The G Hotel in Galway recently helped showcase five-star Irish produce, says Lucinda O’Sullivan|Sunday Independent

Left:Chef Regis Herviaux-The G, Paul Keane-Bluebell Falls, Graham Roberts-Connemara Smokehouse, Frank Kinnen-Vineyard Wines, Stephane Griesbach-Gannets Fishmongers and James McGeough-Connemara Fine Foods. Photo by Brian Farrell

The spirit of the old Irish tradition of meitheal –supporting one another — is alive again, and it is ever more important in the current economic climate that small communities band together in business deals and that people buy and support Irish products.

Hotels throughout the country have had to fight hard for business. Some offer incentives such as an extra night free or knock-down prices to attract customers.

The G Hotel in Galway hit the headlines when developed five years ago, as the interiors were designed by one of Galway’s most famous exports — the king of millinery, Philip Treacy. The G is spectacularly cool in a theatrical way, but the G is not all about glam, for it also has the excellent Matz restaurant. The head chef at the G is Regis Herviaux from Brittany, while the pastry chef is Shane Smith.

The hotel recently hosted a couple of foodie events showcasing artisan producers — from whom the G’s ingredients are sourced — at a champagne reception, followed by a gourmet dinner in Matz, and a cookery demonstration by chef Herviaux.

G general manager Damien O’Riordan is very enthusiastic about the great hands-on relationship they have with their suppliers — as is chef Herviaux, who tells me that their suppliers are more like friends than business associates.

“I never fax in an order or do it in advance. I ring them up each day, and chat with them personally about what is good on the day,” he says.

From the other side of the ‘counter’, James McGeough of McGeough’s Butchers in Oughterard, says, “They are just so nice to deal with at the G, even at the back door when we deliver, whereas some places are just so rude or offhand when deliveries arrive.”

The reception was set in the elegant oyster and silver Grand Salon, with a backdrop of Breakfast at Tiffany’s playing on the enormous floor-to- ceiling ‘windows’. We then moved into Matz for the dinner, which was just superb.

We kicked off with a trio of smoked tuna dishes. Wines were by the Vineyard Wine Company on Quay Street, Galway, which paired the tuna with a Vistamar Pinot Noir Reserva 2008. This was followed on by a delicious chargrilled scallop sitting in creamy barley with fine mussels and fresh basil, accompanied by El Coto Blanco 2009. Then we had cream of shallot and mustard soup with cigarillos of McGeough’s superb air-dried beef.

Next up was fabulous local lamb in three elements, pink rack, loin, and leg, on a tian of black olives and butter beans with thyme and green beans, paired with Chateau Charron Les Gruppes 2008.

We finished off with a stunning dessert of Bluebell Falls goat’s cheese in four elements — sublime — with Granny Smith apple and lemon balm. This was paired with a heavenly dessert wine, Vistamar Moscatel Late Harvest 2009.

Graham Roberts of the Connemara Smokehouse in Ballyconneely tells me that the business was started originally in 1979 by his dad.

“I learned the business by following him around, and now I have taken over the reins. I am very hands-on with the fish, whilst my wife Saoirse was roped in as well behind the scenes with the website.”

Graham’s mum was born in Malawi, he says, but her family was originally from Cork and she was brought up in the UK. His dad was a fisherman in the UK, but used to come to his aunt’s house in Connemara on holidays. When Graham was three years old, his parents settled here in the fishing business.

Supplying hotels and restaurants with smoked salmon is the core of their business. They also do traditional smoked salmon, as well as gravadlax with an Irish twist — marinated in salt, sugar, dill, and Irish whiskey. They also produce a roast/honey roast smoked salmon, smoked tuna, peppered smoked mackerel, and old-fashioned kippers.

Connemara Smokehouse, Tel: (095) 23739; www.smokehouse.ie

No more than a dozen years ago, goat’s cheese was regarded as exotic. Now it is widely available in many varieties and is on virtually every restaurant menu in the country.

Paul Keane of cheese producer Bluebell Falls tells me that about 15 years ago his mother “had a handful of little goats and started making cheese” on the family farm near Ennis, Co Clare. It just took off, he says, but he adds that it surprises him how few people realise that goat’s cheese is such a healthy product, having low cholesterol and being easily digestible. They have a herd of more than 200 goats, and all of their cheese is made from milk produced on the farm.

Bluebell Falls produces a number of varieties. The main cheese is Cygnus, now available with garlic, honey and thyme, or with black pepper and garlic. It also makes a semi-hard cheese called Orion with a sweet nutty flavour, and a new one coming out in May called Pegasus.

Principal customers are restaurants, but its cheeses are available in Donnybrook Fair and Fallon & Byrne in Dublin, or direct.

Bluebell Falls, Tel: (065) 6838024; www.bluebellfalls.ie

Stephane Griesbach of Gannet Fishmongers came to Galway from Paris in 1997 and met his Galway wife, Caroline, there in 1998. They have a shop in the Eyre Square Centre and also sell at local markets. They supply many of the area’s restaurants and hotels. Stephane has always been in the fish business, being a fishmonger in Paris before coming to Ireland to farm fish. He is very keen on buying local: “I just go down to the quay each day and see what is good.”

He stocks a huge range of fish, including ‘Sweaty Betty’ — also known as forkbeard — a deep-sea fish caught off the West of Ireland. Stephane says it is a lovely fish which used to be thrown back by fishermen.

Gannet Fishmongers, Tel: 086 3488591

James McGeough has achieved quite a name for himself, not only as a butcher of distinction but as a producer of German-style charcuterie at the family business, McGeough’s Butchers in Oughterard.

When James was 16 he came to Dublin to the College of Catering in Cathal Brugha Street to do a butchery course, also working in a butcher’s shop in Camden Street on Fridays and Saturdays. He then went home to work with his dad for two years before heading off to Germany for six weeks — and stayed six years! It was there that he met his wife, Krista, and studied for a masters degree in butchery.

They came back to Ireland, and James started making German products — “but they never sold well. People didn’t know them almost 20 years ago”. He then read of a competition in Holland and entered his air-dried lamb — and won. His business then took off. He now has a state-of-the-art factory at the back of the shop.

James says, “People do not realise that this is such a costly operation. The product is hung for 12 months, and handled 67 times from start to finish in the process, so there may be no financial return from it for 15 months. The units required to take away humidity cost €80,000 each.”

McGeough’s Butchers, Tel: (091) 552351, www.connemarafinefoods.ie

G Hotel Galway, Tel: (091) 865203; www.theghotel.ie

For all those at and inspired by the Inishfood event – and anyone who wasn’t able to make it – For Food’s Sake, a bi-monthly evening of food discussion and tastings should be right up your street.

It all kicks off in Dublin’s Sugar Club (very appropriate venue for a food event!) on Thursday 31 March, looking at the positive opportunities and challenges facing Irish producers.

Aoife Carrigy, food journalist, blogger and former deputy editor of Food & Wine Magazine, will be chairing the discussion.

The panellists are Graham Roberts of Connemara Smokehouse; Suzanne Campbell, journalist and co-author of Basket Case; the Irish Farmers’ Association’s General Secretary Pat Smith, General Secretary and Una Fitzgibbon, Director of Marketing Services at Bord Bia.

Follow-up events will take place on the last Thursdays of May, July and every two months after that. Each evening will feature different artisan producer tastings, different topics and a different panel.

Check out their Facebook page to keep updated.

FOR FOOD’S SAKE – AN EVENING OF FOOD TALK AND TASTINGS

The Sugar Club, 8 Lower Leeson Street, D 2

Thursday 31 March

Doors 7.30pm

Adm €5 on the door

Irish food has come of age. Not just in terms of the food we eat but the food we grow, produce and cook too. Thriving independent businesses, conscientious farmers, committed artisan producers, inspired chefs, charming front-of-house staff, top class restaurants, bustling local markets, increasingly well-informed and engaged consumers: the Irish food industry is something we should all be proud of and deserves a platform for discussion.

For Food’s Sake is a new bi-monthly evening of food discussion and tastings.

Each themed night of discussion will be chaired by food journalist Aoife Carrigy, former deputy editor of FOOD&WINE Magazine, who will be joined by a panel of four guest speakers hand-picked from across the broad spectrum of the industry. The inaugural night’s discussion (Thu 31 March) will focus on the positive opportunities and challenges facing Irish producers.

“The Great Green Hope – where lies the future for Irish food production?’

Taking the stage as panellists will be:

* Graham Roberts, artisan producer, Connemara Smokehouse

* Suzanne Campbell, journalist, blogger and co-author of Basket Case: What’s Happening to Ireland’s Food

* Pat Smith, General Secretary, Irish Farmers’ Association

* Una Fitzgibbon, Director of Marketing Services, Bord Bia

Some of the specific questions discussed will include:

* What can we do to support sustainable growth of the Irish food industry, through consumer choices as well as policy decisions?

* Who are we producing Irish food for – for export or for home consumption – and what does this mean for how we produce it?

* How heavily does Irish agriculture rely on subsidies, why and what happens if those subsidies disappear?

* Can organic food production provide a realistic alternative model for Irish agriculture or is it by nature a niche market?

* Does our indigenous fishing industry have a sustainable future, and do we care enough to demand that it does?

There will be food tastings on the night courtesy of several Irish artisan producers who will tell you a bit about what they do and let you taste the results for yourself. And of course there will be a full bar to help get the conversation going.

So, For Food’s Sake, come join us, and Eat! Drink! and Be Merry! We’ve a lot to be cheerful about. And much to discuss. Let’s get started.

For more information, see facebook.com/ForFoodsSakeIreland and HolyMackerel.ie or contact Aoife Carrigy on 087 6100 826 or Aisling Rogerson on 087 961 4755, or email us on ForFoodsSakeIreland@gmail.com

Algo entre medio|Something in between Blog

English & Spanish

Our trip to Connemara was so amazing. I’m Irish, but I had almost forgotten the mystical nature of our country. For such a tiny country, to be able to find such a vast landscape still surprises me. Once we left Galway in the direction of Conemara, suddenly the landscape becomes more and more rugged and rough. It’s amazing the walls that were built so many years ago to divide up farms are still standing. What struck me the most was when we got into the real countryside how utterly silent and peaceful it is. The strangest thing about our tour of Connemara was that it snowed. In the middle of March it was snowing. It was quite impressive to see the mountains covered with snowy clouds and their white tips standing out.

Nuestro viaje a Connemara fue impresionante. Yo soy irlandesa, pero casi me había olvidado el carácter místico de nuestro país. Para un país tan pequeño, a poder encontrar un vasto paisaje todavía me sorprende.  Una vez que salimos de Galway en la dirección de Connemara, de repente el paisaje se vuelve más y más resistente y áspero. Es impresionante que los muros que construyeron hace tantos años atrás para dividir los sitios siguen en pie. Lo que mas me impresiono fue lo absolutamente silenciosa y pacifica que fue cuando nos metimos en el campo. Lo mas extraño de nuestro tour de Connemara fue que nevó. En la mitad de marzo estaba nevando. Fue muy impresionante ver las montañas cubiertas de nubes de nieve y sus puntas blancas destacándose.
We arrived in Clifden but we left almost immediately because it was just another big town and we were more interested in seeing the real Connemara. So we continued on our travels, in the direction of The Connemara Smokehouse where you can buy the most gorgeous smoked salmon!! We called in and unfortunately it was closed, but we were lucky because the owner (Graham Roberts) was inside and he brought us in and talked us through the whole process of smoking the salmon etc.

We bought some gorgeous salmon and I haven’t stopped eating it since

Llegamos a Clifden, pero nos fuimos casi de inmediato, ya que era otra ciudad no mas y nosotros estábamos mas interesados en ver el verdadero Connemara. Así que seguimos en nuestro viaje, en la dirección de The Connemara Smokehouse donde se puede comprar el salmón ahumado mas rico!! Fuimos a ver pero lamentablemente estaba cerrado, pero tuvimos suerte porque estaba el dueño adentro y nos llevo para adentro y conversamos el proceso de ahumar el salmón etc. Compramos unos salmones ricos y no hemos dejado de comerlo desde entonces J

Connemara Smokehouse

Bunowen Castle

http://algo-entre-medio.blogspot.com/

Embark on a food tour of Connemara, from the luxury of Ashford Castle to simply prepared meals in the pubs and restaurants writes Martha Kearns|Sunday Business Post|Travel

Steaming hot mussels dripping in white wine and garlic, slivers of freshly sliced smoked salmon piled high on thick slices of brown bread and salty oysters chased down your throat by a gulp of dry Guinness. These are some of the images and tastes that a foodie tour of Connemara evokes.

As well as being blessed with one of the best landscapes this country has to offer, Connemara is also one of the finest destinations for tempting seafood dishes, solid home-cooking and fine dining – all using the finest local produce.

One of the best places to start a tour of the region is in one of Connemara’s gateway villages, Cong in Co Mayo. Famous as the setting for John Ford’s The Quiet Man, Cong has long attracted tourists from the United States as well as being a destination for generations of Irish family holidays.

If you can afford it, there is no better place to stay in Cong than the magnificent Ashford Castle. Driving through the expansive grounds and rounding the corner to see the 13th century building is like wandering onto the set of a BBC period drama.

The castle has views across Ireland’s second largest lake, Lough Corrib, that may have not changed in more than six thousand years. It has been used as the backdrop to many films and television programmes – including The Quiet Man itself.

Even if you are not staying at the hotel, which is set on an estate of 350 acres, it is the ideal place to start your foodie experience. The hotel is currently offering a €69 table d’hote four-course menu in its formal George V dining room, which is worth every penny.

Although it would probably be almost impossible to choose something that wasn’t good, the seared scallop starter [€19 from the a' la carte menu] with creamy seafood barley, caramelised pears and fresh basil was particularly delicious.

The roast rack of Mayo lamb [€32 from the a' la carte menu] was a star among a host of mains prepared by acclaimed resident chef Stefan Matz and came with braised lamb shoulder on sweet potato.

Even if you are a wine expert, it is well worth having the suggested wine listed on the menu for each course – chosen by the castle’s restaurant and wine programme manager, Robert Bowe.

The Chateau Minuty, Prestige, Cote de Provence, 2009, [€15 a glass or €60 a bottle] brought the flavours of the scallops to life, while the Chateau La Bertrande, Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux, 2006, [€15 per glass or €60 per bottle] is a treat – with or without the lamb as an accompaniment.

Meanwhile, as there is always room for dessert, the chocolate soufflé with a caramel croquant [€15 from the a' la carte menu] was well worth the short wait and gives you a chance to finish off the bottle of Bertrande.

Moving on from Ashford into the village of Cong there is a wealth of dining options, including Lislougrey Lodge, which, while on the grounds of the castle and a former residence of the castle’s previous general manager, is no longer connected to the castle.

However, it also boasts magnificent views and is a more contemporary place to stay and eat with both formal and casual dining available, although still not as formal as Ashford’s George V, where a jacket and tie is expected of the male diners.

The choices at Lisloughrey include the more formal, but still relatively relaxed, Salt Restaurant and the more casual Malt Bar and Brassiere.

At the moment, it is offering a good value deal on its dinner menu at the Salt restaurant for €55 to include an amuse bouche, a starter, main course and either cheese or dessert as well as tea and coffee.

Some highlights here include the starter of organic goat’s cheese tart with caramelised onion, pear, walnuts and rocket [€13 a' la carte] and a main dish consisting of west Cork sole with langoustine lemon and caper brown butter, green olive couscous and citrus salad [€30 a' la carte]

There are also a number of local pubs in the village, including the popular Crowe’s Nest in Ryan’s Hotel, which offer an even more casual experience which could be all you want after the long drive to Cong.

And you will always get a nice plate of local mussels and a chunk of brown bread to dip in it while getting drawn into the local banter at the bar.

However, just be warned that the pubs can lose a lot of atmosphere – and food choices from their menus – outside the tourist season.

For a quick lunch, there is the Hungry Monk Cafe, which is open all year around and has a strong emphasis on home cooking. It offers a nice pits top if en route to a tour of Connemara or before you go for a stroll in the castle estate, one of the entrances to which is located across the road.

Moving even further westwards, a food-lover’s tour of the area would not be complete without a visit to the Connemara Smokehouse, at Bunowen Pier at Ballyconneely in Co Galway.

The drive from Cong to Ballyconneely takes about an hour, but on the way, you can pass through Maam Cross and Leenane and the spectacular scenery makes the journey fly by.

Leenane is worth a stop, as the village was the backdrop to 1989 film The Field.

It is easy to see why Jim Sheridan decided to locate the iconic film here.

While not in any way spoiled by commercialisation, the area – especially Gaynor’s pub, which is now usually simply called The Field pub – is proud of its association with the film and definitely is one of the reasons it’s a picture opportunity stop off for tourists, especially Americans.

As good a reason as any to stop off here is to have a pint of Guinness, a bowl of soup with brown bread and a bag of Tayto served up at Gaynor’s, where the famous pub brawl scene was shot.

On to the Connemara Smokehouse, which is owned and run by the charismatic husband and wife team, Graham and Saoirse Roberts, along with four handy helpers – their two sons and two daughters.

The Smokehouse was set up in 1979 by Graham’s parents, John and Bridget, using a smoking kiln that was first put to work in 1946.

Every single product that comes from the Smokehouse is prepared by hand and in the traditional way, with the skills of filleting and smoking already being passed with love down to the third generation of the Roberts family.

‘‘A fish can take between eight to ten hours for smoking and another eight to ten for drying, depending on the weather.

I can tell by the look and feel of a fish if it’s ready or if it needs more time in the kiln or to dry.

It’s something I just know instinctively and wouldn’t know how to teach it.

I just learned it by being around my father so much growing up,” says Roberts.

‘‘Now, my ten-year-old is picking it up from me and can already tell when a fish is ready. We base our business on quality and if we are going to tell people our product is the best, then we better make sure it is.”

The family produces a range of smoked fish products including smoked salmon [wild, organic and farmed are all available], tuna and mackerel and a delicious smoked tuna mousse.

Some of its products have won many awards including the Best New Seafood product from BIM for its Honey Roast Smoked Salmon.

The Smokehouse is included as one of Rick Stein’s ‘‘superheroes’’ in his Food Heroes Book and also supplies the chef with its unique smoked tuna.

On average, Graham Roberts will fillet between 40 and 50 fish an hour by hand and for every one hour he spends filleting, he spends another one and a half taking out the bones by hand.

Visitors can drop into the smokehouse all year around to chat to Graham, who’ll also show you how to fillet, salt, smoke, slice and package a salmon from start to finish, during a relaxed and humorous tour.

Samples are also available and – to put it mildly – will whet your appetite for the products you are inevitable going to buy there and take home.

Products from the Smokehouse – which has views of the castle of Connaught’s own pirate queen Granuaile (Grace O’Malley) the Twelve Bens mountains and, of course, the roaring Atlantic – can also be bought online at www.smokehouse.ie or by e-mail, fax or over the phone. Given the expanse of Connemara, this is only a taste of what is on offer for food lovers.

The best way to discover the area for yourself is by using a few of these suggestions as a base and then discovering your own favourite places to eat – from baked oysters in a fine restaurant to a lamb stew soaked up with crusty bread in a roadside pub – that’s the greatest fun of Connemara.

Connemara Factfile

The only way to travel around Connemara is by car, as you want to be able to stop whenever the mood takes you or when the scenery takes your breath away.  Next month Ashford Castle has a midweek special where rates start at €360 for a one-night dinner and bed and breakfast package.

A two-night weekend special includes two nights bed and breakfast with one evening meal, with rates also starting at €360 (www.ashford.ie.or 094-9546003).  Alternatively, stay at Lisloughrey Lodge and avail of the Ashford grounds, as well as Lisloughrey’s own ten-acre site.  The hotel is currently offering a package where, if you stay one night, you get the next night free for from €88 per person sharing (www.lisloughreylodge hotel.ie)

Stop off at the Connemara Smokehouse for some smoked fish (www.smokehouse.ie or 095-23739) For more information on the region, check out www.connemara.ie

It’s funny that despite how messed up Ireland is at the moment, our food culture is punching way above its weight in a worldwide context. Among farmers, artisan producers, restaurants and hoteliers there is a strong awareness that not only is Irish food worth 8 billion in exports yearly but it is the one area bucking the recessionary trend.

I keep thinking that with the continuing drive of passionate chefs, producers and the food agencies, there is no reason why we can’t make Ireland a food destination like Piedmont in Italy, where people visit here for not just hospitality and landscape but for food.

Last week I attended a food event in the g Hotel in Galway which illustrated this connection perfectly. The g is a five star hotel, but ten years ago in Ireland, five star hotels created bland menus that “ticked all boxes”, with Italian food, trophy steaks, Caesar salads and mid-Atlantic staples that resembled a watery mix between Sheraton, Radisson and Celine Dion playing in the lobby. Sometimes a throwaway Irish dish to might make it onto the menu but far more important was the approach of trying to please too many people with descriptions and presentation of food while little thought was paid to where it came from.

Last week’s event in the g proved that happily, things have come a long way. Their “g is for Gourmet” dinner mirrored their overall policy in sourcing as much food as possible from local producers – the lamb was from local farms, scallops and prawns from Gannets in Galway, salmon and beautiful smoked tuna from Graham and Saoirse Roberts’ Connemara Smokehouse and cheese from Keane’s Bluebell Falls herd of goats.

Executive chef Stefan Matz who heads up both the g and Ashford Castle made the point that it’s no longer enough to talk about local food – “you have to practise what you preach and go and put it on the menu”.

From the producers standpoint it’s a win win situation – they see their food on top menus in Ireland which in turn sell it to an overseas audience. It is also wonderful to see a product like Bluebell Falls cheese transformed into three separate desserts; with three very different complex tastes – very technical cooking was in evidence but with a basic local foodstuff – it was a real eyeopener in what you can do with good simple quality produce.

Graham Roberts/Connemara Smokehouse & Regis Herviaux/Head Chef G Hotel

To view more….

The G Hotel, located on the edge of Galway city with its Philip Treacy designed interiors isn’t just a stylish place to stay, it has gained a reputation as a gourmet destination.  Head chef, Regis Herviaux and Stefan Matz who is executive chef of The G and  sister hotel Ashford Castle are totally dedicated and passionate in their cooking which is complimented by excellent service and natural, unassuming hospitality.  Stefan who is a native German has lived in Ireland for over 20 years and has received more than 20 awards and accolades, including a star rating in the Michelin Guide to Great Britain and Ireland. Stefan has also featured more than once on screen and has been a guest on the Afternoon Show.  Stefan’s most recent accolade is being named as ‘Best Chef’ in Ireland in the Ireland Good Eating Guide.

Stefan Matz along with Nevin Maguire and Kevin Dundon cook for 700 guests at the Irish Restaurant   Industry’s largest and most prestigious event of the year “2010 Irish Restaurants Awards”.

Connemara Smokehouse were recently invited to participate in “A taste of the West” at the G Hotel. The food is a celebration of the producers and the produce from the West, the sea and land. Before each course, each artisan producer introduced their wares and each course was accompanied by wines supplied by Frank Kineen of Vineyard Wines.

First up was Connemara Smokehouse Smoked Tuna Served Warm and Cold introduced by Graham Roberts…

Chilled smoked tuna & pear gateaux, white wine and cabbage soup with crisp tuna tuille, warm tuna & leek oat crumble

Next was Crisp Abalone, Creamy Barley and Fresh Basil supplied and introduced by Stephane Griesbach of Gannet Fishmongers.

Creamy barley of poached abalone & basil, deep fried abalone in basil tempura

James McGeough of Connemara Fine Foods introduced Organic Connemara Lamb, Black Olives, Butter Beans and Caramelised shallots

Braised lamb on creamed butter bean & olive, slow roasted and char grilled silverside on chunky chip, roasted topside on fondant potato with caramelized shallot, olive crusted rack on crushed potato & green bean

Finally, desserts with Paul’s Goat Cheese, Granny Smith Apple and Lemon Balm introduced by Paul Keane of Bluebell Falls Goats Cheese

Chilled goats cheese cake with apple glaze, warm goats cheese souffle with apple sorbet centre, sweet goats cheese & lemon balm crème brulle with crisp apple, lemon balm scented white chocolate & goats cheese mousse

After this fine culinary feast, General Manager Damien O’Riordan introduced the restaurant team from behind the scenes, 10 young,talented and eager chefs led by Stefan and Reggie. The whole waiting team make you feel right at home from the moment you arrive and the restaurant manager, Orla Colleran can only be described as excellent, everywhere she should be, she is and seems to be everywhere else too.  The whole team throughout the hotel just gel together in seamless perfection and demonstrate their hard work and dedication to excellence.

The G Team

The G Hotel gastronomic getaway, Thursday March 3 and Friday March 4, is a fantastic excuse for foodies to sample an epicurean menu in the award-winning restaurant Matz at the G, as well as getting a professional cookery lesson and some of the finest local producers will be on hand to introduce their products.  Some will also be available to chat after the meal on Thursday about any questions people may want to ask about their respective trades. One such producer is husband and wife team Graham and Saoirse Roberts of The Connemara Smokehouse who are avid foodies and have enormous pride and obvious passion for their work. They will be delighted to talk with like minded people and explain what goes into everything they do.  The two-night package starts at €225 per person sharing for the weekend.