Fine fare on offer as foodies flock to festival

The weather gods are set to look favourably on tomorrow’s highlight of the fifth annual Waterford Festival of Food, with thousands expected to flood into the streets of Dungarvan to sample the best in artisan fare.

Grattan Square in Dungarvan will once again be transformed into a bustling food market with all types of epicurean delights on offer, with sunshine forecast to brighten the atmosphere.

That’s after another busy schedule today in the food festival with a number of free and ticketed events to whet the taste buds.

Many local businesses in Dungarvan and outlying areas are laying on special events in conjunction with the festival, such as Lismore Castle, which is offering a rare opportunity to visit its gardens and attend a cookery demonstration in the Castle Kitchens.

The emphasis of much of the programme is on family events. Yesterday it was the turn of the teenagers who enjoyed the “Snack, Craic ‘n Pop” event in the Clonea Strand Hotel with a healthy local breakfast, bowling and a “food Olympics”, which included a cracker-eating contest.

Ticket sales for all events have been described by organisers as “extremely encouraging” but there are still some places on some of the “Bus Bia” tours taking place today throughout west Waterford. Also expected to be popular is a “surf ‘n’ turf duel” between award-winning local chef Paul Flynn of The Tannery and Martin Shanahan of Fishy Fish restaurant, Kinsale.

One of the highlights of the weekend is The Baker, The Blogger and the Brewer, which sees the Civic Offices in Dungarvan being taken over for a unique culinary experience.

Award-winning food and travel blogger and columnist Niamh Shields — who hails from Dungarvan but has been based in London for a number of years — is joined for this event by Eunice Power of the Cooking for You catering company and Claire Dalton from the Dungarvan Brewing Co as they establish a temporary “pop-up restaurant” for the weekend.

Free events aimed at the family taking place today include the Picnic in the Park, with music laid on at Walton Park; and the Mobile Farm organised by Agri Aware at King John’s Castle; a Taste of West Waterford at the farmers’ market in Lismore and a tour of Dungarvan’s food heritage sites.

One event to be fun is the Ready, Chef, Go contest which will be hosted by RTÉ radio host John Murray and feature local chefs Conor Foran (Lawlor’s Hotel), Eunice Power (Powersfield House), Michael Quinn (Waterford Castle) and Louise Clarke (Nude Food) in a fast and furious demonstration.