Beyond The Pale announce appetising culinary line-up of ‘Culture, Customs and Craic’

Taking place in the beautiful Glendalough Estate from June 21 to 23, this year’s Beyond The Plate will present food and drink in a fun and tasty ways, so forget ‘fussy’ cooking demos of the past, Beyond The Plate is all about embracing the craic while celebrating all that we love about Irish food and drink.

Jam-packed with a fabulous schedule of relaxed and enjoyable culinary events, for the first time, Beyond The Pale will have a sit-down bookable restaurant brought to you by the award-winning food popup 'Bahay' by Alex O’Neill and Richie Castillo.

The Bahay Midsummer Feast will offer a brand-new festival dining experience in a space curated to feel like stepping into a Filipino Bahay Kubo, a type of house indigenous to the Philippines that is an icon of Philippine culture. Expect delicious sharing plates and dishes from Bahay, bright Filipino flavours, using the best Irish ingredients.

There will be daily 'Beyond the Fence' foraging walks on the grounds with Samuel Arnold Keane and entertainment across the weekend with three food-based plays: Splitting the G: A Controversy by Shamim de Brún, Ham & Cheese by JP McMahon and family-friendly BAKE by Paul Curley. Live podcast recordings include Flop Culture with Fionnuala Jones and drinks podcast The Centre Cut.

In an attempt to take the online food world offline, Beyond The Plate will welcome some of our favourite online creators, writers and broadcasters who love food and drink to the stage over the weekend, including Cassie Stokes, Shamim de Brún, Sian Conway, Louise McSharry, Alex O’Neill, Irah Mari, Dee Laffan, Vritti Bansal and illustrator extraordinaire Hephee.

As always, some of the best chefs, cooks and food thinkers will be joining for chats and tastings, including Aishling Moore from Goldie, food conservationist Max Jones of Up There The Last, Graham Herterich aka The Cupcake Bloke, vegan chef Holly White, chef and author of Funky, Caitlin Ruth, Alistair Jeje of Socafro Kitchen, Kevin O’Donnell from Le Doyenne in Paris.

There will be brilliant drinks discussions and tastings, including Majken Bech-Bailey’s latest venture, Ngozi Elobuike of Hi Spirits Wine Club, Rory Craig from Station to Station Wine, and Shane Murphy of Neighbourhood Wine.

Of course, culture is high on the agenda in all forms, including Art Plate with Blanca Valencia and Santina Kennedy, Feast and Verse with chef and part-time poet Áine Budds, as well as Housewives & Hors d'Oeuvres: A Culinary Journey through the Real Housewives with Louise McSharry and guests.

Speaking of Beyond The Plate, Ali Dunworth said: “Irish food doesn’t often get the pedestal it deserves, especially when it comes to culture.

“But there is history and culture in every knob of butter, cake of bread, head of cabbage, boiled ham, every bag of crisps and pint of stout. Irish food culture has been woven through our folklore, our customs, and our traditions, and these days it lives on in our livelihoods, our festivals, and our screens. It’s featured in poetry, songs and literature.”

“Everything having to do with food – its capture, cultivation, preparation, and consumption – all represents a cultural act,” Ali continued.

“Over the weekend at Beyond the Plate, we will celebrate Irish food old and new. We will celebrate the culture, customs and craic around Irish food and drink.

“We will discuss, debate, and taste Irish food and drink, both traditional and modern, through as many varied lenses as we can, through talks, tastings, debates, plays, poetry, drinks and eating of course.”

Also on the stage across the weekend will be Irish Pub Food: with Declan Maxwell from Spitalfields and Denise McBrien and chef Mark Ahessy from The Old Spot, Turned Tables Live with Vritti Bansal, Pints! With Ali Dunworth and Stephen Heffernan (Hephee), and chef and author Caitlin Ruth on the world of fermentation and her Blasta Book, 'Funky'.

Fermentation expert Val Ivancenco from Fairmental in Dubin will make an appearance, along with Dee Laffan, editor of Scoop Magazine, who will host a panel around eating your feelings, Sian Conway, food and drinks writer and content creator and self-proclaimed ‘food clown’, Alex O’Neill from Bahay.

Vegan chef Holly White will be dropping by, as will Alistair Jeje of Socafro Kitchen, Irah Mari from Foodstagram, Chef Kevin O'Donnell, joining from Le Doyenne in Paris, Hilary Quinn, chef Ballymaloe House, Niamh Hegarty, B-Cultured, Food Writer & Academic Dr Michelle Darmody, Jane Gleeson editor of Guzzle magazine, Chef, baker and author Graham Herterich

There will be drinks galore discussed and poured from some of the best in the business, including Ngozi Elobuike, founder of Hi Spirits Wine Club, Dublin's premiere Black-led wine club.

Majken Bech-Bailey will showcase her new line of non-alcoholic drinks, and Fallon Moore from Blás na hÉireann will explore local Wicklow drinks producers, with Irish Independent drinks writer Aoife Carrigy, Shane Murphy of Neighbourhood Wine, Rory Craig from Station to Station and Wine Lab and Sommelier Dáire Ó Lúing also featuring.