Dungarvan on pigs’ back amid food fair preparations

A TOWN park in Co Waterford will be taken over by colourful, crafty “pigs” next week as part of a novel event to announce details of a food festival expected to draw thousands into the south-east.

School children and members of local clubs and organisations are currently working on pig creations for a special Pig Fair in Dungarvan on March 2, marking the launch of preparations for this year’s Waterford Festival of Food.

A team of judges will select one of the dozen pigs to be the mascot for the fourth annual festival which is running in Dungarvan over the weekend of April 15 to 17.

The pigs will subsequently be paraded through the town on the opening day of the festival and dropped off in local shops and restaurants where they will be on display over the festival weekend.

Festival director Therese McDermott said yesterday there has been “a wonderful reaction” to the Pig Fair.

“It is great to have so many people, particularly children from the town involved, using their imaginations and craft skills to come up with pig creations,” she said.

It is fitting, according to Ms McDermott, that a crafted pig will be the festival mascot this year with Bord Bia recently launching a Bring Home the Bacon campaign to help protect the Irish pig meat industry.

Details of this year’s festival programme will be unveiled at the Pig Fair. While a lot of the popular events return, there are some new elements including a Ready Steady Cook competition, a Food Camp and a Mind/ Body/Spirit event.

The Ready Steady Cook evening will take place in the Town Hall at 7.30pm on Monday, March 21, and will feature budding young chefs from local secondary schools who will take to the stage accompanied by well known local chefs.

Two teams of students with their mentors will be challenged to prepare and cook dishes against the clock with ingredients presented to them on the evening.

The Food Camp, modelled on an event initiated at Savour Kilkenny, will be held on Friday, April 15, when food bloggers, producers, cooks and food lovers from all over Ireland will gather to discuss all aspects of the food industry in an informal atmosphere.

This year’s festival line-up includes well known chefs Ross Lewis of the Michelin star restaurant, Chapter One; Martin Shanahan of Fishy Fishy in Kinsale and star of Martin’s Mad about Fish on RTÉ television, and local chef Paul Flynn of The Tannery.