Experience Ireland’s Ultimate Gourmet Retreat with HOMEGROWN 2026
Virginia Park Lodge, the eighteenth-century hunting estate owned by Irish restaurateur Richard Corrigan, will open its doors for the third edition of HOMEGROWN this 16-19 October 2026. Limited to just 80 guests, the weekend-long retreat remains intentionally intimate. Two-night packages, including accommodation, all dining and full access to the programme of events, are priced from €1,150–€1,850 per person.
Accommodation at Virginia Park Lodge and Richard’s neighbouring pub, The Deerpark Inn, is reserved exclusively for retreat guests. Visitors can enjoy the luxury of the main Lodge or choose one of the bespoke shepherd’s huts scattered across the grounds. Having married there himself and acquired the estate over a decade ago, Corrigan has meticulously restored Virginia Park Lodge and its surrounding lands. From the walled garden’s soft fruits and vegetables to the Oxford Sandy pigs that roam the orchards, the estate continues to shape his cooking and ethos.
The weekend-long celebration of dining, entertainment, music and the countryside will see Richard welcome a distinguished collection of leading chefs and food voices for a special gathering. Previous line-ups have included Darina Allen (Ballymaloe), Tom Parker Bowles (author and critic), and Jeremy Lee (Quo Vadis), with the event continuing Richard’s tradition of bringing together some of the most respected voices in food at his County Cavan estate.
This year’s line-up
Joining Richard for 2026 is an exceptional roster of talent drawn from across the UK and Ireland. Among them is Dame Prue Leith DBE, a towering figure in British food, with a career spanning more than five decades, including nearly 10 years as a judge on The Great British Bake Off.
Angela Hartnett OBE, Chef Patron of Michelin-starred Murano and the Café Murano group, and co-host of the podcast Dish, will bring her Italian flair alongside Luke Holder, chef director at Hartnett Holder & Co at Lime Wood, a five-star hotel in Hampshire, while Neil Borthwick of Soho’s iconic French House showcases his hearty French provincial cuisine in the Irish countryside.
Henry Harris of Bouchon Racine fame continues the classical French thread, while Sally Barnes of Woodcock Smokery in West Cork, Ireland’s last traditional wild fish smoker, also joins the programme.
Returning to the estate once again are Dublin-born Robin Gill, who now runs several restaurants in London including Darby’s, and Valentine Warner, who brings his distinctive voice and deep knowledge of the wild.
The weekend will conclude with a supper led by Lily Ramirez-Foran, founder of Ireland’s first Mexican grocer and cookery school. Together with Richard, the chefs will collaborate throughout the weekend, sharing their individual styles and philosophies while drawing inspiration from the estate’s larder.
What’s On
Throughout the weekend, a carefully curated programme of dinners, demonstrations and countryside pursuits will celebrate both the estate and its visiting chefs. Guests can enjoy cookery masterclasses, intimate chef discussions and tastings, as well as guided foraging, wine tastings and kombucha workshops.
On Sunday morning, restorative wellness sessions, such as the yoga and kombucha classes, offer a gentle counterpoint, including invigorating cold-water swims in the lake followed by a relaxing sauna. Fireside feasts and time spent exploring the estate in its autumn splendour complete an experience that is both immersive and indulgent.
Dining highlights include a celebratory Friday dinner from Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill in the Lodge’s Jacobean-style dining room; a Saturday evening feast from The French House Dining Room, led by Neil Borthwick; and a closing Sunday lunch from Bouchon Racine, with Henry Harris bringing the weekend to an end.
Live music, a cornerstone of the Corrigan family’s gatherings, will accompany the weekend’s events, featuring performances by jazz singer Mary Coughlan, often hailed as Ireland’s greatest female vocalist.
