GMIT hosts first national foodie forum

The Hotel School in GMIT will host the first national “Foodie Forum” on Thursday 2 February. The interactive one day event will showcase the abundance and variety of excellent local and artisan produce available in Ireland.

The food forum will include a series of Master classes with leading chefs and seminars by well known and established industry professionals. Visitors can experience micro-brewers and participate in food and wine workshops coupled with an indoor market of local producers. An impressive line up of contributors have joined The Foodie Forum team in their quest to educate on the importance of the providence of food, the support of local suppliers and the use of seasonal Irish food.

The event in GMIT’s Hotel School at the Dublin Road campus, Galway, will conclude with a celebratory culinary dining experience prepared by Hotel School lecturers and students.

The initiative by three GMIT Hotel School lecturers, Jacinta Dalton, Cormac Handy and Colin Gilligan, with support by the Hotel School, has been pitched on twitter to like-minded foodies and is already gaining momentum.

Cáit Noone, Head of the GMIT Hotel School, believes this event is a great opportunity to showcase the excellent work of local and artisan food & beverage producers in the west of Ireland and beyond, and is an appropriate prelude to the Volvo Ocean Race which will arrive in Galway in the summer of 2012.

“At the launch of the countdown to the Volvo Ocean Race the team announced the four main pillars of the race next summer – marine, green, innovation and food. The food pillar will provide Ireland with a global showcase opportunity to share with the world our food experiences and the outstanding locally sourced produce we have to offer. The event in the Hotel School in GMIT will provide an introduction to the many wonderful culinary experiences visitors to Galway can expect next summer”.

The Foodie Forum is open to the public and industry colleagues and is set to attract a large number of visitors. Anyone wishing to attend the event must register their interest at http://tiny.cc/foodieforum. Tickets for the event will be available from 9 to 20 January only.

Tickets for entrance to the event are €10 and tickets for the event and the celebratory dinner are €35. Please call Margaret, GMIT Hotel School, at 091 742249 regarding ticket payment. Students with a valid ID student card will be admitted free to the day event if they bring their identification along on the day.

In the meanwhile for regular updates see http://www.thefoodieforum.net/ and follow the team on @thefoodieforum and find TheFoodieForum on facebook.