TU Dublin to host Dublin Gastronomy Symposium 2026, exploring Food and Crisis/Hope
TU Dublin will welcome researchers, chefs, artists, activists and food industry professionals to Grangegorman this May for the 2026 Dublin Gastronomy Symposium (DGS), taking place on Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27 May in the Central Quad.
This year’s theme, Food and Crisis/Hope, will explore how moments of disruption and uncertainty can also become catalysts for innovation, resilience and renewal across food systems, culture and society.
The symposium will examine how crises - from war and environmental destruction to pandemics and political upheaval - have shaped food practices, technologies and traditions throughout history. Discussions will also consider the role of food in fostering hope, recovery and social change.
Drawing on examples ranging from the Japanese art of kintsugi and ecological rewilding to the innovations that emerged during wartime and the Covid-19 pandemic, the programme will highlight how food intersects with culture, sustainability, politics and creativity.
Dr Elaine Mahon, Lecturer in Gastronomy & Food Studies in the School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology, said:
“We are delighted to welcome as our keynote speaker, Dr Rupa Marya, co-author of Inflamed: Deep Medicine and the Anatomy of Injustice, previously of the University of California, San Francisco, newly appointed Adjunct Professor of Land, Food and Medicine at Trinity College Dublin, and Senior Research Fellow at a the School of Medicine where she is working on bringing the Farming is Medicine programme to Ireland."
The symposium will also examine the impact of food crises on art, activism and public policy, referencing influential works such as Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, and contemporary food-focused artistic collectives including Cooking Sections.
Now in its eighth iteration, the biennial Dublin Gastronomy Symposium, hosted by TU Dublin, has become a leading international gathering for critical discussion and analysis of food studies and gastronomy. Read more about the Symposium on the website here.
Registration for the symposium is now open.
Event details
Dublin Gastronomy Symposium 2026 – Food and Crisis/Hope
Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27 May 2026
Central Quad, TU Dublin Grangegorman
Register here: Dublin Gastronomy Symposium: Food and Hope/Crisis