I didn’t get to Bloom until Monday this year. The weather forecast for the day was not good but luck was on my side and the day remained bright and dry until about 4pm.

I decided that I’d have breakfast on site so I began my tour where the food producers were being showcased. Some were really anxious to engage and tell their stories. Others were not. I wonder should one ever be so complacent as to not want to talk. Markets and customers are fickle and should be courted at all times.

I had purposely skipped breakfast because I knew I’d be getting a few tasty bites. A biscuit might not be the most appropriate breakfast food. Yet, when Richard Collumb put a plate of chocolate-coated oat biscuit pieces under my nose, I didn’t resist. One nibble had me returning to the plate for more. They were absolutely scrumptious.

The company is the East Coast Bakehouse based in Drogheda. It is a year in operation. They have 41 people employed, use Flahavans oats and Irish butter in the biscuits and you could certainly taste the butter. They have eight products on the market and are the only main Irish supermarket brand of biscuit selling in Tesco, Dunnes Stores, Super Valu and Spar. Most of the workforce learned their trade with Jacobs biscuits.

DRINK TIME

I crossed over for a drink to Keeling Juices, where John Keeling was happy to talk. My treat here was one of the new range of smoothies called Pina Passion. It was flavoursome and refreshing. Keelings orange juice won the 2017 People’s Choice Irish Food Quality Award for beverages. They have also launched new cold-pressed, sugar-free vegetable juices on to the market. They use a lot of Irish vegetables for these and employ 20 people.

As I wandered through the food and drink offerings, there seemed to be two themes going on – one was aimed at the health conscious consumer and the other was at the consumer looking for a treat.

Both have valuable places in all our lives.

SAVE MY GUT

Having had some delights, it was time to save my gut. Another new product just on the market a mere 11 months, and available nationwide, was Kefir from Blakes Always Organic in Drumshanbo, Co Leitrim. There I spoke to Sean McGloin who owns the company with John Brennan. Kefir is fermented milk and marketed as a nutritional superfood and good for gut health. Our grandmothers swore by buttermilk. An old custom returns.

Staying healthy, Cliona Heggarty started her business of making raw whole food, tasty, energy-boosting snacks. They are called Bella Bites and come in cute resealable packets. They have a low glycemic index and are dairy- and gluten-free. Cliona is two years on the go and in Tesco Express, Dunnes Stores, Super Valu, Avoca Fresh, Spar and other cafés. She launches a chocolate flavoured one this week. They are ideal when you want to avoid sugar or might reach for that bar of chocolate on the run. Sometimes we just need to make a better choice.

nobó is owned by husband and wife team Brian and Rachel Nolan from Co Wicklow. They make ice-cream from creamy avocado and coconut milk. It contains no dairy, gluten, soya, gums, stabilisers or refined sugar. They have just launched several flavours of chocolate.

HEALTHY TO ENJOYMENT

So with enough talk about superfoods packed with nutrition and so on, it was a treat to happen upon Mallow Mia. Linda McClean from Donegal is just two years in business making luxuriously light mallows and then converting them into rocky road and other desserts. I bought a piece of rocky road and had it on the way home. It was delicious. Bespoke designs are available for events and parties too.

There were so many food ideas and stalls that there was bound to be something to attract you. I heard one lady say as she tried to get her husband to follow her. “Paddy did we see that one over there?”

Exasperated, he answered “We did. Would you come on woman, we’ve seen enough.”

Bloom is now so big that you wouldn’t see it in a day any more but there is really something for everyone. I met my cousin Patricia and we went to view the magnificent gardens. We were particularly interested in the Dementia Garden.

The garden was designed by architect Tom Grey, who works in the Trinity Haus research centre. It specialises in people-centred design and energy efficient buildings. It teamed up with Sonas apc which is a charity working with people with dementia.

The garden was designed so that a person with dementia could use it independently. The space leads the person around and back to where one started so that the person couldn’t get lost. There were plants at eye level and the planting was gentle and calming. What a lovely idea to keep people with dementia enjoying the garden.

It is easy to lose oneself at Bloom among gardens, plants, scents, aromas, food and tools. When the concept of Bloom was first considered by Bord Bia, the aim was to showcase the horticultural industry so that the industry could grow. There is no doubt that this has been achieved.

Chatting to Kieran Dunne of Kildare Growers in their beautiful garden that supports Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, he informed me that their plant sales at Bloom were up by 20% on last year and more importantly their top donors contributions for Crumlin were up by 100% on last year.

No matter what the enterprise, business or cause it is always about the bottom line. CL