On Saturday, 20th September, the SECAD team brought the “Celebrating Multiculturalism Through Food” event to life in the streets of Macroom. The festival is part of SECAD’s long-standing initiative to celebrate diversity, share cultures, and bring communities together through food.
Two weeks earlier, on Saturday, 6th September, the same event took place in Midleton as part of the fEast Cork festival programme. In both towns, people from different cultural backgrounds shared their national dishes, offering free tastings and opportunities to connect with one another through food.
Since 2017, SECAD’s Celebrating Multiculturalism Through Food initiative has brought a vibrant intercultural dimension to Midleton and Macroom, fostering meaningful connections between long-standing residents and newer community members from over 40 countries. Each year, families share their favourite dishes, bringing flavours, stories, and traditions to life.
At this year’s Macroom festival, visitors enjoyed flavours from South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The streets were filled with the aromas of biryani, butter chicken, African rice, Bangladeshi sweets, baklava, kabli pilao, Puff Puff, Bobotu, noodles, naan, and many more dishes. People of all ages came together to taste, chat, and celebrate the diversity and richness of the community.
SECAD would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who cooked, shared, supported, and attended the events in both Macroom and Midleton. Your participation helped make these celebrations so welcoming and memorable.
Food truly connects people as it breaks down barriers and brings communities together through shared meals, laughter, and friendship. SECAD looks forward to continuing this initiative and to seeing everyone again next year for another celebration of culture, flavours, and community spirit.
