Gourmets will have much to savour in Kilkenny this October Bank Holiday weekend when the marble city hosts Savour Kilkenny, the city's food festival. The festival will be launched by food writer John McKenna on Friday 24th October.

Some of the creative initiatives which are being planned as part of the overall programme include: tasting menus by talented local and guest chefs; a countywide food trail and producers fete; an international city market; cooking demonstrations by visiting celebrity chefs; a QE2-style Gospel Brunch; Ready Steady Cook! with your favourite sports stars; kids cookery classes, a Tabbouleh making competition; Sushi making classes, tasting tutorials and a massive pot luck family picnic.

Click on the buttons below to view each day’s events or scroll down to see a complete listing for the entire festival.

FRIDAY 24th OCTOBER
5 - 7pm Opening of the Savour Kilkenny food festival
The festival will be officially opened by Bridgestone Guide publisher and acclaimed food writer John McKenna. By invitation.
Location: The Billiard Room, Kilkenny Castle
Catering supplied by Mise en Place. Wines by Fevbre

6.30pm The Bar Bites Trail
Enjoy some great cocktails and canapés at five of Kilkenny’s favourite pubs: Paris Texas; Rafter Dempsey’s; The Field; Matt the Miller’s & Tynan’s.

7.30pm The Producers Dinner
A four-course meal showcasing the very best of Kilkenny’s food producers.
Location: Bassett’s at Woodstock with bus transport to and from the restaurant. Bus departs from Kilkenny Castle at 7.15pm
Price: €40 (bus €10).
Bookings: 056 7758820

7.30pm Match Your Wines
A five course wine-tasting dinner with matching wines presented by special guest sommelier Mary Gaynor W.S.E.T. Diploma, M.B.A. Wine. Sparkling wine reception.
Location: Café Sol, William Street
Price: €75 (€65 when booked and paid by 19 October 2008.)
Bookings: 056 7764987

7.30pm A Taste of Zuni Cancelled
Now offering a set menu for €50 euro per person, available all
weekend. The menu will consist of dishes featuring local and Irish produce.
Location: Zuni, Patrick Street
Price: €85
Bookings: 056 7723999

8pm A New Chapter
Celebrity chef Ross Lewis, chef/proprietor of Chapter One, teams up with his former head chef Garrett Byrne, now chef/proprietor of Campagne for a dinner you won’t forget. Don’t miss this!
Location: Campagne, The Arches, 5 Gashouse Lane, Kilkenny
Price: €100
Bookings: 056 7772858

8pm What’s Cooking? Who’s Cooking?
A charity event in aid of the O’Neill Centre with champagne reception, 5 course tasting menu, live music and featuring uber-chefs Kevin Dundon, Eugene McSweeney and Anne Neary. Challenge the senses, place your bets and hit the jackpot!
Location: Fleva, High Street
Price: €65
Bookings: 056 7770021

8pm Pizzas and Beers of the World!
Come and explore the world of international beers. Learn how they are brewed and paired with different foods before sampling with a variety of gourmet pizzas. End your evening with dessert beers and classic American cookies. Hosted by Extreme Pizza and The Wine Centre, Kilkenny.
Location: Extreme Pizza, Barrack Street, Kilkenny
Price: €39
Bookings: 056 7777345

From 5pm Bistro Evening in Foodworks
Enjoy an informal evening of bistro dining in this intimate but sophisticated restaurant. Highlighting the best of local produce.
Location: The Arches, Gashouse Lane, Kilkenny
Bookings: 056 7777696

SATURDAY 25th OCTOBER
11.00am - 1.30pm Foodies on Foot!
Peter Ballagh, of Historical Walking Tours of Dublin, will lead a unique walking tour of Kilkenny City tracing the development of diet and food in the city from the times of our remotest ancestors to the present. Includes some great food and historical stops. A must for any history or foodie buff!

Tour starts from the Tholsel, High Street.
Price: €12 (€10 students and seniors)
Bookings: 087 8303523 or turn up on the day.

11.00am - 12.00pm Pizza the Action! - FULLY BOOKED
Kids Pizza Lessons (4-6 year olds) with Carla Feeley.
Come and learn to make pizza and cookies! Roll dough, put on your favourite sauce and toppings and eat it for lunch! A guaranteed messy but fun time!
Limited to 12 participants who must be accompanied by an adult.

There can be some flexibility with the children’s ages.
Location: Extreme Pizza, Barrack Street, Kilkenny
Price: €12 per child.
Bookings: 056 7777345

12pm Thai Cooking Demo
An intimate cooking demonstration (limited to 15 people) followed by a

South East Asian tasting menu (max. 50 people) with live music.
Location: Yindees restaurant, Lyrath Estate Hotel, Carlow Road
Price: €32.50 for demo and lunch or €25 for lunch only
Bookings: 056 7760088.

12pm - 4.30pm Food Producers Fête
Rediscover your local food, the people who love making it and the many dishes they make with their products. Enjoy talks by food producers, herb growing workshops, exhibits of local crafts and a fantastic children’s playground. Relax in the Jarrow Café featuring a special festival menu of local products. All events are free.
Location: Castlecomer Discovery Park
Info: 056 4440707

1.30pm - 2.30pm The Savour Kilkenny Tasting Workshops
Ever wanted to find out more about some of our exotic foods? Now’s your chance to learn about foie gras, cheese, wine (4.30 - 6.00) from the experts in four separate tutorial sessions. Numbers limited to 12 per workshop
Location: Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel
Price: From €20 per class.
Bookings: 056 7723900 or at the door

2 pm International Tabbouleh Competition
Organised by the Irish Lebanese Cultural Institute, this imaginative competition has both professional and amateur categories. To enter, call Guy on 087 8090088 or just drop in and enjoy the fun! There is wine for the winners and watching is free.
Location: Club House Hotel

2.30pm - 5.00pm Pot Luck Picnic
Food eaten outside always tastes far better so join us at the Conker Festival in Freshford for a Family Fun Picnic. Pack your basket with goodies for a great picnic. There will be a barbecue provided so bring along some bangers or burgers or kebabs - whatever you like. Don't forget to bring plenty to share with your picnic neighbours. Hot drinks and entertainment will be provided and you will have the opportunity to sharpen your conker playing skills in preparation for the Championships the next day. Cracking fun!
Location: Village Green, Freshford

3 pm Cookery Demonstration with Kevin Dundon, Dunbrody Country House Hotel
One of the highlights of the festival, the star of Heat and Guerilla Gourmet cooks up a storm with Anne Neary & Edward Hayden. Book early!
Location: Ormonde Hotel
Price: €25
Bookings: 056 7723900 or at the door.

6.30pm The Bar Bites Trail
Enjoy some great bar bites at five of Kilkenny’s favourite pubs: Paris Texas; Rafter Dempsey’s; The Field; Matt the Miller’s & Tynan’s.

7.30pm Bassett’s Tasting Event
Pick the dishes you want over the course of one sumptuous tasting evening.
Location: Bassett’s at Woodstock
Price: €9.50 per dish
Bookings: 056 7758820

From 5pm Bistro Evening in Foodworks
Another chance to enjoy an informal evening of bistro dining in this intimate but sophisticated restaurant. Highlighting the best of local produce
Location: The Arches, Gashouse Lane, Kilkenny
Bookings: 056 7777696

8pm Foodie Flicks presents Like Water for Chocolate
Adapted from the classic Spanish novel, this movie is about Tita, who can only express her passions and feelings through her cooking. This causes the people who taste it to experience what she feels.
Complimentary glass of wine, sponsored by Searsons
Location: The Parade Tower, Kilkenny Castle
Price: €8 to be paid at the door.

SUNDAY 26th OCTOBER
11.00am -12.00pm Pizza the Action! - FULLY BOOKED
Kids Pizza Lessons (7-10 year olds) with Carla Feeley.
Like Saturday’s event but for bigger kids. Limited to 12 participants who must be accompanied by an adult. There can be some flexibility with the children’s ages.
Location: Extreme Pizza, Barrack Street, Kilkenny
Price: €12 per child.
Bookings: 056 7777345

12pm - 4pm A Taste of the City Street Market
Back by popular demand, the best market stalls take over Kieran Street in a riot of delicious food and colour. Come and eat, drink & shop.
Location: Kieran Street

Contact: Gabrielle 056 7752111

12pm Thai Cooking Demo
Another chance to take part in a cooking demonstration (limited to 15 people) followed by a great tasting menu (max. 50 people) with live music.
Location: Yindees restaurant, Lyrath Estate Hotel, Carlow Road
Price: €32.50 for demo and lunch or €25 for lunch only
Bookings: 056 7760088

12.30pm - 3pm Kid’s Quirky Cuisine
Fun cooking and entertainment for kids and a healthy cooking demonstration for grown ups by Sheila Kelly from An Bord Bia.
Location: Kilkenny Suite, Springhill Court Hotel, Waterford Road
No charge.

1pm - 3pm All aboard the QE2!
Indulge in a sumptuous QE2-style brunch buffet with entertainment by the Kilkenny Gospel Choir. An experience not to be missed. Book early!
Location: Kilkenny Rivercourt Hotel
Price: €39.95
Bookings: 056 7723388

2pm Traditional Hog Roast
Experience all the heady aromas and flavours of a traditional spit roast. All the pork you can eat with delicious salads, breads and sauces in an idyllic setting within the Woodstock demesne
Location: Bassett’s at Woodstock, Inistioge.
Price: €27.50
Bookings: 056 7758820

6pm Ready, Steady, Cook!
Watch rugby heroes Ian Dowling and Mick Galwey get to grips with cooking in a hilarious celebrity version of the TV show. Don’t miss this!
Location: Paris Texas, High Street
Price: €15 to be paid at the door.

7.30pm Polish Tasting Menu
Your chance to enjoy Polish food at its best
Location: Café Sol, William Street
Price: €35
Bookings: 056 7764987

8pm Yes Chefs!
Kilkenny woman Dorcas Barry, star of RTE’s Heat with Kevin Dundon and Kevin Thornton, puts on her chef’s whites again and joins a line-out of Kilkenny chefs - Mark Gaffney, Rob Crowley, Will Fitzgerald and Mary McEvoy - for a gala tasting menu. Each chef will prepare a different course.
Location: Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel
Price: €100
Bookings: 056 7723900

MONDAY 27th OCTOBER
10am - 12pm Kids Kitchen - FULLY BOOKED
Anne Neary of Rylands Cookery will give you great ideas for easy things to cook when there is no one else to do it for you! Watch a demonstration and then get stuck in yourself. Go home so skilled you might always be asked to cook…so be warned! For 10 - 12 year olds and 13 - 15 year olds (two groups in separate kitchens).
Location: Loreto Convent Secondary School, Granges Road
Price: €25
Bookings: 086 2767656

11am County Food Trail
Here is a special opportunity to visit artisan food producers in their own homes where they make some of our best local products. You will be able to chat to them and feel the passion for what they do. There will be tastings and an opportunity to buy some of their products.
Meet the bus at Kilkenny Castle 11am
Full details on the County Map page. www.aruralexperience.com
Price: €15 Children under 12 half price
Bookings: 056 7727590, 087 6432130

1pm Kilkenny Slow Food
Eco-Dining Event
Slow Food at Fleva; set lunch featuring the best of local fare and starting with an organic bubbles reception. Special Slow Food children’s menu and art workshop. Guest speakers: Donal Lehane, Slow Food Movement and Malcolm Noonan, Green Party.
Location: Fleva, High Street
Price: €35
Bookings: 056 7770021

2pm County Food Trail
Here is chance to visit some other producers and indulge in a sumptuous afternoon tea…a real learning-in-luxury experience.
Full details on the County Map page.
Price: €25 Children under 12 half price
Bookings: 056 7727590, 087 6432130

3pm Foodie Flicks presents Howl’s Moving Castle
Family entertainment with complimentary cupcakes
Location: The Parade Tower, Kilkenny Castle
Price: €5 or €15 for a family ticket (1 adult over 16yrs and 3 kids).
Payment at the door. Children's drinks sponsored by Kilkenny Water. Cupcakes by SugarSweet

7.30pm Renvyle & The Rivercourt
Fresh from his success as ‘Best Chef in Connacht’ Tim O’Sullivan from Renvyle House Hotel teams up with Gerard Dunne, Kilkenny Rivercourt, to create an amazing six-course tasting dinner with wines. A great close to the festival - book early to avoid disappointment!
Location: Kilkenny Rivercourt Hotel
Price: €110
Bookings: 056 7723388

7.30pm Jazz it Up
A five course wine-tasting dinner with matching wines presented by Liam Murray of The Wine
Centre, Kilkenny. Sparkling wine reception. Live violin jazz
Location: Café Sol, William Street, Kilkenny
Price: €75 (€65 when booked and paid by 19 October 2008)
Bookings: 056 7764987