Arrive in Cork. Check into University College Cork accommodations.

University College Cork

Welcome, campus tour, program overview.

Food and Culinary Patterns in Ireland.

• Food and culinary historian, Regina Sexton will begin with a discussion about Ireland’s rich agriculture and related food history. She will connect the history with today’s growth of artisan food producers, well-known chefs and regional food markets that are sustaining Cork’s culinary culture in the food capital of Ireland.

Welcome Dinner at Paradiso. With its emphasis on rich, complex flavors and a focus on seasonal ingredients, the Paradiso kitchen delivers an exciting and pleasurable dining experience while putting vegetables front and center. Paradiso has long attracted international acclaim for its innovative and groundbreaking vegetable cuisine. It is the perfect place for an introduction to the many delicious food experiences in the culinary capital of Ireland.

Our discussion with Regina focuses on The Great Irish Famine. The second half of the 18th century was the high point for the potato in Ireland. On the eve of the Great Famine, however, only one variety, the Lumper was almost the universal food of the poor. Their dangerous reliance not simply on one food, but on one variety of potato which was highly susceptible to potato blight made inevitable the dire consequences of this fungal disease in 1845.

Following the food history discussions, we will take a 30-minute train ride from Cork to Cobh, the emigration port for hundreds of thousands of Irish emigrants and the last port of call for the Titanic. Visit the Heritage Center (www.cobhheritage.com).

Dinner on your own in Cobh.

English Market. Farmgate. Butter Museum.

• Regina Sexton will lead us through the English Market, Ireland’s most renowned covered market. Opened in 1788, it is one of the oldest local markets in the world and remains a bastion of Cork’s food traditions.

• Lunch: The Farmgate Café. “Centuries old traditional, seasonal, regional, even ‘forgotten’ foods are at the core of the Farmgate ethos, and also form a visible link between the menu and the wonderful array of produce downstairs”.

• PM. Cork Butter Museum. Guided visit and demonstration at the museum celebrating one of Ireland’s great success stories – butter. Discover its heritage, growth in the 19th century and growth in international trade.

• Free evening. Enjoy Cork.

Focus on Gut Health

Discussion with UCC APC Microbiome faculty about their latest research on fermentation and gut health.

Lunch on your own at Quay Co-op

PM. Tour and discussion with My Goodness owners, Donal and Virginia O’Gara, on permaculture and role in their modern fermented food business.

Free Day

Relax on your own or take a day trip on a tour bus to beautiful West Ireland sites like the Ring of Kerry, Dingle Bay, Cliffs of Moher, Blarney Castle.

UCC food service innovative sustainability initiatives and Cork Healthy Cities vision and progress.

• Discussion with UCC food service director about their sustainability initiatives. Lunch at UCC Main restaurant.

• Afternoon discussion with Denise Cahill Healthy Cities Coordinator Cork City.

Regina Sexton is a Lecturer on food history at University College Cork. She is a food historian, food writer, broadcaster and cook. Her research interests include food and identity, food and tradition and food in the Irish country house. For over 25 years, she has conducted research and published widely at academic and popular levels in the area of Irish food and culinary history. Regina holds a certificate in Food and Wine from the Ballymaloe Cookery School. She has worked as a food history consultant with Bord Bia, Teagasc, Fáilte Ireland, RTÉ and the Irish Heritage Trust and as an historical food stylist for a number of television productions. Regina is also a member of the judging panel for Food and Wine’s annual food and wine awards.

University College Cork APC Microbiome Team

APC Microbiome Ireland (APC) is a world-leading research centre focused on understanding the gastrointestinal bacterial community and harnessing the power of the microbiome for the health and wellbeing of people and planet. The APC international team of more than 300, from Ireland and 20 other countries, is a mix of microbiologists, immunologists, food scientists, gastroenterologists, psychiatrists pharmacologists, nutritionists and biochemists working together to understand the complex environment of the gastrointestinal tract and its microbial community, and facilitating truly translational research from “bench to bedside”.