Success of the 2016 Taste of West Cork Festival

The Taste of West Cork Food Festival that recently took place in Skibbereen and its nearby towns was deemed an outstanding success with participants and visitors praising the numerous restaurants and pubs in Skibbereen as well as hotels in West Cork for pulling out all the stops in creating a showcase to be proud of.

The popular festival took place in 32 towns and villages as well as eight islands in West Cork. An influx of visitors and tourists was definitely noticeable, an important boost for the region.

Volunteer Chair Helen Collins said, “It’s been a rollercoaster ride over the last few months in building up this Festival as the largest in Ireland. The brand ‘A Taste of West Cork Food Festival’ is firmly ensconced in people’s minds now and we have invested heavily in keeping it up there with the best in food festivals. The response from our participants, from visitors, and from our supporters, has been very gratifying, with plans afoot for next year already!”

Helen Collins added, “Sunday saw the Street Market Finale in all its glory in Skibbereen, and the weather held off as if by request! Visitors thronged the streets to sample the eclectic mix of tastes crafted by local producers, all keen to put their best produce forward and remind us all that we are immensely proud of what comes from the land around here. The atmosphere and street theatre was fantastic, and people from far and near milled around enjoying the spectacle which we hope engendered an even greater connection between them and West Cork".

The festival ended with the Belling Food Forum at the Baltimore Sailing club where key business leaders in West Cork discussed the importance of the food sector to the area. Skeaghnore West Cork Duck as well as West Cork Distillers carried off a €5k bursary each and the “Hall of Fame Award” went to Giana Ferguson of Gubeen Cheese & Farmhouse Products for her contribution to the West Cork as well as her achievements with the award-winning Gubeen products.