Coming Soon: Food Heritage in Action: Turning Tradition into Sustainable Enterprise

Course Practicalities

Dates: 1 April to 3 June 2026

Day: Wednesdays over ten weeks

Time:  5pm to 7pm (GMT) (UTC +1) (EST +5) 

Delivery: Online via Microsoft Teams

Course fee: €600- open for applications in early January in the meantime please register your interest here

Adult Continuing Education at University College Cork will offer a timely and enterprise-focused new course for Spring 2026. Co-ordinated by the renowned chef and experimental archaeologist, Dr Bill Schindler, the course Food Heritage in Action: Turning Tradition into Sustainable Enterprise, aims to equip students with academic and practical skills that can be applied to emerging and established business concerns. Over ten weeks, the course will explore how traditional and indigenous foodways can inform, inspire and sustain modern culinary and food-enterprise practices. Students will learn to bridge traditional knowledge with contemporary innovation through case studies and discussion directed at generating ideas for applied projects.

This interdisciplinary course, therefore, bridges ancestral knowledge and modern enterprise. It explores how traditional and indigenous foodways can be reimagined in today’s kitchens, farms, markets, and tourism enterprises without losing their integrity. Through case studies, field-based storytelling, and guest lectures from global chefs, artisans, and entrepreneurs, participants will learn how to translate food heritage into tangible, ethical, and economically viable outcomes. The course connects academic inquiry with real-world application, offering tools for students to design food projects that nourish both people and planet.

The course offers a unique opportunity to learn from Irish and international academics, chefs and industry experts with students gaining insights into their current and ongoing research and business activities.

Module Coordinator

Dr. Bill Schindler with a series of international and Irish guest lecturers and global chefs drawn from academia and the food industry.

About this Pilot Programme

This innovative course integrates history, anthropology, gastronomy, and entrepreneurship to investigate how food heritage can serve as both a source of cultural identity and a model for sustainable enterprise.

Through guest lectures, guided readings and in-class discussion, students will analyse real-world examples of traditional food knowledge being adapted to modern contexts in ethical and economically viable ways.

Weekly Schedule

Please note this is an indicative schedule which is subject to change. 

Why Take This Course?

As well as teaching you how to explore food heritage as a model for sustainable enterprise, this innovative programme will also help you to develop a variety of transferable skills. 

By the end of the course students will be equipped to:

1. Define and critically evaluate key concepts in food heritage.
2. Analyse how traditional and indigenous food practices can inform modern enterprise.
3. Assess ethical considerations in the representation and ownership of cultural knowledge.
4. Formulate a personal ethos of food rooted in sustainability and heritage.
5. Synthesise interdisciplinary knowledge with potential to develop an applied heritage-based project.
6. Gain an understanding of storytelling, ethics, and sustainability as tools for innovation.

What to Expect in Each Session

Each two-hour session will be divided into two complementary parts designed to connect expert insight with student reflection and application.

Part 1: Guest Presentation and Q&A

The first hour features a guest presentation by a practitioner, researcher, or entrepreneur working in food heritage, sustainability, or traditional foodways. Presentations are followed by structured Q&A sessions, allowing students to engage directly with the expert and explore applied perspectives.

Part 2: Discussion and Application

The second hour consists of guided discussion facilitated by the module coordinator(s), unpacking the weekly readings and connecting them to the themes raised by the guest speaker. Students critically analyse case studies, debate ethical and cultural questions, and draw links between traditional knowledge and modern innovation. This format ensures each session combines experiential learning, academic reflection, and practical application, reinforcing the course’s mission to bridge ancestral wisdom and sustainable enterprise.

Apply for this Programme

Who Can Apply? 

This programme is open to any adult interested in transforming traditional food knowledge into sustainable, innovative businesses. It is ideal for aspiring food entrepreneurs, chefs, artisans, farmers, cultural heritage professionals, heritage enthusiasts, or anyone passionate about food heritage, as a source of cultural identity or as a model for sustainable enterprise.

This pilot course is delivered fully online and welcomes applications from both international and Ireland-based students.

How to Apply? 

Although this course is delivered online, places are limited and applications may close earlier than the stated deadline if all places are filled. Early application is therefore advised.

Applications will open in January, but you can register your interest now to be the first to receive updates when the programme opens for applications.