Love Irish Food Lunch; Enterprising lunch to celebrate local food producers

As part of the Harvest Festival in September Waterford City Enterprise Board has organised a lunch on Friday September 13^th in the dining room of Dooley’s Hotel to celebrate the vast array of local food producers.

This lunch is a celebration of food in Waterford and the South East. With the assistance of the Love Irish Food Initiative diners will enjoy the best food Waterford and the South East has to offer.

The key note speakers at the lunch will be Waterford man Michael Kelly, founder of GIY and Waterford restaurant owner Cormac Cronin, proprietor of Bodega, John’s Street in Waterford.

Bertie Rogers, Chairman of Waterford City Enterprise Board commented on the importance of the event, “The food industry is now a vital component in the revival of the Irish economy and Waterford is fortunate to have such a proliferation of quality food producers. But these businesses require assistance and promotion. That is why this lunch is vital, to celebrate what we have, but also to inspire others to create the next generation of food businesses. That is where the Enterprise Boards can and do help.”

This lunch coincides with the start of a new Waterford City Enterprise Board food programme. ‘Take your food business to supermarket shelf’ is an eight month programme devised by Waterford City Enterprise Board. This programme running from July 2103 to February 2014 is designed for food producers in Waterford City and includes Bord Bia approved workshops and market testing.

Kieran Rumley, Executive Director of Love Irish Food Limited, “We are delighted to be asked to participate in this lunch, the food industry has always been very strong in the southeast and our membership from the area continues to grow”.

Tickets (just €15) for this lunch can be purchased from Waterford City Enterprise Board by calling to its office at New Street in the city or from the reception at Dooley’s Hotel.

Waterford City Enterprise Board offers support services for start-up and existing SME’s in Waterford city. If you have a new business idea or are running a business that requires assistance you can contact the Enterprise Board by phoning Celia on 051-852883 or visit www.waterfordceb.com.

Taste Waterford takes to the streets of Waterford

A new culinary collaboration was recently launched by two of Waterford’s most renowned restaurants. 

“Taste Waterford” sees Bodega and La Boheme restaurants combine their passion for good food, fresh local produce and Waterford heritage.  Taking place every Wednesday, the evening consists of a three course meal in one restaurant, a guided tour through Waterford city centre, followed by a further three course feast of flavour in the second restaurant.

The initiative is the brainchild of Christine Theze of La Boheme and Cormac Cronin of Bodega, who have worked together on several projects in the past.

According to Christine, the idea came from their mutual love of local produce. “When it comes to locally sourced produce Cormac and I share the same philosophy.  In Waterford and the South East we are blessed with a wonderful selection of producers supplying the highest calibre of seafood, meat, fruit, vegetables, dairy and breads.”

“These local producers feature prominently on both restaurant’s menus and we decided to work together to promote local produce and also give locals and tourists the opportunity to see and learn a little more about our wonderful city.”

Diners can expect to be accompanied from the first restaurant by a “tour guide” through the city to the next three courses at the second restaurant, with a historical, informative overview of some of Waterford’s iconic buildings and places. 

Cormac Cronin of Bodega continued, “Taste Waterford highlights the provenance of the produce we use in the two restaurants.  Not only will diners get the chance to enjoy a meal prepared from ingredients that are sourced on our doorstep, they also have a chance to take a stroll, mid-meal, through the city centre and learn a little more about the colourful history of Waterford city.”

Ciaran Cullen, Chief Executive of Waterford City Enterprise Board was pleased to support the Taste Waterford initiative.  “Christine and Cormac are great supporters of local food producers, a belief which we share at Waterford City Enterprise Board.”

“We have invested heavily in funding local food producers in the past and will continue to do so.  In fact, one of our most successful projects, the Enterprising Food Network, was founded two years ago with the objective of assisting food producers in the areas of branding and packaging, route to market, distribution and networking.  The group, made up of restaurants, food producers and horticultural groups, now has 19 members and continues to grow.”

If you are want to find out more about Taste Waterford call La Boheme on 051 875645 or Bodega Restaurant on 051 844177.