College of Tourism & Arts second Foodie Forum (5 Feb)

Following its successful launch in 2012, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) will once again host the popular open FoodieForum, in GMIT Galway on 5 February (2013), for all lovers and supporters of Irish Food.

Visitors to this year’s FoodieForum are in for a unique treat with a wide ranging variety of workshops, demonstrations, debates, and a stellar line up of master classes with leading local and internationally recognised chefs including Enda McEvoy of Aniar, Martin O’Donnell from the Twelve Hotel, Wade Murphy of Doonbeg Lodge, JP McMahon of Cava and, in association with Redmond Fine Foods, Martijn Kajuiter, Executive Chef of the Cliffhouse Hotel and author of “Lets go Disco”, to name a few.

Organised by lecturers in the GMIT College of Tourism & Arts, Cormac Handy, Jacinta Dalton and Colin Gilligan, the public event is one of a series of events marking GMIT’s 40th anniversary this academic year.

Among the range of activities planned for the FoodieForum are food & wine workshops by leading local wine experts while the ever exciting and growing craft beer sector will also be featured. The buzzing indoor market is back again with an array of local producers displaying and selling their goods and this year’s line-up will also feature an outdoor street food fair showcasing the growing trends in this area.

No food event is complete without a good debate; two round-table discussions will take place with a panel of leading national experts discussing issues around GM foods, and labelling and marketing of local food.

This year, the FoodieForum team is also collaborating with the “Made in Galway” brand, a Galway County Council initiative designed to support and encourage cultural and economic development. A business drop-in zone will also run on the day for small craft businesses who are either in the start-up phase or already trading but require additional advice.

GMIT lecturer and event organiser Jacinta Dalton says last year’s event was a huge success due in part to the interactive nature of the activities but also due to the incredible line-up of culinary demonstrations. Chefs, restaurateurs, producers, business advisors and members of the general public had a unique opportunity to mingle, network and in many cases forge very successful and lucrative business relationship,” she explains.

“In recent years there has been a huge wave of activity on the food front in Ireland and particularly in Galway. As lecturers and practitioners in the industry we are excited about this and very passionate about educating people about food and food trends and the economic benefits of supporting this new wave. We have so many food producers on our doorstep and the FoodieForum in February will showcase the incredible range of local produce.”

The GMIT College of Tourism and Arts culinary lecturers and students will also showcase their skills in sugarcraft, pastry and bread-making which proved to be hugely popular at last year’s event. Many award-winning sugar pieces will be on display.

A new event included in this year line-up is the “Trainee chef of the year competition” in conjunction with Cookery School Live. Interested parties still have a few days left to enter this competition titled “A Sense of Place”. Entrants will be required to create and present two plated portions of a main course in 30 minutes using seasonal ingredients representative of quality Irish produce. Please submit your contact details with a recipe and photograph of your dish to TFFcompetition@gmail.com Closing date for submission is 5pm, Friday 18 January, 2013 Finalists will be notified via email by Monday 21 January, 2013

The FoodieForum evening will conclude with a banquet in the Cafe Foyer, GMIT Galway (Dublin Road) campus, featuring the best the west has to offer. Guests will have the opportunity to taste several courses of amazing local produce prepared and served by GMIT culinary lecturers and students while listening to some wonderful live jazz. This is a dining experience not to be missed.

The Foodie Forum is open to the public and industry colleagues and is a ticketed event. It is set to attract a large number of visitors and in the first instance all wishing to attend the event or the banquet must book via the website www.thefoodieforum.net

For regular updates, please follow the team on Twitter, @thefoodieforum and find TheFoodieForum on Facebook.

In addition, there are a limited number of spaces for craft producers left in the market. Those interested in securing a last minute space can e-mail thefoodieforum@gmail.com