The Kerrygold Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine a.k.a. Litfest got underway last week with a star studded launch in Dublin’s Creative Quarter. The Drury Buildings was the venue for the launch of the festival which is taking place May 20th-22nd and was created by culinary duo Darina Allen and Rory O’Connell.

Along with Jeanne Kelly of Kerrygold, Darina and Rory welcomed culinary fans, chefs, food and drink writers and media to the launch where they were treated to a display of what is in store including Kerrygold Cashel Blue Cheese, Shanagarry Smoked Salmon, Ballycotton crab and Ballymaloe Butter Fudge.

Speaking at the launch Darina Allen said, “We simply love the buzz that Litfest creates in Ballymaloe and are thrilled to be welcoming yet another fantastic line-up of participants to East Cork for Litfest16, it promises to be electric!”

Some of the confirmed participants for this year’s festival include Francis Mallman, master of wood-fired feasts from Argentina, as featured on Netflix Chef’s Table, the much loved king of Middle-Eastern cooking, Yotam Ottolenghi, Nicolaus Balla and Cortney Burns of the critically acclaimed Bar Tartine in San Francisco, Eric Werner & Mya Henry from Hartwood, a dream restaurant in the Mexican jungle, Jancis Robinson MW, the world’s leading wine writer and critic, Prue Leith, restaurateur, writer and TV presenter, Claire Ptak of Violet Bakery in London, Hugh Johnson OBE, recognised as the world’s best-selling wine writer, kitchen garden guru Mark Diacono from Devon in England, literary legend Elisabeth Luard from Wales and the self-proclaimed ‘lapsed anarchist’ Ari Weinzweig of Zingerman’s in Michigan.

The fourth Kerrygold Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine runs from 20-22 May this year at Ballymaloe.