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A Canadian chef is looking for food and drink producers to take part in a new cooking series, which will see him travel the length and breadth of Ireland in the next month.
Randy Lewis owner of Randaddy’s restaurant in Lahinch will embark on a ‘20 County, 20 day’ adventure in October – which will be filmed by a professional camera crew and broadcast live on digital media.
“Although I have lived in Ireland for the last 15 years, I have been so busy running the restaurant that I haven’t had chance to see and taste Ireland. That’s what this new series is all about” Mr Lewis said.
“I am passionate about Irish food and particularly small producers, many of whom are in remote areas of the country and have been hit badly by the economic consequences of Covid 19 this year”
“It will be a chance to get out there and discover new flavours and foods, which I can bring back to the restaurant as well as meeting the local food hero’s who champion Irish food all over the country.” he said.
Finding new flavours and recipes is something that Randy has been doing for over two decades. Prior to opening his restaurant in Lahinch in 2011, Randy cooked his way around the world, immersing himself in the culture and culinary customs of each country he visited.
“I have cooked in dbabas in India, bargained with Moroccan fast food cooks for recipes and spent time with the Masai Mara tribe in Kenya. I see countries and cultures as great sources of ingredients, ideas and inspiration and I incorporate all this into my cooking in the restaurant.”
Back in 2016, Randy first hired a camera crew to record his travelling adventures in Hong Kong in particular at the JW Marriott Hotel where he cooked with the head chef. Since then his films have racked up millions of views on his digital media platforms. Randy has also appeared on RTE’s Nationwide, ‘Today’ show and Virgin Media’s ‘The Restaurant’.
Despite, a difficult start to the 2020 season, with the country locked down in March, the chef continued making films on a weekly basis which were broadcast on social media channels and watched by tens of thousands of people all over Ireland and worldwide.
“The public feedback and interaction to my videos inspired me to come up with the ‘20 counties, 20 days’ project. I made a promo video in County Clare a couple of weeks ago featuring the ‘Burren Farm Experience’ in Boston, where I went foraging, then I visited the ‘Burren glamping and pig farm’ in Kilfenora and finished off by tasting whiskey at ‘JJ Corry’s’ whiskey bonders in Cooraclare. The response has been amazing, with people all over Ireland contacting me interested in taking part.”
He said: “In particular I am looking for small and quirky food and drink producers to take part. I would also to talk to producers who are using traditional methods as this is something I would like to explore more.” he added.
“The quality of the food in Ireland is superb and this is something that will be reflected in the new series,” he said.
For more information on how to take part or discuss sponsorship please email info@randaddys.ie.