Ballymaloe Festival of Food returns for its third year this May, with a world-class lineup announced for 2026

Ballymaloe Festival of Food returns for its third year this May, with a world-class lineup announced for 2026

A bit welcome waits in Ballymaloe in May

Following two hugely successful years, the Ballymaloe Festival of Food will return for its third edition from Friday 15th to Sunday 17th May 2026, bringing another vibrant, flavour-packed weekend to East Cork. Set across the historic Ballymaloe House, The Grainstore, Big Shed and gardens, the festival celebrates Irish food, producers, chefs and seasonal cooking, showcasing the very best of modern Irish and international food culture.

The Ballymaloe Festival of Food is a celebration of the journey of exceptional cuisine — from soil and sea to plate — bringing together farmers, producers, chefs, writers and food lovers for a weekend of cooking demonstrations, pop-up dining, talks, tastings, guided walks and family-friendly experiences. The festival has quickly become a highlight in Ireland’s food calendar, offering an immersive, joyful celebration of food, sustainability and community in one of the country’s most iconic food destinations.

For 2026, an exciting first wave of speakers has already been confirmed, with more names still to be announced. Leading the lineup is Darina Allen, founder of Ballymaloe Cookery School and a pioneering force in Irish food for over five decades, who will return to share her deep knowledge of seasonal cooking, Irish produce and the Ballymaloe philosophy.

Chef Mark Moriarty

International culinary voices include Sami Tamimi, acclaimed chef, author and co-founder of Ottolenghi, bringing his bold, vegetable-led Middle Eastern flavours to East Cork, and Felicity Cloake, award-winning food writer and Guardian columnist, known for her definitive deep-dives into classic dishes. Broadcaster, campaigner and owner of Jimmy’s Farm, Jimmy Doherty joins the lineup, as does Adam Byatt, Michelin-starred chef of Trinity among other restaurants, and the Michelin Guide’s Mentor of the Year in 2025, and Ed Wilson, chef and co-owner of London’s much-loved Brawn restaurant, celebrated for his ingredient-led, seasonal menus. Broadcaster and journalist Mariella Frostrup is part of this year’s festival, along with drinks expert Dave Broom, food writer, educator and adviser Mallika Basu, and award-winning presenter Freddy Clode and chef and food writer Ben Benton of The Go-To Food Podcast.

The festival will also welcome Beth O’Brien and George Williams, founders of The Fat Badger in London, Ballymaloe Cookery School alumni known for their produce-driven and creative cooking. Another Ballymaloe alum, Thomasina Myers OBE, Wahaca founder and food writer also joins, as does past Ballymaloe student Gemma Stafford of the Bigger Bolder Baking online baking empire. Food and drink power couple Nick Lander and Jancis Robinson are both participating in this year’s festival, Nick bringing his expertise in restaurants and food consulting, and Jancis as the world’s most influential wine writer. Malaysian-Scottish chef, writer and broadcaster Julie Lin, and Iranian-American food writer Anna Ansari join the festival in 2026 too.

Irish favourites confirmed so far include food writer, broadcaster and champion of Irish food culture Graham Herterich, cook, award-winning author and food personality Catherine Fulvio, and Janet Liu of Janet’s Dumplings, bringing her much-loved modern take on Chinese cooking to this year’s festival. Robbie McCauley of Michelin-starred Homestead Cottage brings flavours of his local larder in Clare to East Cork, and Lou Robbie of Little Lou Cooks will demo some of her easy family-friendly recipes that have gained her over a million followers on her social channels.

Checking out the food area!

The full programme will feature live cookery demonstrations, panel talks, tastings, pop-up dining experiences, workshops, book signings, producer showcases, live music and festival food, with something to delight food lovers of all ages. Set in and around the unique Ballymaloe outbuildings and gardens, the festival continues to champion sustainability, seasonality and local producers, while welcoming leading international voices to East Cork.

As the countdown to May begins, food fans can also tune into the Ballymaloe Festival of Food’s YouTube channel, to explore a range of recorded cookery demonstrations, alongside the Ballymaloe Festival of Food Podcast on Spotify, sharing stories, recipes and conversations from the festival community going live from March 1st.

Ballymaloe Festival of Food 2026 takes place from Friday 15th to Sunday 17th May 2026. Tickets and packages are on sale now, with live stream tickets and workshops available in March. 

For the full speaker lineup and to book tickets, visit www.ballymaloegrainstore.com.

The Drinks Theatre. Always a popular spot!

press release

Something Special from the Stellar Crew at the Castle Café April 2017. A Tasty Blasta from the past!

First Published April 2017

A Tasty Blasta from the past!

Stellar Food and Crew at the Castle Cafe

Some go to Blackrock Castle to learn about the Universe, extreme life forms on Planet Earth and to explore life in outer space! Some go to explore the local food on their plate in the Castle Cafe. And it is very good food indeed as we discovered on last week’s visit where we enjoyed a delicious meal in a delightful venue.

Food

The  iconic Cork landmark dates back to the 16th century but the Castle Cafe is much younger than that. Indeed, the Market Lane group (which includes the cafe, Market Lane itself, Elbow Lane and ORSO) is celebrating ten years in business. And congratulations are in order!

It may be in a castle but the café is an easy-going informal place catering to locals and visitors alike. Service is friendly but very much on the ball. You have quite a selection of menus to choose from, including  A La Carte, Early Evening Offer, Set Lunch, Set Dinner, Children's Menu.

We were on the A La Carte, with quite a lot of choices. For the mains, I skipped the normal courses and the selection of salads and, for a change, went for a pizza.

City & Local Guides

From five, I picked the Goats Cheese, charred aubergine, soft egg, pecorino, spinach and truffle oil. Each and every element, even the baby spinach that had been added at the last minute, looked well and tasted well. And it was excellent overall.

CL’s choice was the Lamb tagine, sweet potato, pearl couscous, tzatziki and homemade flat bread. It was another excellent combination and she loved it and the portion was very large indeed.

 One good thing about the cafe is that they have their own Elbow Lane beers and I enjoyed a pint of the Wisdom Lane Pale Ale. No shortage of wine either and plenty of soft drinks too, including home-made lemonades.

We enjoyed two excellent starters. CL especially loved the broth that came with her mussels, full description: Local Mussels, Rosscarberry Black Pudding, shallot, cider and cream broth.

Baked Goods

Mine was the Bresaola, olive and anise tapenade, Gorgonzola and pickled kohlrabi. Delightful mix of textures and flavours, especially the kohlrabi.

Just room for a shared dessert: Mango and passionfruit sorbet with fresh fruits. It was a lovely finalé, not least because of the excellent mix of fruit. So it was two happy diners who took a lingering look at the castle as we strolled down to the nearby public car-park.

More info on the Castle Cafe website here.