Belfast's Pop-Up Pestaurant: Bring on the Bugs!

Rentokil will open the doors to its award-winning "Pop-Up Pestaurant" in Belfast's city centre on Wednesday 4th June. The event will take place at Writer's Square in the Cathedral Quarter, between 10 and 3, and will be serving up an array of exotic treats including spicy pigeon burgers, salt & vinegar crickets and BBQ mealworms.

The inaugural Pestaurant, which took place in London in summer 2013, attracted more than 3,000 hungry Londoners to sample the unorthodox fare on offer. Rentokil expects similar crowds to flock to Writer's Square for the first major Pestaurant event of 2014. All the food is free and local Rentokil experts will be on hand to answer any pest related questions from the public, pass on their top tips for pest prevention and discuss the unique cuisine being served.

The event will mark Britain's participation in Global Pestaurant Day, during which Pestaurant events will be held in 12 different countries across 4 continents. The events will tempt punters across the globe to try something different for lunch, with Australia, South Africa, Denmark, France, and the USA among the nations taking part.
 

The events are held to raise awareness of the problems that pests can cause for homeowners and business alike. Pests are just looking for food and shelter. They are not choosy when it comes to setting-up home, and even the cleanest of properties can become a target, if they can find a way in!  Common UK pests include ants, bedbugs, flies, mice, pigeons, rats and wasps.  

All members of the public are welcome to attend. 

Bloom Fringe - Where Inspiration Grows

Bloom Fringe is the latest independent festival to hit the streets of Dublin. The festival is a spin-off of the hugely successful Bloom and will showcase Dublin’s ever growing creative capacity with fresh ideas, spontaneity and fun. The aim is to celebrate the biodiversity and sustainability of Dublin’s City Centre by bringing together communities, artists, performers, professionals, enthusiasts and free thinkers in a joyous explosion of garden-related creativity.

Bloom Fringe will literally take over the city with over 35 eclectic events staged in pop-up venues in parks, gardens, lane-ways and Dublin City Centre as well as established venues such as cafés, shops and more. The fringe will showcase works from the world of gardening, sustainability, architecture, food, fashion and much more. Innovative workshops, pop-up dinners, picnics, exhibitions, garden installations and other experiences will be hosted throughout the city on Saturday 31st May to promote sustainability, green infrastructure and community involvement.

The Bloom Fringe HQ will be at the top of Grafton Street with a green pop-up on George’s Street and other surprises sprinkled in-between. Event coordinators, Landscape Architect Esther Gerrard and Garden Designer Marion Keogh, “want to encourage anyone with artistic vision and drive to participate and present their work. This means that there’s always something to suit everyone, of all ages and tastes. Our city lends itself to a multitude of uses and we want to show it off in all its glory!”

Some of the events that are taking place include:

• Tours/trails such as foraging with Ed Hicks
• A Masterchef picnic with Tamarin Blackmur winner of Masterchef
• Pop-up windows will be on display at Industry, Berlin and Courtney Lennon
• Family Friendly Workshops such as: Hedgerow Herbalism, Composting Bootcamp and Forest School
• Visit open community gardens

Bloom Fringe is happening this Saturday - 31st May 2014. The full programme is available on their website - www.bloomfringe.com. You will also find them on Twitter @bloomfringe #bloomfringe and on Facebook www.facebook.com/bloomfringedublin.

Let Them Eat Cake!

Yelp Dublin & 9 Crow St present 'Let Them Eat Cake', an unusual afternoon of entertainment and food curated from the newest and best of Dublin eateries, in aid of BeLongTo Dublin LGBT charity.

Fancies will be tickled with eccentric entertainment, including Dublin's greatest burlesque talent, Bella A-Go-Go, and inspirational speaker Sinead Gibney. There will be tea, cocktails, decadent gift bags, and even a chauffeur to drive all guests to the event.

Guests can Indulge themselves with a selection of delicious food, curated from the finest of Dublin eateries including; Krüst Bakery, The Birdcage, Cheesecake, Murphy's Ice Cream, Delicious Food Company, El Gringo Mexican, The Natural Bakery, Oishii Sushi, Antoinette's Bakery, The Bell & Pot, and Meat & Meet, with our Official Tea Pourer being Ireland's fav: Barrys

There are very limited tickets, so get your ladies (or gents!) together and get your tickets for this most extraordinary of afternoons. All proceeds go directly to BeLongTo Dublin.

The event is on Saturday, 24th May in the Black Door. Tickets can be purchased for €25.  Go to www.yelp.ie/events for more details.

A Marketing Masterstoke - The Secret Garden

By now I am sure that you have all heard about the Secret Garden, seen the pictures, read the reviews and talked about the big reveal. As someone who has recently completed a Diploma in Digital Marketing, I thought the whole thing was ingenious. Lidl and Dublin Pop Up managed to tap into the Irish love of food, our desire to be part of something cool and creative and our massive use of social media. In case you havent seen what all the hype was about here is a little video which sums it all up.

One of the best things about the evening was getting to eat the food prepared by chefs Harry Colley and Cuán Green. These young chefs are 24 and 21 respectively and they produced some amazing and very creative food. Sure there were ups and downs in the meal - one low being the Bloody Mary but this was cancelled out by the following delicious course of a crispy potato skin filled with slow cooked egg yolk and potato espuma. We felt quite honored to be able to eat this food and to be part of a process that allows these chefs to perfect their art. This event gave them an opportunity to shine and show what they they could do. We left the Secret Garden feeling sure that these young chefs are the future of Irish cooking and that it is in very safe hands.

Here are some photos from the event.

Mackerel Ceviche

Bloody Mary

Baked Potato

Swiss Roll

Campo Viejo Tapas Trail 2014 - A Great Summer Night Out

It's tapas trail time again! God only knows where the year went but the Campo Viejo Tapas Trail is back for it's fourth time! Without fail, it is one of the highlights of the summer for me. Throughout the months of June & July, food and wine enthusiasts can join the culinary culture of Spanish tapas and discover the true passion, vitality and vibrancy of Spain on the Tapas Trail which will run from from June 4th to 29th in Dublin and from July 2nd to 27th in Cork.

 

During June and July lucky participants in Dublin and Cork will get to discover ‘tapeo’, the art of enjoying tapas with friends and family at four of the very best tapas restaurants their city has to offer. At each location, you’ll get the opportunity to sample Spanish cuisine that’s simply bursting with flavour, all brought to life with a glass of Campo Viejo Reserva. Between restaurants, the guides will help you explore the streets of colour through urban art and the works of artists Okuda and Remed. In Cork you will get to visit Electric, Arthur Maynes, Oysters and The Cornstore, while in Dublin participants will visit The Market Bar, Bagot Huttons and for the first time this year, the Drury Buildings and Zaragoza.

I have gone on the Tapas Trail for the last three years and it is, without doubt, one of the best value and fun nights out there. You can read all about The Purple Page's experience from last year here. 

A friend summing up how we feel about the Tapas Trail!!

Tickets are 25e per person which  is an increase of a fiver on last year but it is still definitely worth the money. The trail takes place each Wednesday between 7pm and 10pm and each Sunday between 2.30pm and 5pm in participating restaurants in Dublin and Cork.  For further information and to purchase tickets log onto www.facebook.com/campoviejoireland 

or www.campoviejotapastrail.ie. The first round of tickets sold out practically as soon as they went on sale today but more dates are to be added so keep an eye out!

May Food Festivals & Events

So summer is finally here and it's a bank holiday weekend. Wohoo! So get out, enjoy the weekend and celebrate the start of summer in style.

2nd  - 8th May: 

• Boyne Valley Food Series: Co. Meath & Co. Louth, May - September
• Connemara Mussels Festival: Co. Galway, 2 - 4 May
• Gourmet Greystones: Co. Wicklow, Sunday 4 May
• Riverfest: Limerick, 2 - 5 May
• Roscommon Lamb Festival: Roscommon, 30 April - 5 May 

9th - 15th May:

•  Boyne Valley Food Series: Co. Meath & Co. Louth, May - September

16th - 22nd May:

• Boyne Valley Food Series: Co. Meath & Co. Louth, May - September  

• Ballymaloe LitFest of Food & Wine: Co. Cork, 16 - 18 May  

• Kildorrery International Food Fair: Co. Cork, 18 May
• Docklands Summer Festival: Grand Canal Dock Dublin, 17 & 18 Ma
• World Whiskey Day: Various, 17th May

23rd - 31st May: 

• Boyne Valley Food Series: Co. Meath & Co. Louth, May - September

• Burren Slow Food Festival: Co. Clare, 23 - 25 May
• Bloom: Dublin, 29 May - 2 June  
• Bloom Fringe: Dublin City Centre, 31st May
• Culture & Chips: Limerick, 29 May - 2 June 
• Foynes Coffee Festival: Limerick, 30 May - 1 June
• Sheridans Irish Food Fest: Virginia Road Station, Co. Meath, 25 May
• Wexford Food and Wine Festival: Co. Wexford, 22 - 25 May

If you would like to have your food event or festival added please contact Kat at thepurplepageireland (at) gmail.com. Dates are always subject to change so please check the event website before getting all geared up to go out!