Fun, food and feasting: Five-day programme for Cork on a Fork Fest 2023 revealed

This year’s festival will take place from August 16-20

Mon, 12 Jun, 2023 - 14:37

Maeve Lee

Cork city is set to be transformed into a giant food festival once again with the return of Cork on a Fork Fest this August.

With over 100 events, the five-day food festival has just launched its programme for this year, including live entertainment, workshops, food trails and much, much more.

As well as the official events, there will be plenty happening across the city with live jazz music, opera and fun street events to entertain you as you devour delicious food.

This year’s festival will take place from August 16-20, kicking off with a conference on Feeding Cork the sustainable and healthy way, in partnership with Cork Food Policy Council.

There will be daily food trails including a wine trail, vegan food, and a fish trail, all with a local and sustainable focus. If you want to get tips from the experts, Cork chef Orla McAndrew will be holding cooking demos outside the English Market over the week. This year’s festival will also have lots of options for families with ticketed and free events for all ages such as pizza-making workshops and sensory cooking classes with the Cool Food School.

On Saturday, a marquee will be erected outside Cork Opera House for live cooking demos and talks by some of Cork’s biggest names in the world of food, including Michelin Chef Takashi Miyazaki from Ichigo Ichie, Michelin-rated chef Aishling Moore from Goldie and Brian Murray, chef and owner of The Glass Curtain.

Meanwhile, a festival market will also take place on the same day on Emmet Place with over 20 local producers and businesses attending as well as lots of entertainment and face painting for little ones.

Cork’s most delicious week, Cork on a Fork Fest, returns for 5 days of feasting and fun from 16th to 20th August 2023 with a programme of over 100 events including street events, food trails, tasting masterclasses, talks, cooking demos, family fun and free events. Picture: Joleen Cronin

On Sunday, you can explore Cork’s harbour on a Sailing, Shucking and Shanties cruise with entertainment from Cobh Molgoggers and oyster shucking by Pat O’Connell. If you'd prefer fashion over fish, there will be a Feast of Fashion Brunch at Sketch at the Imperial Hotel with the best fashion finds from Opera Lane.

Cork on a Fork Fest was established last year by Cork City Council and is a special celebration of dining and nightlife in Cork City as well as the region’s local produce.

Fearghal Reidy, Director of Services, Strategic Planning & Development at Cork City Council describes Cork on a Fork Fest as a "celebration of authentic food experiences in Cork City and the incredible produce in our region".

"The festival will see Cork City transformed into one big food festival for five days, filled with authentic and unique experiences. We wanted the festival to be accessible to all, so it’s a real melting pot of ticketed and free events, with a family friendly and fringe programme. We are also mindful of the important of sustainability and reducing food waste, which you will see within the programme content.”