What to watch out for at Bord Bia Bloom this weekend

The sun is shining, the skies are blue and thousands of teens are preparing to take their Leaving Cert exams right now. This can only mean one thing – the annual Bord Bia Bloom festival is finally here!

Taking place this Bank Holiday weekend in Phoenix Park, from June 1st until June 5th, Bloom is the event of the season for gardening enthusiasts and food fanatics.

New to the event this year is the introduction of the Funky Food Fleet which will bring a collection of Ireland’s tastiest food trucks to the festival for the first time. Attendees will have the opportunity to sample delicious fare from Salty Buoy, Los Chicanos, Hot Potato, Bahay, Ten10 Toasties/Acai Bowl, Vegan Thanks Plants, Dash Coffee, All Bar Chicken, Cio Cannoli, Tortilla and Food Cloud.

Meanwhile, the Quality Kitchen Stage at the centre of the Food Village will once again host live cookery demonstrations from some of Ireland’s leading chefs including Neven Maguire, Catherine Fulvio, Rory O’Connell, Fiona Uyema, JP McMahon, Edward Hayden, Brian McDermott and Shane Smith, along with interviews with more than 40 Irish food producers.

Returning visitors will be delighted to see the redesigned Food Hall and the popular Bloom Inn, where over 100 Irish food and drink companies will showcase their produce and many companies will use the opportunity to launch new and exciting food and drink products.

This year Food Cloud, the social enterprise dedicated to tackling food waste, will have a notable presence across the event. The Food Cloud Food Truck will serve dishes made from food waste and chefs on the Bord Bia Quality Kitchen stage will highlight some of the key measures people can take to avoid food waste in our homes. Food Cloud will also send a group of volunteers on the final day of the festival to collect all food waste from the exhibitor stand within the Food Village.

Also new for 2023, Bord Bia will be presenting a stage solely dedicated to sustainable living goals. The stage will be hosted by Mick Kelly, Founder and CEO of GIY, and Irish food writers Caroline Hennessy, Aoife Carrigy and Dee Laffan. Contributors will cover topics ranging from food waste and home composting to the importance of garden ponds for biodiversity and why bees matter.

At the heart of Bord Bia Bloom, 22 small, medium, and large show gardens will provide inspiration for visitors. There is also plenty to do for all the family with live entertainment on the Main Stage, while the ‘Budding Bloomers’ area promises to keep children engaged and entertained with willow weaving, planting games, toddler play area and much more!

Tickets are still on sale and can be purchased from BordBiaBloom.com, priced from €25 per person and two children under 16 can attend for free with every adult ticket purchased.