Is Kilkenny hungry enough for Food Tourism?

Food tourism is the pursuit of good food and there are plenty of tourists looking for it. Ireland has the potential to be one of the world’s top foodie destinations according to Fáilte Ireland at a recent workshop held in Kilkenny. Fáilte Ireland’s “Taste the Island” is an all-island initiative to enhance our reputation for Food and Drink. The workshop delivered one clear message - we are creating some of the most exciting food and drink stories ever experienced but we are forgetting to tell the world about it.

Tracey Coughlan, Fáilte Ireland’s Food Tourism Manager believes that “Ireland is as good as France or any other food destination in the world. At pre-visit stage our tourists are aware of our culture, seascapes, craic and drinks but they don’t expect to have a good food experience on their holiday. However during and post visit that perception changes and their food and drink experience of Ireland exceeds all expectations.” The upshot being we are not telling our food story globally so how can we expect the tourists to come here for it and we really do have a great story to tell.

So how are we going to put Kilkenny on the food map? For starters we have to show the magic behind our menus, our visitors love a story, so we need to tell them about our seasonal products, what’s local and what’s different and special about the food in our county and region.

Not everyone is doing “local” so we need to reinvent this. Provenance is a huge part of the story along with telling the visitor about the radius between what you serving and where it’s been produced. Tell them what’s unique about your area, local landscapes and activities. Signature dishes and drinks, food and drinks pairings are important e.g. our whiskeys go very well with our cheese and cider with pork. Bars should promote the local brew. Try to create One Dish, One County – Waterford are already on the ball with their Blaa with most of the operators doing their own take on a Blaa dish! The key point here is that food tastes best when you know where it’s coming from.

It was also interesting to learn where food is heading, what are the new foodie trends – menus are going to become more climate conscious and plant based,  with more craft food and drink pairings as well as smaller plates. Restaurants are going to have to step out of their comfort zones too, reinvent the basic starter, main course and desert, and make food a sensory experience that creates memories.

A great food and drink experience is the way to get to the heartbeat of an area so essentially we need to look inward and celebrate what’s great about our Kilkenny and give the visitor an appetite to come back for more!

The new game changing initiative, Taste the Island, will showcase Ireland’s world-class food and drink culture across the island of Ireland from September to November. For more information on this food movement visit Failte Ireland’s www.failteireland.ie/ tastetheisland.  If you are feeling inspired Fáilte Ireland are also accepting proposals outlining what you can do for Taste the Island, closing date is June 30th or email tastetheisland@failteireland. ie.