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Food, culture and tourism will be all everyone is talking about in Galway as touRRoir comes to town from 23 to 24 April.
A huge coup for the city, this global forum will attract some ground-breaking leaders from three continents to discuss the inextricable link between these three sectors and how companies can grow business, local communities can flourish and destinations can ensure a more successful and sustainable economic future.
Margaret Jeffares, founder and managing director, Good Food Ireland, says: “Food, tourism and culture represent giant industries in their own right and, combined, account for the lion’s share of global employment, while their cross-sector effect on businesses and communities and their economies and social fabric is hugely significant. Consumers search for authenticity and truth in terms of product, service and experience, which will have a major focus on the touRRoir18 theme: A Unified Force for Good: Food Tourism and Culture.”
Hosted in NUI Galway, the event coincides with Galway’s designation as European Region of Gastronomy and is also really well placed for discussions on the Wild Atlantic Way.
There is a full lineup of events, including a networking showcase dinner where guests will be fully immersed in Ireland’s food culture as chefs and food producers collaborate to create a unique Irish food experience. Chefs will cook live, with plenty of opportunities to meet farmers, fishermen, butchers, bakers and cheesemakers and hear their stories as you taste their produce.
For more information or to get involved, visit www.tourroir.com
The award-winning Mustard Seed in Ballingarry, Co Limerick, is an oasis of calm with a fantastic food offering. On 8 March, they are hosting a special dinner to mark International Women’s Day 2018.
Ladies will be celebrated right across the menu, which features some of head chef Angel Pirev’s favourite ingredients. Dishes will include salmon from Birgitta Hedin Curtin’s Burren Smokehouse in Co Clare, which was famously served to the Queen of England during her visit to Ireland in 2011, and cheese from award-winning Kerry cheesemaker, Maja Binder. Additional ingredients will be sourced from local businesses in west Limerick, including Cahills Cheese and produce from Rigney’s Farm, as well as the Mustard Seed garden.
The Mustard Seed proprietor John Edward Joyce said:
Producers like Birgitta, Maja, Helen Cahill and Caroline Rigney are an inspiration and we admire their innovation and creativity.
The Mustard Seed dinner costs €48 per person for five courses, including tea/coffee with petits fours. Pre-booking is essential. Contact The Mustard Seed on 069 68508 or email mustard@indigo.ie.
There is nothing quite like a caffeine hit but we’re not fond of the caffeine guilt. We’re not talking about that extra cup of coffee, more the plastic capsules that we pop into the machine – they can’t be good for the environment.
Recently Bewley’s became the first Irish company to launch a range of 100% compostable coffee capsules. Made from renewable raw materials, Bewley’s new capsules break down in 12 weeks into CO2, water and compost. So you can pop them into the machine and then into the brown bin.
If you want to feel even better about yourself, the new range is Fairtrade certified, being launched just in time for Fairtrade Fortnight (28 February to 11 March).
Interestingly, while the coffee market in general is growing by 1.6% year-on-year, capsule sales are growing at almost 15% year-on-year.
The new range includes two new café blends and two new single origins. All the capsules are compatible with Nespresso machines. Prices start from €3.59 and are from www.bewleys.com
The food scene in Cork has gotten quite a lift in the last year or so (after a quiet few years during the recession). And we’re all about seeing those chefs working together.
The Chef Sessions is a new collaboration between young chefs working in four of the city’s restaurants under the Market Lane Group, which include Market Lane, Elbow Lane, Caste Café and Orso Kitchen & Bar.
Getting the creative juices going, the chefs work together for six hours a week and over the space of six weeks develop a menu that is not only tasty and local but also experimental. The next event will take place on 5 March and the focus will be on reducing food waste.
Headed by Aishling Moore (23), sous chef at Elbow Lane, she says: “For our March menu, we are going to experiment with more unusual, seasonal ingredients that are often forgotten. Parts of vegetables that are usually ignored, such as cauliflower stems, will be cooked in unusual ways. Pulp from the juicer will also be used to make crumbs to add texture to some of the dishes.”
The chefs will also be using ingredients from the groups’ urban farm, green space, in Ballyvolane, where the soil-free, organically grown micro herbs and leaves will fit in perfectly with the event’s ethos.
However, the final menu won’t be revealed until the evening. Tickets are priced at €75 including wine pairings and are available at www.orso.ie/chefsessions
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