Cork gears up for a festival of food

CORK city will be transformed into one big food festival for five days of feasting and fun this August 16-20 for the Cork on a Fork Fest.

Mouths will water at the flavour-packed festival programme which includes almost 100 food events and experiences.

The festival was established in 2022 by Cork City Council as a celebration of dining and nightlife in Cork City and the incredible produce found in the Cork region.

It will kick off with two hours of talks at a conference on feeding Cork the sustainable and healthy way, in partnership with Cork Food Policy Council. A series of talks will take place at the festival stage in the Crawford Art Gallery Theatre all day on August 18 and 19. These will include panel discussions with leading names in Cork food, an Ethiopian bread making demo, a meet the makers gin talk on Bertha’s Gin, talks from the UCC School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, and more.

A 100-seater cooking demo festival marquee will be erected on Emmet Place on August 19, featuring demos and talks. All events are free to attend.

A festival market will take place on Emmet Place with over 20 local producers and businesses on the same day with live music and entertainment.

L’Atitude 51 is partnering with NeighbourFood, the online farmer’s market, to host a Cork produce showcase, via Cork NeighbourFood producers at a makeshift kitchen on the boardwalk of Union Quay.

Shauna Doyle will host a ‘Corkchella’ festival picnic at the gardens of Gabriel House, St Luke’s, while The Montenotte will host a summer champagne afternoon picnic in their Victorian gardens.

A feast of fashion brunch will take place at Sketch in The Imperial on Sunday, in partnership with Opera Lane and local boutiques.

Explore Cork harbour on a sailing, shucking and shanties cruise with entertainment from Cobh Molgoggers and oyster shucking by Pat O’Connell.

This year’s festival will also cater to families with ticketed and free events in the programme.

The full programme is available on corkonaforkfest.ie and events will to be added throughout the summer.