Cork on a Fork Festival: 2025 Highlights

For the uninitiated, Cork on a Fork is one of Ireland’s biggest annual food festivals. Held in the city of Cork, the festival aims to highlight local producers and local ingredients, as well as Cork’s vibrant multicultural food scene and the history of the Rebel County through something that brings everyone together: food. 

From fresh oysters caught in Cork Harbour to authentic Spanish churros, here’s a rundown of everything we experienced and ate at Cork on a Fork Festival 2025.

What Can I Expect at Cork Food Festival?

Day 1: Guinness, Gourmet Bites and Stories of the Rebel County

A jam-packed day was the best introduction to Cork Food Festival when we arrived on Friday.

Clancy’s

Our first stop – after checking in at The Imperial Hotel – was a visit to Clancy’s, a pub in the heart of Cork, which has recently been taken over and experienced a €500,000 refurbishment, making it one of the most modern bars in the city.

The pub has been open for some 200 years, and the refurbishment has taken the pub’s history into account too, renaming the restaurant to ‘1824’ – the same year that the pub was opened.

After speaking with the manager, Shane, we learned more about why Clancy’s is such a unique Cork institution. For starters, the Guinness Bar at the back of the pub offers a fully immersive Guinness experience – something that those who have visited the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin will have experienced. Guests have the chance to pour their own pint. They can take advantage of the interactive screens to learn more about the much-loved Irish beverage, while being surrounded by Guinness memorabilia and live music every night of the week.

From a food perspective, Clancy’s is also a unique Cork institution, as Shane explained to us how they have recently changed their menu to ‘Irish contemporary’, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. We were lucky enough to experience some of this food, from their rich and creamy eggs Benedict, to Irish classics such as lamb stew and, of course, bacon and cabbage.

Clancy’s is truly a Cork institution, and for any visitors to the city, a visit here is a must for warm Irish hospitality, incredible food, and beautiful surroundings.

Afternoon Tea on the Train with FoodCloud

Our next stop was a short walk over to Kent Station, Cork’s main train station, where we had a delicious afternoon tea on the train from Cork to Mallow (and back), provided by FoodCloud.

FoodCloud are a Cork-based company who have a strong emphasis on reducing food waste and sustainability. In fact, all of the ingredients that were used to make the delicious food that we were served as part of the afternoon tea would otherwise have been thrown out due to upcoming sell-by dates. However, the incredibly talented chefs at FoodCloud transformed this otherwise wasted food into an incredible afternoon tea, with both sweet and savoury offerings.

Between the coronation chicken sandwiches, cured smoked salmon and cream cheese blinis, goat cheese and red pepper spinach roulade, and caprese skewers, it's hard to believe that this could have been wasted. It was a real eye-opener to the sheer amount of food that we throw out on a daily basis. FoodCloud are doing a great job at highlighting this through delicious food. 

Callanan’s: Roots & Revelry

One of the highlights of the first day at Cork on a Fork was unquestionably the Roots & Revelry event hosted at Callanan’s, a well-known South Parish pub, which has now been in the same family for four generations, and also has a history dating back to the early nineteenth century.

We were welcomed into the event with a deliciously light and refreshing Hydro Lite Lager (3.2% ABV), brewed by Cork-based brewery Blarney Brewing Company, run by Duncan Blair. This was the perfect way to whet our appetite for the delicious food to come.

We started off with huge and fresh Rossmore oysters, dressed with a spiced tomato and Roscarbery bacon dressing. A sign of good seafood is that it should taste and smell like the sea, which is exactly what these oysters did.

The chef responsible for the oysters, Kate Lawler of K’O’Connell’s, was also responsible for our next seafood-themed starter: smoked mackerel pate on Beamish soda bread with cucumber pickle. This was absolutely delightful, and you could really taste the freshness of the mackerel, which paired beautifully with the pickled cucumber for the perfect tang. After this, we were served homemade seaweed crackers with miso mayo, which Kate explained came from the inspiration and skills she gained from working in a Japanese restaurant for two years. The perfect fusion food.

The main event was dressed crab on potato bread with wild herbs and pan tomato, which was prepared by Kevin Aherne of Sage Products Cork. Kevin was also in charge of the dessert offering, which was a rich yet light Chocolate and Mallow Brick with Hyde Whiskey Sauce. 

It would also be impossible to leave out the Roots part of the evening - a history of Callanan’s and some of the nearby streets and areas in the South Parish. This was humourously and wonderfully narrated by local respected historian Diarmuid O’Drisceoil.

Callanan’s only stocks Cork-brewed beer – so there’s no chance of getting a Guinness here! To get your stout fix, you’ll be offered either Beamish or Murphy’s instead. This is partly a tribute to the local breweries and produce, as well as showcasing that Cork pubs can not just survive, but can thrive on local produce, thus reducing their carbon footprint, too.

Day 2: Market Treasures, Harbour Horizons and Dinner Theatre

After a hearty full Irish breakfast at The Imperial Hotel – sausage, bacon, black pudding, white pudding, beans, grilled tomato, hash brown and fried egg – we were set up for a wonderful day of exploring more of Cork’s vibrant food scene.

Cork Culinary Tour

The Cork Culinary Tour was led by our expert guide, Amanda, from Bonner Travel. Amanda’s extensive knowledge of the city and its food scene – being a Cork native, this certainly helped – we were talked through a history of Cork’s food scene, while also visiting local producers and learning about why they do what they do.

The Culinary Tour started off with a visit to O’Flynn’s Gourmet Sausages, where we sampled three different types of their sausages: Spicy Mediterranean, Beef and Chilli, and Cumberland. The pork is sourced locally, as are the herbs and spices, where possible. It was easy to tell right away that the quality of these sausages really was top-tier. 

Next stop: The Long Valley Bar. This pub has been family-run since 1927,  Amanda told us about the history of the pub, including the fact that this was where the Irish coffee was invented, not at The Buena Vista in San Francisco, which is a common misconception. It was warming, rich and creamy, with just enough of a kick from the Irish whiskey to get you going for the day.

The English Market, the Pie Guys, and K O'Connell's were also on the hit list. After delicious mouthfuls of spiced beef from Tom Durcan Meats at the market, steak pies at the Pie Guys, and beer-baked bread, oysters, and king prawns at K O Connell's, we thought we couldn't eat another bite. That's until we walked into Butler's, a local chocolatier, and the scent of chocolate truffles made them impossible to resist.

Shucking & Shanties

Saturday afternoon saw us take a cruise around the harbour – the second-largest harbour in the world behind Sydney Harbour, Australia – in a boat, while local chef Pat O’Connell (from K’O’Connell’s in the English Market) shucked oysters for us throughout the journey. Served with freshly-squeezed lemons, these oysters had been caught around the harbour the very same morning – it doesn’t get fresher than that.

In addition to our knowledgeable tour guide, our journey was also accompanied by a live music soundtrack: traditional Irish sea shanties sung by the very talented Cobh Molgoggers. Many of the shanties had a tale behind their origin, which was expertly told by both our guide and the singers themselves.

Hysterical Histories Dinner Theatre

Saturday evening’s event was spent learning more about the food and history of Cork in a combined event, which was run by three very talented actors and a musician, who entertained us while we ate traditional Irish meals at Amicus Restaurant. Our tour guide on the boat was also one of the actors in the Hysterical Histories Dinner Theatre – a testament to the dedicated people who keep the Cork on a Fork machine going.

The night started off with a few musical numbers before the first course was served, which was Irish braised beef stew. This was served alongside seasonal vegetables, which were actually grown from the Amicus’s kitchen garden, once again emphasising the quality of locally-sourced ingredients. This stew was served with two large scoops of creamy mashed potatoes.

It was a fascinating way to learn more about Cork's history, while tucking into hearty local fare.

Day 3: Farm-Fresh Feasting and Festival Finale

Our final day in Cork saw us start off in good fashion again with breakfast at The Imperial Hotel, before making our way 15 minutes out of the city centre to Glenbrook Farm.

Glenbrook Farm Pop-Up Harvest Lunch

This wonderful experience showcased what Cork on a Fork is all about – local, homemade food produced by local people at the heart of their community.

A local acoustic musician welcomed us into the converted cowshed, where we enjoyed a beer by local brewers, Blarney Brewing. The host of the day was farmer Peter Twomey, a Cork native and the third generation to run Glenbrook Farm. Peter ran through the running of the farm and why they felt that showcasing farm-to-fork produce was a necessity. To help with the cooking, he brought in two experienced Cork chefs: Pamela Kelly from Farmgate Cafe and Chris Braganza, who runs mobile food outlet The Spice Genie.

Peter emphasised the importance of what is known as ‘zero-mile dining’ – the fact that we were eating food that had been reared on the very farm we were eating at, simply a few metres away from where we sat. It made me reflect on the importance of where we get out food from, and the impact that long-distance imports have on the environment.

Our first course was pork terrine, black pudding, fermented cabbage (kimchi) and mayonnaise. Up next was free-range chicken breast confit croquette served with Rooftop Farm vegetables. This was delicious – the chicken was moist and juicy, and the vegetables were well-cooked and seasoned to perfection. To end our farm lunch, we were treated to a delicious buttermilk pannacotta with poached rhubarb and spiced crumble.

Emmet Place Markets

Our final stop on our culinary journey in Cork took us to Emmet Place Markets in the heart of the city. Here, we truly saw what Cork on a Fork is all about: a celebration of the multicultural offerings which make Cork the city that it is today.

We took a wander around the many stalls and tents which were offering talks. We heard in one of these talks about the ‘One Plate for Palestine’ initiative, which was where local restaurants and stallholders were encouraged to donate the value of one plate’s worth of food for Palestinian people, raising awareness about the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

When we reached the market stalls, we were greeted by the sheer variety of food on offer – and even though we were still full from our farm lunch, we simply had to try some!

We got a slice of freshly-baked Margherita pizza from Bastardo’s Pizza, which was crispy and perfectly cooked, exactly how you’d expect New York-style pizza to be. And for just €5 (or €6 with a drink), you can’t go wrong.

We then stopped off for something sweet at Churro Joe’s, and the queue for this place – we waited almost half an hour – was testament to how good the churros were. We paid €6 for the freshly-fried churros, coated in cinnamon sugar and served with a pot of Nutella to dip them in. 

There was also a Moroccan-Yemeni food van serving up a fusion of the two Arab nations’ cuisine, while there were other hearty classics such as smash burgers, chicken wings, cookies, brownies and all sorts of goodies. 

If you’re visiting Cork Food Festival on a budget, we can definitely recommend visiting the Emmet Place stallholders.

Final Thoughts

To visit Cork on a Fork is to experience Cork at its most authentic. From the warm welcome of traders to the sheer scale of the organisation, the event puts Cork among Europe's great food destinations – a city that strikes a balance between an evolving food scene and heritage cooking. Whether it's hearing a trader speak about recipes handed down through generations or watching chefs reimagine local ingredients, the importance of local community here cannot be understated. Cork puts artisans, traders, and communities at its heart, arguing that it's not just about what we eat, but about how we protect can culture, livelihoods, and the environment through food.