By Barry Coughlan
The Normandy Food Tour
June 3rd
St. Patrick’s Park, Dublin
From midday to 7 pm
June 4th
Cathedral Square, Waterford
From midday to 7 pm
June 5th
New Ross Quayside
From 11 am to 6 pm
A friendly invasion of a kind has been announced by the French this upcoming June Bank Holiday weekend in Ireland.
Normandy was the destination for a very different “invasion” and was a key battleground in the closing stages of World War Two in June of 1944.
Now, just shy of 80 years later, the Normandy Tourist Board will be the bearer of gifts to Ireland and some of its international visitors.
Between June 3 and 5 the Normandy Food Tour will bring the very best of Normandy’s foods, drinks and music to St Patrick’s Park in Dublin (June 3), to Cathedral Square, Waterford (June 4) and to the Quayside, New Ross on Bank Holiday Monday June 5. It’s a whistle-stop tour as such, but each of the destinations has been chosen because of a mutual Norman heritage.
As the name suggests, the Normandy Food Tour will bring the very best of Normandy’s food and drink, but with the added bonus of musical interludes thrown in for good measure.
Normandy food trucks will arrive en masse to serve up tasty sweet and savory dishes with tastings on offer all day long. Grignot’Malin will be serving up traditional French crêpes filled with cheese and more. And for those who cannot resist dessert, there will be plenty of choice.
If cheese is a preferred option then the best of the world is in store, with a cheese tasting ticking off the classics like Camembert, Neufchatel and Isigny Mimolette, crowned the best cheese in the world this year! Visitors will also have the opportunity to bring some home, thanks to cheesevendor La Dégusterie.
Traditional brews will also be on offer and visitors can enjoy a cider-tasting experience with Cidrerie de la Brique where visitors can journey from the traditional methods through to styles defining the future.
A demo stage will see a schedule of fabulous Normandy chefs cook up traditional and innovative cuisine including ‘Escalope à la Normande’, Teurgoule rice pudding along with the universally loved brioche.
Totally free-to-attend Masterclasses will be held throughout the day with sampling some of Normandy’s best exports available plus a family friendly crepe demonstration activity will be showcased each afternoon.
Joining the food and drinks producers are the Normandy Tourist Board who are keen to build upon the historic Norman connections and to share the heritage and cultural offerings available in that wildly picturesque area of France.
Commenting on the upcoming Normandy Food Tour, Director of Normandy Tourism Michael Dodds says, “We are very excited to take the Normandy Food Tour to Ireland. We value our shared heritage with Ireland and we look forward to building upon those connections this June.
“It is the first time that the Normandy Food Tour will travel to Ireland and it genuinely is a real treat for visitors.”
To top the celebrations off, visitors to each of the food tour stops will be entertained by the French musicians For the Hackers, who will be performing for the very first time in Ireland.
Hailing from Dieppe, Normandy, these indie-rockers have been active for about a decade now, and have numerous hits to their name. Their live shows are known to be powerful, and engaging, and their chemistry as a band is very visible.
The Normandy Food Tour is a free-to-attend family-friendly event with live music, free cookery demos, tasting opportunities and more.