What’s in Season in Kilkenny

What is in season in Kilkenny, and what to order when the market changes.

Next up in Kilkenny

22-26 OctKilkenny artisan producers, street food, cookery demonstrations, craft brewers and distillers, restaurant dining events

Spring

Wild garlic: Wild garlic from the river banks and hedgerows around the Nore valley appears on Kilkenny's best seasonal menus in March and April, used in purees, butters, and pesto across the city's farm-to-fork kitchens.
Purple sprouting broccoli: Purple sprouting broccoli from County Kilkenny vegetable farms appears at the Thursday Farmers Market from February and on fine-dining menus through April, often paired with pan-fried fish and hollandaise at Campagne and its contemporaries.
Rhubarb: Early-season rhubarb from County Kilkenny farms is the first local fruit of spring, appearing in dessert menus at Petronella and Campagne and in pastries and jams at Arán from March. Forced rhubarb with cream is a recurring spring dessert signature.

Goatsbridge smoked trout: Goatsbridge Trout Farm's smoked rainbow trout and caviar from the River Nore catchment are the signature food product of County Kilkenny, available direct from the farm shop in Thomastown and through artisan retailers in Kilkenny city. Summer is peak for farm tours and the full lunch menu at the farm.
Strawberries and summer berries: Irish strawberries and mixed summer berries from County Kilkenny growers arrive at the Thursday Farmers Market from June and inspire the season's dessert menus at Cakeface and Petronella, whose farm connection to Mountain View produces seasonal berry-driven dessert plates through August.
Highbank Orchard apple syrup and spirits: Highbank Orchard in Cuffesgrange, County Kilkenny produces biodynamic orchard syrups, apple cider vinegar, and farm spirits from its heritage apple varieties, available in Kilkenny artisan shops and used as a mixer at select bars. The orchard is an important anchor of the county's craft food production.

County Kilkenny farmhouse cheese: Autumn brings the richest farmhouse cheese production from County Kilkenny's pastures, with Knockdrinna's Meadow Sheep and Gold Goat cheeses at their most complex after summer grazing. The Thursday Farmers Market carries the widest cheese selection of the year through October and November.
Game and autumnal harvest: Autumn coincides with Savour Kilkenny (October Bank Holiday) and the start of game season, when Campagne and Lady Helen at Mount Juliet feature venison, pheasant, and autumnal game alongside root vegetables and wild mushrooms from the Nore Valley. Kilkenny's finest dining kitchens do their most dramatic seasonal cooking from October.
Apples and orchard fruit: Heritage and cider apple varieties from County Kilkenny orchards peak in September and October, available fresh at the Farmers Market and processed into Highbank Orchard's syrups, vinegars, and spirits. Apple tarts and crumbles appear on cafe and restaurant dessert menus across the county.

Going to Kilkenny Farmers Market?

Hotels in Kilkenny, 29 Oct

Holidufrom USD 66 a night

Smithwick's Original Red Ale: Smithwick's Original Red Ale is the year-round drink of Kilkenny but comes into its own in winter as the city's pubs fill for trad music sessions at Kyteler's, Cleere's, and Matt The Millers. A pint of Smithwick's beside a turf fire is the defining winter food experience in the Marble City.
Irish stew and winter pub food: Kilkenny's pub kitchens lean into hearty winter dishes from November through March, with traditional Irish stew, Guinness pie, and chowder appearing across the city's gastropubs. Langton's on John Street and Kyteler's on St Kieran's Street are the most consistent winter pub-food destinations.