Connemara rump of lamb with braised baby cabbage, onions, carrots and fondant potato, and Bailey's cheesecake with praline and butterscotch sauce are just some of the fabulous fare on the official Ryder Cup menu unveiled today by Bord Bia and the event's corporate caterers Compass and Sodexho.
Designed to showcase the best of Irish food, drink and culinary creativity, the menus feature produce from over 40 Irish suppliers and have generated an estimated €2 million worth of business. Over 8,500 meals will be served in corporate hospitality every day and will demonstrate the quality and capability of the Irish food and drink sector to influential international visitors. The menus served at the Players' Dinner and Gala Dinner have also been carefully crafted to reflect the delights of an Irish table.
Chefs from the K Club and from City West Hotel, which will host the Gala Dinner mid-week, were also involved in devising the menus, which also includes two "Gaelic Tasting Plates". The first plate features McGeough's air-dried beef and tomato chutney, potted game with bacon, smoked chicken, black pudding, apple and celery salad and ham hock terrine with pickled vegetables. The seafood tasting plate is composed of smoked mackerel, Dublin Bay Prawns in a seafood sauce, smoked mussels and Compsey yogurt salad and McConnell's smoked salmon with a wheat bread croute.
A signature dish created by K Club Chef de Cuisine Finbarr Higgins is due to be revealed later this month and will become a permanent feature on the K Club's menu in commemoration of the great event.
Speaking at the launch today, Frank Coughlan, the Irish-born master chef of Compass, one of the largest catering companies in the world, said "The quality of Irish produce is superb and the menu we are presenting to the Ryder Cup's thousands of international visitors will highlight the range, diversity and high quality of Irish food and drink."
Aidan Cotter, Bord Bia Chief Executive, added "Bord Bia's message for the Ryder Cup is that the Ireland the Food Island brand highlights the capability, export capacity and range of innovative products of the Irish food and drink industry. Of central importance amongst the international visitors are the 300 influential food buyers that we have invited from key export markets across the globe. We have targeted these buyers to ensure that the Irish food and drink sector gains long term benefits from the exposure it will receive through the Ryder Cup.
"We have seen immediate benefits from the relationship Bord Bia has developed with the principal Ryder Cup caterers, Compass and Sodexho, two of the largest food service companies in the world with a combined global turnover in excess of €25bn. As a direct result, Irish products featured on the menus at both Wimbledon and the British Open this year and we expect to see further business development for Irish suppliers as a result."
ENDS
For further information contact:
Rosaleen O'Shaughnessy,
Corporate Communications,
Bord Bia
Tel: 01 614 2245 / 0872632836
Email: