One of the world’s foremost authorities on gut health, Professor Jens Walter, will deliver the 2025 Myrtle Allen Memorial Lecture at University College Cork (UCC), hosted by Adult Continuing Education. This free public lecture takes place on Tuesday, 27 May 2025, from 6.00 to 7.15 p.m. in The Hub on UCC’s main campus.
The annual lecture honours the enduring legacy of Myrtle Allen, a visionary of Irish food culture. On May 9th, 1964, Mrs. Allen opened the now-iconic Yeats Room Restaurant at her home in Ballymaloe, East Cork, pioneering a food ethos rooted in seasonality, sustainability, and a deep connection to local producers. Her philosophy helped redefine Irish food culture, long before terms like “farm-to-table” became mainstream.
This year’s lecture, titled "Can Food Be Both Tasty and Healthy? A Scientific Take on Myrtle Allen’s Food Philosophy," will be presented by Professor Walter, who is based at APC Microbiome Ireland, one of the world’s leading research centres for gut health, located at UCC.
Professor Walter’s work explores how traditional diets—free from industrial processing—affect the gut microbiome and human health. Drawing from his latest research, he will examine the impact of highly processed foods on gut health and offer insights into how dietary habits modelled on traditional, non-industrialised patterns align with Myrtle Allen’s philosophy.
“Myrtle Allen recognised that healthy food should be delicious—and delicious food healthy. By providing practical ways to realise this vision, she was a pioneer whose insights are highly relevant to today’s efforts to improve dietary behaviours,” said Professor Walter.
Regina Sexton, Culinary and Food Historian at UCC, added:
“For anyone with an interest in Irish food culture, nutrition, and the future of how we eat, this lecture is a must-attend event.”
To secure your place, please register here
They teach the the science of nutrients and how the body digests and absorbs these nutrients. Nutrition courses teach about what we eat and how it affects our bodies. If you’re looking for a career as a nutritional therapist, then a nutrition courses is for you! Nightcourses.com is the largest database of nutrition courses and diet classes.
