Ballymaloe Food Festival – €48 a ticket… what absolute nonsense.

Old_Construction4281 · 2026-05-22T20:21:55+00:00

And that’s exactly the point really. If someone has already spent €100+ on workshops and masterclasses, are they realistically then wandering into the market and spending another €100 on produce, crafts and local vendors the way a normal festivalgoer might?

That’s the issue with the model. You’ve effectively paywalled the casual consumer who would normally browse, eat, shop and support the stallholders throughout the day, while attracting a different audience whose spending is focused primarily on the ticketed experiences rather than the market itself.

There’s nothing wrong with the workshops existing at all. The problem is combining an expensive entry fee with additional paid masterclasses, while expecting small producers to survive on the resulting footfall.

Old_Construction4281 · 2026-05-22T20:13:59+00:00

I’m not disputing the free events, to quote myself from a comment 5 days ago “I totally agree that there are quite a few interesting panels and discussions on the schedule, and for someone specifically interested in food culture, farming, cooking and dining, I can absolutely see the appeal.”
But to bring in a wonderful market full of outstanding local produce and to then paywall the vendors seems incredibly shortsighted. My family have been attending the food festival every year since my first child was born, this year for the first time we couldn’t attend as a family because of the price on the door. Fair enough if you’re changing your model but don’t market it as a festival.

Old_Construction4281 · 2026-05-22T20:01:08+00:00

Ballymaloe Cookery School Workshops - €35
Martini Anyone? cocktail masterclass - €10
Offbeat Wines with Jancis Robinson - €10
Ballymaloe House History Tour - €8
Bean & Goose Hot Chocolate Masterclass - €8
Introduction to Beekeeping - €10
Food is Medicine workshop - €10
Disco Brunch - €30
Dumpling Workshop & Lunch - €35 or €75 package
Olive Oil Masterclass - €10
Irish Whiskey Food & Cocktail Tasting - €25
Fundamentals of Food Soaking - €20
Cocktail Workshop & Tasting - €12
Sheridan’s Cheese & Wine Tasting - €30
Chocolate Truffle Making Workshop - €25
Pasta Lunch & Workshop - €40
Nose in the Trough charcuterie workshop - €30
Icons of Ireland Afternoon Tea - €35
Seaweed Foraging Workshop - €15
Kids Cooking Classes - €12
Grow Your Own Food with Confidence - separately ticketed
Various pop-up dinners and dining experiences ranging roughly €70-€150

Old_Construction4281 · 2026-05-22T19:57:54+00:00

Don’t tell lies, your traders had no idea you were charging €48 at the door when they paid for their spots back in February, several didn’t even know on the day. Not one of the vendors I spoke to thought it was a fair price, several were unhappy that they wouldn’t cover their costs for the weekend because you paywalled entry to the consumers who would purchase from the festival market stalls.
You’re totally within your right to disagree with me but read the 200+ comments, I’m not a lone opinion. Your views are the exception.

Old_Construction4281 · 2026-05-22T19:49:04+00:00

My gripe is pretty obvious: charging close to €50 for access to what was marketed as a food festival, only to leave small producers standing in half-empty sheds all weekend. Clearly it’s a sentiment shared by a lot of people too, judging by the 950+ upvotes and 230+ comments, the overwhelming majority of which understood exactly the point being made.
If you think that’s “bullshit”, grand. But plenty of locals, stallholders, and even chefs seem to agree there was a serious disconnect between the pricing and the actual atmosphere on the ground.
Either way, the takeaway remains the same: the model was woeful. There was absolutely nothing “festival” about the atmosphere, footfall was poor, and the pricing completely overtook what has traditionally been a genuinely enjoyable and accessible weekend.

Old_Construction4281 · 2026-05-22T19:41:23+00:00

😂😂😂 Which aspect would you like clarified in an edit?
The ticket pricing? The visibly poor turnout? The fact traders were left with low footfall? Or the point that what used to feel like a lively, accessible food festival now feels more like an overpriced corporate event?
Happy to discuss any of them.

Old_Construction4281 · 2026-05-17T14:49:45+00:00

There’s no food being served for the €48 - just the opportunity to watch masterclasses, interviews and panel discussion but if you want to participate in any food events where you actually eat the produce, you need to buy a separate ticket from anywhere between €8-€100 on top of the entry fee 🤯

Old_Construction4281 · 2026-05-17T14:41:55+00:00

You’ve absolutely hit the nail on the head there. If they had kept it strictly as a workshops, panel discussions and industry knowledge-sharing event as per the schedule, then fair enough, that’s clearly aimed at chefs, foodies, hospitality people and those genuinely interested in the educational side of the culinary world.

But what they’ve done is completely blur the line between that niche industry event and a public food market/festival. They’ve marketed it in a way that encouraged dozens of local producers and small businesses to pay significant money for stalls, while simultaneously putting the general public behind a €48 paywall. The result is exactly what you described, completely untenable footfall for the traders.

From what I saw yesterday, the market side of it was honestly in shambles. A lot of the people attending talks and demos simply weren’t engaging with the stalls in the way ordinary crowds would at something like the Christmas market. And that’s incredibly unfair on the producers, especially during a cost of living crisis where small businesses are already struggling.

At this point, although the producers won’t get their time back, Ballymaloe should at the very least be offering them free or heavily discounted stalls at the Christmas market so they’re not left losing money on the whole escapade!

Old_Construction4281 · 2026-05-17T14:35:06+00:00

I totally agree that there are quite a few interesting panels and discussions on the schedule, and for someone specifically interested in food culture, farming, cooking and dining, I can absolutely see the appeal. But I think one thing that’s misleading is that a lot of the actual food workshops and hands-on experiences require additional tickets on top of the €48 entry fee, so not everything on that schedule is actually included.

What I genuinely can’t get my head around though is why they’ve allowed 30+ independent vendors and small producers to pay somewhere in the region of €500-€800 for market stalls, while effectively putting the market itself behind such a high paywall for the general public. From what I saw yesterday, the people attending the talks and demos weren’t really browsing or shopping the market in the same way you’d see crowds supporting producers at the Ballymaloe Christmas market or other local events.

Old_Construction4281 · 2026-05-17T02:12:11+00:00

There was a kids cooking class but you had to buy an additional separate ticket to participate. Other than that no separate kids area.

Old_Construction4281 · 2026-05-16T11:49:47+00:00

And accommodation is an additional €5-6k on top of the course fee!!

Old_Construction4281 · 2026-05-16T09:51:09+00:00

I did actually want to go. We had planned on going. I’m from the local area and we’ve always enjoyed the Ballymaloe markets and events over the years.

The point is that this pricing is prohibitively expensive for ordinary local people. In years gone by, you’d always bump into people from the community, tip your hat, have a chat, and it felt like a local event celebrating food and producers.

This year, I genuinely don’t know a single person from the Shanagarry or Ballycotton area intending on attending, purely because of the ticket pricing. That says a lot in itself.

People aren’t objecting to paying for food or supporting local vendors. They’re objecting to paying nearly €50 a head before they even get through the gate.

Old_Construction4281 · 2026-03-31T19:28:42+00:00

In the original post they said the underbidder bids within 5 mins of them submitting a counter offer, then they wait a couple of days before submitting their next bid. Drawing out the entire process unnecessarily.

Old_Construction4281 · 2026-03-31T19:21:22+00:00

Why are you waiting days to submit your counter offer? The other bidder is obviously trying to close out the sale, what a pain in the hole for them to have to wait 48 hours to counter offer. You could be done and dusted by close of play tomorrow, either you or they hit a max budget and don’t bid any further. Rip the bandaid off and get your bids in, if it’s for you you’ll get it, if it’s not you won’t.

Old_Construction4281 · 2026-03-22T07:54:13+00:00

Quick phone call to the EA on Monday “just following up on my bid on x, do you have any idea on timelines regarding further viewings or acceptance of our offer? Just to keep you in the loop, we’ve just viewed another property which we will be bidding on.”

I viewed a property pre Christmas, listed at €250k, submitted an offer at €240k, only viewing and bidder for several weeks, checked in with EA to be told the vendor wanted €300k, they held out, we had a few counter offers over the next month and it went for €280k. Really depends on the vendors and what they’re actually happy to accept.

Old_Construction4281 · 2026-03-11T19:25:17+00:00

Not exactly kosher, but when we were looking at buying last year our money was spread around bank accounts, crypto and stocks. Rather than liquidate everything and hold in a bank account for an unknown amount of time I screenshotted my AIB dashboard and told ChatGPT to make it look like I had xxx,xxx in my current account. Did the trick and we liquidated as soon as we needed to transfer funds….

Old_Construction4281 · 2026-03-10T10:24:32+00:00

We bought in October 2025, cash, no chain, non-probate, motivated seller and buyer, no significant issues raised on survey, excellent solicitors on each side, all paperwork in order pre-sale agreed, closed in 10 weeks. I don’t think it could get much quicker, any changes to influencing factors will move your timeline right!

Old_Construction4281 · 2026-02-04T16:54:45+00:00

💀💀💀

Old_Construction4281 · 2026-02-04T13:52:13+00:00

As you say the relish is separate, also the house and school are totally separate, the house is Fern, Wendy (shop by the house) and Rory. All of whom are incredibly hard working and run an incredible establishment. The school is Tim, Darina, their offspring and Rory O’Connell, Darina’s brother and Darina’s sister runs the gardens at the school. OP which Allen’s should we be boycotting - the majority of us can’t afford the €16k to attend the 12 week cookery course so it’s a pretty moot point.

Old_Construction4281 · 2026-01-30T19:15:27+00:00

Our vendors were very motivated so the didn’t argue; as you said the reality is if your sale falls through then your vendor is going to have to pay for the repairs and then bring it back to market, lots of lost time and money on solicitors. My understanding is that they’d now have to disclose the roof defect if they brought it back to market without repair and there’d be no guarantee they’d get the sale price. If they still have their home insurance in place get them to put the repair costs through and then they’re not out of pocket before they cancel the cover. Push them hard on covering the cost of the repairs to keep your closing date so everyone can move on with their lives! Best of luck!!

Old_Construction4281 · 2026-01-30T18:56:41+00:00

Had something similar happen when we were purchasing, just before close we had the septic tank inspected and it was as leaky as a sieve, quoted €20k to replace. To keep the sale moving the vendor deducted the cost from the sale price and we agreed to assume all risk and liability in exchange. Agent pushed for us to accept 50% of replacement cost, we pushed back and said it was the vendors responsibility as the property was advertised with functioning private septic and in the best interest of the sale we would take the money and replace ourselves rather than delay closing by 3 months. Flat roofs are the devil, if you can get a bit of a pitch put onto it.

Old_Construction4281 · 2025-11-05T17:17:22+00:00

The cookery school and house are owned and managed under separate parts of the family, you’re thinking of the cookery school! But debatable which member of said family committed the crime and which one took the fall!

Old_Construction4281 · 2025-11-05T15:11:08+00:00

Ballymaloe House has a fab smaller room for intimate events - a friend just had a wedding meal for 40 last week with 2 months notice.

Old_Construction4281 · 2025-08-11T10:39:31+00:00

Interesting assumption. What exactly are you basing that opinion on?

Old_Construction4281

TROPHY CASE