Taste Waterford Harvest Kitchen
Get a taste of Waterford’s fantastic food and drink scene at the Taste Waterford Harvest Kitchen, returning to John Roberts Square as part of Waterford Harvest Festival 2026.
Across the festival weekend, chefs, producers, and food champions will take to the Harvest Kitchen stage for a packed programme of live cooking demonstrations, food stories, and delicious tastings, celebrating the people, ingredients, and ideas behind Waterford’s growing culinary reputation.
Saturday, 5th of September
The Taste Waterford Kitchen will be in full swing in John Roberts Square from 11 am to 5 pm, with Visit Waterford members taking part throughout the day.
11 am – Claire O’Sullivan, Crough Wood Wellness
Discover the fascinating world of locally available mushrooms, foraged herbs, and edible plants with Claire O’Sullivan of Crough Wood Wellness. Claire will share her knowledge of foraging, wellbeing, and the culinary and medicinal uses of local plants before creating a mushroom-inspired dish on stage for visitors to taste.
1 pm – The Olive Cafe and Sunny South Yeast Bakery & Catering
Wayne and Krisztina Halloran of The Olive Cafe join David Foskin and Silvia Salvana of Sunny South Yeast Bakery & Catering for a collaboration celebrating great bread, local ingredients, and creative cooking. Together, they’ll create a flavour-packed sourdough dish, with tasters available for the audience to enjoy.
2 pm – The Railway Cottage and Al Eile Farm
Head chef Fiona Byrne and manager David Kearns of The Railway Cottage will be joined by Kirk Dionela of Al Eile Farm, located just five kilometres from the cafe, to share the story of their close working relationship.
The Railway Cottage menu showcases much of Al Eile Farm’s produce, including salad leaves, vegetables, and herbs, highlighting a strong commitment to local and seasonal ingredients. Fiona will also create a parmesan and basil arancini with Al Eile beef ragu during the demonstration, with plenty of tastes, knowledge, and inspiration along the way.
3 pm – Jon Devereux, Faithlegg Hotel
Sous chef John Devereux will share how Faithlegg Hotel uses local producers and Waterford ingredients to tell the story of the county through its menus. He’ll prepare a dish inspired by the landscapes surrounding Faithlegg, with tastings for visitors and plenty of insight into the role food plays in the visitor experience.
Sunday, 6th of September
The food stories continue on Sunday with more Visit Waterford members taking to the Harvest Kitchen stage.
1 pm – Sunny South Yeast Bakery & Catering
David Fosking and Silvia Salvana return to the stage to share the story behind their much-loved Waterford bakery. Expect plenty of conversation about sourdough, baking, local favourites, and the passion that goes into everything coming out of the Sunny South Yeast kitchen.
4 pm – Luis Martin, Mara
Luis Martin of Mara returns to Harvest Festival to share the story, inspiration, and passion behind one of Waterford City’s most exciting dining destinations. From his Santander roots to his love of Irish produce, Luis will offer an insight into his approach to cooking and the journey that has helped establish Mara as one of the city’s standout restaurants.
Whether you’re passionate about local produce, curious about foraging, interested in the stories behind Waterford’s restaurants and cafes, or simply hoping to enjoy a few delicious tastings, the Taste Waterford Harvest Kitchen is well worth adding to your festival plans.
Location: John Roberts Square, Waterford City
Dates: Saturday, 5th & Sunday, 6th of September
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