I am passionate about buying as much from local people as you can and I really believe that shopping at a local market must become a regular part of our weekly shop, as happens in France and many other countries. I love helping build up our own Leghowney Country Market here in Donegal and I do what I can to encourage people to buy Irish and buy local.
Over the last few years, buying local and supporting local food enterprises has finally become recognised by Irish consumers as being vitally important to the rest of the economy. This has helped the development of more country markets & farmers markets as people realise that local money, spent locally, stays local. It means that people can take their passion for baking or making their favourite food product to a new level and generate a business from it. It means people are returning to living as part of a community.
Most of Ireland's growing artisan food brands started off at local markets. In the close-knit community that surrounds a market, artisan food entrepreneurs are able to develop their product and streamline their decision-making based on honest opinions from regular customers. This also helps to make the products being offered for sale at a market be of the highest quality possible within a shorter product-development time frame. The food producer will quickly find their optimum price position too, as regular customers that love your product won't be long telling you if it's value for money or not!
For the last few years, over the Christmas & New Year period, I have posted out a question on Twitter.
"What was your Irish Food Find of 2013? #BestIrishFood" went out this year and I had an truly amazing response which I have again whittled down to the twenty most regularly mentioned replies.
The responses from people all over the country are varied and show a definite confidence in Irish taste buds to try new products. You will see some great new food products and also recognise some familiar names that are growing in popularity though are still only being discovered by many, for the first time.
In this year's Best Irish Food Finds over 80% of the food products, as recommended by Irish food lovers that responded to my Twitter Question, started off in Farmers & Country Markets around the island of Ireland. This is wonderful news for the future of new Irish Food producers, their products and food markets.
There were many replies which named restaurants or food shops as favourite finds, but in this particular list we only concentrate on the food product and its producers. County Cork, the acknowledged home of the Irish Artisan Food Revival, shines well in this year's list. One name kept popping up again and again, over the last 10 days, as the food find most requested by so many people around the country - we will, of course, save that for last :)
Remember, this is based on Irish Twitter replies of your favourite food finds! I have included web-links in the product name, the county of origin & the Twitter name or phone number of the producer.
And so, in alphabetical order,
The 20 Best Irish Food Finds to Watch Out For in 2014 are:
| Arbutus Bread Cork | Co. Cork | @ArbutusBread |
| Castlefarm Shamrock Cheese | Co. Kildare | Phone 087-6785269 |
| Clotilde's Fruit Compote | Co. Cork | @ClotildeFruitCo |
| Fennel Cider Butter | Co. Wexford | @WildaboutFoods |
| Firehouse Bakery | Wicklow/Cork | @firehousebread |
| Free Range Edible Snails | Co. Carlow | @gaelicescargot |
| Green Saffron Spices | Co. Cork | @greensaffron |
| Highbank Orchard Syrup | Co. Kilkenny | @highbankorchard |
| Improper Butter | Co. Dublin | @improperbutter |
| Inch House Black Puddings | Co. Tipperary | @Inchhouse |
| Irish Atlantic Sea Salt | Co. Cork | @Irishseasalt |
| Irish Local Honey | Co. Donegal | @IrishLocalHoney |
| The Scullery Roast Corn Relish | Co. Tipperary | Phone 0861744402 |
| Goatsbridge Trout Caviar | Co. Kilkenny | @goatsbridge |
| Tynedale Goat Kid Meat | Co. Antrim | @tynedalegoatkid |
And so, based on the huge number of your replies, mentions and requests for it on Twitter by Food Lovers all over Ireland...
The Best Irish Food Find To Watch Out For in 2014
is...
Real Italian Foodies Ready-to-Use Sauces |
Co. Limerick |
@italianfoodie |
The Real Italian Foodies sauce range was launched in April 2013 by Lorraine Fanneran & Bruno Coppola from the kitchen of their small but award-winning casual dining restaurant, La Cucina, which is situated at University Court, Castletroy in Limerick.
The sauce recipes are based on some of Bruno's old family recipes and their snappy modern branding has captured the imagination of youthful & modern palate-educated food lovers all over Ireland, with it's tag line of "Be Eatalian About Life"!
The couple are looking forward to a busy year ahead of them with plans to extend the range as they build the Real Italian Foodies into a nationally recognised brand. This should attract lots of attention from the smarter multiples as the brand should sit easily in both the ready-to-use and the artisan food aisles.
Congrats Guys!
I wish you all a Happy & Prosperous New Year of Irish Food!
Zack