Cheese festivals

Kilkenny Farmers Market runs every Thursday on The Parade with up to 20 County Kilkenny producers selling farmhouse cheese, smoked trout, organic meat, honey.

The Phuket Vegetarian Festival fills Ranong Road with yellow-flagged jay stalls for nine days: no meat, dairy, eggs, garlic or onion, served beside dawn shrine processions.

TipStreet stalls near Jui Tui Shrine open from about 06:30; many Old Town family kitchens close or go jay-only for the week.

Wine Fest, run by The Fives Hotels in Playa del Carmen, south of Cancún, reaches its 11th edition on 17 October 2026: more than 80 wine labels, grill and cheese stations and live music.

TipGeneral admission was MXN 1,890 for 2026; the date has moved between December and October, so check the ticket page before the drive.

More than 60 independent growers from Côte-d'Or, Saône-et-Loire, Yonne and Jura pour their wines at the Parc des Expositions and sell at domaine prices, with cheese, foie gras and Hiroshima sake stands alongside.

TipGo Friday afternoon for unhurried tastings; growers sell by the bottle, so bring a bag or arrange shipping at the stand.

The Good Food & Wine Show fills the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre for three days in late October with 200 plus exhibitors, Good Eat Street stalls, Cheese Corner, Bakers Alley, wine pavilions and masterclasses.

TipOpen 9am to 5pm Friday and Saturday, 10am to 5pm Sunday; single day tickets start at $49.95 and a three day pass at $99.95.

Maine Veg Fest is the Maine Animal Coalition's free plant-based food day, now in its 21st year, at the East End Community School with thirteen vendors, three food trucks outside, samples and meals for sale indoors, speakers and live music at noon.

TipFree to enter, with food bought from the vendors; the day runs 11:00 to 15:00, and the vegan cheese and meat making talk is a draw for cooks.

Omaha Reubenfest celebrates the city's claim to the Reuben sandwich every first week of November at Crescent Moon Ale House on Farnam Street, with a week of Reuben variations from the classic Blackstone Reuben to creative riffs like Reuben egg rolls and Reuben mac and cheese.

Snowport turns 100 Seaport Blvd into a holiday market each November, with more than 125 small vendors and a 10,000 square foot food hall of about 20 food and drink stalls and holiday bars.

Tip2026 dates were not announced when we checked; the 2025 market ran 7 November to 28 December, with timed weekend tickets in the Seaport Insider app.

The market on the medieval Am Hof square carries a broader food range than most: Tyrolean Groestl, Alpine cheese, Langos and open sandwiches, plus punch, mulled wine and a champagne bar.

TipFood and drink counters serve an hour later than the craft stalls, so the square is calmest for eating after 21:00.

Vienna's oldest Christmas market stands on the Freyung between the Schottenstift and the city palaces, with a farmers' section selling ham, cheese and regional wine beside the punch stalls.

TipCome on a weekday morning for the farmers' section: the better hams and Alpine cheeses are picked over by evening.

Polarzauber is the indoor Christmas market in the main hall of Zurich's main station, about 110 stalls under the Lindt tree, with food stalls open until 22:00 or 23:00 and a fondue train.

TipThe Parsennbahn Fondue-Express, a cheese fondue dinner in a train carriage inside the hall, is reserved through the organiser for groups of 20 to 88.

Three-day food and wine consumer show at ICC Sydney, Darling Harbour. Cheese, charcuterie, hatted-restaurant chef demos and Australian wine producer stalls.

Welsh'Fest gives Gare Saint-Sauveur over to the north's cheese-and-beer toast for a weekend, with restaurant stands, masterclasses, concerts and an international welsh contest.

TipEntry is free. Ten restaurateurs cook, and four contests run: Espoir, Amateur, Pro and a team Relais.

The Eixample's Christmas market, about a hundred stalls ringing the square in front of the Passio facade since 1962. One of its four sectors is food: honey, cheese, cured meats, crepes and churros.

TipIt runs at the same time as the Fira de Santa Llucia and is the one of the two with a food sector, plus a sweet stall for children.

Salon Aux Vignobles brings 190 growers and producers to the Beaujoire park in Nantes each November, from Loire whites to charcuterie and chocolate.

TipEntry is €5 on the door with an obligatory €2 INAO tasting glass, and under-18s go in free; the run covers the last weekend of November.

An 800 square metre tent in front of the Campo Pequeno arena holds about 80 Portuguese makers over two pre-Christmas weekends, the gourmet aisle stocked with wine, cheese, cured meats and jams.

TipIt opens for two separate weekends rather than straight through; check the dates before travelling.

Prague's flagship Christmas market runs on Old Town Square from late November to early January, with mulled wine, klobasa, fried cheese sandwiches, kolache.

TipOpen daily 10:00-22:00; the cheapest mulled wine is on the back side of the tree.

The Foire de Nantes fills the Beaujoire halls each April, its Vins et gastronomie section stacked with cheese, charcuterie, champagne and craft beer.

TipThe fair opens over five days at the start of April; the Vins et gastronomie aisle is one of five themed sections, so start there.

Salon Saveurs des Plaisirs Gourmands is the Paris gourmet fair at Espace Champerret. Producers from across France show regional specialities, charcuterie.

Vinski podrum fills the cellars of Diocletian's Palace for two April days with more than 80 exhibitors and 400 labels of Croatian wine, plus cheese, cured meats and olive oil stands and winemaker workshops.

TipThe 2026 edition ran Friday from 14:00 and Saturday to 21:00; Friday afternoon is the quiet slot for talking to winemakers.

A spring craft beer festival at Stadshaven Brouwerij in Lloydkwartier with 40+ Dutch and international brewers plus cheese and bread pairing stalls.

Genuss-Festival at Vienna's Stadtpark runs 8 to 10 May 2026 with more than 100 food producers and small manufacturers from across Austria's regions, tastings and warm dishes included.

The Burren Slow Food Festival in Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare, is a free one-day artisan food fair with producers and chef demonstrations, held on a Sunday in May near Galway.

A weekend of plant based cooking in the Jardim do Torel: 24 chefs, Michelin kitchens among them, plus food trucks for seitan burgers, pizza and acai bowls and a market of vegan cheese and pastry.

TipEach session is ticketed at 25 euros with 20 back in food and drink; under 12s pay only for what they eat.

Recco, 25 minutes by train from Genoa, has celebrated its cheese focaccia since 1955: the consortium's bakers hand out thousands of hot slices in the town centre all day, with a one-kilo eating challenge.

TipFree; trains from Genova Brignole are packed after 11am, so go early. The 2027 edition is Sunday 23 May.

An hour east of Cape Town, Franschhoek marks Bastille Day on 11 and 12 July 2026 with wine and cheese tastings, food stalls, a boules tournament and a best-dressed contest in blue, white and red.

TipTickets are limited and date specific, and the Saturday runs 11:00 to 17:00 with the boules tournament, so pick your day first.

Sydney's four-day Bastille Day food festival at Circular Quay and The Rocks, Sydney. French wine, cheese, charcuterie, oysters and live cabaret programming.

Warsaw restaurants take over Plac Centralny for three days of cooking at open stalls, with separate wine, cheese and craft zones. Entry is free and you pay only for the plates you order.

TipFood stops at 23:00 while the bars run later. Friday opens at 16:00 and is the quietest service of the three days.

Austria's farming chambers take the Heldenplatz for a weekend each September, a farmers' market plus Heuriger wine tents, mountain cheese, pumpkin oil, carp and Schmankerl from every province.

TipEntry is free and the stalls sell produce to take home as well as to eat, so bring a bag along with an appetite.

Hessen Haus turns its beer hall over to Oktoberfest for more than two weeks from mid-September, pouring Hofbraeu, Paulaner, Warsteiner and Spaten from Germany in litre steins or Das Boot, with over fifty biers on tap alongside giant Bavarian pretzels, bratwurst, schnitzel and spaetzle.

TipThe run is continuous rather than weekend-only, so a weekday visit avoids the stein-hoisting crowds; the kitchen keeps its regular menu alongside the festival dishes.

Vermont Cheesemakers Festival, the Vermont Cheese Council's 13th annual tasting day at the Breeding Barn at Shelburne Farms on 20 September 2026, sold out, with cheesemaker panels and alcohol sampling.

TipTickets sell out, so buy early; all festival traffic uses the south gate of Shelburne Farms, and there is no ATM on site, so bring cash.