Mayo workshop on ‘Tasty’ new initiative

TASTE the Island – a celebration of Ireland’s food and drink – is taking place this autumn.

Now, Fáilte Ireland is inviting Mayo businesses and individuals interested in providing tourists with a food or drink experience to attend a workshop on Thursday, May 9, in Breaffy House Hotel to find out how they can get involved in the initiative.

Taste the Island has been developed in response to the growing global interest in food and drink by Fáilte Ireland, in collaboration with Tourism Ireland, Tourism Northern Ireland and a range of stakeholders.

Taste the Island will showcase Ireland’s world-class food and drink culture across the island of Ireland from September to November to provide visitors with access to authentic food and drink experiences, high quality local ingredients and world class Irish food and drink produce.

The extensive programme running over three months will seek to create an awareness and renewed appreciation at home and abroad of the strength and richness of Ireland’s cuisine today.

Workshops are being rolled out throughout the country, from Donegal to Limerick and from Athlone to Dingle, to inform the local food and drink industry about this exciting initiative for food and drink providers.

The workshops have been organised for the industry to learn more and provide them with the opportunity to shape the development of a programme of events and experiences for 2019. A new toolkit guide on how the industry can deliver our world-class food and drink experiences has been developed for the workshops.

Martina Kerr Bromley, Fáilte Ireland’s Head of Enterprise Development, said: “We are urging people in the food and drink industry from Mayo and throughout the Ireland to get involved and participate in our upcoming workshops in your area. The programme of events for Taste the Island will include visits to food producers, distillers and brewers, food trails, food festivals, participation in traditional skills, opportunities to forage, traditional pubs, small-town cafés, restaurants, city bistros and Michelin-starred experiences.”