![\"\"](\"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/D5AtpZbWsAA1VLg.jpg\")
F\u00e1ilte Ireland is inviting businesses and individuals interested in providing tourists with a food or drink experience to attend workshops in their local area and find out how they can get involved in their new initiative \u2013 \u2018Taste the Island \u2013 a celebration of Ireland\u2019s food and drink\u2019 which takes place this Autumn.<\/p>\n
The new initiative has been developed in response to the growing global interest in food and drink by F\u00e1ilte Ireland, in collaboration with Tourism Ireland, Tourism Northern Ireland and a range of stakeholders. <\/p>\n
Taste the Island will showcase Ireland\u2019s world-class food and drink culture across the island of Ireland from September to November to provide visitors with access to authentic food and drink experiences, high quality local ingredients and world class Irish food and drink produce. <\/p>\n
The extensive program running over three months will seek to create an awareness and renewed appreciation at home and abroad of the strength and richness of Ireland\u2019s cuisine today.<\/p>\n
Workshops are currently being rolled out throughout the country, from Donegal to Limerick and from Athlone to Dingle, to inform the local food and drink industry about this exciting initiative for food and drink providers. <\/p>\n
The workshops have been organized for the industry to learn more and provide them with the opportunity to shape the development of a program of events and experiences for 2019. <\/p>\n
A new Toolkit guide on how the industry can deliver our world-class food and drink experiences has been developed for the workshops.<\/p>\n
Martina Kerr Bromley, F\u00e1ilte Ireland\u2019s Head of Enterprise Development, said: \u201cWe are urging people in the food and drink industry throughout Ireland to get involved and participate in our upcoming workshops in your area. <\/p>\n
“The program of events for \u2018Taste the Island\u2019, will include visits to food producers, distillers and brewers; food trails, food festivals, participation in traditional skills, opportunities to forage, traditional pubs, small-town caf\u00e9s, restaurants, city bistros and Michelin-starred experiences.<\/p>\n
This initiative supports F\u00e1ilte Ireland\u2019s strategic imperative to address seasonality and grow revenue by driving increasing bed nights outside of the summer season while also driving visitors to explore lesser-known locations across the country and will, in the long term, enhance Ireland\u2019s international food and drink reputation before they get here.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the initiative Tracey Coughlan, F\u00e1ilte Ireland\u2019s Food Strategy Manager, said: \u201cWe\u2019ve done the research and know that in order to respond to the rapid growth in travel today and increasing visitor expectations around food and drink, an initiative of scale is required to maximize our full potential in all areas. <\/p>\n
“The international competition is intense, if we want to ensure that the tourism industry capitalizes fully, this initiative will have to grow on a sustained annual basis.\u201d<\/p>\n