FOODIES GATHER AS CORK & KERRY FOOD FORUM LAUNCHES

12th June 2014

Food Forum to Celebrate Artisan Produce from Cork and Kerry

Cork & Kerry: An exciting event to promote Cork and Kerry food and artisan producers in the Region was launched today by a partnership including the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) Cork & Kerry, Cork City Council, Cork County Council, Bord Bia and leading Irish retailer, SuperValu. The Cork and Kerry Food Forum will take place in City Hall Cork on Monday, 30 June 2014.

Food lovers will particularly enjoy the showcase of artisan produce from all over Cork and Kerry, with tastings and demonstrations of an incredible variety of food from unique cheeses, to farm fresh herbs, confectionary, meat and fish products as well as cookery demonstrations with celebrity chef and SuperValu ambassador, Kevin Dundon.

The event will also include a conference for food producers, opened by Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine Simon Coveney T.D., which will discuss opportunities in food retail, consumer trends and the new Food Academy Start programme. The programme is a national joint initiative led by SuperValu, Bord Bia and the LEOs, aimed at supporting and nurturing start up food businesses. Speakers from Bord Bia and SuperValu will also be on hand to share their insights to food businesses and food retail.

“The Cork and Kerry region is renowned nationally and internationally for its high quality food produce, and with the concentration of artisan producers in this area, the Food Forum is an ideal way to showcase the variety of excellent food produced here to consumers, retailers and distributors as well as key industry stakeholders,” said Joe Burke, Local Enterprise Office South Cork.

“All are welcome to attend the Cork and Kerry Food Forum, and entrance is free of charge. We want people to come along and experience the wonderful food culture here, and we guarantee to give visitors food for thought in more ways than one.”

A key element of the Cork and Kerry Food Forum will be the ‘meet the buyer’ trade event, where food producers can meet with buyers and retailers of SuperValu, and understand retail requirements and opportunities for their produce.

“SuperValu is a major supporter of the Irish food industry, purchasing almost €2billion worth of goods from Irish suppliers annually. We are delighted to be a part of the 2014 Cork & Kerry Food Forum as this further endorses SuperValu and its retailer’s commitment to sourcing local produce for our stores and encouraging small businesses to develop, along with giving them an opportunity to showcase their products in-store. The Cork and Kerry Food Forum provides an ideal platform for our buyers and retailers to meet with small local producers from the region to further strengthen this partnership,” said Kenneth O’Connor, Local Project Manager, SuperValu.

The Cork & Kerry Food Forum will take place on Monday 30 June 2014 in City Hall, Cork. The ‘meet the buyer’ event and conference will take place in the morning from 9am to 1pm, and the event will open to the public for the afternoon from 1pm.

* * * * ENDS * * * *

Return to the Archive News section