Harvest the best of Waterford this weekend

The first time I went, it took place in the college buildings – but boy, has it grown over the years. Now in the safe and creative hands of Michael Kelly of Grow it Yourself and the Waterford Council, the festival is now focused on sustainable celebrations of all things food.

The festival incorporated a full ban on plastic and all traders use compostable materials. You can fill your water bottle up at the refill water stations and you can even bring your own plates etc and rinse them at the wash stations.

Next weekend (8-10 September) you can get stuck in as well and grab one of the free plants and seed packages available to get you on the course to grow your own food – or get your kids involved with the Junior GIYers events.

The Cool Food School offers workshops for kids to inspire a healthier relationship with food. If you love honey, then make sure to attend the Waterford Honey Show at the City Hall on Friday from 10am until 5pm hosted by the East Waterford Beekeeper Association – the show ends with the Honey awards. Visitors to the Waterford Honey Awards will be able to enjoy viewing the action within an enclosed glass observation hive, meet with the region’s top honey producers and taste some of the finest kinds of honey.

The Stage Kitchen includes chefs Tony Parking of Cliff House Hotel, Jenny Flynn of Faithlegg House (I have eaten there and the food was outstanding), Nicola and Dvir of Mezze in Waterford (I’ve been at Mezze and my mouth is still watering from the delicious delights) and Kamila Bystrzonowska of Momo – the full programme is available at harvest.giy.ie.

Food Matters is a series of talks and is hosted by Michael Kelly of GIY and food writer Caroline Hennessy. The talks start on Saturday at 11am with Using Food Waste in the Garden – each talk lasts an hour and the line-up of talks include GIY – Getting Started, Stop Food Pollution, Finding Magic and Medicine in your Garden and Irish Tree Explorers.

The talks continue on Sunday from 11am with Birdwatch – Ireland’s Garden Birds, Stop Food Waste (I am happy that this talk is on both days), Support Local, Biodiversity, Eat More Plants and Seed Savers.

Other events include craft workshops, storytelling, gardening workshops and of course there is the festival market.

The Waterford restaurant scene is vibrant and visitors are in for a treat – I have to admit that it has been a while since I have been to Waterford, so some of the food places might have changed. That just means I have to re-discover Waterford with fresh eyes!