THEATRE OF FOOD

Quick view:

Saturday 3rd Sept:
12.00 – 20.00 Farmers Market & Bridgestone Voting tent open
12.00 – 16.00 Derry Clarke competition open
12.00 – 15.00 Comfort & Spice Pop Up Café
14.00 – 18.00 The Food Collective – Talks/ Demos/ Debates
18.00 - Winner announced - Derry Clarke competition
16.00 – 20.00 Speed Dinner Dating
18.00 – 19.00 Booking The Cooks
20.00 - Derry Clarke’s Romantic Evening for 2 begins

Sunday 4th Sept:
12.00 – 20.00 Farmers Market & Bridgestone Voting tent open
12.00 – 14.00 Stradbally Country Market – Skills & Demos
12.00 – 15.00 Comfort & Spice Pop Up Café
14.00 – 18.00 The Food Collective – Talks/ Demos/ Debates
16.00 – 20.00 Speed Dinner Dating:
16.30 - Guinea Pig Wine Tasting with Food & Wine Magazine at The Bridgestone Tent………. and more to be announced!

Saturday & Sunday 12.00 – 20.00
FOR the first time EVER this year’s Electric Picnic will have a dedicated food area, which will serve as homage to all things gastronomic. Festival-goers can look forward to a host of activities from food demos, wine tasting, speed dating, pop up dining, with opportunities a plenty to taste wine and sample food.

The Theatre of Food, next to Mindfield in the Main Arena, will feature intimate areas for chats over food with someone special as well as spacious outdoor dining areas. A who’s who of Ireland’s chefs will be on hand to share their Picnic experience from Paul Flynn of The Tannery to Derry Clarke of L’Ecrivain and many more. There will be comedians ‘working’ as waiters and rock stars competing at a Booking the Cooks Challenge live on stage.
And for all those single Picnic goers there is Ireland’s first gourmet speed dating. On the hour the table will host 10 people, a selection of tapas and plenty of opportunity to help hone their chat up lines.
For the rest there will be cookery demonstrations in the NEFF kitchen - Forgotten Skills demos – Foraging Trails through the estate – Banquets – Flash Tea Parties – Farmer’s Market – Chef Challenges - Competitions for Festival Goers – and much, much more. And of course no picnic would be complete without Sally and John McKenna of the Bridgestone food guide.

SATURDAY @ THEATRE OF FOOD
12.00 – 16.00 COMPETITION: Derry Clarke‘s Competition
Derry Clarke (L’Ecrivain) has come over all romantic.. He is running a competition in the Theatre of Food to treat 2 people to a romantic candlelit dinner, followed by a camping upgrade to Boutique Camping and a delicious breakfast the following day to set you up for your Sunday at Electric Picnic. The winner will be announced at 6pm in the Theatre of Food – so make sure you are in it to win it!!

12.00 – 15.00 Comfort & Spice Pop Up Café
Pop in for a spot of lunch at the Comfort & Spice Pop Up Restaurant from Irish food blogger, Niamh Shields, aka Eat Like A Girl, who launches her new book Comfort & Spice in September! Born and raised in Dungarvan, Niamh started Eat Like a Girl when she moved to London. Very much influenced by her Irish roots and international travels the Comfort & Spice Cafe will feature recipes from the book - big in flavour and hearty - to power any food loving Electric Picnic attendee through their Saturday.

14.00 – 18.00 The Food Collective:

Cooking session in the Neff Kitchen
Paul Flynn (The Tannery) is talking about cooking with tins. Other chefs/ writers will bring their favourite tins and packets and show Paul a few recipes as well. Paired with the Wine Buff

Foraging from the Forest and the Sea
Foraging for seaweed from a kayak with Sally McKenna (Bridgestone Guide) and Jim & Maria Kennedy (Atlantic Sea Kayaking) How to identify seaweed, how to pick it, learning about tides, and recipe and beauty demo with Sally and Maria

Curing and Smoking
A practical session on curing and smoking fish with Birgitta Curtin (Burren Smokehouse)

Coffee making
How to make a perfect cup of coffee at home, using simple equipment, with Karl Purdy (Coffee Angel)

Foraging from the Forest and the Sea
Foraging for and cooking with mushrooms with Donal Doherty and Raymond Moran (Harry's Restaurant)

A Peek in the Kitchen cupboard
Everyday home remedies by herbalist Helen McCormack

Seamus Sheridan
Jam Making and the GAA - the culture of Irish food, Talk with Seamus Sheridan (Sheridan’s Cheesemongers)

Lettuce Talk: Food & our Futures
Debate chaired by Ella McSweeney, including Fisherman Frank on responsible fishing, Sarah Fleming on GIY, Ed Hick on food regulations. Are we eating too much meat... how to source Irish food...

16.00 – 20.00 Speed Dinner Dating:
The Cookbook Club will host an elaborate dining table, with an elaborate candelabra and theatrical set pieces... On the hour the table will host 10 people, a selection of tapas and plenty of opportunity to flirt, giggle, chat and see what happens.


18.00 – 19.00 Booking The Cooks
Who will make the best Burger or who will have to sing for their Supper? Introducing the Booking The Cooks cook off. With comedians ‘working’ as waiters and musicians versus DJs competing at a cook off challenge live on stage; Blind Tastings and audience participation, alongside some Karaoke and generous smattering of humour and silliness!

SUNDAY @ THEATRE OF FOOD
12.00 – 14.00 Stradbally Country Market – Skills & Demos
14.00 – 18.00 The Food Collective

Herb Walk with Helen McCormack
A herbal walk around Electric Picnic, identifying common weeds, and what they may be useful for.

Mash it Up
Cooking demo in the Neff Kitchen with Denis Cotter (Cafe Paradiso) paired with wines from the Wine Buff

The Ultimate Hangover Cure
by Ed Hick (Hicks Butcher's) How to cure bacon, and how to make bacon jam.

The Raw Milk debate
Ray Moran (Harry's Restaurant will) cook a dessert using fresh Irish raw milk, panel discussion includes Seamus Sheridan (Sheridan's), Veronica Steele (Milleen's Cheese), Ed Hick (Hick's Butchers), John McKenna (Bridgestone Guides)

Bread and Butter
Demo by food writer Imen McDonnell, who writes the Modern Farmette column in the Farmer's Journal, and is a well known food blogger. Bread making session as well.
All Things Oaty

A talk and demonstration with Ella McSweeney and Imen McDonnell.

How to make Paella
with Eunice Power (Powersfield House).

Preserving
Not just about how to make raspberry jam and apple chutney - this talk will cover pickled wild garlic ramson seeds, bottled beach sap, birch syrup, green elderberry capers, rose petal liqueur, dandelion lemonade. Talk with Gaby and Hans Wieland (The Organic Centre), Enda McEvoy (Aniar Restaurant, Galway) and Sally McKenna (Bridgestone Guides)

Herbal First Aid
by Helen McCormack

Integrity - is this the missing ingredient in Irish food?
MC Ross Golden-Bannon (Food & Wine Magazine) leads a panel including Donal Doherty (Harry's Restaurant), Derry Clarke (L'Ecrivain), Enda McEvoy (Aniar Restaurant), Paul Flynn (The Tannery), Veronica Steele (Milleens Cheese), Seamus Sheridan (Sheridans), Gary O Hanlon (Viewmount House)

16.00 – 20.00 Speed Dinner Dating:
The Cookbook Club will host an elaborate dining table, with an elaborate candelabra and theatrical set pieces... On the hour the table will host 10 people, a selection of tapas and plenty of opportunity to flirt, giggle, chat and see what happens.

16.30 - Guinea Pig Wine Tasting @ The Bridgestone Tent
Guinea Pig Wine Tasting with Food & Wine Magazine and The Wine Buff.

The Wine Buff have a number of shops throughout the country and specialise in wine from small independent boutique vineyards who produce either organic or organically friendly wine.

THE BRIDGESTONE TENT
The Bridgestone Awards are back again this year.
For the last four years the Bridgestone Guide Awards at Electric Picnic have celebrated the extraordinary lengths which the organisers go to ensure that Festival-goers enjoy not just great sounds but also great food. No other Festival enjoys the same culinary profile as Electric Picnic, and over each of the last four years the quality on food on offer from Irish and International food specialists has improved year on year.

From pizza huts built with bricks on the back of agricultural trailers to superlative organic burgers where all the ingredients are sourced from a single county, the Bridgestone Electric Picnic Awards are the most idiosyncratic and original food awards in Ireland.

The Bridgestone Awards are judged by the Bridgestone team, and in addition, for the second year, there will be a Picknickers' Award voted by the Festival-goers for their favourite food purveyor. Award winners win a Bridgestone Plaque and an original piece of Rosemary Durr pottery.

The tent will also host the Guinea Pig Wine Tasting with Food & Wine Magazine and The Wine Buff amongst other things – you never know who you might bump into here!

THE FARMER’S MARKET
Featuring a host of local producers, fresh local produce, cakes and treats, crafts and much more, the Farmer’s Market will be a virtual foodie treasure trove for festival-goers who want to have a picnic at the Picnic! This year we have the Stradbally branch of Country Markets Ireland Ltd alongside The Truffle Fairy; Tasty Treats and Daisy Cottage Farm alongside local craft traders coming to share their techniques and show their wares.

BOOKSHOP
The Bookshop in Mindfield will be onsite again, hosting an array of books including a Cook Book section this year – which you can even get signed at Theatre of Food.

THE WINE BAR
The Wine Bar is a new addition this year and promises to fit in perfectly with the area. The Wine Bar will be operated by the Wine Buff bringing some of their most popular wines to Electric Picnic and allowing a chilled out and relaxing atmosphere to enjoy some of the best wines around. The Wine Bar will be a most for all wine and food lovers and the Wine Buff will be popping up over the weekend in the Theatre of Food providing tasting, samples advice to complement the culinary delights that will be cooked up.