“Good Food Ireland Pop Up at Model County Festival”

“Good Food Ireland Pop Up at Model County Festival”

Good Food Ireland, the Wexford based organisation will be taking part at Wexford Food Festival in Wexford Town on Saturday May 21st. The Good Food Ireland Pop Up will include local food heroes from Wexford and around the country. Meet the people behind the food from the chef to the baker to the chocolate maker. Enjoy Scallops from Kilmore Quay, Hereford Beef, Waterford Blass and many other local artisan food producers.

“I am delighted to showcase Good Food Ireland in my home town. Wexford, traditionally the “model” county for agriculture and of course a key tourist location is the perfect place to highlight the importance of local and sustainable food” says Margaret Jeffares Founder, Good Food Ireland.

Good Food Ireland informs customers where to go to have a quality Irish ingredient led food experience. It  identifies some 500 restaurants, hotels, food shops, cookery schools, farm houses and B&Bs around the island that are committed to using local sustainable food, supporting Irish farmers food producers and fishermen. Look out for the Good Food Ireland sign or visit www.goodfoodireland.ie

SPRING FOOD SHOPPING

SPRING FOOD

and more...

Spring is in the air and with it comes these mouth-watering recipes, courtesy of Good Food Ireland. Check these out:

Smoked Salmon Mousse - Delicious starter with a bit of zip! 

Mount Falcon Mayo Rack of Lamb Mint Crust and a Diamond of Vegetables

Farmgate Rhubarb and Strawberry Compote

But if you want to spend less time in the kitchen, Good Food Ireland’s Linda Thomas has some advice: “Take a look at our restaurants, hotels, country houses, B&B's, delis, coffee shops, cookery schools, butchers, country storehouses and farmers’ markets who are revolutionising the way local produce is experienced and eaten in Ireland. We have come very, very far in recent years, to the point where significant international tour operators are now organising food trips into Ireland. That would not have been possible several years ago.”

A Good Food Ireland roaming voucher makes the perfect gift for food lovers and can be used with any of our 260 members and growing. To purchase your Good Food Ireland voucher click here >>>
Check out all the fabulous Offers, Events and News on the Good Food Ireland Website

Called to Cinnamon Cottage on the Rochestown Road which has just opened after a major re-vamp. Looks open and airy with lots of good food on display (producers such as Kanturk’s Jack McCarthy and Buttevant’s Old Millbank prominent), fresh breads and a tempting salad bar.  

But I was on the lookout for prepared meals and saw only a quiche and some marinated chicken breasts so I headed back to Mahon and old reliable Flynn’s Kitchen. Thought I was too late when I saw just one portion of his famous cannelloni in the tray but Iain had another tray in reserve and the day was saved! Beautiful stuff!

Had been tipped off about a confectionery shop in the Mahon Shopping complex so checked it and soon found myself gaping at the fantastic selection in Amandine’s, a French influenced patisserie stall on the ground floor. Loads of cakes here of all sizes and for all occasions. Picked up a couple of small pastries, a jam confiture topped cheese cake and another in which baker’s custard was topped with glazed fruit. Gorgeous. But take it easy!

Easter Wine Bonanza Weekend in Urru Bandon

Urru Bandon Re-Launch Wine Card...

Glad to see that two old “friends” of mine will be prominent when Urru Bandon  re-launch their Wine Club Card scheme this Easter. Bubble Brothers are their wine partners and the two friends I refer to are two favourite wines from the Margaret River area of Australia, Xanadu’s Next of Kin Cabernet Sauvignon and Semillon Sauvignon Blanc.

This Easter Bonanza Wine Weekend in Bandon will feature the re-launch of Club Card; a mix & match wine offer for Easter itself and the start of a series of fun Saturday wine tastings for casual and dedicated wine lovers alike. It will all kick off from 11 am on Saturday 23 April.

Urru’s Wine Club Card will re-launch with a really easy, straightforward wine “collect-to-get” schemes. Simply collect 36 tokens (one with each bottle of normal priced wine) and redeem them to get a 10% discount card on all normal priced wine purchases for 12 months following redemption. This will replace the previous “collect-to-get” gifts scheme that has been running since 2009. The revamp of the scheme is in response to what shoppers having said is what they most want.

 For Easter there will be a mix & match offer of Buy 5 Bottles, Get 1 Free on a range of best-selling wines. To make it easy to choose your favourite five, John McCarthy from Bubble Brothers will be in-store on Saturday 23^rd April from 11am to guide the tasting of the wines. Wines on offer will include the likes of Agricola Castellana, Pampano Inspiracion (Rueda, €11), Xanadu, Next of Kin, Sauvignon-Semillon (Margaret River, €13.50), Mount Langi Ghiran, Billi Billi, Pinot Grigio (Victoria €13.50), Chateau la Mothe du Barry, Bordeaux Superieur, €12.50, Bodegas Pingon, Carramimbre Joven Roble (Ribera Duro, €13.50), Xanadu, Next of Kin, Cabernet Sauvignon (Margaret River, €13.50), Mount Langi Ghiran, Billi Billi Shiraz (Victoria, €13.50) and more.

Thirdly, an 8 week series of “Taste of Wine & Cheese of the Week” for summer will start. It will offer an opportunity to blind taste a selected wine each Saturday, covering a range of prices, styles and regions. It is a chance to hone the senses, with the aid of tasting charts, guess the grapes, price range and country of origin; then the wine will be matched with a compatible Cheese of the Week, selected from a range of over 40 Irish farmhouse cheeses and to help it all go down there will be 10% off the price to take home and savour in the long summer evenings with friends and family.

Urru Culinary Store and Bubble Brothers Wines have been working together for 8 years to bring a uniquely wide selection of artisan and emerging wine makers to West Cork.Urru is a member of Good Food Ireland  /and Slow Food Ireland and is featured in the Bridgestone Irish Food Guide and Georgina Campbell Guides.

This is the 4th in a series of 11 Bonanza Days from Urru across 2011 to bring some  good cheer to West Cork and remind us of what is great in our culinary community.

The Perfect Gift For Mum this Mother’s Day

Kelly's Hotel Dessert

Wondering what to buy the woman (maybe women) in your life for the fast approaching Mother's Day? Linda Thomas of Good Food Ireland has some ideas:

"Why not make this Mother’s Day extra special and an unforgettable experience with Good Food Ireland! Give mum the perfect gift of a Good Food Ireland gift voucher to show your appreciation for all she’s done.

These unique vouchers can be used at over 260 Good Food Ireland members throughout Ireland for a well-deserved break in the best settings allowing your mum to experience the very best in Irish cuisine and hospitality.

Alternatively, choose from a variety of delicious mouthwatering food gifts or award winning quality artisan food hampers to share.

Whether you are looking for a relaxing spa weekend, or dinner in a famous Irish eatery or just pure food indulgence, a Good Food Ireland gift voucher is the perfect gift this Mother’s Day and is ideal for anyone who simply loves good Irish food!

Forget about having to travel to the likes of France for exceptional cuisine when you can enjoy dishes to delight every palate here at home. Le Guide Du Routard, the travel bible of the French-speaking world have deemed Irish Restaurants among the best in the world, it even goes so far as to praise Ireland's restaurants for being unmatched the world over!

Gift vouchers are available from 50 euro +. These vouchers will be available for purchase on the Good Food Ireland website and also by contacting the main head office. Log onto www.goodfoodireland.ie for further information."

“Good Food Ireland Calls on Irish People to Support Irish Food this St Patrick’s Day”

Margaret Jeffares (founder Good Food Ireland) and Publicity and Events Manager, Linda Thomas.

Good Food Ireland is calling on Irish people in the run up to St Patrick’s Day to buy local food and choose restaurants and hotels that are committed to using Irish food ingredients. I think that is something we can all go along with.

"Good Food Ireland is the only all island organisation to identify places to stay, to eat out, to shop or take a cookery course that prioritise Irish food and offer a high quality food experience, therefore supporting Irish farmers, food producers and fishermen.

Speaking at the launch of the campaign, Founder of Good Food Ireland, Margaret Jeffares comments, “We want to highlight to the Irish people and to visitors our approved network of people who are delivering to their customers a superb Irish food experience and who are the real local food heroes of our island. In supporting them you also help secure some 7,000 direct jobs and the livelihoods of many Irish food producers, farmers and fishermen that they buy from”.

"The economic benefit and  new rural enterprise opportunities that Good Food Ireland provides through linking agriculture and food with tourism is now more important than ever. Agriculture is at the heart of our Irish culture and culture seeking is No 1 at the heart of tourists."

 Look out for the Good Food Ireland sign or log onto www.goodfoodireland.ie. In addition to this support local campaign, the All Ireland Marketing Awards 2011 announced that Good Food Ireland has been short-listed as a Finalist for the Outstanding Small Business Award.

FANTASTIC PRIZE FROM GOOD FOOD IRELAND

Good Food Ireland Competition

Good Food Ireland, the only all island industry organization that brings together under one umbrella good food places all over the island of Ireland that are committed to using local food is offering two lucky people the chance to win a fabulous Good Food Ireland culinary weekend.

Find Good Food Ireland on Facebook to locate the answer to the question below and be in with the chance of winning this fantastic prize courtesy of Good Food Ireland. The perfect weekend for all food lovers!

Day 1:

· Arrive in Dublin and check into ...read more..

ENDORSEMENT FOR GOOD FOOD IRELAND

Good Food Ireland, the pioneering organisation founded by Margaret Jeffares in Co Wexford that identifies and promotes local food heroes, the best food places committed to offering a sustainable quality local food experience, has been short-listed as a Finalist in the Small Firms Association Outstanding Small Business Award 2011. The Awards Ceremony Gala Event will take place on Thursday, 3rd of March 2011 and will be presented by An Taoiseach.

Margaret Jeffares says ”this achievement is a great endorsement for Good Food Ireland and how the organisation, 4 years on, has driven and delivered economic benefit to Ireland’s food and tourism businesses and pioneered the promotion of Ireland as a destination of good food to our visitors”
                                                      
The organisation latest list of annual award winners may be viewed here.

Linda Thomas, Publicity and Events Manager, told us that Good Food Ireland is an industry organisation that brings together under one umbrella good food places all over the island of Ireland that are committed to using local food and supporting our Irish farmers, food producers and fishermen. 

"Our growing membership, currently 263 businesses employing some 5,000 people include B&B’s to 5 star hotels to restaurants, pubs, cafes, cookery schools, food shops, food producers and farmers markets. 

It is our objective to grow Ireland as a destination for good food and direct international visitors and Irish consumers to our member establishments so as to guarantee a quality Irish food experience. We want Good Food Ireland to become the all island icon for good food in Ireland and be the one stop shop for everyone who simply loves good food.