Research from Bord Bia might tell us two thirds of Irish consumers think shopping local is important to them, but sometimes, I wonder, where are those consumers?
I think this might be a fairytale we tell small business owners before they drift off to sleep. In the past few weeks, I’ve spoken with vegetable farmers looking for new jobs (because they don’t want to farm anymore) and chefs who can’t keep staff or make ends meet.
In the current economic climate, they are feeling completely broken and alone. These people are saying, “I support local with my business. I employ local people; I care about the local economy and the environment. Why can’t the general public also care about me?”
The answer is a difficult one.
At the end of the day, consumer support makes food and hospitality businesses viable, but if prices are too high (thanks to increases across the board), hospitality is lacking (thanks to a lack of staff) and cheap alternatives are plentiful and affordable, can we really blame the consumer?
When you’re part of the food and hospitality community, you’re always thinking about food, but can we expect the average non-food-obsessed consumer to feel similarly?
And if consumers don’t think as much about food, or understand the industry, can we expect them to make the right choices every time they are doing their weekly shop or planning dinner out? No, we need a more top-down approach, both from retailers and Government bodies.
Before any other investment, we should support existing businesses doing things the right way.
This is the second time in a few months that I’ve mentioned Cashel Farmhouse Cheese, but whatever it is about this family-run Tipperary business, 2024 has been a great year for them – especially if we’re talking top accolades (there must be something in the milk down there).
This time, they’ve achieved the much-coveted Golden Fork Award from the Great Taste Awards. The awards were given out on 10 September in London.
Earlier this year, Cashel Farmhouse won First in Class at the British Cheese Awards, again for their Cashel Blue, which is now 40 years old. Maybe you can teach an auld dog new tricks.
Not that I’m saying 40 is old (no angry post, please). The Golden Fork winners are chosen as the standout products submitted to the annual Great Taste Awards, so this is kind of a big deal.
I once visited The Keep in west Cork and I left a different person. No, I wasn’t drunk – at least, not that time.
There is just something special about Sally Barnes (who owns Woodcock Smokery and operates The Keep as an educational event space) which makes you walk away feeling better about the world.
Now, she and Wexford chef/slow food expert Anthony O’Toole have teamed up to bring their new Producer x Chef series to The Keep for the next few months and well into 2025.
It kicked off this past month with Con McLoughlin and Karen Austin of the Lettercollumn Kitchen Project, Aishling Moore of Goldie in Cork city and Ali Honour from the Chef’s Manifesto and the Beans is How campaign.
The events take the format of a Sunday lunch and visiting chefs incorporate Sally’s smoked wild fish into their menus alongside other locally-produced ingredients. Tickets are priced at €100, which includes a welcome drink, snacks and a three-course lunch.
If you spend any amount of time in the city of Kilkenny, you will know about Arán Bakery.
Their sourdough has single-handedly killed off any diet I have ever dreamed of starting and husband-and-wife team Bart and Nicole have an upscale but comfortable approach to their seemingly vast array of menu items, pastries and breads.
Now they’ve gone and created one of the most addictive sauces I’ve ever tasted. As a “hot sauce girlie” (as my daughter recently crowned me), I am one of those people who keeps hot sauce in her handbag.
Bart and Nicole’s Korean-inspired Magic Sauce has a nice balance of sweet and spicy and so far seems to go well with everything, from the chicken to the egg. Originally they just used the sauce on their menu items, but now they’ve brought it into the retail space (which means I can have a bottle in the fridge at all times).
You’ll find it stocked in select SuperValus and in independent shops which includes their own bakery.
I love Wicklow, but sometimes it feels a bit like Neverland – second star to the left and straight on ‘til morning.
Sure unless you live in Carlow, Dublin or Wexford, it feels a bit awkward to get to, and I don’t know why that is – but that said, just like Neverland (I assume), it’s always worth the journey.
This is the time of year we should all be visiting Wicklow. The Garden County gives off great Halloween and pumpkin spice vibes, if you ask me. The annual October Feast, which is organised by Wicklow Naturally, the Food and Drink Network of Co Wicklow, adds to the festive feel.
Their 2024 schedule is jam-packed with foraging walks, farm visits, supper clubs, farmers markets, beekeeping classes, cookery demos, wine, whiskey and beer tastings and more. It will take place for nearly the whole month, from 11-31 October.