Irish meat takes pride of place at prestigious Bocuse d'Or Winners' event
Bord Bia and leading Irish meat companies aim to increase Ireland's share of the international foodservice sector at the SIRHA trade fair in Lyon this week. Irish beef is already the leading imported beef featured on high end French restaurant menus, second only to local produce.
Bord Bia targeted key potential customers from the 200,000 visitors to SIRHA to ensure they visit the six leading Irish beef and sheep meat exporters at the Ireland - Origin Green pavilion, highlighting the sustainable production values of Irish beef through the Origin Green Programme and the Quality Assurance Scheme. The prominent role of the Chefs' Irish Beef Club, now established in six countries is also likely to attract the attention of many of the 19,000 international chefs attending the event.
The Irish exhibitors include Irish Country Meats, John Stone, Traditional Irish Meats, Liffey Meats, Slaney Foods, and Kildare Chilling Co.
Speaking at SIRHA, Ms. Noreen Lanigan, Bord Bia Manager for France said that:
"SIRHA provides an ideal platform for Irish exporters to secure new business and deepen relationships with existing French and international customers. Irish food has already made significant inroads in the foodservice channel across all food groups in France. In the meat sector, two thirds of all meat sold in foodservice is imported and Ireland is positioned as the leading supplier. Our focus on the foodservice channel in France is informed by its potential for growth and the challenges of "Made in France" at retail level Bord Bia's partnership with one of the leading restaurant guide books in France, Gault et Millau, to promote Irish meat to over 900 high-end French chefs in six different regions in 2017 will enhance further Irish food’s visibility in the French foodservice sector".The Event
SIRHA focuses on all aspects of the foodservice sector including the latest innovations and trends featuring more than 1,600 demonstrations each day that showcase new products, services and ideas for foodservice professionals.
Bocuse d’Or Winners Event
Bord Bia is a partner of the Bocuse d'Or Winners academy since 2013 facilitating access to an elite network of top chefs across the globe. The Bocuse d'Or celebrates its 30th anniversary at SIRHA this year and the majority of the 41 previous medal winners attended their gala event yesterday event in the iconic Abbaye Paul Bocuse where Irish beef took pride of place. Over 300 of the Who's Who in the culinary world and media attended the event, including eight of Bord Bia's Chefs' Irish Beef Club members from France, Belgium, Switzerland and the UK.Two special Irish dishes were created by Chefs' Irish Beef Club member and Michelin star chef Pierre Caillet:
- Beech smoked Irish beef fillet with Cashel Blue sauce served "street food style";
- Irish cheek meat confit in Guinness, served with foie gras and glazed with dried beef and popcorn - served as a lollipop.
The event provided a great opportunity for an extended network of top class chefs and media to experience the taste and versatility of quality assured Irish beef.
Michelin star chef Pierre Caillet serving his special Irish dish of Irish cheek meat confit in Guinness, served with foie gras and glazed with dried beef and popcorn - served as a lollipop.
Importance of France
France continues to be Ireland's largest Eurozone export market for food and beverages in 2016, and is now in third place globally (behind the UK and the U.S), accounting for 6.6% or €741m of export revenue, up 2% on 2015 figures, driven by growth in the seafood, lamb and beverages categories. France is Ireland's most important customer for lamb and seafood, second largest customer for beef and whiskey globally.
It is one of the largest "out of home" food consumption markets in Europe, valued at €80.66 bn. (+1%) in 2015. Over 60% of turnover is generated by the commercial food service operators, 25.1% by institutional foodservice operators (schools etc.) and the remaining 12.5% comprises impulse buying (including petrol stations, delis etc.).
The French foodservice market has 250,000 outlets, of which 70% are commercial foodservice. It is a highly fragmented market with a competitive mix of domestic and foreign players. Ireland is well positioned as a quality supplier to both the quick service retail sector (QSR) and the high-end restaurants sector and aims to benefit from the expansion at both ends of the spectrum.