Irish food heritage project takes to the road

Irish food heritage project takes to the road

Local artisan suppliers support the public launch of the Food Cookery Demonstration Theatre and Roadshow (L-R), Leona Kane and daughter Emily (Broighter Gold); Emmet McCourt, Mayor Cllr Brenda Stevenson; Alison Leighton from Donnybrewer Hand-Crafted Butter; Joe McGinnis from Glebe Wagyu Beef and Louise Millsopp, Head of Supply Chain Development at DARD .

 

 

An acclaimed regional food promotional programme championed by well-known north-west chef, Emmett McCourt, took a huge leap forward recently with the unveiling of a mobile cookery demonstration vehicle….

Irish Food Heritage chef, Emmet McCourt, used the regular Walled City Market event in Londonderry recently to launch his new mobile cookery demonstration theatre and roadshow.

Emmett, an accomplished lecturer and broadcaster, is the founder of the Irish Food Heritage Project, an initiative designed to capture and preserve the unique food history of the north-west of Ireland. And the new roadshow vehicle represents the next important step in the project’s evolution.

Emmett was last in the news when he published his book, Feast or Famine, earlier this year. Five years in the making, the lavishly illustrated volume describes a cultural food journey through the chef’s native north-west region.

The cookery roadshow trailer has been funded by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), the Rural Development NI Regional Food Programme and Derry City Council and the mobile facilities will add a new dimension to the Irish Food Heritage Project by allowing Emmett to tell the his fascinating culinary story to a much wider audience as it tours markets, fairs and food events throughout Ireland.

Speaking during the recent launch, Emmett told an audience of hundreds in the Guildhall Square, Derry, that he would be using the Roadshow to share his passion for food culture and history with as many people as possible:

“By sourcing local, artisan produce to make these classical Irish dishes, I hope to be able to support local business and create a new live cooking experience,” he added.

Some of the those local artisans were represented at the launch event including Glens of Antrim Potatoes, Donnybrewer Hand-Crafted Butter, Broighter Gold and Glebe Wagyu Beef.

“The cookery roadshow trailer gives us a voice and access to a wider audience so we can get out to as many people as possible,” added Emmett.

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Emmett is well-known as an accomplished chef, lecturer and author with a passion for Irish food and traditional methods of cooking.

Among the venues at which the roadshow will shortly be appearing will be the Irish Game Fair and Flavour Ireland Fine Food Fair at the Montalto Estate in Ballynahinch at the end of this month and the NI Potato Festival in October. Emmett is also investigating the possibility of attending the famous Borough Market in Southwark in London, a famous wholesale and retail market that has been held since the 1700s.

During the Guildhall Square launch, Emmett whipped up a number of dishes for his audience including pigs’ trotters and stout and corned beef cabbage and boxty (a type of traditional Irish potato pancake).

He also told them:

“It is my ambition to share my passion with as many people as possible through the Cookery Roadshow. Through sourcing local artisan produce to make these classical Irish dishes, I also hope to support local business and create a new live cooking experience. I hope it will inspire people to take a new perspective on the many amazing untold local stories of local food and it connection to our unique social history.”

Louise Millsopp, head of supply chain development with DARD, said that she felt the project could provide a window into the past and enhance public understanding of regional Irish food:

“I would like to wish the Irish Food Heritage Project every success in their adoption of this new approach to conveying factual information about quality regional food and food heritage through the use of the mobile cookery demonstration theatre,” she added.

Food had been a constant passion for Emmett for the last two decades. He has worked in the kitchens of well-known restaurants and hotels around the world and he is also an accomplished lecturer and trainer with great enthusiasm for working with young chefs. Yet, his greatest love is researching and cooking traditional Irish food and it is that obsession that led to the formation of the Irish Food Heritage Project in 2011.

A number of other elements of the project are currently also in train. A television documentary about the project has been filmed by an independent production company and is currently being edited. The programmes highlights the history of the oil-rich Getty family from North America and its Scots-Irish roots in County Londonderry, using their story to highlight the era’s culinary legacy.

An app in the form of an ebook is also shortly to be released, featuring material from Feast or Famine and including video of the cookery demonstrations by Emmett and an interactive food tour.

Find out more at www.feastorfamine.ie

 

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Cruibins with stout pig trotters. Pigs trotters are a traditional Irish dish often eaten in bars with a pint of stout.