The Cork & Kerry Food Festival returns to Cork City Hall this Halloween weekend, from Saturday, October 31, and Sunday, November 1.<\/p>\n
One of Munster\u2019s largest indoor local and artisan markets, the festival will see City Hall brimming with stalls, bringing together food producers, chefs, cooks and foodies from across both counties and beyond to showcase the very best of the region\u2019s food and drink.<\/p>\n
\n Alongside the market are live cookery demos hosted by Cork author, journalist and broadcaster Caroline Hennessy, and the Foodie Forum chaired by food writer and educator Cathy Fitzgibbon.\n <\/p>\n
On the live demo stage in the Millennium Hall, more than a dozen cooks and chefs will join Caroline across 18 demos. She interacts with the demonstrators and invites questions from the audience, so if you have a question you\u2019ve always wanted to ask, now\u2019s your chance! It\u2019s perfect for fans of cookery shows, but here you can literally smell and even taste the food\u2026 and get all the tips from the experts.<\/p>\n
Among the highlights, Rebeca Recarey Sanchez heads the kitchen at Kinsale\u2019s Michelin Bib Gourmand-recognised Saint Francis Provisions and demonstrates some exciting vegetable dishes. Mike McGrath of Miyazaki, the acclaimed Evergreen Street counter where Japanese technique meets phenomenal Irish produce, cooks up a flavour of magic!<\/p>\n
Athula Kuruppu Achchige, a former head chef at the Hayfield Manor, puts a twist on Sri Lankan street food. Jay Choi of OGAM Korean brings a taste of Korea, and Greg of Don Gregorio on Cork\u2019s Washington Street, whose Sicilian roots inspire his cooking, makes fresh pasta.<\/p>\n
Skibbereen-based chef Matthew Brownie, a New Zealander and a passionate advocate for all things West Cork, demonstrates a home-smoked dish. Fermentation specialist and author Dr Julia Skinner brings a fascinating demonstration of lacto-fermented half sour and full sour pickled cucumbers to the stage, and Orla McAndrew, known as Ireland\u2019s first zero-waste wedding caterer and a champion of sustainable cooking, serves up Zero Waste Food: Yesterday\u2019s Leftovers, Today\u2019s Feast.<\/p>\n
Originally from Alaska, Epi Rogan of Fi\u00e1in Wild Foods has made her home in Cork and has cooked in some of Ireland\u2019s most acclaimed kitchens, including Forest Avenue and Bastible in Dublin and Paradiso, Pilgrim\u2019s in Rosscarbery and The Glass Curtain in Cork. She serves up a Forager\u2019s Breakfast of eggs with laver cake, wild mushrooms and cep ketchup.<\/p>\n
Clara Cooney of Clara Cooks, a Ballymaloe-trained chef and host of the Cork Food Stories podcast, will kick off proceedings on Sunday morning with pumpkin-to-plate dishes the whole family will love!<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, at the Foodie Forum, Cathy Fitzgibbon\u2019s own talk, Nourish to Flourish, explores eating with the seasons. Samantha Schmidt, the Outdoors Herbalist, shares Irish herbs for digestive health, Colman Power of Organic Fitness talks about quick, clean organic lunches, and Sofia Kalfa of Sustainability in Cork Alliance tackles sustainable coffee.<\/p>\n
Plus, sustainable catering expert Orla McAndrew shows how to cut food waste at home, and Gretchen Kessler of A Grave Success makes wine from the garden.<\/p>\n