The Speciality Food Fair returns on 15 & 16 August with even more to see, do and taste! Set in the parkland of Moira Demesne, this unmissable two day celebration of food is a great day out with food, music, demos, inspiration, and community.
You'll find food producers, farmers, artisan makers, bakers, brewers and food innovators who are collectively making Northern Ireland's food scene incredibly exciting. Expect local favourites and surprising specialists from further afield.
What’s in the speciality food tent?
The heart of the fair is the Speciality Food Hall, where you'll find Northern Ireland's finest artisan producers gathered under one roof, a wonderfully concentrated celebration of what this region does best.
Step inside and you'll find the full range of what makes this region's food culture so compelling right now. There are award-winning preserves and hand-crafted condiments, beautifully aged and fresh cheeses, raw honeys and foraged foods, heritage cured meats and rare-breed produce, seasonal vegetables grown with care, and baked goods that you won’t be able to resist.
Alongside the food, you'll discover artisan chocolatiers, specialist coffee roasters, craft drinks producers, and makers of fudge, and exquisite patisserie.
What sets this Food Hall apart isn't just the quality of the conversation. These are producers who know their craft deeply and love to talk about it. Ask where something comes from, how it's made, what makes it different, and you'll get a genuine, passionate answer. This is food with a story, made by people who mean it.
Innovation in food is at an all-time high, and nowhere is that more alive or more joyfully rooted in real craft than here in Lisburn & Castlereagh.
Find unique handmade crafts
Beyond the Speciality Food Hall you’ll find local artisan makers and crafts covering everything from fine art to ceramics, jewellery to homewares. Plus, on Saturday you’ll be able to pick up beautiful bouquets of locally grown flowers.
Street food
Step into the Demesne parkland and you’ll discover a vast range of street food stalls and trucks. You’ll be spoilt for choice as you find traditional favourites of seafood, hot pies, loaded fries and burgers, but also international flavours and foraged creations.
Be inspired at our Kitchen Sessions
One of the highlights of the 2026 fair is the return of the Kitchen Sessions. This year we have local Food Writer and winner of BBC Best Home Cook, Suzi Lee hosting the Kitchen Sessions on Saturday. Suzi will also be performing a cooking demo.
On Sunday we have the inimitable Paula McIntyre back with us! Chef, broadcaster, and one of Northern Ireland's most beloved food voices, renowned throughout Ireland in her role as the Chair of the Guild of Food Writers, Paula brings warmth, wit, and real culinary knowledge to the demo kitchen, and her sessions are always among the most talked-about moments of the day.
Joining both hosts in the kitchen will be a lineup of talented chefs demonstrating everything from simple seasonal techniques to more adventurous dishes drawing on the incredible range of produce you'll find at the fair itself. Watch, learn, ask questions, and - the best bit - taste the results. The Kitchen Sessions are free to watch and always draw a crowd, so get there early to grab a good spot.
Kitchen Session schedule
Schedule to be confirmed so check back for updates!
Chef Chris McGown, Wine and Brine
Chef Stevie Higginson, Square Bistro
Chef Sabeh Sendi, Carthago Moira
Chef Paddy Lee, Wine and Brine
Chef Jamie Rea
Chef Bob McDonald - Burren Balsamics
Comperes and demos
Saturday - Suzi Lee
Sunday - Paula McIntyre
Talks Tent
If the Kitchen Sessions whet your appetite for knowledge, the Speciality Talks programme goes deeper. Featuring chefs, growers, and food thinkers from across Lisburn & Castlereagh and beyond, the talks cover the topics that matter most to anyone who cares about what's on their plate, seasonal cooking, heritage ingredients, sustainable food systems, and the quiet craft behind the products you'll be buying just a few steps away.
Live music stage
This year there’s a music programme that runs all day and suits every mood. We’ve got the joyful Lisburn Ukes and the incredible voices of the Rock Choir. Plus there’s soulful sounds from the Arco String Quartet, Ben Cutler Music and Ria Maguire. The Boom Strutt Band will bring the energy and get you moving.
Music schedule
Saturday 15th August
10am - 12pm Ben Cutler Music
12.30pm - 1.30pm Lisburn Ukes
2pm - 4pm Boom Strutt Band
4pm - 6pm Stones from David
Sunday 16th August
10am - 12pm Twice Over
12.30pm - 1.30pm Rock Choir - South Belfast & Lisburn
2pm - 4pm Arco String Quartet
4pm - 6pm Ria Maguire Duo
Children’s entertainment
There’s also plenty for the kids to do including giant garden games, arts and craft activities, balloon modelling, face painting and interactive characters to meet as you browse through the fair.
Bar Tent
This year the bar tent will be hosted by the team at Square Bistro Lisburn, renowned for their warm and fun hospitality style, we are excited to see them flourish under the Speciality Food Fair bar tent canvas!
Trader Lineup
Saturday 15th August
Food Hall:
Amazin Grazin
Amberline Preserves
Autumn Harvest
Ballydown Milk
Burren Balsamics
Cherryvalley Farm
Corleggy Cheeses
Crawfords Rock
Cult! Plant-based Cheese
Erin Grove Preserves
Habanero Steves
Hinch Distillery
Indie Fude
Jack's Fudge
Johnsons Coffee
Ke Nako Biltong
Kennedy Bacon
Kin & Folk Bakery
Little Cake Works
Long Meadow Cider
Moocha Kombucha
O'Malley Berry Co.
Ollie's Patisserie
Papas Mineral Company
Red Dog Artisan Food
Rosie McNeill Cakes
Ten Watch Chocolates
The Curly Pigs
The Daily Apron
The local NI
The Pie Shop, Moira
Tom and Ollie
Tori's Coffee Bakes and cakes
Tullyveery Market Garden
Wild Atlantic Distillery Ltd
Art & Design Village
Amber Jordan Design
Bough & Burr Furniture
Deborah Campbell Artist
Fi Makes
Fiddle Fig
MUD Ireland
Porcelain-white Ceramics
Rachel Leary Ceramics
Simply N Jewellery
The Quirky Flamingo
Flowers, Wellbeing and more:
Gracehill Flower Farm
Humblebee Therapies
MLJ Therapy
Co Down Honey Collective
For Dogs:
The Woofternoon Tea Company
Street food, coffee, ice cream and more:
All Event Catering- Pasta & Toastie
Coop Coffee Co
Fruitonic juicebar
In the Mix - coffee and cakes
Indie Fude - Raclette trailer
Mischief by Chef Rory Gorman
Moon Gelato
Noreen's Nettles (Food Trailer Pod)
Simply Scampi
Square pops up
Tapitas
The Crepe Makers
The Curious Farmer
The Fancy Fox Coffee company
The Flavoursmyth
The Griddle
The Hatch
The Oystercatcher
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Sunday 16th August
Food Hall:
Amberline Preserves
Apple Tree Farm
Burren Balsamics
Corleggy Cheeses
Crawfords Rock
Cult! Plant-based Che*se
Erin Grove Preserves
Fruitonic juicebar
Indie Fude
Jackson Roze
Johnsons Coffee
Ke Nako Biltong
Kennedy Bacon
Kin & Folk Bakery
Little Cake Works
Long Meadow Cider
Moocha Kombucha
O'Malley Berry Co.
Papas Mineral Company
Peggy's Family Farm
Red Dog Artisan Food
Rosie McNeill Cakes
Shorthorn kitchen
Stonebridge Farm
Ten Watch Chocolates
The Curly Pigs
The Daily Apron
The Pie Shop, Moira
Tom & Ollie
Tori's Coffee Bakes and cakes
Walled City Fudge
Wild Atlantic Distillery Ltd
Art & Craft Village:
Ali Parks
Amber Jordan Design (AJD)
Ayeen Art
B Blane Design
Bough & Burr Furniture
Frances Magee Art
Gemma Blakely Art
Sage & Soul
Thomas Powell Pottery
Flowers, Wellbeing and more:
Humblebee Therapies
MLJ Therapy
Co Down Honey Collective
Street food, coffee, ice cream and more:
All Event Catering - Pasta & Toastie
Coop Coffee Co
Fruitonic Juicebar
In the Mix - coffee and cakes
Indie Fude - Raclette trailer
Mischief by Chef Rory Gorman
Moon Gelato
Noreen's Nettles (Food Trailer Pod)
Simply Scampi
Square pops up
Tapitas
The Crepe Makers
The Curious Farmer
The Fancy Fox Coffee company
The Flavoursmyth
The Griddle
The Hatch
The Oystercatcher
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Event details:
Moira Demesne
Free Parking - stewarded on-site parking in the Demesne grounds
Saturday 15th & Sunday 16th August
