One of the highlights of the forthcoming 2023 Listowel Food Fair is a ‘Sustainability and Food in Tourism Seminar’ in St. John’s Theatre, Listowel on Friday 10th November at 11am.This year’s seminar is presented by a dynamic group of speakers from within Irish food, tourism, hospitality and related sectors who have a successful track record of delivering quantifiable eco results in sustainable food manufacturing and addressing sustainability throughout the supply chain. This event will bring together key stakeholders and industry leaders in their respective fields.
The opening presentation will be delivered by Declan Coppinger, Marketing Finance Manager, Bord Bia on ‘Origin Green’. Origin Green is Ireland’s pioneering food and drink sustainability programme, operating on a national scale, uniting government, the private sector and the full supply chain from farmers to food producers and right through to the foodservice and retail sectors. The programme is the worlds’ only national food and drink sustainability programme, and enables the industry to set and achieve measurable sustainability targets that respect the environment and serve local communities more effectively.
Leading Sustainability Consultant Grainne Kelliher and Martin Bealin, Chef Consultant, Global Village Consultants will deliver a joint presentation on ‘Sustainability and Food in Tourism’ from their experience and engagement with the establishment of the Dingle Hub project.Grainne Kelliher is the Founder of Green Broker Consulting, former CEO of Airfield Estate and a Director of the Dingle Hub. Grainne works on sustainability and regenerative projects across all sectors. Dingle Hub brings together innovative and forward-thinking people who want to build creative and inclusive communities across the Dingle Peninsula, helping facilitate the creation of well-paid, year-round incomes, which will ensure that Dingle Peninsula remains liveable and sustainable.
Martin Bealin is a Chef Consultant with his own company Global Village Consultants focusing on sustainability and mentoring for the hospitality industry. Martin Bealin is a Founder member of the Dingle Food Festival and Advisor Dingle Hub. Martin was also a member of Eurotoques for ten years and a Fáilte Ireland Food Ambassador. Martin established and operated the Global Village Restaurant in June 1997. Open for 25 years the Global Village Restaurant championed local food, short supply chains and natural farming, growing vegetables chemically free, buying fish daily from day boats, working with local farmers, and supporting local producers. Martin’s current projects include founding a Sustainable Energy Community for hospitality businesses on the Dingle peninsula and directing the annual Dingle Food Festival.
The developing area of ‘Food in Tourism’ is an exciting opportunity for food producers, hospitality providers and related food and tourism businesses. Fáilte Ireland’s vision for food tourism is that ‘Ireland will be recognised by visitors for the availability, quality and value of our local and regional food experience which evokes a unique sense of place, culture and hospitality’. This year Listowel Food Fair explores the fast growing area of Food in Tourism, its potential impact for North Kerry and across the country from the perspective of increasing visitor numbers and contributing to the increase of Irish artisan food production.
No stranger to the Kerry food production and Irish tourism industry is Sean Murphy, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Murphys Ice Cream. Together with his brother Kieran, Sean founded and grew the company which has now successfully expanded to six locations with over forty employees. Sean’s business philosophy is to build on a culture of empowerment, combining excellent quality, integrity, heritage and customer service. Sean played a pivotal role in the recent resurgence of Irish food culture and the associated advocacy work.
Speaking about the Listowel Food Fair Chairman and former Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture with responsibility for Food and Rural Development Jimmy Deenihan said: “I am delighted to welcome such a distinguished group of speakers to the forthcoming Listowel Food Fair for this important seminar on new and developing sustainability measures for the Irish food sector. Bord Bia’s creation and implementation of ‘Origin Green’ has been a watershed moment in the evolution of sustainable food production practices across the island of Ireland.I would also like to highlight the importance of food in tourism and its potential capacity of driving increasing visitor numbers here to Ireland, to enjoy our quality food offering. In this regard sustainable farming practices are now more important than ever in the Irish food chain.”
No ticket is required to attend this event and all are welcome.
The 2023 Listowel Food Fair runs from Thursday 9th – Monday 13th November 2023.Information on the 2023 Listowel Food Fair is available at www.listowelfoodfair.ie.
The 2023 Listowel Food Fair is supported by Kerry Group, Bord Bia, Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Teagasc, Fáilte Ireland, Tipperary Crystal, Kerry County Council, Kerry Local Enterprise Office, Garvey’s Supervalu, Sure Alarms and Eno Wines.
