The Irish premiere of La Cocina Pública (The Public Kitchen) takes place at the Cork Midsummer Festival (June 13th-23rd). Housed in a shipping container and described as "a mobile kitchen that brings people together through theatre, food and dining", the is the work of Chilean theatre company Teatro Container.
Based in the car park of St John’s Central College on Sawmill Street, the performance – more of a collaborative dining event – will involve Chilean and Irish artists, storytellers, musicians and singers, as well as local residents. There are evening dinner shows on June 17th, 19th and 21st, and lunchtime performances on June 22nd and 23rd.
Joycean feasts
Rather than be an onlooker at the various Bloomsday celebrations taking place on June 16th, you could don your costume and join in the fun at the James Joyce Centre at 35 North Great George’s Street in Dublin 1, where a Bloomsday breakfast will be served in three sittings at 8am, 10am and noon.
Tickets are €35 and should be booked in advance, online at bloomsdayfestival.ie. The fried pork kidneys are optional, as is the dressing up, but there will be prizes for the best dressed.
The breakfasts are part of the Bloomsday festival which runs from June 11th-16th, with events across the city including Joycean afternoon teas, a pub crawl, and food tours.
Lough Swilly strawberries
Castle Grove, a family-run Georgian country house hotel on a 100-hectare (250-acre) estate on the shores of Lough Swilly in Co Donegal, is staging its third strawberry festival on Saturday, July 6th. Between 2pm and 5pm visitors can tour the walled gardens and strawberry beds, learn from the head chef how to make strawberry desserts, and cool down with a strawberry gin cocktail.
There will be live music on the front lawn, baked goods and homemade food and drink products to purchase, and a barbecue to feed the visitors. If you want to stay overnight, dinner, bed and breakfast is available for €260 for two people sharing.
Farm to Fork
Ciarán Hussey, who cycled 10,0000km from Japan, where he was teaching, to his home in the west of Ireland a few years ago, has a rather less ambitious route in mind for his Farm to Fork Cycle on Sunday, July 7th.
He will be leading a group outing from Tattie Hoaker Farm, an organic vegetable growing enterprise in Cliffoney, Co Sligo, to The Organic Centre in Rossinver, Co Leitrim, a round-trip spin of about 50km. Tours of both venues will be laid on, as well as lunch at Ragged Jack's Kitchen at the Organic Centre. The outing costs €65, starts at 9.30am, and can be booked at crankandcog.net.
Brill grill
The Grill Room at Alex Findlaters & Co in Limerick hosts Italian winemakers, Masi, on Thursday, June 20th, for a five-course dinner, with wine pairings. Prosecco and canapes will be followed by scallops and black pudding, then brill with asparagus, herb-crusted lamb, with a chocolate and orange dessert and an Irish cheeseboard to finish. Including four matched wines, the dinner costs €65 per person. It can be booked by telephoning 087-8556873.
