Ballymaloe Festival of Food Podcast

In this Ballymaloe Festival of Food podcast episode, three Irish food producers come together for a round-table discussion on building a food business in Ireland.
Featuring Elaine Walsh of Wild About Mushrooms (@wild_about_mushrooms), Jay Choi of OGAM Korean (@ogamkorean), and Karen Rotherham of Skillet & Spice (@skillet_and_spice), this episode explores the stories behind their brands and the journey from idea to product.

Topics covered include food entrepreneurship in Ireland, product development, sourcing ingredients, flavour creation, packaging, scaling production, selling at markets and festivals, and connecting with customers. The conversation also touches on sustainability, the challenges facing small producers, and the importance of community within the Irish food industry.

From functional mushroom products and Korean sauces to seasoning blends for everyday cooking, this episode offers practical insight and inspiration for anyone interested in Irish food, small food businesses, and the people behind the products.

All three producers will be part of this year’s Ballymaloe Festival of Food, making this a timely introduction to their work and stories.
Thanks for listening to the Ballymaloe Festival of Food Podcast. You can find out more at ballymaloegrainstore.com and follow us on all platforms @ballymaloegrainstore

Until next time, let’s keep savouring the stories.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Ballymaloe Festival of Food podcast, our hosts Joleen Cronin and Bree Allen sit down with chef, baker, author and café owner Graham Herterich, also known as The Cupcake Bloke.

Ahead of this year’s Ballymaloe Festival of Food, Graham talks about the thinking behind his playful afternoon tea inspired by Irish brand icons, from Tayto and Clonakilty Black Pudding to Mikados and soda bread, and how food memories shape the way we eat today.

The conversation moves through Graham’s journey from growing up above a butcher shop to training as a chef, stepping away from restaurant life, writing Bake and Cook, opening Ernie’s at the Shackleton Centre in Athy, and finding meaning through food, family and community.

This is a generous, funny and deeply human conversation about Irish food culture, nostalgia, producers, chosen family, and why embracing what we already have matters more than ever.

In this episode:
Graham explains what he really does beyond the label “The Cupcake Bloke” and why creativity sits at the centre of his work
Growing up above a butcher shop, baking with his granny, and how early food memories shaped his path
Training as a chef, working in restaurants, and stepping away in search of a slower, more meaningful way of life
A surprising chapter of his life spent exploring a religious vocation, and what it taught him about care, nourishment and purpose
The evolution of his career from wholesale baking to market stalls, cafés and books
How Bake and Cook came to be, and why traditional Irish recipes paired with modern twists matter to him
Discovering that Irish food is deeply connected to global food cultures, from tagines to meatballs and stews
What Graham is preparing for the Ballymaloe Festival of Food: an afternoon tea inspired by Irish brand icons
Why food nostalgia matters, and how recreating childhood moments (like running your finger down a Mikado) can spark joy
His love of soda bread, everyday food and cooking what makes people happy rather than chasing trends
Why the Ballymaloe Festival of Food feels like coming home, and how festivals support producers and community
The importance of “foodie family”, chosen family and shared support within the food world
Opening Ernie’s at the Shackleton Centre in Athy, and why it feels like a homecoming
Running a family business with his sister and niece, and the comfort of trust in hospitality
Honest reflections on illness, care, gut health and the role good food plays in difficult times
Graham’s hopes for the future of Irish food and why we need to lose the shame around our own food culture
Comfort food confessions, solo dining favourites and where he loves to eat when he’s off duty
Thanks for listening to the Ballymaloe Festival of Food Podcast. You can find out more at ballymaloegrainstore.com and follow us on all platforms @ballymaloegrainstore

Until next time, let’s keep savouring the stories.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do food creators build audiences of thousands, or even millions, online?
A live panel from the Ballymaloe Festival of Food exploring social media, storytelling, farming and the realities of creating food content today.

Recorded live at the Ballymaloe Festival of Food 2025, this lively panel discussion brings together chefs, growers, writers and storytellers who are shaping the way we talk about food online.

Hosted by Reverend Richard Coles, the conversation features New Zealand chef and viral cooking creator Daniel Rankin, Tuscany-based cook and author Amber Guinness, and Donegal grower and food advocate Barrie Quinn of Portnoo Market Garden.
Together they explore what it really means to create food content today, from building communities online to navigating algorithms, criticism and the pressures of constantly producing new content.

The conversation moves from kitchens to gardens, from viral videos to food security, and offers a thoughtful look at how storytelling can reconnect people with where their food comes from.

In this episode:
• How lockdown accelerated the rise of food creators online
• The power of storytelling in building loyal audiences
• Creating viral cooking videos and short-form food content
• The reality of social media algorithms and audience growth
• Why food origin, farming and supply chains matter
• Handling criticism and negativity online
• Balancing private life with a public platform
• How social media can reconnect consumers with farmers and producers

Thanks for listening to the Ballymaloe Festival of Food podcast.

Each year in May, the festival brings together chefs, farmers, producers and food lovers for a weekend of conversations, demonstrations and great food at the Ballymaloe Grainstore in East Cork, Ireland.

To find out more about the festival and upcoming events visit:
ballymaloefestivaloffood.com
Thanks for listening to the Ballymaloe Festival of Food Podcast. You can find out more at ballymaloegrainstore.com and follow us on all platforms @ballymaloegrainstore

Until next time, let’s keep savouring the stories.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Ballymaloe Festival of Food Podcast, we visit the Cully & Sully team at their offices in Ford’s old head office building in Cork.
Cullen “Cully” Allen and Colum “Sully” O’Sullivan started their business in the early 2000s with little more than a good idea, a €100,000 loan, and a belief that honest food could find its place on supermarket shelves. What began with handmade pies soon grew into one of Ireland’s most recognisable soup brands, now selling a soup every 1.4 seconds across Ireland and the UK.
In a warm and candid conversation with our hosts Bree Allen, organiser of the Ballymaloe Festival of Food (and Cully’s wife), alongside Joleen Cronin, photographer and long-time collaborator with Cully & Sully and the Ballymaloe food community, the pair reflect on friendship, naivety in business, learning finance and branding from scratch, the decision to sell the company in 2012, and the journey that followed.
The episode also captures a moment of transition as Cully steps away from the company after more than two decades.
Along the way they share insights for new food producers, thoughts on the future of Irish food, and the long-standing connection between their story and the Ballymaloe Festival of Food.
It’s a conversation about creativity, resilience, and why sometimes the best way to start a business is simply to begin.
Podcast Chapters
00:00 — Welcome to Ford’s old head office in Cork
02:00 — The early days: starting a business at 27
04:30 — Pies, soup and the first €100,000 loan
07:00 — Building the Cully & Sully brand
10:00 — Creativity meets business: how the partnership worked
14:00 — Asking for advice and learning from mentors
18:00 — Building a team and company culture
22:00 — Scaling the business and outsourcing production
25:00 — Why they sold the company in 2012
30:00 — Running the business after the sale
33:00 — Cully stepping away from the company
36:00 — Advice for new food producers
41:00 — What excites them about Irish food today
46:00 — The soup question: one soup for the rest of your life

Thanks for listening to the Ballymaloe Festival of Food Podcast. You can find out more at ballymaloegrainstore.com and follow us on all platforms @ballymaloegrainstore

Until next time, let’s keep savouring the stories.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Ballymaloe Festival of Food podcast, hosts Bree Allen and Joleen Cronin are joined by Barrie Quinn of Portnoo Market Garden in Donegal.
Barrie is widely known for his passionate and articulate voice on soil health, regenerative agriculture, and nutrient-dense food. But as this conversation reveals, his work goes far beyond growing vegetables.

From transforming a generational family farm into a thriving market garden, to building an online community of over a million people, Barrie speaks candidly about the realities of small-scale farming, the responsibility of having a public platform, and why education is the key to fixing our broken food system.
He shares his powerful belief that soil is the foundation of human health, challenges the dominance of imported food in Ireland, and explains why regenerative agriculture is not a trend, but a necessity.

The episode also explores:
How social media became a force for good in his work
Why transparency and accuracy matter when speaking about food and chemicals
Raising €55,000 for families in need in his local community
Collaboration with Neven Maguire and the creation of an emergency community fund
Expanding Portnoo Market Garden into natural soaps and sustainable home products
Bringing food, farming and music together at the Ballymaloe Festival of Food

At its heart, this is a conversation about responsibility — to the soil, to our children, and to each other.

Barrie leaves us with one simple but powerful message: educate the next generation about what food really means.
Thanks for listening to the Ballymaloe Festival of Food Podcast. You can find out more at ballymaloegrainstore.com and follow us on all platforms @ballymaloegrainstore

Until next time, let’s keep savouring the stories.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.