In two weeks Ballsbridge, Dublin will become a sea of IT professionals, aspiring entrepreneurs and technological experts as Web Summit 2015 takes hold. Over 30,000 attendants are set to hear from some of the biggest IT names in the planet and amongst them, rural Ireland is set to be very prominent. That’s because these 30,000 people need to eat, and once again part of the job falls to Margaret Jeffares and Good Food Ireland.
“It’s no mean feat,” says Margaret. “But we are set to put on some show, with chefs and producers showcasing the very best of Irish artisan food.”
This year, part of the food set up will be the Good Food Ireland pop-up restaurant and artisan food experience in Herbert Park, and Irish farmers will be proud to know that their quality ingredients will be on the menu.
And it is an amazing menu to choose from. Country Choice from Co Tipperary will be serving grilled, grass-fed Irish beef steak sandwiches; Jane Russell from Co Kildare will have her Original Irish handmade sausages while the Bakehouse and Bodega Restaurant from Waterford will be making Blaas. Rathmullan House Hotel will serve Donegal fishcakes, while Tankardstown House Hotel will have a smoked pork loin kassler on offer.
Martin Shanahan from Fishy Fish in Cork will be serving up a grilled fillet of Irish organic salmon and Ballymaloe will also be on hand. It really is a Taste of Ireland.
While it’s important that everybody appreciates the quality of Irish produce, it also helps if those in the know get a very good sense of what we’re all about.
Margaret says: “On the grounds of Belvedere Rugby Club, the world’s media, Web Summit speakers and VIP guests will all be treated to an exclusive array of Irish food, farmhouse cheese, smoked Irish salmon, lovingly prepared petit fours, handcrafted chocolates and tantalising sweet treats.”
What it Means to
the Producers
Philip O’Connor –
Seymours Fine Foods
“The Web Summit isn’t just about three days in November, it’s helped our export business” says Philip O’Connor who runs Seymours Fine Foods.
Last year, an IT company in Belgium was so impressed by Philip’s array of biscuis, they recommended his product to their local fine food store.
“It wasn’t just Belgium. We’re exporting to Germany and now 85% of our online sales go to the States since the last Web Summit.”
Jane Murphy –
Ardsallagh
Farmhouse Cheese
“Between cheese made from goats’ milk, cows, sheep and buffalo milk, we’ll be showing the delegates just how good Irish farmhouse cheese is,” says Jane Murphy of Ardsallagh Farmhouse Cheese.
She says as a producer, it’s a really different event. “Sometimes you feel you live in a foodie bubble, meeting like-minded people but this is different. You’re telling a brand new, massive audience about the work Irish producers and restaurateurs do.”
Jane says when the Web Summit moves to Portugal next year, the Portuguese will have their work cut out for them. She laughs: “I hope we have given them a tough act to follow.”
Rebecca Stanley –
Rossmore Farmhouse ice cream
“Let’s face it. November isn’t really the best month for ice cream sales,” laughs Rebecca Stanley of Rossmore Farmhouse in Co Laois. “Over the last two years, though, and once again this year, our sales are up 50% compared with a normal November. It really is a brilliant boost to us. It’s well timed, we’re in the lull before Christmas, and last year we had sold over 3,000 tubs of ice cream at the event.”
Web Summit facts
Over the three years that Good Food Ireland has been involved with the Web Summit, delegates have consumed:
• 4,000kg of Irish farmhouse cheese and butter.• 40,000 slices of cooked Irish ham, beef and smoked meats.• 50,000 jars of chutneys and relishes.• 1,000 sides of smoked Irish organic salmon.• 20,000 tubs of Irish farm-produced ice cream.• 25,000 handmade Irish artisan chocolates.• 1.5m tastings of Irish beef, lamb, pork, duck, chicken, fish, seafood, fruit and vegetables.• 25,000 tastings of Irish ciders, craft beers and fruit juices. WIN
Your ticket to the Web Summit – worth €739
Fancy getting access to one of the biggest tech events in the world, listening to some of the biggest IT names in the planet? Please tell us in 100 words or less why you deserve to attend. Send your entry to Web Summit Competition, Irish Farmers Journal. Irish Farm Centre, Bluebell, Dublin 12, or log on to www.farmersjournal.ie/competitions by 30 October. We have tickets for two successful entrants.
In two weeks Ballsbridge, Dublin will become a sea of IT professionals, aspiring entrepreneurs and technological experts as Web Summit 2015 takes hold. Over 30,000 attendants are set to hear from some of the biggest IT names in the planet and amongst them, rural Ireland is set to be very prominent. That’s because these 30,000 people need to eat, and once again part of the job falls to Margaret Jeffares and Good Food Ireland.
“It’s no mean feat,” says Margaret. “But we are set to put on some show, with chefs and producers showcasing the very best of Irish artisan food.”
This year, part of the food set up will be the Good Food Ireland pop-up restaurant and artisan food experience in Herbert Park, and Irish farmers will be proud to know that their quality ingredients will be on the menu.
And it is an amazing menu to choose from. Country Choice from Co Tipperary will be serving grilled, grass-fed Irish beef steak sandwiches; Jane Russell from Co Kildare will have her Original Irish handmade sausages while the Bakehouse and Bodega Restaurant from Waterford will be making Blaas. Rathmullan House Hotel will serve Donegal fishcakes, while Tankardstown House Hotel will have a smoked pork loin kassler on offer.
Martin Shanahan from Fishy Fish in Cork will be serving up a grilled fillet of Irish organic salmon and Ballymaloe will also be on hand. It really is a Taste of Ireland.
While it’s important that everybody appreciates the quality of Irish produce, it also helps if those in the know get a very good sense of what we’re all about.
Margaret says: “On the grounds of Belvedere Rugby Club, the world’s media, Web Summit speakers and VIP guests will all be treated to an exclusive array of Irish food, farmhouse cheese, smoked Irish salmon, lovingly prepared petit fours, handcrafted chocolates and tantalising sweet treats.”
What it Means to
the Producers
Philip O’Connor –
Seymours Fine Foods
“The Web Summit isn’t just about three days in November, it’s helped our export business” says Philip O’Connor who runs Seymours Fine Foods.
Last year, an IT company in Belgium was so impressed by Philip’s array of biscuis, they recommended his product to their local fine food store.
“It wasn’t just Belgium. We’re exporting to Germany and now 85% of our online sales go to the States since the last Web Summit.”
Jane Murphy –
Ardsallagh
Farmhouse Cheese
“Between cheese made from goats’ milk, cows, sheep and buffalo milk, we’ll be showing the delegates just how good Irish farmhouse cheese is,” says Jane Murphy of Ardsallagh Farmhouse Cheese.
She says as a producer, it’s a really different event. “Sometimes you feel you live in a foodie bubble, meeting like-minded people but this is different. You’re telling a brand new, massive audience about the work Irish producers and restaurateurs do.”
Jane says when the Web Summit moves to Portugal next year, the Portuguese will have their work cut out for them. She laughs: “I hope we have given them a tough act to follow.”
Rebecca Stanley –
Rossmore Farmhouse ice cream
“Let’s face it. November isn’t really the best month for ice cream sales,” laughs Rebecca Stanley of Rossmore Farmhouse in Co Laois. “Over the last two years, though, and once again this year, our sales are up 50% compared with a normal November. It really is a brilliant boost to us. It’s well timed, we’re in the lull before Christmas, and last year we had sold over 3,000 tubs of ice cream at the event.”
Web Summit facts
Over the three years that Good Food Ireland has been involved with the Web Summit, delegates have consumed:
• 4,000kg of Irish farmhouse cheese and butter.• 40,000 slices of cooked Irish ham, beef and smoked meats.• 50,000 jars of chutneys and relishes.• 1,000 sides of smoked Irish organic salmon.• 20,000 tubs of Irish farm-produced ice cream.• 25,000 handmade Irish artisan chocolates.• 1.5m tastings of Irish beef, lamb, pork, duck, chicken, fish, seafood, fruit and vegetables.• 25,000 tastings of Irish ciders, craft beers and fruit juices. WIN
Your ticket to the Web Summit – worth €739
Fancy getting access to one of the biggest tech events in the world, listening to some of the biggest IT names in the planet? Please tell us in 100 words or less why you deserve to attend. Send your entry to Web Summit Competition, Irish Farmers Journal. Irish Farm Centre, Bluebell, Dublin 12, or log on to www.farmersjournal.ie/competitions by 30 October. We have tickets for two successful entrants.
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