Chip Championship in Limerick

Culture & Chips is a quirky food festival taking place over the June bank holiday weekend (29 May to 2 June) in Limerick city, in association with Limerick City of Culture 2014.

Other events in the Spiegeltent include the Jerry Fish Electric Sideshow live, a wine goose chase, a culinary carnival banquet, Spiegelkidz Rhythm, Cabaret des Frites, Spiegeltent breakfast club, Jack L live, Clown Noir, Salon du Chat and the Brad Pitt Light Orchestra live.

On 31 May a host of chefs will cook up a storm in the Spiegeltent, in an open contest for professional cooks with a passion for the frite. Each chef hopes to take home the inaugural title of World Chip Champion 2014, and we’re not talking any old chips of course.

From pulled pork fries to Poutine, baked mozzarella sticks to kale chips, they all count here, where taste will be the ultimate winner. Anyone for turnip disco fries or some rosemary truffle ketchup? To book tickets for any of the events, for entry details to the World Chip Championships and to download the application form, go to www.cultureandchips.com

Female brewer is ‘wild’ about craft beers

Alex Tennant is Northern Ireland’s first female craft brewer. She’s the owner of the new Belfast Brewing Company, the first craft business to develop a range of “wild” beers, using natural ingredients such as elderflowers, blackberries, gorse and heather.

Her focus on wild beer has been sharpened by trends in the US and Europe and her own market research into what’s currently available here. Her brewery is the first in Belfast for over a century.

In addition to making beer using wild ingredients, she is developing a German-style wheat beer (Witbier) and a unique smoked porter.