This article is from page 15 of the 2012-09-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 15 JPG
CLARE-GROWN lemons will be on the menu for this year’s charity Clare Harvest Banquet, which takes place this weekend in Ennis.
Now in its fifth year, the annual banquet made up exclusively of food sources in County Clare, will include a number of new-found foods.
Due to the poor weather this summer, bread will once again be off the menu for the banquet as no Claregrown wheat could be obtained. The weather did not dampen the growth of some more exotic foods, however, and the organisers have been able to source locally-grown lemons for the first time ever.
“We’re very excited this year to find two different sources of Clare lemons, from Barrtra and from Fanore,” said organiser Sinead Garvey.
“The night will start off with some Clare-made wine and music from the Ennis Brass Band on the lawn of the Old Ground Hotel.
“We have found some Clare hazelnuts this year, which is another new food for us, and we will be harvesting salt from seawater and making our own butter as usual.
“We haven’t been able to source Clare flour this year so we will be using some Clare-grown cucumber as the crackers for the cheese board.
“This year, the two chefs from the Old Ground Hotel, Freddy Rynne and Frank Landy, are cooking the meal and they have really got into the event.”
All proceeds from the Clare Harvest Banquet will go to the Asral Charity, which helps to support some of the most needy families in Mongolia.
“Every ticket sold will get a Mongo- lian family through the winter, which otherwise they would not survive, so this is a feel-good event for everyone who comes,” continued Sinead.
“The charity is still supporting groups in Mongolia to export beautiful textiles which are on sale now in Ireland. It is all about creating sustainability for the people in Mongolia.”
The Clare Harvest Banquet will take place at the Old Ground Hotel in Ennis on Friday, October 5 at 8pm.
For ticket information, contact the Old Ground Hotel on 065 6828127 or, more information on the Clar eHarvest Banquet and the specifically local foods it features, visit www. clareharvestbanquet.com.