Community gardening guru Gareth Austin backing Derry’s bid for Foodie Town of Ireland 2015
COMMUNITY gardening pioneer Gareth Austin has been a key player in the growth of Derry’s food scene over the past decade and believes the city is now ripe to take on the mantle of gourmet destination.
He is firmly behind the city’s bid to have the city crowned Ireland’s Foodie Town 2015.
A ‘Grow Your Own’ enthusiast and horticultural ambassador with a weekly gardening slot on BBC Radio Foyle, Gareth has seen an abundance of green-fingered projects sprout up to supply the city’s top restaurants with fresh, seasonal, produce.
Gareth said: “We now have a network of 30+ community growing projects, some located in schools, community centres and, many developed through resident power to occupy new productive, positive spaces.
“Projects such as The Playtrail and Caw Nelson have taken this to the next level, with the Playtrail, through the transition students involved in the HOPE project, supplying seasonal salads to The Sooty Olive restaurant in Derry’s Waterside and, Caw Nelson using their community grown produce within their community centre.
“There is also the larger scale White Oaks Centre, who through their Acorn project, grow field scale certified organic fruits, vegetables, herbs and salads for many of the city’s leading restaurants.”
Some of Derry’s restaurateurs have also taken to growing their own organic produce, with gardeners cultivating walled gardens to supply their award-winning establishments.
Foraging has also become increasingly popular with Derry’s chefs, as Gareth explained.
“I’ve taken the chefs from Browns and Custom House out foraging for edible delights in Derry’s many ancient woodlands and old estates. I’ve even done a forage around the City Walls as part of a kids summer scheme.
“The foodie scene in Derry in growing, and I’m delighted to be a part of it. As an Edinburgh man, when I first came here I was amazed at the resources on the doorstep, in terms of land, space, sea, water etc and, I was bamboozled why there wasn’t more being made of it.
“But now ten years later I can see folks embracing the many great things which make Derry unique – the Flavours of the Foyle seafood festival, the success of Browns and Harrys restaurants, the success of Emmett McCourt’s cookery book, award-winning community gardening, local artisan food products, are all testimony to what’s happening here in Derry.”
And, Gareth believes that as well as aiming to be Ireland’s top Foodie Town, Derry can continue its meteoric rise to new gastronomic heights.
“I’d love to see a Ballymaloe cookery school type product….or a Raymond Blanc Le Manoir type product developing!” he said.
The public has until Friday, October 2nd, at 5pm, to vote for Derry in the Foodie Towns competition run annually by the Restaurants Association of Ireland, www.foodietowns.ie
