This article is from page 21 of the 2008-08-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 21 JPG
SINEAD Garvey is a woman on a mission. Her mission, and she has decided to accept it, 1s to find herself some grain in County Clare.
As climate instability and the glo- bal switch to bio-fuels continues to drive food costs through the roof, the Inagh woman is attempting a world first: to create a banquet for 300 peo- ple featuring food grown exclusively btm Oat buss
A simple task you might think but, as Sinéad has discovered, one with many unseen challenges. While the county is undoubtedly self sufficient in beef and milk, there is precious little tillage and, so far at least, no wheat or grain to make any flour or py usreXOe
“The first problem that we came across was that there was no sugar – but we were able to find some Clare produced honey so that will work Okay. The next thing that we discov- ered was that there is no oil. There isn’t a bit of oil anywhere in the county so we will have to use butter for everything instead,” she said.
“The whole thing started to be like a bit of a treasure hunt. I have been scratching my head, along with the chef, trying to figure out what we would be missing – the one we couldn’t get away from is bread. Clare has a load of excellent bak- ers, but there is just no one growing wheat that we can use.
“We are really struggling on the bread issue and if anyone out there knows of any we would love to hear from them. Bread is our staple – we have bread with everything. So we are still looking and you never know, we might just find enough grain to make some bread.
“They must have grown bread in Clare not so long ago. There must have been mills in Miltown Malbay and in lots of other places I’m sure – so there must have been something erown locally.”
With the growth of family gardens and home farmers markets in recent years, Sinéad has already lined up a number of Clare producers willing to supply the food.
“When I started, the first thing I needed to do was find was a chef. I met a friend of mine from Shannon, who has been a chef for more than 20 years down in Kinsale. His name 1s Jim O’Brien and he said he would do
it. At the moment he is helping out at an organic farm so he is getting a feel for every aspect of the local pro- duce,’ continued Sinéad.
“A lot of farmers markets have sprouted up all over the country and people are beginning to recognise the benefits of growing our food locally. It’s becoming a real social WebNeTSar R/S) 0B
‘People are coming out to the mar- kets, buying their food, and having a good chat with people. That beats walking around a big supermarket in silence as far as I am concerned. It’s a real social occasion for the people who come to the market.
“It is expensive, there is no denying that. People are getting more aware of local food but there are still a lot of people, who have a lot of kids, and
they just can’t afford to do it. The thing is that the more people who decide to buy locally, the cheaper it will get.
‘Peoples tastes are changing. I re- member when I was selling goat’s cheese in the market ten years ago you could tell that eight out of every 10 people wouldn’t like the taste of it. But now everyone likes goats cheese – it’s become a lot more normal for people.”
The Clare Banquet will take place in the Falls Hotel in Ennistymon on September 19. The banquet, which will strictly use only products grown in Clare, is a fundraising event for the Asral Charity, an Irish-based or- ganisation that works poor people in Mongolia.
“I was trying to think of a new idea,
something that would be that bit dif- ferent. Originally I had thought that we could run some sort of Clare har- vest – something with food only from the county. I heard that the average meal travels 23,000 miles before it lands on our plate. I started talking to people about the idea and people really seem to like it,” she said.
‘Everyone who works for the char- ity is a volunteer, so every penny that the charity gets goes directly to the people who need it. It’s a very for- wards thinking charity. We have set up a number of craft businesses over in Mongolia so the local people can make and sell their own garments. A lot of these garments will be on dis- play on the night so people can get a feel for what they do.”
The Clare Banquet will feature mu-
sical entertainment from the legen- dary Tommy People among others.
Potential food suppliers are asked to contact Sinéad on 085 7607037 as soon as possible. Tickets, at a cost of €50, are available from Sinéad, the Falls Hotel on 065 7071004 and Un- glert’s Bakery in Ennistymon.