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The festival will culminate with the running of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby on Sunday, July 2. Image by Pexels from Pixabay.
A well-known TV Judge and Ireland's top jockeys to launch this year's Kildare Derby Festival in a unique Masterchef style cook-off.
Brian Redmond, best known for his starring role in the judging hotseat on RTÉ’s Dancing With The Stars, is to join legendary Kildare racing personalities Johnny Murtagh and Willie McCreery to judge some of Ireland’s best jockeys in the most fun and unique Masterchef styled cooking challenges at the launch of the 45th Kildare Derby Festival.
The festival will culminate with the running of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby on Sunday, July 2.
The fun open air event is to take place in the square in Kildare Town on Tuesday, June 6 from 6pm to 8pm to launch this year’s Kildare Derby Festival and will involve five of Ireland’s top jockeys in a 'cook off' whilst representing five of Kildare’s top five restaurants.
It is thought that the five jockeys have already entered 'chef bootcamp' in advance of the event which will take place from 6pm in the town square and competition amongst the restaurants in training their new recruits is said to have already reached fever pitch!
Each jockey will be coached on the night by the chef of their drawn restaurant and will have to create a salivating savoury dish in just five minutes for the esteemed judging panel to decide on.
In the event of a 'cook off', the finalists may have to concoct a salacious sweet dish to tantalise the taste buds of the discerning judging panel.
The entrants to this unique competition to launch the big annual festival, which celebrates the running of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at The Curragh, are as follows:
Orla Murtagh, Chair of the Kildare Derby Committee, commented ahead of the launch: "The committee has put together a great selection of events this year to hopefully suit everyone including a concert by the stunning Claudia Boyle in the extraordinary setting of St Brigid's Cathedral, the ever-popular Pooch Parade, the amazing pop-up Kildare Derby Racing Legends Musuem and free open-air concerts for all the enjoy in the town square, including Nathan Carter on July 1, following the races at the Curragh.
"The launch on the June 6 is also set to be a great evening for locals to view and get to know some of Ireland's best jockeys, outside of their comfort zone and in the kitchen," she added.
Now in its 45th year, the Kildare Derby Festival is set to be the best yet for 2023 with Nathan Carter heading up the free open-air events that run in the town in association with the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at The Curragh Racecourse.
Running from Monday, June 26, until Sunday, July 2, 2023, the week-long festival has something on offer for all generations including live open-air free music performances, the hugely popular Pooch Parade, a ticketed concert by leading Soprano Claudia Boyle at the magnificent St Brigid’s Cathedral, the Kildare Derby Racing Legends Museum and much more.
The festival draws to a close with Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Day on Sunday, July 2, with a post-Derby party in Kildare Square featuring live music from Vegas Nights and special guests.
The 158th running of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby takes centre stage during a superb three day racing festival at the world famous County Kildare racecourse.
Funky Friday on the evening of June 30, kicks off the weekend with a competitive seven-race programme and a free concert after racing by Qween, established as one of the best Queen tribute bands around.
Saturday is Ladies Day featuring the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes and Kildare Village Ladies Derby with a performance from Kildare singer-songwriter Lea Heart, while Sunday is Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Day with an exciting line up of great racing, style and glamour, live music, tasty food and family fun.
The event will come to a close on Sunday evening with a live performance from Spring Break.
See www.kildarederbyfestival.ie for the full programme of events.
A limited number of tickets for Claudia Boyle’s exclusive concert at the stunning St Brigid’s Cathedral on Wednesday, June 28, are now available from €25 and can be purchased at Kildare Heritage Centre or from www.eventbrite.ie.
Entries for the Pooch Parade on Thursday, June 29 are on sale now at €10 per dog category and can be purchased from Eventbrite.
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