Local artisan suppliers at the Local Enterprise Office (LEO) Cork North & West Taste of North Cork Food Fair at the Mallow Home & Gardens Festival at Cork Racecourse, Mallow on 26th May, pictured with LEO staff members Joan Kelleher, Business Advisor and Cathal De Baroid, Assistant Head of Enterprise. (Photo: Sean Jefferies Photography)

Local Enterprise Office Cork North and West hosted a showcase to celebrate the very best of North Cork artisan food and drink as part of the Mallow Home & Garden Festival last weekend.

Under the banner of Taste of North Cork, 14 artisan food and drink producers presented their produce, locally sourced, in a dedicated Local Enterprise Office Taste of North Cork exhibition area.

The event proved a wonderful success. Joan Kelleher of the LEO Cork North & West this week told The Avondhu: “The Taste of North Cork was organised by the local Enterprise Office Cork North & West and is a platform for food businesses in North Cork to create and establish new contacts and widen their networking opportunities to benefit their business. The food business has really taken off in North Cork and the great feedback we got from the Taste of North Cork can turn around into practical support for local food businesses”.

IDEAL OPPORTUNITY

Speaking following the event, Norma Kelly of Praline Pastry Shop & Cafe, Mitchelstown, said that “working with the Local Enterprise Office at the Taste of North Cork gave us a great opportunity to display Praline sweet treats and doing the demonstration gave me a chance to display my pastry skills”.

Nellie Butler and Maria O’Mahony of Praline, Mitchelstown at the LEO Cork North & West Taste of Cork Food Fair at Mallow Home and Garden Festival. (Photo: Sean Jefferies Photography)

Fellow exhibitors, Norma and Tom Dinneen of Bó Rua in Ballynoe, thanked the LEO for such a super opportunity to take part in the Taste of North Cork over the weekend, “Aside from it being a great networking opportunity it was also wonderful to get such positive feedback from the public, and of course exceed sales in the process,” Tom said.

Clotilde Fitzgibbon, Clotilde’s Compote, said it was a pleasure to exhibit this weekend. “Hard work, but well worth it! I appreciate the work Joan and the team did.”

Acting Head of Enterprise for Local Enterprise Office Cork North and West, Kevin Curran, commented: “The Taste of North Cork exhibition presented an ideal opportunity for visitors to the Festival to meet our local producers, they found out more about the artisan food scene in the locality, and even discovered some new favourite brands”.

 

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