A new addition has been added to Galway’s packed festivals line-up with the announcement this week of the Galway Food Festival which will run from April 6 to 8.
This new festival will seek to promote good food and good food outlets in Galway, showcase food producers based in Galway and in the west, attract visitors, and promote healthy eating for all ages.
The festival will be a city-wide event involving restaurants and food outlets throughout Galway and its environs. It will feature restaurant trails, tastings, cookery demonstrations, workshops with celebrity chefs, cookery competitions with well-known Galway chefs and personalities.
There will also be Know Your Vines Workshops with industry experts, food tours to local artisan producers, and open air food markets including the renowned Galway Market.
The festival will also include themed menus, signature dishes, and lots of what Galway does best - street performances, music trails, laugh-while-you-lunch comedy events, and family-friendly entertainment including monster Easter Egg hunts and treasure trails.
“Galway is synonymous with good food, award-winning restaurants and great festivals,” said Dave Keogh, chairman of the Latin Quarter. “The city is renowned for its high number and quality of restaurants and it is important it should have its very own food festival.”
Marketing of the festival will include accommodation packages and cross-promotions between hotels, restaurants, and entertainment providers across the city including the Stay, Catch and Eat initiative whereby food visitors can enjoy a trip on a local fishing vessel, bring their catch to their evening restaurant where it will be cooked and served to them, and stay in one of Galway's top hotels for all-in value prices.
The festival will take place in April primarily because it is the time of year when some of the best local ingredients become available – Connemara spring lamb, new potatoes, rhubarb, etc, and when trout and salmon are being caught locally.
Full programme details will be announced in the coming weeks on www.galwayfoodfestival.com