There was a bumper turnout at this year’s Burren Slow Food Festival, with a mix of locals and tourists who gathered at the Pavilion theatre in Lisdoonvarna on Sunday.
Organised by the Burren Ecotourism Network, Slow Food Clare, the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark, the Burren Slow Food Festival event has been a highlight of the Irish food calendar since 2005.This year the event was included in the Burren Wellness series of events in May which is organised by the Burren Ecotourism Network.
Birgitta Hedin Curtin, Festival organiser and chairperson of Slow Food Clare said: “We were delighted to see so many people attend the festival and enjoy the variety of products on offer. Many of the traders sold out before the end of the afternoon and have already booked in to come back next year”
“The audience were very engaged and, enjoyed the presentations from our local Burren GEOfood producers, chefs and Wellness speakers. We were delighted to have Colum McGrath from Clare FM act as MC for the day“
Presentations were varied and included an Oyster shucking workshop with Conor Graham from Flaggy Shore Oysters, a cheesemaking workshop with Sinead Ni Ghairbhith from the Cheese Press, as well as cooking demos in the Calor Kitchen. These included those given by Hotel Doolin chefs Jamie Hagan and Glynn Trollip as well as Chef Peter Jackson from the Roadside Tavern and the Burren Storehouse.
Wellness talks on the day included the benefits of sea swimming by June Curtin ( Snamhaisasta) the benefits of walking by Pius Murray and a talk about Spa treatments from Caroline Keane from the Falls hotel.
Jarlath O’Dwyer, CEO of the Burren Ecotourism Network said:
“The strong attendance at this year’s event is very encouraging, as it shows that there is still a great interest in the foods that are produced locally here in the Burren. The lion’s share of the attendees come to sample the foods, and to buy them from the producer, which was also the case at the Burren Food Fayre on October last. We are already planning our next culinary event which will be held in the Autumn!”
Carol Gleeson, Manager of the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark talked about the success of the GEOfood concept, a global brand that promotes local food in UNESCO global geoparks.
Since the launch of GEOfood in the Burren last year the network has continued to grow, with four new producers joining the existing nine. There are plans to develop the concept further in the coming months.
This year’s event was sponsored by Calor Gas Ireland and supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
