Lifestyle Lead and MultiMedia Journalist. This weekend, Ballymaloe's Rory O'Connell will join the impressive foodie lineup at the Folly Festival in Cullohill, Co Laois. Running in association with Electric Picnic, the 2024 Folly Festival will take place in the intimate venue of Nancy's Yard this weekend, nestled beneath the towering ruins of the historic Cullohill Castle. As well as performances from musical acts like Darren Kiely and The Scratch alongside other firm favourites including Ro s n O, Dea Matrona, Oscar Blue, and Jessica Doolan, there will be a variety of activities taking place, with the Folly Festival Mountain walk, painting demos, panel discussions and cookery demonstrations all on the agenda. On Saturday, 6 July, chef Rory O'Connell will be showing fans how to create a delicious feast made from locallysourced products. "We grew up very happy  thank God  and carefree in Culohill and we roamed freely, running up Culohill Mountain  which is essentially a hill, but it's a wonderful hill.". "The object of my visit is to give a cookery demonstration and to highlight, as much as possible, food from Co. Laois.". "There is a renewed interest in people growing grains in Ireland again," he explains, "so we're producing our own oats, and some bakers are either growing their own wheat for flour, or collaborating with local farmers to get their own wheat. There are very exciting things happening in those microproduction areas.". With strawberries in season, he plans to create a strawberry muesli made with Merry Mill oats followed by an omelette made with Garryhinch Exotic Mushrooms and a side of grilled sourdough bread from the local bakery, Mueller  O'Connell. The main course will consist of a summer salad complete with buttermilk dressing "we've got delicious buttermilk in Ireland", lamb koftas, apple syrup "from Co. Kilkenny, but we'll let them away with that", roast hazelnut, and a dash of chili oil. Chili, says Rory, should be grown all over the country: "I'll be hoping to inspire people to grow their own chili because we can grown chilis really well in Ireland. "At the end of the growing season, you can pick them off the plants and dry them. A lot of households could be selfsufficient for chili for the entire year. It's amazing when you think about it.". We need your consent to load this Instagram contentWe use Instagram to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences. "Food security sounded vague and abstract a few years ago," he continues, "but I don't think it's a vague or abstract notion at all anymore.". "Some parts of the world, sadly and tragically, are becoming too warm and too hot and lacking in water to produce food. We complain endlessly in this country about rain, but my God, we can grow food.". "What also ties into that conversation is how we have been flippant in terms of the respect that is due to our vegetable growers," he says, going on to say that the people in these roles are "crucial to us and our daily lives". In 1985, Rory and his sister, Darina Allen, founded Ballymaloe Cookery School. A huge success, the school now offers a series of courses including lessons on running an organic farm. "We've got a farm school now where we try to share skills that we have on the farm, which is organic, on a sort of microlevel. All with a view to producing really real, clean, nutritious food. The joy and the health that brings to our lives  that's what we're all about.". Search by ingredient, chef or programme. . Lifestyle Lead and MultiMedia Journalist. Followsinannf. RT 2024. RT .ie is the website of Raidi Teilif s ireann, Ireland's National Public Service Media. RT is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.Images Courtesy of Getty Images.
Rory O'Connell to showcase local food at Folly Festival in Cullohill. The festival will feature music, activities, and cookery demonstrations in an intimate venue. O'Connell plans to highlight Co. Laois food, like oats and wheat, in his cooking. He aims to inspire people to grow their own produce for food security. The event will include dishes like strawberry muesli, lamb koftas, and a summer salad with buttermilk dressing. O'Connell emphasizes the importance of vegetable growers and promoting Irish food production.