The Vitamin Sea Festival is back again this year, and we’re super excited about bringing ‘Taste Waterford Demos & Chats’.
Celebrating Tramore’s food and outdoors, the festival running 15 – 17 September is packed with sea and food-inspired events with something for everyone. There’ll be a range of family-friendly activities to take part in and unique dining events across Tramore.
We’ll be at The Victoria House in Queen’s Street Sunday 17, 12.30pm – 4.30pm – with exciting cooking demonstrations, talks and tastings.
Hear about the fascinating food and drink stories from our incredible chefs and producers – all set in the stunning coastal town of Tramore.
Check out our line-up – see you there!
Quick glance:
12.30pm Donia Sikora – Avo Café
1.30pm Kasia Cichy – Planté
2.30pm Luis Martin – The Old Couch Café
3.30pm Nicola Crowley and Dvir Nusery – Mezze
4.30pm Liam McDonnell – Legacy Irish Cider
12.30pm Donia Sikora – Avo Café
Our first demo of the day is someone who’s made it their passion to create delicious and health-focused vegan and vegetarian-friendly food – and won an award along the way!
Donia Sikora’s enthusiasm for handcrafted, gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free food is both inspiring and fascinating.
She’s showcasing their most popular sweets at Avo Café, including vegan banana bread, fruit muffins with crumble, keto bread with vegan pesto, and sun-dried tomato hummus, as well as vegan red velvet cupcakes.
Avo Café champions a wholesome lifestyle, recognising the profound influence of diet on our well-being, vitality, and daily vigour.
After this demo, you’ll feel energised about food, health – and life!
1.30pm Kasia Cichy – Plante
A true believer in plant-based ingredients is up next – Tramore local Kasia Cichy of Planté.
Her vegan pâté has been winning praise wherever she goes – for taste, texture and using natural and nourishing ingredients.
She’ll make plant-based pâtés and spreads, showing you how easy it is to incorporate into your lifestyle, and also talk about what it takes to make an award-winning product.
And with a chance to taste her pâté – it will be a real treat!
2.30pm Luis Martin – The Old Couch Café
Our next demo is the perfect blend of local produce, seasonality, sustainability, and incredible flavours – bring in Luis Martin from The Old Couch Café.
He’ll prepare a wild Irish red mullet, matured in kelp, with a tomato veil, whilst talking about his food story from training in Spain to working in the area’s notable establishments.
Using local suppliers including Billy Burke Seafood & Poultry, Marie Power – The Sea Gardener, and tomatoes from Grantstown Nursery – Luis will also talk about his dedication to sustainability, and crafting a dining experience that is ecologically responsible.
His expert hands will create a dish before you that will impress in both flavours and care for the environment – way to go Luis!
3.30pm Nicola Crowley and Dvir Nusery – Mezze
Nicola and Dvir from Mezze draw crowds wherever they go for their amazing flavours, fascinating food story, and plenty of foodie passion!
They’ll be making sambousak with harissa sauce – a pillowy dough enveloping aromatic spiced chickpeas which can be found at street food stalls in Israel. The Iraqi bread parcels are cooked to order from a wide pan with oil over a gas burner, the smell enticing you to grab one to go.
Don’t miss this chance to hear about what inspires their award-winning cuisine, and to try middle-eastern food – delicious!
4.30pm Liam McDonnell – Legacy Irish Cider
The demo stage closes this year with a fascinating talk from Liam McDonnell of Legacy Irish Cider.
Liam has apple growing in his blood. His grandfather Wilsie McDonnell grew apples in West Waterford in the late 1950s; Liam’s dad Pat inherited the family’s passion for apples, and he became a doctor in the study of apple production and developed his own Coronet miniature apple tree which still sells in garden centres nationwide under the brand ‘Coronet The Miniature Apple tree’.
This strong family bond has seen them develop a range of award-winning ciders made in Dungarvan.
Hear from Liam about his love of apples, how they are grown, and learn about how they retain the craft of craft cider from one of Ireland’s top craft cider producers.
A truly captivating talk and the perfect end to this year’s Taste Waterford demos and chats.
For full programme visit: https://vitaminseafestival.ie/
