South East Food Stories launched this week to bring local producers and makers across the region together.
Businesses from Waterford, Wexford, Tipperary, Carlow, and Kilkenny are teaming up to provide layered packages for visitors, allowing them to experience the variety of tastes and traditions across the five counties.
"Obviously the South East has a huge potential in tourism. I think we all recognise its food and drink providence and we feel that we can do a lot better in terms of its activities, history, culture and combining this with what tourists want," Alan Quirke, Director of the South East Development Office, told WLR.
You can book an experience through the South East Food Stories website where you will select the county you are visiting. The experiences include trails, hikes, dining, and waterways.
A Waterford package involves a stay at the Granville Hotel where local food products are incorporated into every meal. Waterford's Muldoon Whiskey Liqueur, or Highbank Orchard Apple Syrup can be added to your porridge in the morning.
You can then go on a seaweed forage with The Sea Gardener and explore rocks and the shoreside while learning about edible seaweed and its benefits.
Grow HQ is next where you will take an audio tour by TV Presenter Mick Kelly. The tour will fill you in on how they operate, and the importance of sustainably produced food. You will get to taste the products during lunch at the café.
Dinner will be at Everett's restaurant where local produce is at the core of the dining experience. It offers scallops from Wexford as a starter and cod from Kilmore Quay as a main course.
The event
Michael Skehan of the Granville Hotel and Peter Everett of Everett's restaurant were representing Waterford at the event, which took place at Highbank Orchard in Kilkenny.
"People want to hear the story, they want to hear more about it, they want to understand the local part of it. I think people have a greater appreciation for local producers and local products, much more now than in the past," Michael Skehan, General Manager of the Granville Hotel, said.
South East Food Stories is inspired by the importance of food and its production as part of our tourism experience.
You can hear a report about the launch on The Hot Desk tonight.
