News
Top chefs to discuss future of food at symposium
Food on The Edge, a coming-together of top international chefs and food leaders for a 2-day Food Symposium, is to take place in Galway on October 19 and 20.
Described as ‘The G8 Summit of Food and Food Culture’ it is geared at setting the bar for thought, leadership and the future of food for international chefs and restaurateurs.
For the first time ever in Ireland and UK, over 40 of the best international chefs and 350 attendees each day will converge for the two-day symposium consisting of talks, presentations, networking, entertainment and knowledge sharing.
Food On The Edge is the brainchild of JP McMahon, owner of the EatGalway restaurant group which includes Michelin-starred Aniar Restaurant in Galway.
JP is also the Cook It Raw Ambassador in Ireland, which has seen him attend and participate in international food events in USA, Mexico, Finland, Canada and other countries. It was through this involvement that the idea for “Food On The Edge” was sown.
“Through Cook It Raw, I met many amazing, innovative chefs from all over the world. They are at the top of their game, many of them Michelin-star and often double Michelin-star standard. Their drive to constantly test boundaries with food and food sustainability and then share that knowledge is inspirational,” said JP.
“Many have never been to Ireland, let alone Galway, so given the beauty of our rugged location and the food provenance we have here it was an easy task to ask them to speak at Food On The Edge and visit”.
Speakers and attendees confirmed for the event reads like a who’s who in the restaurant world. Flying in from San Francisco, Mexico, Singapore, Denmark, Sweden, Spain and many other places not least, the UK, they are coming to converge, speak and attend the event
Albert Adria, recently crowned best pastry chef in the world by Fine Dining Lovers World’s Top 50 Restaurants, will travel from Spain to attend and speak. Daniel Clifford, the UK chef who is best known for his work at the two Michelin star restaurant Midsummer House and winner of the 2012 and 2013 series of the BBC’s Great British Menu, will join the discussion on the Future of Food.
Matt Orlando, from Amass in Copenhagen, will speak about the responsibilities of the chef in terms of sustainability while 2-star Michelin chef Tim Raue, Berlin, will speak about the complexities and simplicities of flavour and food harmony.
There are over 40 speakers in total, a heady list that will have attendees leaving Galway inspired and far more knowledgeable on global food trends and the future of food culture.
“Spending our time in the pressured environment of a busy kitchen can, if we are not careful, drain creativity and leave chefs isolated in terms of what is happening globally in the world of food. We guarantee that anyone attending Food On The Edge will be engaged, excited and inspired by the calibre of our speakers and the topics of discussion. We also have evening events and a gala dinner in which to network and meet the speakers,” added JP.
The main talks will be held in a marquee tent located in the city centre.Tickets are available for one day and two day admission with the two day ticket inclusive of the evening event, Tuesday, Oct 20, taking place in Electric Garden.
Fine Dining Lovers, the brand behind World’s Top 50, is the web media partner. The site will be documenting the run up to the event, as well as the event itself with interviews and coverage.
The organisers are grateful for the sponsorship of San Pellegrino, La Rousse Foods, Galway City Council, Galway County Council and Fáilte Ireland who were quick to come on board to support this ground-breaking event. Media and supporting partners are Sunday Business Post, Egg & Chicken food projects and Food PR and Marketing.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
On the eve of completing his 150th marathon, an odyssey that has taken him across 53 countries, Loughrea’s Marathon Man has announced that he is planning to hang up his running shoes.
But not before Jarlath Fitzgerald completes another ten races, making it 160 marathons on the occasion of his 60th birthday.
“I want to draw the line in 2026. I turn 57 in October and when I reach 60 it’s the finishing line. The longer races are taking it out of me. I did 20 miles there two weeks ago and didn’t feel good. It’s getting harder,” he reveals.
“I’ve arthritis in both hips and there’s wear and tear in the knees.”
We speak as he is about to head out for a run before his shift in Supervalu Loughrea. Despite his physical complaints, he still clocks up 30 miles every second week and generally runs four days a week.
Jarlath receives injections to his left hip to keep the pain at bay while running on the road.
To give his joints a break, during the winter he runs cross country and often does a five-mile trek around Kylebrack Wood.
He is planning on running his 150th marathon in Cork on June 4, where a group of 20 made up of work colleagues, friends and running mates from Loughrea Athletics Club will join him.
Some are doing the 10k, others are doing the half marathon, but all will be there on the finishing line to cheer him on in the phenomenal achievement.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
From the Galway City Tribune – An impassioned plea for a ‘masterplan’ that would guide Galway City into the future has been made in the Dáil. Galway West TD Catherine Connolly stated this week that there needed to be an all-inclusive approach with “vision and leadership” in order to build a sustainable city.
Deputy Connolly spoke at length at the crisis surrounding traffic and housing in Galway city and said that not all of the blame could be laid at the door of the local authority.
She said that her preference would be the provision of light rail as the main form of public transport, but that this would have to be driven by the government.
“I sat on the local council for 17 years and despaired at all of the solutions going down one road, metaphorically and literally. In 2005 we put Park & Ride into the development plan, but that has not been rolled out. A 2016 transport strategy was outdated at the time and still has not been updated.
“Due to the housing crisis in the city, a task force was set up in 2019. Not a single report or analysis has been published on the cause of the crisis,” added Deputy Connolly.
She then referred to a report from the Land Development Agency (LDA) that identified lands suitable for the provision of housing. But she said that two-thirds of these had significant problems and a large portion was in Merlin Park University Hospital which, she said, would never have housing built on it.
In response, Minister Simon Harris spoke of the continuing job investment in the city and also in higher education, which is his portfolio.
But turning his attention to traffic congestion, he accepted that there were “real issues” when it came to transport, mobility and accessibility around Galway.
“We share the view that we need a Park & Ride facility and I understand there are also Bus Connects plans.
“I also suggest that the City Council reflect on her comments. I am proud to be in a Government that is providing unparalleled levels of investment to local authorities and unparalleled opportunities for local authorities to draw down,” he said.
Then Minister Harris referred to the controversial Galway City Outer Ring Road which he said was “struck down by An Bord Pleanála”, despite a lot of energy having been put into that project.
However, Deputy Connolly picked up on this and pointed out that An Bord Pleanála did not say ‘No’ to the ring road.
“The High Court said ‘No’ to the ring road because An Bord Pleanála acknowledged it failed utterly to consider climate change and our climate change obligations.
“That tells us something about An Bord Pleanála and the management that submitted such a plan.”
In the end, Minister Harris agreed that there needed to be a masterplan for Galway City.
“I suggest it is for the local authority to come up with a vision and then work with the Government to try to fund and implement that.”
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
