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Georgina Hayden talks to Holly O’Neill

Matters of Taste: MEDesque – Live Demonstration and Tasting

Hay Festival 2026, 

After a day of devouring ideas, get a taste of Mediterranean warmth and settle down to an evening of cooking and conversation with chef, food writer and stylist Georgina Hayden, as she demonstrates recipes from new cookbook MEDesque and talks to food editor Holly O’Neill.

Hayden’s fifth book travels through Spain, Italy, the Balkans and beyond to unearth everyday recipes with Mediterranean roots. With delightfully oozy gnocchi puttanesca, ‘nduja, pepper and three cheese lasagne, and salted honey butter madeleines, the recipes in the book are infused with her love of food, family and storytelling, inspired by a childhood spent in her grandparents’ Greek Cypriot taverna.

This event is a chance to see and savour some of those flavours – perfect for those who believe there’s no such thing as too much olive oil drizzled over a dish.
Georgina Hayden talks to Holly O’Neill