Festival season

The Menu would scarcely have thunk it a few short years ago but Irish festival season, most definitely upon us, is coming to be dominated by food-related events, a cause for rejoicing.

Sheridan’s Cheesemongers’ 3rd Irish Food Festival 2012, a mere stripling but already one of the country’s standout food events, takes place at their Virginia Road Station HQ, Co Meath, with gourmands travelling from the four corners of Ireland. A massive array of our top producers, plus some superb workshops, including Bridgestone Chef of the Year (from Aniar Restaurant, Galway) Enda McEvoy’s culinary tour of the hedgerows and smoker supreme Sally Barnes of Woodcock Smokery in West Cork on Irish fish, and Kevin Sheridan tasting Irish Raw Milk Cheese. With free children’s entertainment, live music, traditional fair games and a dizzying array of eating options, the e5 family entry fee, including parking, seems ridiculously cheap. www.sheridanscheesemongers.com

* Baltimore Wooden Boat Festival, run in conjunction with Baltimore Seafood Weekend, May 25-27, in the heart of epicurean West Cork, offers multiple options for maritime mastication: restaurants, bars and a pier-side food fair. www.baltimorewoodenboatfestival.com/