Food village

The Tullamore Show has something for everyone, including a food village, which is sure to send your taste buds into a frenzy. Irish Country Living’s favourite chef Neven Maguire will be cooking up a storm with Bord Bia food adviser Sheila Kelly. Sponsored by Bord Bia, the demos will take place at 12pm and 2pm in the meat village, and they are not to be missed.

Using sizzling Quality Assured beef and lamb, your taste buds will be watering as you learn how to cook the perfect sliced steak with caramelised onions, harissa flavoured lamb burgers with tzatziki, Moroccan-style pork chops and ‘‘butterflied’’ leg of lamb with summer salad.

Other cookery demonstrations taking place throughout the day include meat preparation by Dunbia and food preparation by PJ Grennan. Dawn Meats will prepare even more delicious lamb in a further demo at 1.40pm.

Presenting the best of local food and craft, the Experience Offaly Pavilion is one that you simply can’t pass by. It’s a fantastic platform to give entrepreneurs the chance to promote their products and you’d never know what you might find close to home.

The meat village will also have trade stands from national and international meat processors, including Dunbia, Dawn Meats and a new stand for ABP Ireland, where there will be interaction with suppliers and visitors, as well as information regarding their businesses. Also, local-based processor Carroll Cuisine will be there, as will Green Farm Foods, Irish Moiled and Irish Piedmontese Beef who will have products for sale.

For further information and updates, see www.tullamoreshow.com.

Daisy Cottage Farm

As well as the larger pavilions, we’ve picked some top stalls that we think are worth visiting. If you’re a fan of bread and treats (and, let’s face it, who isn’t?) check out Daisy Cottage Farm. This is a family-run artisan bakery, based at the foothill of the Wicklow Mountains, known for its creative ideas and range of flavours in their baked goods.

If a cheese and bacon sandwich is your idea of heaven, you’ll love the new bread they have just perfected: brie and bacon loaf. Made with brie cheese, free-range bacon, fresh coriander and chilli flakes, this bread will be on offer for €4.50.

Daisy Cottage also holds the enviable title of being one of the top 10 scone makers in Ireland. Its tasty new cheese, scallion and rasher scone will be available, with six scones for €5.

If you live far away from the bakery, check out the company’s new scone mix, which allows you to create your own scones at home for just €3.50 a batch. If one batch isn’t enough, you can get three for €10.

Daisy Cottage Farm will also display a full range of sweet and savoury tarts, as well as traditional loaves, including its award-winning ploughman’s loaf. For those with more of a sweet tooth, check out the company’s chocolate biscuit cake, rocky road, carrot cake and rhubarb strudel.

What makes Daisy Cottage Farm’s products taste so good is the fact that the company strives to grow as many ingredients as possible, including scallions, chives, rosemary, tomatoes and free range bacon.

Green Angel Skincare

From local cakes to cosmetics, Green Angel is an Irish company based in Rathcoole, Co Dublin. They feature a range of skincare products made from seaweed and essential oils and, at the Tullamore Show, they have a fantastic offer for €56.

Visitors can purchase two creams, or a body smother and a cream for €50 and buy a third item for €6, €1 of which goes to Barnardos children’s charity. As creams usually retail for between €22 and €25, while body scrubs are €30, it is a fantastic deal.

It’s not just limited to that though. The stand will stock Green Angel’s full range of products, including travel sets, an aragon oil set and cleanser and toner set.

There will also be promoters at the stand providing free demonstrations and hand treatments, showcasing the range of products on offer.

Mid Ireland Tourism

Based in Birr, Co Offaly, Mid Ireland Tourism promotes activities, attractions and accommodation in north Tipperary, Laois, Offaly, Westmeath and east Galway. So, if you’re planning a weekend away or even a holiday, this stand is worth checking out.

The company will have plenty of advice on the inside track, as well as brochures and promotions on the major tourist attractions in the area. These include Belvedere House, Athlone Castle, Slieve Blooms, Kilbeggan Distillery and much more.

Even if you haven’t planned a break in the area, you might be lucky as they’ll be running competitions throughout the show. Prizes include a night’s accommodation in one of the region’s hotels and passes into some popular family attractions.

Irish Bog Oak Gifts

Irish Bog Oak Gifts is the work of Paul Colman, an artist who lives within a stone’s throw of The Bog of Allen in Co Kildare. Paul’s work comprises clocks, sculptures, tea lights, hand-turned pens and pendants, handcrafted by Paul from ancient Irish bog oak.

A range of his pieces will be on display, with prices ranging from €12 for pendants to €150 for sculptures and larger pieces. The pendants have sterling silver inlaid into the oak, and feature ogham writing and Celtic spirals. Paul is also an artist; and prints of his paintings of The Bog of Allen will also be exhibited.

Wild About

Wild About is a relatively new Irish company producing artisan foods, gifts and hampers made from Ireland’s native seasonal and wild ingredients. The company, formed by Fiona and Malcolm Falconer, was named All-Ireland Farmers Market Champion 2013, and is this year’s Good Food Producer of the Year.

The range of products available changes with the season and ingredients are sourced locally, from the wild and from their own gardens. The nettle products are a huge seller this season. At the trade stand, nettle pesto, which was just shortlisted for the Irish Quality Food Awards in September, nettle syrup, preserve and chutney will all be on display, as well as straw pepper jam, ‘‘Spice of Life’’, raspberry and vanilla jam, and ‘‘Ruby Tuesday’’ preserve.

An offer of any three products in a carbon neutral gift bag for €15 will be available at the stand. All products retail at €4.50, including a 500ml bottle of extra virgin rape oil.

JG Model Farms

JG Model Farms exhibit at many agricultural shows across the country and we can’t wait to see them again at the Tullamore Show. Crafting handmade toy farms in Tinahely, Co Wicklow, JG Model Farms has a fantastic range of products for little and not-so-little farmers. These include cattle-holding sheds, rotary parlours, silage pits and smaller farm items such as diesel tanks, horse jumps, fences and gates. The models cater for children aged between three and 14 years. However, they are also favourites of collectors of all ages. Some deals on display at the Tullamore Show are fields for €15, usually priced at €20. Full farms are priced at €300. Parlours, sheds and other farm item prices are also negotiable, depending on individual purchases. Farm families, animals, stack pallets, silo covers and cattle feeders range between €6 and €7.

Five Rivers Fostering

A stall with a difference but certainly worth a visit for some families is the Five Rivers Fostering. This is an independent fostering agency, which has foster families all over Ireland.

Providing foster care to children and young people up to the age of 18, the agency is looking for families that feel they can provide a loving and safe home for a child in need, in all areas of the country. The aim of their Tullamore Show stand is to raise awareness for the need for foster parents, as there is a shortage nationally. For more information, see www.fiveriversireland.ie

Agrigear

The Tullamore Show offers a range of practical solutions and Agrigear Ltd, the largest wholesale tyre supplier in Ireland, will be exhibiting.

The manufacturing facility at Agrigear specialises in custom-built wheels and its reconditioning service offers restoration solutions for chipped or rusted wheels.

The company is also the Irish distributor of BKT tyres and stocks a range of agricultural, industrial, earthmover, ATV, lawn and garden tyres.

Visit the Agrigear stand at Tullamore Show (G-254).