These festivals are a great place to meet the producers of artisan and local food products in one place – and also (as a foodie) to mix as an equal with food producers and food businesses.

Waterford Festival of Food – 14th to 17th April, Dungarvan

Part of the festival (check out their site for all the details) is Irelands second foodcamp – a talk of talks and workshops given by food producers, food bloggers, chefs and whoever else wants to share their ideas, passions and lessons learned. Its free and contains a 1.5 hour community picnic lunch. Check it out here foodcamp2 link.

Totally Tipperary – 25th and 26th June, Cloughjordan

So new it does not have a website yet. This post from Pat Whelan (of James Whelan Butchers, a client of mine) outlines their approach. For the first time in Ireland they are bringing in a concept pioneered in France, from Pat’s post:

“Seomra Blog Bia which is based on the Salon de Blog format, a food blogger event hosted annually in Paris. Seomra Blog Bia will be the first event of it’s kind in Ireland and will give amateur and celebrity food bloggers alike, the opportunity to demonstrate their favourite dishes, utilizing the best of local Irish food. These cooking demonstrations will be photographed, videoed, blogged and tweeted about in realtime on the day, sharing the event with a global audience through the web.”

I am really looking forward to both!

Keith