Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food & Wine May 16th - 18th

View from Ballyhouse house taken during a visit in 2013

This Friday we're packing the car and heading to The Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food & Wine which takes place in Cork. It's one of the most talked about foodie events taking place in Ireland this year bringing together a fantastic group of food writers, bloggers, critics and journalists from Ireland and abroad. The line up includes René Redzepi, chef and co-owner of Noma in Denmark who I would love to get the opportunity to speak to. Next year he'll go to Japan with his staff to learn about Japanese cuisine and culture.

In addition to the scheduled events which take places at both Ballymaloe House and Ballymaloe Cookery School there's the Fringe Festival and the Big Shed which has been called the heartbeat of the festival!

Visiting Ballymaloe house in 2013

I'm scheduled to give sushi demonstrations in the Big Shed at 11am on both Saturday and Sunday (May 17th & 18th). You'll find artisan producers, musicians and lots more at the Big Shed. It's sounds like the perfect place to hang out, network or sample local produce. I might just meet René Redzepi there!

I'm also booked into see RTE's finest cooking demo (Catherine Fulvio, Martin Shanahan and Paul Flynn) and also hope to attend the seaweed foraging with John & Sally McKenna.