for people with Dysphagia (difficulty in swallowing food). Niamh will share insights into how traditional food can be prepared in a way that is suitable, tasty and delicious for people with this condition, which affects eight per cent of the world’s population.

Pilgrims Waterford Pilgrimage: 1pm, The Tannery Cookery School, Dungarvan, €85

Mark and Sadie Jennings formerly of renowned West Cork restaurant, Pilgrims, bring their hyper-local style to a finely curated seasonal meal of six courses. Expect dishes full of lip-smacking flavours using ingredients from the wild, grown in their own garden and by small producers in their locality.

Also on Sunday, from 1pm to 3pm, Aishling Moore of Goldie will be hosting a takeover of Eunice Power’s award-winning And Chips restaurant on the Quays in Dungarvan.

The full programme of events is available via www.waterfordfestivaloffood.com, and follow updates via Instagram @waterfordfestivaloffood.