When planning my trip to Ireland, I knew I wanted to experience the local food aspects of the island--even more than the castles, ruins and other traditional attractions. After plenty of google searches, I stumbled upon Good Food Ireland. Good Food Ireland (GFI) is a membership organization that promotes farm to fork and sustainable food tourism. Their tours, events, and recommendations of restaurants were right up my alley. For the past 3 years, I've been developing a business called "Chesapeake Harvest," which promotes products sourced from the Eastern Shore. And while the two organizations approach the task quite differently, they share the commonality of promoting local food, supporting farmers, and maintaining strict standards to ensure authenticity and sustainability.
Winter travel in Ireland can be tricky as many places close down. So when I saw that GFI offered "Bespoke Tours," I jumped at the chance, keeping my fingers crossed that I might be able to afford such a luxury. I was not disappointed. Placed in the capable hands of Roz, a fabulous itinerary was developed for my trip, jumping off my sketchy guidelines of a couple days here and there.
Of course, this itinerary, which includes Dublin, Cork, the Dingle Peninsula, Clare County, Galway and Connemara, involves driving. People have always said that "the way to do Ireland is to drive" and they say this in a breezy tone. So, I did not hesitate, had Roz book me a rental car and never gave it a second thought.
The reality of driving in Ireland is a bit different than that. Even with a very small (this is an upgrade?) car, my nerves have been frayed as I simultaneously admire the Irish for their cost effective narrow roads and curse my informants for not providing a bit more of a warning. The only thing worse than driving along a plunging cliff side on a severely curvy road (Dangerous Curves Ahead!) with oncoming trucks while using the stick shift with my left hand, is being the passenger in the same situation. I could not help myself from wincing and locking my eyes of the road, as my companion drove, missing the beautiful scenery, as if my attention could avert some impending disaster. Naturally, this was annoying. The only thing to be said is that my travel companion found out pretty quickly that it comes legitimately, once I took over the wheel.
First official food and farming stop (after a crazed whirlwind tour across the country to accommodate my companion traveler's schedule): Highbank Orchards and Distillery not far outside Dublin, in Kilkenny.
For me, arriving at Highbanks felt like coming home. Maybe it was because it is a farm. Or, maybe it was because, the proprietor, Rod Calder-Potts, managed to mention one of my favorite facts within the first 10-15 minutes: if we simple adopted soil building agricultural practices, we could solve global climate change in a year's time. I was enchanted.
We may have been a tour of two, but Rod and his vivacious wife, Julie, did not skimp on giving us an in depth behind the scenes tour of their organic orchards, distillery and public event/tasting area in a beautifully renovated 17th Century barn. The history behind Highbanks could be an episode of Downington Abbey--Rod's great grandfather, who worked for the original Estate, was able to purchase the barnyard after what is referred to as "the troubles."
Organic apple farming came later. The rich limestone soils are perfect for organic apple growing, no small feat. Organic fruit growing on the East Coast of the U.S. is extremely challenging, and many farmers still feel the need to use neonics, pesticides linked to the kill off off our pollinator populations, including bees.
The products were delicious: a Crystal Gin, Apple Cider, Apple Syrup, A liqueur brandy, and a vodka. Lucky for us, they were distilling at the time of our visit and we got an up close demonstration of the process.
After a tour of the facility, including their cozy airbnb accommodation (note to self), Julie and I traded notes on the emerging local food scenes in both of our countries. While there are plenty of differences, there are plenty of similarities as well. At the end of the day, the principles are the same: buy organic and support your local farmer. Enough said.
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