The TASTE Council of Ireland’s fifth Food Summer School took place at the Brooklodge Hotel, Co Wicklow today.

The Food Summer School includes several sessions and discussion workshops on ways to develop the artisan and specialty food industry, which has tremendous value to the food and hospitality sector. The production of speciality food in Ireland accounts for approx. €500m pa from a base of 300 producers. 

The day-long symposium brings together key stakeholders from the Irish artisan and mainstream food industry, tourism sector, media and academic institutions, to discuss the issues concerning the sector and plan together how to develop it for future generations. 

Also on the agenda at Food Summer School 2015 was the possible future of Irish Food Tourism. Representatives from the Irish tourism development authority Failte Ireland, leading Irish chefs, food producers and advocacy groups held discussions on the value of the ‘food tourist’ to the economy and what challenges might bar the way to a thriving industry. Chief among the challenges on most chefs’ minds is the crisis-level chef shortage

Delegate and long-time industry advocate, Darina Allen (Ballymaloe Cookery School/Slow Food ireland) commented: “Ireland produces some of the best food in the world because it has strong values in agriculture and artisanal food production.

"As a country we should protect these values and reap the benefits of having a unique food culture, not allow our standards to be eroded in a race to the bottom.

"We must pursue policies that help our industry to thrive, not rush towards trade agreements like TTIP which have the potential to impact on every aspect of our lives and trade with disastrous consequences for our artisan producers and Ireland Inc. We must not squander what has been achieved so far, Ireland can lead the world with food people can trust.”

Source: www.businessworld.ie