New food initiative Golden Vale Table launches in Limerick and Cork
‘The Golden Vale connects North Cork, East Limerick, South Tipperary and West Waterford’
A NEW food community initiative entitled Golden Vale Table, led by Visit Ballyhoura, brings farmers, market gardeners, food producers, chefs, hosts and local people together through dinners, farm visits, markets, workshops and shared growing projects.
Its opening autumn and winter programme takes place in Ballyhoura, across North Cork and East Limerick, a southern gateway to Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands. These first events mark the beginning of a longer-term initiative, continuing into 2027 and building connections across the wider Golden Vale.
The Golden Vale connects North Cork, East Limerick, South Tipperary and West Waterford. Its farms, mountain landscapes, rivers and market towns have shaped generations of food production. Golden Vale Table invites residents and visitors to discover that story through the people growing, making and sharing food here today.
The initiative is curated by Ciara O’Brien, owner of Barnahown and a Visit Ballyhoura board member, alongside Anthony O’Toole, a food and tourism design specialist whose work shapes food experiences, culinary destinations and regional stories rooted in people, heritage and place.
Golden Vale Table grew from a partnership between Cashel Palace Hotel and Mitchelstown’s food producer community, which launched artisan food tours earlier this year. It builds on those relationships, bringing more farmers, producers, hosts and communities into a shared regional story.
The opening events quickly sold out. At Ballyhoura Farm Escape, Anne and William Drake hosted Gather in the Forest, a long-table supper with Mary O’Farrell of Galtee Valley Catering, Eight Degrees Brewing and food writer Caroline Hennessy. At Barnahown, three homecoming dinners brought Mitchelstown native Ciara Kenneally, head chef at Carton House, home to cook and share her food and stories.
The Golden Vale Table name reflects a table’s role as a place where farmers meet chefs, ingredients become meals and neighbours welcome visitors. It also nods to the water table beneath the land, connecting what sustains the landscape with what is grown, made and shared above it.
Among the people shaping the region’s food and hospitality are Aoife Nic Giolla Coda of Galtee Honey Farm; Scott Baigent and Cam Wallace of Eight Degrees Brewing; Norma Kelly of Praline Chocolate & Pastry; Ailish and John Ivory of Corderry Farm; Jack O’Keeffe of The Village Table; and Máire O’Mahony and Victor Murphy of O’Mahony’s in Watergrasshill.
“We work with local producers every day, and there are wonderful people and stories behind the ingredients we use,” said Norma Kelly of Praline Chocolate & Pastry.
“Golden Vale Table gives us a way to share that bigger story with our customers and help them discover who is making and growing food nearby.”
“We want people living here to feel proud of what is on their doorstep, and visitors to understand the Golden Vale through its food and people,” said Ciara O’Brien.
“These events are just the beginning. Into 2027, we will keep bringing people together to grow, learn, share and welcome visitors to the region.”
The initiative also celebrates community growing. Mitchelstown’s Edible Town Project, a national finalist in the 2026 Age Friendly Awards for Social Inclusion, brings children and older residents together to share skills and grow food across ten public sites. At Slí Eile in Churchtown, market gardening is part of everyday life in a community that supports people living with mental health challenges.
More events will be added as details are confirmed. Programme and bookings at www.goldenvaletable.com