‘What do you have for breakfast?” said one gentleman to the other. He thought for a moment before answering. “I begin the day with a live culture of yoghurt and some muesli.”

“And do you make the muesli yourself?” asked the first. Well, he launched into his recipe naming the nuts, sea salt, dried fruit, lots of seeds and more. He described the process. I was intrigued. This gentleman was very serious about his food.

“And do you activate your nuts?” asked the first gentleman. “Of course,” he replied. It took me all my composure not to laugh out loud.

I was holding a few table spaces for my daughter-in-law, Aileen; my little granddaughter, Katie and my friend, Marianne, while they collected some food for us to enjoy at the Ballymaloe Food Festival 2026. Meanwhile, I imagined the nuts dancing across the table. Marianne returned – and to my surprise, she knew about the nut activation process.

You soak them for several hours, you rinse them and then dehydrate them. It’s about reducing phytic acid and improving digestion. Guess what? The science is unclear on it and it doesn’t always work, so I’m sticking with the plain auld nuts I know and love.

Change we must

In her role as the FBD Young Farmer of the Year 2025, Aileen was speaking on a panel at the festival entitled ‘Change We Must’. Aileen is a dairy farmer and teacher from Co Cork and she was joined on the panel by a host of other inspiring women – Sophie Bell is a young beef farmer and influencer from Co Cavan; Carina Roseingrave from Co Clare has been appointed Ireland’s ambassador for the International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026 by the Department of Agriculture – she farms with her brother on a mixed farm and she has a free-range egg enterprise; Ailbhe Gerrard is an organic farmer and beekeeper from Co Tipperary and Josephine O’Neill, Macra na Feirme president is a teacher and drystock farmer from Co Kilkenny. The young women were interviewed by Karen O’Donohoe.

It was a lively discussion and it was clear that these young women wanted to farm from a young age and that there were barriers that had to be overcome.

They need support and many young farmers have to have a second career in order to make a decent living. They are not afraid of work but they need specific supports to succeed. Aileen believes that there are plenty of young farmers, men and women, looking for the opportunity to farm.

It was a lively discussion and it was clear that these young women wanted to farm from a young age and that there were barriers that had to be overcome

The Ballymaloe Food Festival ran for three days. It drew huge crowds that were excellently managed. There was a sense of enjoyment, discovery and newness about the place. Everything was pristine. There was plenty of seating with lots of people chatting. Organic food, biodiversity and sustainability were the buzzwords.

The walled garden was open, the wisteria was in full bloom on the main Ballymaloe House, the cookery school was alive and the grain stores were full of food stalls.

You knew you were among people deeply committed to the production of food and the visitors wanted to show their appreciation. It was very easy to spend money as stall after stall enticed us in from chocolatiers to bread makers, from sauce makers to craft makers. They were all there.

The aim of the Ballymaloe team was to celebrate everyone in the supply chain. There were talks and walks, demonstrations and debate and lots of workshops. We dropped in for Saturday evening and we were slow to leave but we had commitments and little Katie had enough after three hours.

They say it takes a village to raise a child. It took two grannies to mind Katie in Ballymaloe as she blackened her hands on the garden soil.