Kilkenny's Rebecca Bergin is Bord Bia's Emily in Paris

Rebecca Bergin, 25 from Freshford in Kilkenny is living the dream. The business graduate from UCC is currently in the second year of a placement on a Bord Bia Graduate Programme in Paris. Working from Bord Bia’s office near the Elysée Palace in the 8th Arrondissement she is at the heart of the French capital and relishing every moment of her Emily in Paris experience.

The Bord Bia Graduate Programme offers invaluable market experience to graduates, embarking on a  career in the food and drink sector. The programme combines on-the-job learning, with a fully-funded monthly bursary, and academic study leading to a UCD Smurfit Business School accredited MSc.

Prior to getting her place on the programme Rebecca was job-hunting while working part-time in Kilkenny. She says: “When the graduate programme was advertised, I was like ‘God, I would love that … that would be brilliant’.”

Pictures: Kilkenny graduates conferred at South East Technological University

Click to see pictures by Mary Browne

Now she is getting the opportunity to use her French language skills while also representing Irish food producers in the French marketplace. She is absolutely delighted with the invaluable experience she is getting in her Parisian role saying: “It’s better than I had imagined.”

A self-confessed foodie, who has a genuine passion for food, Rebecca is also getting the opportunity to gain insights into emerging food and drink trends in France. Rebecca pinpoints sustainability, organic produce, and local provenance as very important to French consumers. In the beverage sector she says that flavoured gins are also really popular.

She observes: “It’s a really nice industry to be in … and it’s really interesting because trends are just constantly changing. Especially working for Bord Bia, you have to be on top of the trends all the time.”

With their traditional love of fine food, the French marketplace is an important market for Bord Bia, especially post Brexit. Rebecca highlights Irish beef, lamb and whiskey as important categories for Irish exporters. As the French are very proud of their own food culture, Bord Bia have to ‘navigate’ this strong localism in their campaigns. 

In the future Rebecca is keen to travel further but would also relish the opportunity to stay in France. She admits: “Me personally, I love France.” She laughs when similarities to Emily in Paris are mentioned. She does admit however that her striking red hair is an asset when representing Ireland; recently when wearing green at a trade event  her Irish look was particularly commented on. 

Career opportunities across Kilkenny in 2023 with Tusla

The Bord Bia International Graduate Programme is open for applications with 15 roles in Dublin and 15 roles abroad. It is open to applications from recent graduates from a broad range of undergraduate degrees until November 6, 2022.

Rebecca says: “I definitely recommend applying and if you have a second language as well 100%. It’s a really good experience. It’s a really good place to learn and develop as a first work experience and also you get a fully funded masters.”