Festival Marquee & Market
Cork on a Fork Cooking Demo Marquee
Saturday 17th August and Sunday 18th August, Festival Marquee, Emmet Place (outside Crawford)
A 100-seat Festival Cooking Demo Marquee will take place on Emmet Place (outside the Cork Opera House) all day with a host of demos and tastings. The events are MC'd by food writers Joe McNamee from the Irish Examiner and Kate Ryan from Flavour.ie. Sponsored by Fáilte Ireland, Ireland's Ancient East and the Wild Atlantic Way.
All free to attend but there is limited capacity. No booking required.
SATURDAY 17TH AUGUST
11am: Full of Beans! - the bountiful and beautiful world of beans
Cork’s very own Bean Queen and #BeansIsHow champion, Ali Honour, will let loose in the kitchen with beans grown by Cork Rooftop Farm creating dishes that are sweet, savoury and drinkable too, demonstrating the variety and versatility of beans as a nutritious and protein rich food. Innovative urban farmer and creator of Cork Rooftop Farm, Brian McCarthy, has dedicated half an acre of land at his new organic farm in Whites Cross to growing many varieties of beans and will talk about why growing them is beneficial for soil health and for healthy diets. MC’d by Kate Ryan of Flavour.ie
12pm: Hells Kitchen Winner Ryan O'Sullivan
Ryan O'Sullivan is one of Cork's most famous chefs, the latest winner of Hell's Kitchen USA. Raised in Cork, Ryan's journey began with the Culinary Studies Programme at MTU Bishopstown Campus. Post-graduation, he enriched his culinary experience at esteemed establishments such as the Maryborough Hotel and the River Lee Hotel, paving the way for his successful venture into the American culinary scene.
1pm: Cooking Demo with Rachel Allen, Ballymaloe Cooking School:
Get a tantalising taste of Ballymaloe Cookery School and Cork produce with bestselling cookery writer, TV chef and celebrated culinary teacher Rachel Allen.
2pm: Young Culinary Rebels kitchen takeover
A fun cooking demo with Cork's young chefs, who are making a big impact on Irish cooking. Jerome Williamson of Eco Fish, Nascimento Pereira Nunes from Paladar and more will join the Irish Examiner's senior food writer Joe McNamee on stage for cooking and fun
3pm: Easy Family Suppers with Clodagh McKenna
Clodagh McKenna, one of Cork's most famous chefs, will host a cooking demo featuring three easy family supper recipes, followed by a book signing. A renowned chef, TV presenter, and food columnist, Clodagh is the author of eight cookbooks, including the best-selling In Minutes and Clodagh’s Weeknight Kitchen. She is a resident chef on ITV’s This Morning and has hosted five TV series. Clodagh lives on her 100-acre sustainable farm, Broadspear, in Hampshire, UK, with her husband, dogs, and various farm animals.
4pm: Learn How to Cook for Restrictive Diets with Rob Fitzpatrick, Market Lane
Learn how to cook for restrictive diets: including dairy free, gluten free and vegan alternatives. Join Rob Fitzpatrick, head chef at the iconic Market Lane Restaurant on Oliver Plunkett St, one of the busiest and most beloved restaurants in Cork city, for this fantastic demo. A graduate of GMIT and MTU, Rob spent many years working in kitchens around the world before joining the Market Lane Group, eventually taking over the kitchen there in 2023.
4.45pm: How to Make the Perfect BBQ Sausage with Harrison Sharpe, Elbow Lane Smokehouse & Brewery
Learn how to make the perfect BBQ sausage from Cork's very own smokehouse expert. Head chef at Elbow Lane Harrison Sharpe took over the kitchen at Elbow Lane Smokehouse & Brewery in 2019. Since then he and his team have taken the restaurant from strength to strength; from adding a Fermentary to the Brewery and Restaurant to hosting regular Tutored Beer Tastings of its Award-winning beers. The restaurant is best known for its 'nose-to-tail' dining, where as much of the animal is used as possible, and sustainability. It proudly celebrates 10 years this year. Sharpe comes from a Waterford family of publicans, producers, farmers, and chefs, all of whom are steeped in the best of Irish culinary and hospitality traditions so you're in for a treat.
SUNDAY 18TH AUGUST
11am: I Soiled My Plants! With CUSP, My Goodness and Green Cities for Health
A talk, cookery demo and tasting looking at the Cork Urban Soil Project (CUSP) with My Goodness, Green Cities for Health and Kate Ryan from Flavour.ie. Virginia O'Gara, co-founder of My Goodness at the English Market, will share how food scraps become soil and become food again (CUSP) and cook with vegetables grown in soil made at CUSP from food waste. Denise Cahill and Maria Young from Green Cities for Health will talk about Cork’s urban community gardens and why it’s important to grow more food in urban spaces and school gardens, and how together we can grow more delicious food utilising would-be-food-waste in the city. CUSP will donate compost created from food waste, and Green Cities will provide biodegradable pots and seeds collected from the community gardens and encourage kids and adults in the audience to come and plant some seeds to take home and mind, grow, harvest and eat!
12pm: Bread and Fishes with Aishling Moore (Goldie) and Ryan Hoy (Pike Deli):
Enjoy a celebration of summer fish and handmade breads with Aishling Moore, chef-proprietor of Goldie Fish & Ale and Ryan Hoy, chef/baker/co-founder of Pike Deli, MC’d by Kate Ryan from Flavour.ie. Learn expert fish filleting techniques from the best in the business and how to prepare mackerel a few different ways - cured, smoked, paté and pan fried, and learn how to bake the perfect bread pairings and zero food waste breadcrumb crackers. Aishling Moore is one of Ireland’s most exciting young chefs. Her fish restaurant, Goldie, in Cork’s city centre, has pioneered gill to fin cooking in this country. Adopting a whole catch approach, the restaurant allows what’s landed to dictate what’s served.
1pm: Easy Family Suppers with Clodagh McKenna
Clodagh McKenna, one of Cork's most famous chefs, will host a cooking demo featuring three easy family supper recipes, followed by a book signing. A renowned chef, TV presenter, and food columnist, Clodagh is the author of eight cookbooks, including the best-selling In Minutes and Clodagh’s Weeknight Kitchen. She is a resident chef on ITV’s This Morning and has hosted five TV series. Clodagh lives on her 100-acre sustainable farm, Broadspear, in Hampshire, UK, with her husband, dogs, and various farm animals.
2pm: Cork on a…Stick! – Cork Chef Cook-Off with a twist!
This fun chef cook-off will create a taste of Cork on a…Stick with chefs leading the food scene in Cork, who are not originally from Cork! Taking part are head chef of St Francis Provisions, Rebeca Recarey Sanchez (Cork via Madrid), Victor Franca of Nua Asador (Cork via Brazil), Chris Braganza of Spice Genie (Cork via Goa, India), and Shauna Murphy of Terre (Cork via Co Limerick). The event will be MC'd by Kate Ryan from Flavour.ie. The challenge? To each create a taste of Pure Cork into a tasty single bite using the best of Cork produce – just like the famed Pintxos of Basque country – but Cork, like!
3pm: A Michelin Mash with Chestnut and Ichigo Ichie
Join Joe McNamee, Senior Food writer at the Irish Examiner, as he MCs this fun and lively cooking demo with two of Cork's Michelin starred chefs: Chef Takashi Miyazaki from Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant Ichigo Ichie in Cork City and Chef Rob Krawczyk, owner and head chef of Michelin-starred Restaurant Chestnut in Ballydehob.
4pm: More Than Curry with Meeran Manzoor (Rare 1784)
Enjoy a journey through the rich culinary heritage of India with Meeran Manzoor, MC'd by Kate Ryan from Flavour.ie. Meeran is the multi-award-winning Group Executive Chef of high-end fine dining restaurant, Rare 1784, located at The Blue Haven Hotel, and the newest casual dining venue in Kinsale, Fishmarket Bistro located at Old Bank House. Originally from Chennai in south India, he has worked in the finest restaurants throughout the world and is garnering a reputation as one of Ireland’s leading culinary stars winning many awards and accolades, including Virgin Media’s Head Chef of the Year, 2023, Innovator of the Year at the 2024 “Food Oscars”, and featuring in the leading hot 100 Irish restaurant lists.
5pm: Leftover Larder Love - zero waste demo with Orla McAndrew
This insightful zero waste cookery demo will show you how to make the most of your leftovers with a little love form your larder. Learn how to create a feast from basic ingredients. Orla McAndrew is an award winning zero waste wedding and event caterer. She is a TV chef, recipe contributor, podcaster, speaker, writer and mother of three young girls. Orla celebrates the very best of seasonal Irish produce in all that she does and works tirelessly to promote the efforts of Irish food producers.