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food-drink · Monday 3 August 2026 · 9:30am 
Ballymaloe Cookery School - 5 Week Summer Cookery Course 2026
At Ballymaloe Cookery School · Shanagarry, Midleton, Co. Cork
At Ballymaloe Cookery School · Shanagarry, Midleton, Co. Cork
Five weeks on a 100-acre organic farm in East Cork, learning to cook properly - this is the Ballymaloe Cookery School’s condensed take on its famous 12-week Certificate Course. It suits gap-year students figuring out their next move, career changers with an eye on the food industry, and serious home cooks who want a genuine grounding rather than a weekend workshop. If you have ever wanted to leave knowing how to fillet a fish, keep a sourdough alive, make butter from scratch, and pull off a great tart, this is the course to do it on.
The five weeks cover a wide range of cooking fundamentals - stocks and broths, breads, pastry, fish, pickling, fermenting, and preservation, as well as desserts, cakes, and cookies. Each week rotates through additional activities: cow milking in the farm dairy, sourdough sessions in the bakery, visits to the glasshouse, work in the fermentory, hedgerow foraging, cheese-making, butchery, and wine tasting. Students gather produce with the gardeners from the kitchen gardens on the estate, so the connection between field and plate is built into the week rather than tacked on as a day trip.
Demonstrations take place in purpose-built kitchens fitted with overhead mirrors and monitors so you can follow close-up work clearly. Breakfast and lunch are included during the course. On-site accommodation is available in converted farm buildings, self-catering, which makes the residential aspect easy to manage for people coming from outside Cork.
The lead instructor was listed as To Be Confirmed at time of writing - check the school’s site before booking for the latest details.
Ballymaloe Cookery School is in Shanagarry, roughly 35 km east of Cork City. By car, take the N25 east from Cork and follow signs for Midleton, then Shanagarry - allow about 40 minutes from the city. Bus Éireann runs regular services between Cork and Midleton (around 35 minutes), and from Midleton you can take a taxi the remaining few kilometres to Shanagarry. Midleton itself has a train station on the Mallow line, which connects to Cork Kent. Parking on site is available for those driving.
Midleton is a pleasant market town with a strong food culture of its own, and Shanagarry puts you within easy reach of the East Cork coast - Ballycotton, Garryvoe, and the scenic Cloyne Cathedral are all close by. There is more to see in Midleton and across Co. Cork.
Heading to Ballymaloe Cookery School in Midleton? Cork has plenty more to see. Read the Midleton area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.