The Organic Supermarket

I was lucky enough to visit the new 'Organic Supermarket' in Blackrock last week. The store which has been open for 7 weeks now has been attracting quite a lot of media attention recently and I was keen to check it out, particularly as the owner Darren Grant had gone the full hog and got the place certified organic.

The store can be found next to the old post office (now Starbucks) on the main street. I was delighted when I walked in and found that this was a large, gourmet food store. The decor of dark wood gave the interior a certain amount of class whilst still appearing earthy. 

Darren's idea was to bring the farmers market indoors, and he has achieved this goal. Even as you walk by the front door you are tempted in the display of freshly baked bread from Blazing Salads and fresh produce all delivered daily.  Every part of your grocery shopping is catered for here, with everything from cheese and meat to pasta wine and chocolate. There are products here, particularly in the chilled section that I had no idea were available. They even have the organic pies that I wrote about in my last post and I finally got to try one. Because the shop has certification provided by the Organic Trust, every item that is stocked in The Organic Supermarket has to be certified organic. This is the one big difference between this store and numerous others I have visited and it felt great to be able to pick anything up and know without reading the label that it really was an organic product.

I have high hopes for the 'Organic Supermarket'.  Darren already has plans for expansion telling me that he has his eye on a city centre location for the next shop in the chain. My only criticism is that Blackrock is a long way from Athy, far too far for me to travel for my weekly shop!

Taste Kildare, a great day out.

Me at the Feelgood Organic Hampers Stand

Beatrice & Jamie Choc O'Neill

Yuki at Moyleabbey Organic Farm

Thanks to everyone who dropped by my stall at Taste Kildare last weekend. Even the sun made a good appearance on the day. 

There was lots of amazing food on offer and a good amount of organic stalls. By the time things quietened down enough to let me have a wander the Organic Pies on sale from Morrin O'Rourke Farm Foods had sold out. I'm not surprised I saw them setting up in the morning and they looked fantastic. Their range of pies includes Chicken and Bacon, Beef and Cider and Vegetable for vegetarians like myself. For a full list of where you can buy their pies check out their website.

The Moyleabbey Organic Farm stall pictured above looked fantastic all day with beautiful bunches of carrots and beetroot and other seasonal organic vegetables on sale.

The Organic Blending Company, the Irish wing of which is based in Naas were tasting their sausages and marinated meats all day. As well as their marinades they offer gravy, stuffing and spices. They gave me some samples and I can't wait to give them a try... watch this space!

At the end of the day I finally got to sample some of the deserts on offer from the restaurants. This was definitely the best part of the day for me.

The event will be going ahead again next year so if you didn't get a chance to drop by last weekend don't miss the next one. Keep an eye on the website: www.tastekildare.ie.

Prince Charles and GM Food

Prince Charles has always been an unlikely royal. Time after time he has failed to keep his mouth shut about the things he believes in and this is a quality that endears him to me.

We are all by now aware of his opinions on architecture. The inside-out Lloyds building in London, which I have always quite liked, provoked his most famous rant.

In recent years he has become better known for his passion for organic food. The Duchy Original brand which started life with one product, a tasty oat based biscuit now boasts over 300 organic products. He also has his own organic farm in Gloustershire. I have visions of him out in the fields, fork in hand, harvesting perfect organic vegetables from the ground but I am aware that he probably has little to do with the day to day running of the farm. Recently he has taken residence in his Grandmothers castle in Caithness (North Scotland) and has pledged an initiative to help Scotland's farmers and fishermen.

Knowing this it came as little surprise to me that this week he launched a scathing attack on GM Foods. The outburst came in the middle of an interview with a Telegraph Journalist.

His main concerns seem to be the globalisation of the food industry, he goes on to suggest that the corporations behind GM strains are putting us on course for the "biggest disaster environmentally for all time" You can listen to his full outburst here.

His strong opinions seem to have caused a bit of a stir in the UK. Some people believe that the Royal family should be prim and proper and not meddle in politics. Others just claim he is wrong. Some such as Freinds Of the Earth and the Soil Association are patting him on the back.

For me I find it incredible that a few sentences uttered by Prince Charles are capable of re-opening the GM debate in the UK, especially so soon after it was revealed that Gordon Brown was hoping to allow more GM tests to be carried out on British Soil. Ireland is still a GM crop free zone and I hope that we will be able to find and Irish voice as influential as Prince Charles to keep it that way.

Well done Prince Charles!

Come and Meet Us at Taste Kildare

I'm so excited about Taste Kildare that I wish I didn't have to work there myself and I could go and enjoy it in full. 

The event, which is being held in the Victorian walled gardens at the K Club in Straffan on Sunday 17th August 2008 is going to be a fantastic day out. 

Kildare's top restaurants will be offering taster plates and Kildare based artisan producers including What's Cooking?, Soul Bakery and Buns will be giving out samples as well as offering their wares for sale on the day.

At the Feelgood Organic Hampers stall I will be giving out tasters of some of our best products as well as having a wide range of organic food on sale. Do drop by and have a chat.

With a mix of entertainment for both adults and children including  face painting, crazy golf duck racing, archery and tours of the wine cellar this really will be a fun day out for everyone.

Best of all it's completely free. Just pre-register online at www.tastekildare.ie  to avail of the free car parking.