Avoca Garden Cafe is Bord Bia’s Just Ask! Restaurant of the Month of June

The Avoca Garden Café at Mount Usher Gardens, Wicklow

has been awarded Bord Bia’s Just Ask! Restaurant of the Month for June. Located in the picturesque gardens of Mount Usher Co. Wicklow, the Avoca Garden Café prides itself on seasonality using the best of local produce and regional artisan food suppliers. This is quite evident in their menus.

This award comes at a busy time for the Avoca Garden Café as the Mount Usher Gardens will be busy as part of the Wicklow Garden Festival from 11^th- 20^th June.

Andrew Holmes, Head Chef at the restaurant, insists on using as much local produce as possible. "I'm delighted for all involved!" he said when he was told of the award. "It's a pleasure to get the opportunity to work with the best local produce here at Avoca and to continue to build a close relationship with our artisan suppliers".  

Andrew is keen to acknowledge his food suppliers. They are, after all, "the people who provide the basic ingredients and help to make the The Avoca Garden Café one of the favourite eating establishments in the region". He sources their beef, lamb, sausages and bacon from local butcher, Niall Dowling in Ashford and organic pork from Gold River Farm.  Their fresh fish is supplied daily and direct from Atlantis Seafood, Kilmore Quay. Free range chicken is supplied by Bertram Salter of Carlow Foods and their eggs come from Martha and Gary Crocker’s organic farm in Wicklow!

 All fruit and vegetables used in the café are sourced locally from Ann Kuntz of Kilcoole, Gold River Farm in Aughrim, Keoghs fruit farm in Enniskerry and Kearns Farm at Newcastle. All the breads and pastries are homemade, on the premises, by Andrew and his team.

John & Bernie Hempenstall’s Wicklow Blue Brie will always be among the range of Irish farmhouse cheeses offered!

Bernie Burke of Tara Co. Meath supplies the ice cream from her families’ Jersey cows which complement Avoca Garden Cafe's homemade apple crumble. Other suppliers from around Ireland include Living Foods Company, Wicklow - Ian McIntosh from Tyrone's Organic Five-Mile-Town goat’s cheese and Smoked Duck and Smoked Salmon from Anthony Creswell's Ummera Smokehouse based in Co.Cork. 

Just Ask! is a Bord Bia campaign which aims to encourage consumers to look for information on where their food comes from when eating out and encourages chef’s to provide the information on their menus. According to recent research from Bord Bia, 81% of Irish diners believe it’s important that restaurants use local produce with 72% deeming it important that the origin of meat is listed on the menu.

Georgina Campbell's Ireland Guide said, "The great thing about the menus at Avoca is that they change with the seasons and showcase a wide range of local producers, as well as observing the fundamental principle of traceability. The Mount Usher Gardens provide a magical setting for the café which I’m sure will be incredibly busy during the upcoming Wicklow Garden Festival".

Wicklow County Tourism celebrates the 22nd Wicklow Gardens Festival in 2011. Running from Saturday 11th - Sunday 19th June, it features a variety of private and public gardens each with their own unique theme and design- from Robinsonian and Formal to Victorian and Modern.

Each garden will be open to the public during the festival (for the hours stated on their individual pages) and will host various organised events such as talks, exhibitions, live music, picnics, workshops and more. www.visitwicklow.ie/gardens

As part of Bord Bia’s Just Ask! programme, restaurants listed on Georgina Campbell’s ireland-guide.com website are invited to submit copies of their menus and sourcing statements.  On a monthly basis, a Just Ask! winner is chosen by Georgina Campbell in agreement with Bord Bia. In addition, an overall Just Ask! annual award winner is selected as part of the Georgina Campbell Awards which will take place during October.

To get involved in Just Ask! or to find out more, see www.bordbia.ie. With so many great value restaurants right on your doorstep, eating out is still on the menu!

Visit Avoca Garden Café this month during Wicklow’s Garden Festival 11^th to 20th June

Don't forget to Feed the Fish at the bottom of this post!

zack

@irishfoodguide on Twitter