Bloom 2011

Last week I was delighted to win two tickets for Bloom 2011 via the Irish Food Bloggers Association.  I was planning to attend Bloom 2011 anyway but thought if I managed to win the tickets it would free up a few extra sheckles to spend when I get there.  I have never attended Bloom before but at the start of the year had resolved to attend more foodie events throughout the year and Bloom 2011 was on the ‘must attend’ list.  While Bloom is (as the name suggests) a gardening festival it does also have a large food element and as I love both my garden and my food you can see why this is a must for me.  I have been quite excited about the event but this morning I asked Bord Bia to send me on some info to pop up here on the blog, they very kindly obliged and I have to say having read what is on offer I can’t wait for Friday to roll around now.   Mr. Boo had rather grumpily agreed to come with me but I reckon he will really enjoy the event too.  We love to visit farmers or food markets and try out different artisan foods so I reckon he will enjoy browsing the two marquees dedicated to artisan food producers, & I am sure we will leave laden down with goodies.  As an asthmatic I am also very interested in checking out the Allergy Free Garden in association with the Asthma Society of Ireland.  The festival really does sound like it has something for everyone, if you don’t believe me check out the information below, provided by Bord Bia.  With glorious weather forecast for the Bank Holiday weekend it could be an ideal way to spend an afternoon.  I will no doubt bore you with a report on my visit too.

Bloom is back - Ireland’s largest gardening, food and family festival celebrating its fifth year. Bloom will take place once again in the Phoenix Park, Dublin from Thursday June 2^nd to Monday June 6^th.  The event will showcase the best of Ireland’s horticulture and food industry and key attractions this year include a record 27 spectacular show-gardens; an Irish Craft Garden in association with the Crafts Council of Ireland to celebrate the Year of Craft; Bloom’s first international garden from China and the new Bord Bia Food Village.

Aidan Cotter, Chief Executive, Bord Bia said “Bloom 2011 will celebrate the best of Ireland’s creative flair and passion while showcasing our skills and success in food, horticulture and design. This year’s show will offer a vibrant, engaging and creative experience to share with both family and friends with a broad range of features offering something for everyone.”

A Chinese Garden entitled “Ire-Su”, built by the Suzhou Garden Bureau and presented as a gift from the Chinese people to the people of Ireland will be a key feature at Bloom. The authentic Chinese Garden is Bloom’s first international show-garden and will provide the perfect platform for a dazzling display of Chinese cultural activities and entertainment.

The show-garden area will be complemented with features covering all aspects of the broad floral and horticultural spectrum including the Nursery and Floral Marquee; the new AOIFA Floral Art Stage; the Garden Expert Stage with speakers including Garry Daly and Dermot O’Neill; GIY Ireland’s grow it yourself feature; the OPW’s Kitchen Walled Garden; a wide range of DIY Gardens and a complimentary Plant Creche to store visitors plants while they are exploring everything Bloom has on offer.

New to Bloom for 2011 is the Bord Bia Food Village which will feature many of the elements of Ireland’s thriving food and drink industry in one central area. Ireland is recognised for producing some of the best food and beverages in the world.  The Farming For Life; Best in Season and Field to Fork features will demonstrate to visitors the origins of our food and how the raw materials are used to produce world-class ingredients.

Visitors to the Bord Bia Food Village at Bloom can consume and purchase the best of Irish food and a wide range of delicious wholesale local produce in the Food Market from almost 50 Irish Artisan Producers and a selection of Artisan Caterers. The food offering will be complemented by a range of local artisan beers, whiskeys and spirits available at the Bloom Inn. Love Irish Food returns to Bloom as an event partner and will host a large number of its member brands in the Love Irish Food pavilion.

At the centre of the new Food Village is the Chef’s Summer Kitchen which will present a daily programme of cookery demonstrations by a number of Ireland’s well known Celebrity Chefs including Catherine Fulvio, Neven Maguire, Donal Skehan Jenny Bristow. RTE Presenter and Foodie, Ella McSweeney will host the Chef’s Summer Kitchen and will interview Chefs and food producers throughout the event.

Bloom is a wonderful family day out and best of all children under 16 go free! There are a range of family activities including entertainment on the Outdoor Stage
which will feature the Café Orchestra, Nigel Mooney Quartet, Mooge 69 and the Mellochords; Craft Demonstrations and Workshops from the Crafts Council of Ireland; Outdoor Catering and Bistro Bloom featuring a Café, Restaurant and Seafood Bar.

In the Children’s Zone, Dale Treadwell will host Gondwanaland – a haven for Dinosaur enthusiasts and an Australian Bush feature. The Children’s Stage will feature a host of activities including storytelling from Dublin City of Literature Readers and a Creative Kids Café will also run throughout the event encouraging children to use their imaginations, discover and investigate.

A host of wildlife features will include demonstrations and activities from Birdwatch Ireland, the Irish Wildlife Trust and the Beekeepers Association who are Celebrating the Year of the Honeybee.

Bloom is delighted to announce its first international garden, a Chinese Garden, entitled ‘Ire-Su’. Designed and constructed by a team of Chinese garden designers based in the Suzhou region near Shanghai, this will undoubtedly form a centre piece amid the show gardens at Bloom. This year the Bloom show garden area will showcase 27 gardens designed by some of Ireland’s top gardening talents and “Ire-Su” will complement its neighbouring show gardens.

The “Ire-Su” garden has been designed and built by the Suzhou Garden Bureau and is presented as a gift from the Chinese people to the people of Ireland. “Ire-Su” is a celebration of classical Chinese gardens from Suzhou and of Irish gardens at Bloom and for many Irish people Bloom will provide a unique opportunity to see a traditional and authentic Chinese garden.

The garden is designed to be open and spacious and will provide the perfect platform for a dazzling display of Chinese cultural activities and entertainment during the 5 days of Bloom. Among these activities live on the “Ire-Su” garden visitors to Bloom can enjoy a traditional Chinese tea ceremony being performed as well as Chinese folk dancing and live Chinese music.

Of course the new Food Village at Bloom would be far from complete without Bloom’s much-loved Artisan Food Market. A feature of the show since it first started 5 years ago, the market has grown steadily over the years to its current size of almost 50 stallholders. This year the artisan food market consists of 2 marquees side by side, each with 24 stalls offering the variety of quality artisan food and drink that you have come to expect from some of Ireland’s finest producers @ Bloom.

As always there will be some fantastic farmhouse cheese for sale by the producers themselves and the finest bacon, puddings and artisan sausages which are always
so popular at the show. You will find the usual abundance of fresh breads, alongside tasty cakes, buns and cookies to satisfy anyone’s sweet tooth, not to mention other treats such as chocolate, fudge, and delicious nougat. There will be coffee roasters and tea blenders alongside jam-makers and curry chefs….and fish smokers and beekeepers too! There really is something for everyone inside the treasure trove that is the double-tented artisan food market so make sure to have a good look around! Of course there is always something new at the show and there are a number of new producers in the market this year so you’re guaranteed to discover something new and delicious to add a touch of spice to your June Bank Holiday weekend and beyond!

Key sponsors and event partners for Bloom 2011 include:  the OPW, Failte Ireland, Love Irish Food, Irish Times, Growise, Woodies DIY, Nissan Leaf, Craft Council of Ireland, An Post, Irish Rail, LUAS, Laurent Perrier, VW, Viking, Lyric FM and Glenisk.

Bloom is open daily from 10am-6pm. Advance tickets are on sale now from €15 – kids go free! www.bloominthepark.com

All of the pictures in this post are courtesy of bloominthepark.com