SERVING-UP A HEAVENLY TREAT

LOOKING upon the town and its successes, there is no wonder as to why Listowel is held in such high esteem.

It is Ireland’s Tidiest Town 2018, famed for its literary genius, and Listowel has only gone and done it again by hosting its 24th consecutive and best yet Food Fair, an event established as Ireland’s longest running food festival.

The town’s successes might be down to something in the water out in North Kerry, but it definitely has something to do with the food too.

Running from Thursday to Monday last, Listowel was the top destination for food lovers over the weekend as it hosted a range of exciting events and celebrated many artisan food products.

In association with the Kerry Local Enterprise Office, the Listowel Food Fair announced the winners of the 2018 Listowel Food Fair Best Emerging Artisan Food Products as part of the “Food Grammy’s” night at the Listowel Arms Hotel on Saturday.

The overall winner this year was the Air Dried Coppa by Dermot Brennan’s Free Range Pork.

Other winners included Cream by Ballymac Dairy as the cream of the crop in the Dairy Category; the sweetest of them all in the Baking and Baked Goods, Sweets and Cereals Category was Cookies and Cream Fudge by Dellio’s and the drink that best quenched the thirst in the Beverages Category was Cúl Dorcha, Dark Ale by Beoir Chorca Dhuibhne West Kerry Brewery.

Festival chairman Jimmy Deenihan said the awards at the Listowel Food Fair have the capability of helping a brand or product to meet the wider market.

“The 2018 Listowel Food Fair Best Emerging Artisan Food Products is one of the most exciting and valued features of the Listowel Food Fair,” Jimmy said.

“The awards are recognised, respected and valued by the food industry and are considered a very important platform from which they springboard into business.

“I would like to congratulate this year’s winners for their initiative and ambition in bringing these products to the market.”

And the festival wasn’t just for the experts with a range of events taking place over the course of the weekend.

Health was a big focus of this year’s festival and as a part of this, two sponsored events by Kerry Recreation and Sports Partnership took place.

Following the success of the global “Pink October” initiative, a Breast Cancer Awareness Workshop was held in St. John’s Theatre in association with Breast Cancer Ireland.

The food hall and farmers market drew a plentiful crowd as always and added to a through and through, wonderful weekend in Listowel.

Chefs Simon Delaney and Lizzy Lyons with Clonakilty Black Pudding MD Colette Twomey and Food Fair Chairman Jimmy Deenihan. Photos by Steve Kelly Dude Food from Brosna with the award for best condiment for its Brosnashire Sauce; Sonya Dillon, Valerie Gardiner, Mairead Moriarty, Graham Gardiner and Dina Beasley. Overall winner of the Listowel Food Fair awards was the Air Dried Coppa range by Dermot Brennan’s Free Range Pork; Dermot is pictured receiving the award from Leeann Chapman, right, and Catherine Milling Kelly. Shirley Thornton of Listowel-based Mom’s Porter Cake with the award for baked goods - for her Chocolate and Vanilla Fudge Cake.The Tralee-based Once Upon a Cheese receiving the highly commended award in the Cheese category. From left, Mairead Moriarty, Tamara Bagaglini, Massimiliano Bagaglini, Dina Beasley and Daria Piaseczna.Winner of the beverage category was Beoir Chorca Dhuibhne for its Cúl Dorcha dark ale range. Pictured are Catherine Milling Kelly, Adrienne Heslin, Leeann Chapman and Jimmy Deenihan. Jean Louis Valentin of Trieneragh Honey in Duagh taking the highly commended award in the condiments category, pictured with Agnes Boucher Hayes, Leeann Chapman and Jimmy Deenihan Photos by Steve Kelly

Photos by Steve Kelly Winner in the Dairy category was the Ballymac Dairy’s Cream. From left, Agnes Boucher Hayes, Carmel O’Shea Maloney, Chris Maloney, Leeann Chapman and Jimmy Deenihan.

Photo by Steve Kelly Willie and Norma Leahy of Carralea in Moyvane, who were highly commended in the dairy category for Carralea’s Kefir brand. They are pictured receiving their prize from Leeann Chapman and Listowel Food Fair Chairman Jimmy Deenihan.