The Heart of Ireland team is committed to bringing business to Mullingar, not just over the festival weekend of the 11/12 July 2015, but on an ongoing basis, starting now.
A key part of this year’s festival will be the revival of the former Mullingar Steak Festival, under a brand new guise: ‘Beef to the Heels extravaganza’. This has great potential and will showcase local farmer, butchers and restaurants in the greater Mullingar area.
“Beef to the heels, like a Mullingar heifer. Like many a Mullingar lass, I have been greeted with that infamous saying on my travels around Ireland and abroad,” regales Melanie Lynch from the Hi festival team.
“As the granddaughter of a local cattle-dealer, I have grown up with an awareness of our town’s rich cattle heritage. Truth be told, my grandfather was so enraptured by cattle that he would narrowly avoid crashing his car as his eyes wandered off the road, transfixing on a fine herd of Black Pollies. It’s time for us to remind the world just how good our beef is and entice visitors to Mullingar to taste it for themselves,” she added.
All great arts festivals have a strong foodie element. For the Heart of Ireland Festival, it was only natural to hark back to the days of the much loved Mullingar Steak Festival, and revive it with a twist. To give greater creative freedom to our local culinary talent and hit price points that suit every pocket, we decided to expand and include all beef, not just steak. Allow us to introduce ‘the Beef to the Heels Extravaganza!’
A competition will be a key part of ‘Beef to The Heels’, which will include an entry of a dish, a brief description, a photo, restaurant’s name, chef’s name, butcher’s and farmer’s names, as well as the breed of the cow. More details will follow.
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