Foodies pop up to capital to showcase produce

A Tipperary invasion of Dublin is usually associated with sport but, next week, it’s food-related when some of the county’s top producers will be in the capital to showcase their wares.

The best of the county’s traditional food will be on offer in a pop-up restaurant being established for one day only at the “Eat Tipp” event in Monkstown next Tuesday.

Tipperary Food Producers employ 220 people directly in a number of businesses and their representatives are planning to create a banquet to promote their seasonal ingredients at the Avoca food market.

The event follows the success of the annual Tipperary Long Table Dinner which has been held at a number of venues in the county during recent years.

Chairman of Tipperary Food Producers, butcher Pat Whelan, opened his first James Whelan Butchers Shop outside of Tipperary in Avoca a year ago and decided to bring the Tipperary food “brand” to Dublin.

“Tipperary Food Producers have been coming together to host an autumn dining event annually since 2007 and we are delighted to be bringing a taste of Tipperary to Dublin this year,” he said.

“As producers we love sharing the very best of our produce and reinforce the importance of supporting local producers to a local, national, and even international audience.”

The “meal to remember” will include Tipperary- produced meats, breads, vegetables, cheese, cakes, condiments, and fruit while Gary Gubbins of Red Nose Wine in Clonmel will be present to match the best of artisan wines to the artisan foods on offer.

The producers, who have a joint annual turnover of €24m, have been sharing their highlights since 2007 when local food merchants came together one late summer’s evening to dine at a long table under the fruit trees in the Apple Farm in Cahir.

Since then they have entertained and hosted their annual dinner in unusual venues, from an army barracks, to Cahir Castle, to an historic Harry Potteresque long hall boarding school refectory.

The Tipperary Food Producers network was established to urge consumers to consider buying food produced in Tipperary by visiting their local baker, butcher, farm shop, cheesemonger, retailer, and farmers’ market. Members hope to develop the concept into a regional brand that will highlight what Tipperary food has to offer.

* A limited amount of tickets are for sale. More on tipperaryfoodproducers.com