Celebrating a Flavour of France: Cork’s First French Food & Wine Festival

23rd September 2010

The celebration of French food, wine and culinary culture, will take place from 22nd to 25th September 2010, at St Patrick’s Woollen Mills in Douglas and at various locations across Cork city.

The festival is being organised by French food entrepreneur, Isabelle Sheridan, who runs ‘On The Pig’s Back’ in the Old English Market in Cork city centre and at St Patrick’s Woollen Mills in Douglas.

Having been involved in the highly successful French food markets that have taken place in Cork over the past number of years, Isabelle believes that there is an enormous interest in French food culture in Ireland, particularly in Cork:

“Here in Cork, the presence of food stalls selling the very best of French cuisine has become a regular sight. The reaction from members of the public has been excellent. I find people are very open to experiencing new types of cuisine and there’s been lots of positive feedback. I thought it was time to hold a full-scale French food and wine festival. While, it’s a French festival, we’ll also have a uniquely Irish angle too - much of the food that will be featured as part of the festival is actually made by producers throughout Co. Cork and elsewhere in Ireland.

For example, many of the cured meats,Black Puddings, free Range Pork, homemade pâtés and terrines that will be showcased during the festival are made from superior quality Irish ingredients. I’ve always been interested in bringing the very best of both countries’ traditions together. This is something I focus on when creating product lines for my own business. It’s great to be able to host the festival and show a wider audience how wonderful French recipes can be complemented by outstanding Irish ingredients”.

Highlights of the inaugural festival will include a ‘Restaurant Food Trail’, a traditional French banquet (Thursday, 23rd September), a 'Marche Nocturne' or ‘night market’ (Friday, 24th September) and a family festival day of food, fun, crafts, music and dance (Saturday 25th, September).

The combination of free and ticketed events will kick-off in style on Wednesday 22nd September with a special celebration of Cork’s black pudding tradition - this year, in recognition of the outstanding taste of their artisan black pudding, Jack and Tim McCarthy from McCarthy’s of Kanturk were welcomed into the ‘Fraternity of Black Pudding Tasters’. The launch night of the festival will honour this achievement.

For more information or tickets, please contact:

Isabelle Sheridan (festival organiser)
Tel: 087 7720494 or 021 4270232.

More about ‘On the Pig’s Back’:

On the Pig’s Back is the retail division of La Charcuterie Irlandaise, a Cork-based food production business founded by Frenchwoman, Isabelle Sheridan.

Established in 1992 as a shared stall in the historic Old English Market in Cork city centre, La Charcuterie Irlandaise and On the Pig’s Back have become synonymous with the finest Irish and French cured meats, homemade pâtés, terrines, foie gras and farmhouse sausages. The retail side of the business is also renowned for supplying an extensive range of superior quality cheese, locally produced artisan bread, delicious Breton galettes, superb sauces and dressings and much more.

The opening of the company’s new café and production facility in Douglas this year highlights Isabelle Sheridan’s philosophy towards food. The business brings together the very best traditional cuisine from both Ireland and France. By supporting local Cork producers, and at the same time, introducing Irish consumers to French charcuterie and other French products, Isabelle and her team have won a loyal and expanding customer base.

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