Gourmet Festival

Next weekend sees the 41st Kinsale Gourmet Festival. There are many great food fests now, but Kinsale is the daddy of them all. The organisation is great, banding people together with events such as Saturday’s Mad Hatter’s Taste Trail and the massive Fruits de Mer Sunday lunch. It was started in 1976 by restaurateurs including Brian Cronin and the late Gerry Galvin, and the torch is carried ably by people such as Ciaran Fitzgerald of the Blue Haven; Liam Edwards; Philip Horgan of Man Friday; Martin Shanahan of Fishy Fishy; and Pearse and Mary O’Sullivan of Toddies at The Bulman. See kinsalerestaurants.com