Taste the Island - A Celebration of Ireland's Food and Drink - 2019 Buyers Guide

Irish Food and Drink today Today so many cultures continue to influence Irish cuisine and drink, such as middle eastern food, Chinese, Japanese, polish and Korean cuisine. A new fusion of Irish cuisine marries the traditional Irish food dishes and Irish quality ingredients, with an international twist. However at the heart of the Irish Food Experience is the commitment to allow Irish Ingredients speak for themselves. Buyers Guide to Ireland’s Food and Drink We hope this Guide supports your programming of our Taste the Island celebration. Containing endless suggestions for Food and Drink Experiences in Ireland from ‘Taste the Atlantic’ to Food and Drink Tours, Cookery Schools and Culinary tastings, while Producer farm visits allow the unique opportunity to get up close and meet the characters behind many of our great food ingredients. Accolades & Awards Restaurant Association of Ireland awarded Kilkenny as Ireland’s Foodie Destination of the Year 2018, while Kinsale was named ‘Ireland’s Foodie Town’. National Geographic UK recognised The Boyne Valley as one of the world’s best food destinations in 2019 International travel and tourism awards named Northern Ireland as theWorld’s best food destination in 2018 The Taste Awards UK and Ireland 2018 – 12,634 products submitted for judging, 192 awarded three stars, 25 of which were from Ireland. Savour Good Taste Awards recognised Ireland’s Coast as it’s Best Culinary Road Trip 2015 Coveted throughout Europe, the EU Label of PGI recognises geographical and traditional specialists of products. Ireland has 8 such PGI labelled products: • Imokilly Regata Cheese • Clare Island Salmon • Timoleague Brown Pudding • Connemara Hill Lamb • Waterford Blaa • Lough Neagh Eel • Armagh Bramley Apples • Comber Early Potatoes 9 SECT ION 4 – IRELAND’ S FOOD HERI TAGE