Verona, September 2026: Good Food Ireland® will bring Ireland’s living food culture to Tocatì 2026 in Verona, as part of Ireland’s programme as Guest Country of Honour at the internationally recognised festival of traditional games, culture and community.

Taking place from 18–20 September 2026, Tocatì has transformed the streets of Verona since 2003 into a vibrant space where heritage, play and people come together under the umbrella of UNESCO.

In 2026, holding the EU Presidency, Ireland will be the Guest of Honour, with Gaelic Games Europe leading the Irish programme on this major European stage. A multi-agency partnership including Tourism Ireland, Bord Bia (CEE), Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, European Commission, Léargas, European Parliament, European Parliament Ireland and Irish diplomatic networks across Italy will come together to showcase hurling and traditional games, alongside Irish culture, language, music and storytelling to over 100,000 visitors.

As part of this programme, Good Food Ireland® is representing Ireland’s culinary food story in partnership with Tourism Ireland, bringing the island of Ireland’s food, producers, traditions and sense of place to an international audience.

Over the festival weekend, Good Food Ireland® will present a programme of live culinary demonstrations, tastings and storytelling, showing how food can provide one of the most authentic ways for visitors to experience Ireland.

The programme will be led by Margaret Jeffares, Founder of Good Food Ireland®, farmer and culinary cultural storyteller, alongside Ed Cooney, Executive Chef at The Merrion, Dublin.

Together, they will explore the connections between Ireland’s food, landscape, farming, fishing, hospitality and communities, demonstrating how ingredients and dishes can tell the story of Ireland.

Three culinary themes, using Irish ingredients shipped from Ireland to Italy,  will bring a genuine and authentic tasting story to life:

1. The Irish Welcome
   A celebration of Irish hospitality and food traditions through Irish brown bread, served with Irish butter, Irish farmhouse cheese and smoked Irish organic salmon.
2. The Coastal Waters
   An exploration of Ireland’s coastal food culture through Irish seafood chowder, highlighting the richness of Ireland’s waters and the fishing communities and traditions connected to them.
3. The Land
   A contemporary Irish beef dish showcasing premium Irish grass fed beef and exploring the relationship between Ireland’s landscape, farming heritage, seasonality and exceptional produce.

Each session will combine live cooking, storytelling and authentic tasting, allowing visitors to discover not only what Irish food tastes like, but where it comes from, who produces it and the people and traditions behind it.

“For more than 20 years, Good Food Ireland® has championed the people, businesses and producers that make Ireland’s food culture distinctive. Its work brings together Irish food and drink, hospitality, tourism and authentic experiences, helping demonstrate the role food can play in how visitors discover and experience Ireland.

Tocatì provides a particularly strong setting for this story. The festival celebrates traditions that remain alive because people and communities continue to practise and pass them on, a philosophy that resonates strongly with Ireland’s own food culture.

Good Food Ireland® will bring that same sense of connection to Ireland’s culinary programme, from the land and coastline to the kitchen and the table. Connecting culture with the visitor experience”, says Margaret Jeffares, Founder of Good Food Ireland®.

Through its programme at Tocatì, Good Food Ireland® will show how Irish food can move beyond a tasting experience to become a gateway to Ireland itself, encouraging visitors to discover the people who produce its food, the landscapes that shape it, the traditions that have been passed down and the hospitality that brings it all together.

Find Out More About Good Food Ireland Experiences

Find Out More About Good Food Ireland

-ENDS-