On Saturday, 14th of September, the 7th Annual Flavours From the Heart of Ireland Food and Drinks Fair will take place at the Strokestown Agricultural & Industrial Show. This is the longest consecutively running show in Ireland (with the forced exception of the two years of Covid restrictions).
Strokestown Show has evolved significantly over the years. This Food and Drinks Fair aspect of the day began in 2016 with 19 exhibitors on that occasion. This year, the fair will be hosted beneath a 150 foot-long marquee and has now grown to almost 50 exhibitors.
Chairperson of Strokestown Show, John O’Beirne, thanked the sub-committee, led by Strokestown local culinary legend Margaret Jordan, at the recent launch of the Strokestown Show, which was held in the Percy French Hotel.
“The popularity and success of the event, which is entering its 7th year, wouldn’t be possible without the hard work of the entire committee, and it has been a fantastic attraction”.
The fair will include cookery demonstrations from a variety of celebrity chefs, including Brian McDermott, a celebrated culinary figure from Donegal, best known for his presentations on RTÉ’s The Afternoon Show. He is renowned for his dedication to promoting local Irish cuisine. Known as ‘The No Salt Chef,’ McDermott has made a name for himself by focusing on heart-healthy cooking, particularly after his own health scare prompted him to remove salt from his diet.
Daniel Willimont, Executive Chef at the acclaimed North Roscommon hotel, Kilronan Castle, will be returning to Strokestown for this year’s food fair, and the organisers are delighted that he is doing so.
After the success of winning Best Product in 2018, Kieron Moran from Moran’s Mega Jam will take to the stage once again in Strokestown to speak about the art of making some of the finest jams in Ireland.
Another well-known face around Strokestown, Adrian Gill, will also showcase some of his famous recipes on the Food Fair stage this year.
Lorraine Aspill from Daisy Cottage (Farm) Crafts will also return this year to demonstrate how to make brown bread, as well as some other favourites.
At the launch of the show, Mr O’Beirne also thanked Timea Kovacs of Healthy Bake Ltd, as well as Vinny Meldrum and Lisa Vocella of Vocella’s Restaurant in Longford, for agreeing to showcase some of their specialities at this year’s fair.
In addition to a wide range of food exhibitors, there will be a number of local and national drink exhibitors (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) showcasing their wares. Mr O’Beirne quipped that this year will feature a poitín exhibitor, noting with a smile that it was the “legal” sort of poitín.
