Editorial: Déise festival season kicks off in delicious style

A jewel in the crown of Waterford’s festival offerings, it is heartening to see the Waterford Festival of Food (formerly the West Waterford Festival of Food) deliver such a phenomenal weekend, as the weather finally began to warm up.

Expanding into the city this year, the festival places an emphasis on celebrating the gastronomic highlights of the county.

Waterford punches well above its weight when it comes to food – whether that’s the provenance of its local produce, or the exceptional chefs transforming this produce into exquisite meals.

Waterford News & Star Reporter Libby Marchant explored the festival as east met west, checking out the food scene by nibbling her way through a smorgasbord of gastronomic delights in the city and Dungarvan, and indulging a little culture and entertainment along the way as well. She was mightily impressed.

Food is one area Waterford markets incredibly well – thanks in no small part to a number of influential celebrity chefs who consistently deliver the Déise food message to audiences beyond the borders of the Blackwater, the Comeraghs and the Suir.

Their voices are authentic and trustworthy because they are, themselves, embedded in Waterford, actively running high-quality food businesses in the Déise. This is one area where our best haven’t left our shores. They are not harking back nostalgically – they are very much passionate about what is happening here now, what is consistently being created and built upon.

Eunice Power, CEO of Waterford Festival of Food, is a case in point, and must be applauded for her enthusiasm and vision for this event. Today, a well-known TV chef and author, she is also an incredible food entrepreneur, having founded AndChips in Dungarvan and Eunice Power Catering.

Another festival immersing itself in the heart of rural Waterford is Comeraghs Wild. Duke Special is the latest big name announced for a gig in the lee of the mountains, in the delightful Clonagam Church near Portlaw, showing that ground continues to be broken in delivering unique events across the Déise.

The forecast looks good for a bonanza festival season – let’s hope the weather holds up as well.

Hotels and accommodation

Meanwhile, a report by Alex Cunningham in this week’s edition again brings focus to the amount of bed space that has been removed from our tourism offering, as hotel operators instead enter lucrative contracts to accommodate refugees.

Of course, we must meet our obligations in terms of providing accommodation to those fleeing war-torn countries – including Ukraine, for whom the majority of hotel bed space was acquired. But government has an obligation to do so in a manner that doesn’t undermine our tourism industry.

Blame shouldn’t be apportioned to those making bona fide business decisions – at a time when rising energy and other costs have made the hospitality industry increasingly precarious for many.

But handing over hotel accommodation in such numbers for a use that was not originally envisaged for these premises when they were originally established, and granted planning permission, is not a long-term solution.

The direction of travel needs to be carefully steered in the short to medium-term – so that our hugely valuable tourism industry and hospitality brand is not undermined at its core.