Electric Picnic Theatre of Food

The Gourmand of Food Festivals – Theatre of Food at Electric Picnic

If you are lucky enough to have bagged yourself a ticket to Electric Picnic then the Theatre of Food is a must. Now in its fourth year, located in the Mindfield arena of Electric Picnic, the Theatre of Food returns with its best ever line-up of chefs, writers, thinkers, artisans, brewers, bakers, and food heroes. It’s a celebration of everything we love about food and drink –and music.

Food Demos

Come and experience the excitement of celebrity and Michelin-star chefs creating stunning dishes in their wellies, in full Electric Picnic party mode. TV favourite Neven Maguire will showcase the best of ‘modern Irish’cooking; award-winning Sunil Ghai will demonstrate ‘Indian’as you’ve never seen it before; Outlier JP McMahon of Aniar will demo the perfect home-cooked fish and chips; and street food pioneer Kevin Pyke of Pyke’n’Pomme’s food truck will bring the nomadic dining experience to life. And that’s just for starters, with many more such as TV chefs Paul Flynn, Martin Shanahan and best-selling cookery author and photographer, Lily Higgins.

Africa, A Rising Continent

In the spirit of the Mindfield’s 2014 theme, ‘Africa, A Rising Continent,’Michelin-starred chef from Thornton’s Restaurant in Dublin, Kevin Thornton will give a demo on the foods of the Lalibela region in North Ethiopia. The demo will include injera bread from that region and a recipe from the Hamar Tribe of the Omo Valley in Southern Ethiopia, using ingredients that have been brought to Ireland especially for the demo at Electric Picnic. Thornton will also present a very special exhibition of his stunning photography from his journey in Ethiopia.

Mixology, Drinks and Music

This year, Theatre of Food will host ground-breaking cocktail demos, with champion mixologists Darren Geraghty and Oisín Davis shaking from the frontiers of artisanal distilling and foraged mixers. Join top showbiz mixologist Alan Kavanagh to learn all about the fascinating history and heritage of Bacardi, and taste the aromatic cocktails produced by Paul Lambert from Kinara Kitchen, inspired by the flavours of Pakistani cuisine.

Alan Kavanagh will also present delicious creations at Theatre of Food’s first ‘Music is the Food of Love’show. On Saturday evening food writer and former Hot Press journalist, John McKenna will talk music with food industry legends Paul Flynn (The Tannery), Kevin Thornton (Thornton’s), Declan Maxwell (Chapter One), Joe Macken (Jo’Burger et al), and Hot Press editor Niall Stokes. Music is the Food of Love, so the audience will groove along with these famous names of food and music, to the best sounds of the 60s, 70s, 80s and now.

Theatre of Food “Tastes”

All weekend, the tent will be staging ‘Theatre of Food Tastes,’treating the audience to delicious tastings of exciting foods almost every hour. The Theatre of Food Kitchen will be orchestrated by award-winning chef Caitlin Ruth from Deasy’s Harbour Bar in West Cork, and the audience will hear from the innovative producers, chefs and bakers behind the tastings, such as: ; a ‘Taste of Nepal’from Lina Gautam of Monty’s of Kathmandu; delectable cakes from Eunice Power; frozen delights from Chilly Moo, African curry from Michael Quinn. And that’s not all, Newgrange Gold, who have recently just won four Great Taste One-Star Gold Awards will be serving up cocktails throughout the weekend starting with an Omega Boost with their very own Camelina Bloody Mary’s to everyone in the audience on Friday evening at 6.30pm.

In addition there will be a number of side shows, which will include a full Ethiopian coffee ceremony, the icing of a magnificent wedding cake by Diva Boutique Bakery, and ice cream beers in a very alternative afternoon tea.

The Demos and Tastes at Theatre of Food this year are brought together in association with Musgrave Market Place.

Digital Food

The return of the Electric Picnic Food Awards will see the popular Picnickers’Award. This year picnickers are invited to tweet a photograph of their favourite meal at the Picnic, and the winning food photograph will be judged during a special food photography talk when Le Cool magazine will be dropping in to talk food porn with Forkful TV.

Talks, Manifestos and a Food Quiz

Alongside the food photography workshop with Le Cool and Forkful TV, Theatre of Food will host a series of debates and talks, including a quiz – The Missing Ingredient –hosted by Ross-Golden Bannon and some very special guests, including singer Brian Kennedy and style icon Sonya Lennon. A Manifesto for Irish food will be debated by Galway’s ground-breaking chef, Jess Murphy whose Kai Restaurant is one of the hottest West Coast tickets, Milleens Cheese-maker Quinlan Steele –Milleens began the Irish Farmhouse cheese revolution in the 1970s and still remains at the forefront of Irish cheese production –and TV chef, teacher and baker Patrick Ryan of Firehouse Bakery.

The Theatre

The Theatre of Food takes place in a magnificent tent, pitched in the Mindfield area of Electric Picnic, this year with its own country market. The tent is equipped with a magnificent kitchen, designed and custom-made for Theatre of Food by Portlaoise craftsman, Liam Grant Wood Design.

The Theatre will be open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Theatre of Food is produced by VSC Events, and curated by McKennas’Guides.

Check out the timetables here:

FRIDAY TALKS AND DEMOS
4.30pm	Talk	THEATRE OF SPUD	Aoife Cox with Aoife Carrigy	All you ever wanted to know about the potato.
5.15pm	Demo	BAR HOP	Colin Hesson, Brian Short & William Barry	Insight into the modern Irish pub and a demo of ‘dry hopping’from the beer masters.
6.15pm	Demo	FISHY FISHY FOOD DEMO	Martin Shanahan with Caroline Hennessey	Learn seafood cooking with Mr Fishy Fishy himself.
7pm	Demo	MIXOLOGY & THE FUTURE OF CRAFT DISTILLING	Darren Geraghty with Seaneen Sullivan	Mixing up cocktails and talking new artisanal spirits.
FRIDAY TASTES
BUTTERED TOAST with Improper Butter & Firehouse Bread; Camelina Bloody Mary’s from Newgrange Gold plus tasting plates from the ToF Kitchen

 

SATURDAY TALKS AND DEMOS
11.30am	Demo	COFFEE CULTURE	Ernie Whalley, Karl Purdy, Gary Grant & Colin Harmon	Blind tasting, coffee roasting with the coffee gurus.
12.30pm	Demo	MODERN IRISH FOOD WITH NEVEN	Neven Maguire with Gillian Nelis	Neven Maguire cooks modern Irish food.
1.30pm	Talk	AFRICA – A RISING CONTINENT	Kevin Thornton	Kevin presents his extraordinary photographs taken as part of his work for Connect Ethiopia.
2pm	Demo	DREAM DELI	Lilly Higgins with Alex Meehan	Gorgeous raw vegan treats & summery salads.
2.45pm	Quizz	THE MISSING INGREDIENT	Ross Golden-Bannon & Guests	Testing food knowledge and more with a lighthearted quiz.
3.45pm	Demo	CLASSIC BACARDI LEGACY COCKTAILS	Alan Kavanagh & the Bacardi team	Cocktail masterclass and tasting.
4.15pm	Talk	MUSIC IS THE FOOD	Paul Flynn, Kevin Thornton, Declan Maxwell, Joe Macken & Niall Stokes, with John McKenna	Chefs and their music, with Hot Press Editor Niall Stokes talking about music and food. MC Music writer turned food writer, John McKenna.
5.15pm	Demo	WILD COCKTAILS	Oisin Davis with Sally Barnes & Maria Kennedy	Oisin prepares a selection of classic cocktails utilising wild ingredients to give a local flavour.

 

SATURDAY TALKS AND DEMOS
6pm	Demo	KELLY’S REUNION ISLAND	Ketty Elizabeth with Leslie Williams	French Foodie in Dublin on the diverse cultures of her father’s native home.
SATURDAY SPECIAL EVENTS
6.45pm	Awards	ELECTRIC PICNIC FOOD AWARDS	John McKenna	Who has won this year’s awards?
8.30pm	Event	SPEED WINE DATING	The Wine Buff with Caroline Byrne	Fast-paced, musical chairs that matches wine drinkers.
2.30pm	Event	FOOD & WINE GUINEA PIG TASTING	Aoife Carrigy	In association with The Wine Buff.
SATURDAY TASTES
DIVA CAKES with Diva Boutique Bakery; AFRICAN TAGINE AND TASTE SESSION with Danette Milne; TASTE OF WEST CORK with Sally Barnes and William Barry, including MELLA’S FUDGE; AFRICAN CHICKEN AND MANGO CURRY with Michael Quinn; FAIR TRADE FOODS with Fair Trade Ireland; plus Foods from the Theatre of Food Kitchen

 

SUNDAY TALKS AND DEMOS
11.30am	Demo	KEVIN THORNTON’S ETHIOPIA	Kevin Thornton with Pól Ó’Conghaile	The foods of Ethiopia presented in a wedding-style feast.
12.30pm	Talk	FOOD IN LITERATURE	Mei Chin, Leslie Williams, Aoife Cox & Ernie Whalley with Caroline Byrne	Food writers discuss their avourite food moments from literature.
1.30pm	Demo	STREET FOOD	Kevin Pyke & Sham Hanifa with Caroline Byrne	Kevin & Sham on the new frontier in Irish food culture.
2.15pm	Talk	MANIFESTO FOR GOOD FOOD IN IRELAND	Quinlan Steele, Patrick Ryan & Jess Murphy, with John McKenna	Creating a ten point manifesto for Irish food.
3.15pm	Demo	THE FOODS & SPICES OF INDIA	Sunil Ghai with Gary O’Hanlon	Two master chefs discuss & demo the foods of India.
4pm	Demo	HOW TO MAKE FISH & CHIPS AT HOME	Jp McMahon with William Barry	Tips from Galway’s Michelin-starred restaurateur.
4.45pm	Talk	FOOD STYLING WITH LE COOL AND FORKFUL	Le Cool & Forkful with Anthony O’Toole	Food styling workshop.
5.30pm	Demo	SMALL PLATES	Kevin O’Toole & Joe McNamee	The Chameleon’s Kevin O’Toole presets Rijst Tafel.
6.15pm	Demo	CLASSIC BACARDI LEGACY COCKTAILS	Alan Kavanagh & the Bacadi team	Cocktail masterclass and tasting.
6.45PM	Demo	TORTILLA-OFF	Caitlin Ruth, Danette Milne & Lily Ramirez-Foran with Jim Kennedy	Clash of pans –is it corn or wheat tortillas. Make, taste and decide with the tortilla masters.
SUNDAY TASTES
ETHIOPIAN COFFEE CEREMONY with the Embassy of Ethiopia; CAKES with Eunice Power; TOFU TASTING with Mei Chin; NEPALESE KITCHEN with Lina Gautam; ICE CREAM BEERS for an alternative afternoon tea.