Glendalough will host some of Ireland’s leading food experts this June, bringing spices, cocktails and plenty of good food to the valley.
It’s all part of Beyond The Plate, part of the Beyond the Pale festival, taking place at Glendalough Estate, Co. Wicklow, from Friday 12 June to Sunday 14 June.
The festival’s food and drink program will see leading chefs, writers and makers exploring the stories and surprises behind modern Irish food.
It will be this the The “Spice Bag” edition of Beyond the Plate, which “explores the mix of culture, creativity and rebellion that defines Irish food, and traces how global exchange and local creativity continue to drive our food scene forward,” organizers said.
It’s organized by food writer and culinary curator Ali Dunworth, who said this year’s Beyond The Plate is all about a little spice, from spice methods to the spice cabinet, spicy drinks, new ideas and pioneers in the world of food and drink.
Spice bag assortment
This year’s list brings together some of Ireland’s most famous food voices, from presenter and food influencer Cassie Stokes to pizza king Reggie White, Joe McKean of Crackbird and Jo’Burger fame, award-winning pastry chef Shane Smith, The Cupcake Bloke Graham Herterich and spice expert Aaron Capel.
Spice master Arun Kapil of green saffron spices. Source: Darragh McSweeney/Provide.
In true Beyond The Plate style, the theater will go ‘beyond the pale’, telling stories through flavour, sound and conversation.
There will be a look at the past and present of Irish hospitality from ancient trade routes to the multicultural cuisines of today and the people who continue to reimagine what it means to eat, cook and share food in modern Ireland.
Festival-goers can expect food and drink demos, tastings, culinary collaborations, lively panel discussions, big personalities, and insider knowledge.
Strong reviews will come together with distinguished producers and chefs at the top of their game, with some surprises to come across the three weekends.
Food and farming journalist and broadcaster Susan Campbell, along with Wicklow chef Niall O’Sullivan from Kilruderry Estate and fisherman and griller Andy Noonan will ask why Ireland doesn’t Eat more venison When we are “swarmed by deer.”
Three Dublin culinary hotspots are heading to the country for this year’s festival.
Ranelagh’s Host offers its own primitive fire-based cooking and generous shared plates; Reggie’s, the popular Rathmines pizzeria, serves up its signature pies; Ibíle showcases bold West African flavors and spice-based dishes designed for sharing.
From functional drinks, NA beers, cocktails and canned wines, drinks writer Aoife Carrigi will take festival-goers through the drinks of the moment with a panel of producers: Anna Malsam and Dave Saunders of Hytropics; Fergal Carroll, co-founder of Fierce Mild; Carl Cooney of the Cocktail Lab in Dublin; and Vincent O’Boyle and Phil Ellison of Sip.
Beyond The Plate events are included in the Beyond The Pale Festival Pass available now.
