It’s a tasty line-up indeed.

The Ballymaloe Festival of Food is where the heavy hitters of the food world will be descending this May 16th to 18th, 2025.

Set against the backdrop of iconic Ballymaloe House and its unique complex of The Grainstore, The Big Shed, and the magical grounds and gardens, the event boasts a constellation of exceptional speakers and participants.

Tim Hayward, the roaming Financial Times food writer, will be waxing lyrical about the art of the knife with  master craftsman and knife maker Fingal Ferguson on The Butter Club Stage.

Then there’s Tom Parker Bowles, restaurant critic extraordinaire and son of Queen Camilla, who’ll be dropping knowledge about royal recipes and, naturally, doing a cooking demo that’s probably more refined than your entire culinary repertoire. And Romy Gill MBE will be there, bringing her vibrant take on Indian cuisine.

Eric Ryan of Irish Distillers presents a Talk and Taste at the inaugural Ballymaloe Festival in 2024. Photo: Joleen Cronin

But it’s not just about the critics and the writers. George Lamb, who went from TV personality to regenerative farming guru, will be there to talk about how to eat well and save the planet at the same time.

The whole thing, sponsored by Kerrygold, is a three-day extravaganza of cooking demos, pop-up dinners with chefs like Jeremy Lee and Fadi Kattan, guided walks, workshops, tastings, and conversations. It’s a full immersion into the world of food, where you’re as likely to learn about the perfect butter as you are to discover your new favourite dish.

Basically, if you’re serious about food, and you want to be where the serious food people are, Ballymaloe is the only place to be this weekend.

Weekend tickets (all three days) are €65 with Individual day tickets available at €25 and Evening-only tickets (on Saturday): €12 over here.