The Galway Food festival now in its 4th year will take place over the Easter bank holiday weekend from Thursday 2nd to Monday 6th April.
This year’s festival will be opened by TV and Michelin Star Chef Derry Clarke and promises to be bigger and better than before with old and new events taking place throughout Galway city and county in celebration of Galway’s rich culinary landscape.
At the heart of Galway Food Festival’s ethos is a respect for local Galway food produce, producers and the many talented restaurant teams in Galway city and its environs.
Pointing out what is at the heart of the festival, Chairperson Heather Flaherty says “Galway Food Festival gives consumers a unique platform to meet the maker, baker or cheese maker and indulge in fine food, fine wines and craft beers. It brings together a growing community of passionate people and showcases their work through education initiatives, food tours, demonstrations, talks and markets. Indeed, it is through this passion and celebration that we promote Galway as a good food destination, encourage food tourism and continued community development and create a lasting legacy of good, healthy eating at all ages”.
Galway Food Festival is delighted to announce esteemed TV and Michelin Star chef Derry Clarke of ‘l’Ecrivain’ Dublin to open the Festival’s live cooking demonstrations on Friday 3rd April in the festival tent at the Spanish Arch in Galway city. From noon to 1pm watch and learn from Derry as he prepares three delicious seafood dishes with the freshest fish from Galway Bay. Galway Food Festival’s live food demonstrations are free and it’s suggested to arrive early to get the best view! Other chefs taking part in live cooking demonstrations along with Derry include, Gerry Mc Mahon from Il Vicolo demonstrating pasta making at home, and head Chef David O’Donnell from The Ardilaun’s new Bistro on cooking with dry aged beef. On Saturday The Malt House restaurant puts a very current spin on their demo titled “50 shades of Kale”. Find out more about one of the healthiest vegetables around how to cook it properly. Galway Food Festival’s live cooking demonstrations cover a diverse range of themes and cooking techniques courtesy of local and international food experts, including Japanese food, modern desserts, creating Tapas and cooking with seaweed.
Demos will run over three days from Friday to Sunday from 11am to 5pm.
Throughout the five days of the festival over 60 individual food related events will take place in hotels, restaurants, cafes and shops. The timetable of events begins on Thursday 2nd April at noon with an Easter themed afternoon tea at the G hotel and finishes on Monday 6th April with a Galway Food Festival table quiz in The Kings Head.
Galway Food Festival highlights include;
Cava on the Corrib at 4pm on Friday 3rd April, a boat tour on the Corrib Princess where guests can enjoy a Spanish themed barbeque courtesy of Cava Bodega wine and tapas bar this event must be booked and carries a fee. Later at 7.30pm Mc Cambridges host their Hunter Gatherer Feast, collaboration with the very unique Sauvage restaurant, Berlin. This event presents a feast of wild and foraged foods and cocktails that will excite surprise and delight the senses, taking diners back to their roots.
On Saturday 4th April why not head to Galway’s newest restaurant, Loam and experience a cooking demonstration based on recipes using produce only available in Spring time.
For those with young children with an interest in improving their cooking skills head to Tom Sheridan's Bar and restaurant in Knocknacarra for their kids’s pizza masterclass on Saturday morning. For those with a sweet tooth at 7pm the Gaslight Bar & Restaurant at Hotel Meyrick presents “A taste of chocolate” where artisan chocolatier Hazel Mountain Chocolates will create a chocolate inspired three course tasting menu.
Head to The House Hotel on Sunday at 3pm for a “flavour of the Wild Atlantic Way” where Head chef Kevin Hynes will present dishes exclusively using food found along this coastal route. At 7pm The Twelve in Barna hosts “the twelve apostles” a homage to the variety and quality of local Galway fresh produce.
The Festival Village will operate Friday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm at the Spanish Arch. Some of the participants you can look out for this year include; The Friendly Farmer, Castlemine farm, Bowl a Granola, Dough Bros and Rebel chilli to name a few. The Moycullen market will also run as normal on Friday 3rd April from 1pm to 6pm.
The Woodquay market makes a welcome return for the 4th Galway Food Festival and will operate on Saturday 4th April from 10am to 6pm.
This year’s market not only boasts an impressive line-up of quality food producers and farmers but also includes some fun, family-friendly events including a teddy bears picnic for kids!. Food and craft stalls will spring up all the way from McSwiggan’s to Woodquay Park, ready for visitors to explore. The weekly Galway market will continue as normal on Market street on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 6pm. And if all that’s not enough there is an agri aware mobile farm from 11am to 5pm on Saturday for the eco aware farmer in you!.
For those who really want to up their knowledge about the latest food trends on an international scale as well as local level the festivals expert led talks are a must. A series of four specialised subjects will be discussed on Saturday from 11am to 6pm in An Taibhdhearc all of which are free to the public and feature very diverse yet relevant food subjects in this 2015 International Year of Soils.
The four talks include:
11am Breaking the Mould: Innovation and Sustainability in Restaurants Sasu Laukkonen, Chef and Sommelier Restaurant, Helsinki, Finnish ‘Terroir’ chef talks ‘No Waste’ cooking in conversation with John Mc Kenna
12 noon Douglas McMaster, Silo Restaurant, Bakery, Coffee House, Brighton, The UK’s only zero waste restaurant on pre-industrial food system cooking
1pm Boris and Rodrigo Leite-Poco, Sauvage Paleo restaurant, Berlin in conversation with Heather Flaherty about the paleo food philosophy
2.30pm Breaking Bread: Demystifying Sourdough Joe Fitzmaurice of Riot Rye Bakehouse & Bread School and the Real Bread Ireland movement presents a live interactive story of sourdough bread from raw grain through every step of the milling, making starter, fermentation and baking.
3.30pm Land and Livelihoods along the Wild Atlantic Way.
Panel Discussion chaired by John Mc Kenna (Mc Kennas’ Guides ) Speakers include: Eamonn O’Cuiv TD Fianna Fail, Seamus Sheridan, Agriculture and Food spokesperson for The Green Party, Aine Macken-Walsh from Teagasc’s Rural Economy and Development Programme and Ronan Byrne of The Friendly Farmer.
4.45pm United Nations Year of The Soil Healthy soils for healthy food production and sustainable rural livelihoods (marking UNESCO 2015 International Year of the Soils ).
Debate on the importance of soil to Irish food and farming.
If it’s variety you’re after then why not take part in a Galway Food Festival Taste Trail. Taking place on Saturday and Sunday afternoon from 2pm to 5pm the Taste Trail is the ideal opportunity to sample dishes from a selection of restaurant in the city from casual to fine dining and plenty of surprises along the way!.
Some of the restaurants taking part include; Martines, The Kitchen, Dela and Thai Garden.
For the more adventurous types who wish to experience Galway’s coastal landscape first hand three food tours are included in this year’s programme, each on Friday 3rd April.
11am Seaside Foraging walk with Sally Mc Kenna and Aniar restaurant at Silverstrand beach 9.30am Food Tour to Inishmore with a special visit to Aran Islands Goats cheese factory 10.30am Visit Clarinbridge Oyster Beds, Kilcornan Apiary and Galway Hooker
The 2015 Festival will also seek to build on Galway's growing status as a Food Capital of the Wild Atlantic Way where Connemara Spring lamb, brown trout, wild salmon, seafood, organic fruit, vegetables and herbs can be found in abundance in this unique natural environment. In true Galway style meet food producers, suppliers, casual dining chefs to Michelin Star chefs, Fáilte Ireland Food Ambassadors of the Wild Atlantic way and the humble growers who supply outlets located along the western seaboard as part of the festival's events programme. The West awakes this Easter with the aroma of good food and the chatter of a growing authentic food and beverage industry.
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