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Ireland’s Food & Drink Guide October 2019

Wed Oct 02 2019

Food on the edge, JP McMahon, Ross Lewis, I Love Cooking Ireland

Ireland’s Food & Drink Festival Guide October 2019

written by Melanie May

As the weather cools the food festivals are hotting up with plenty of delicious days out filled with seasonal, regional ingredients and products. Just want you need to to keep your belly full and a smile on your face.

Here are some of the best food festivals in Ireland in October 2019.

4th – 6th October 2019: Dingle Food Festival

Location: Dingle, Co. Kerry

The Dingle Food Festival takes place each year on the first weekend of October, and it turns the picturesque Kerry town into a gustatory capital. The festival includes cookery demonstrations and workshops, over 50 market stalls, wine, gin, and whiskey tastings, a cider and beer trail and a farmer’s forum, as well as street entertainment and children’s events. There’s also a fabulous taste trail around the Dingle peninsula.

6th October 2019: Irish Vegan Festival

Location: Europa Hotel, Belfast

The Irish Vegan Festival is the place to be for everything to do with the vegan lifestyle. There will be food stalls aplenty as well as products and inspirational talks on diet and lifestyle. There’ll also be movie and documentary screenings too. The Festival is organised by Farplace Animal Rescue and the profits from the festival will directly help the animals in need.

9th – 13th October 2019: Slow Food Festival

Location: Derry-Londonderry

The five-day Slow Food Festival in County Derry showcases the best products and producers from the northwest region of Northern Ireland. There are plenty of events scheduled including talks and cooking demonstrations, tour and tasting and street food stalls. It is totally geared up for family fun with plenty of entertainment for the little ones. The star of the festival is the Slow Food Harvest Market which will be packed with local food and drink producers.

11th – 13th October 2019: Kinsale Gourmet Festival

Location: Kinsale, Co. Cork

The 43rd Kinsale Gourmet Festival is a celebration of all the culinary delights that Kinsale has to offer. Visitors come from far and wide to attend the sell-out weekend and are never disappointed by the mixture of great food and superb fun on offer. Other exciting events over the weekend include a celebrity chef cook-off; and an eight-course degustation black-tie dinner showcasing the best of West Cork produce and champagnes from the festival sponsors.

14th – 20th October 2019: The DublinTown Food and Drink Festival

Location: Dublin

Throughout one week, across Dublin city centre, well-known chefs and restaurants curate unique culinary and drink experiences. There are gin masterclass, food trails, chef’s table experiences, on-street cooking demos, port tasting dinners and a whole lot more.

21st – 22nd October 2019: Food On The Edge

Location: Galway City

The brainchild of JP McMahon, Food on the Edge is a coming-together of top international chefs for a two-day Food Symposium in Galway city on the Wild Atlantic Way. It takes place over two days every year in October. Food on the Edge is a not-for-profit conference seeking to make good food accessible for everyone.

22nd – 28th October 2019: Savour Kilkenny Festival of Food

Location: Kilkenny town, Co. Kilkenny

Now in its 13th year, Savour Kilkenny Festival of Food is truly a festival for all food lovers. Set against the backdrop of the beautiful medieval city of Kilkenny, in Ireland’s South East, Savour brings together local top quality food produce, well known talented chefs, food markets, and plenty more for everybody to enjoy. Throughout the four-day festival, there will be an extensive selection of both free and ticketed events including; food markets, cookery demonstrations, pop-up School of Food courses, food-related debates and discussions and plenty of dining events in local hotels, restaurants, cafés and bars.

26th – 27th October 2019: Burren Food Fayre

Location: Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare

The October Bank Holiday is the date for the 8th Annual Burren Food Fayre. The festival is part of the Winterage Festival which takes place across the towns and villages of The Burren. This year the Burren Food Fayre has two themes; Taste Without Waste and Burren Dinners. Over the weekend you can take part in a Foraging Walk with Oonagh O’Dwyer of Wild Kitchen and a foraging walk with Lisa Guinana from Irish Herbal Roots. There’ll also be food stalls and chef demonstrations as well as chance to try plenty of local produce from the Burren region.

30th October 2019: Taste the Island: Traditional Irish Halloween food experience

Location: Gallaghers Boxty House, Dublin

Not exactly a food festival but this once-off food experience is well worth a mention as it is so unique. As part of the Fáilte Ireland Taste the Island initiative, you can discover what a Halloween feast from the 1900s looked, and tasted, like. You’ll learn all about the history of Halloween and the Irish traditions associated with the ancient celebration. You’ll play some traditional Halloween games as well as tucking into a feast featuring some traditional Halloween dishes. The menu includes Samhain stew, colcannon, boxty pancakes and, of course, barmbrack.

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