Celebrating the people who make great food and beautiful crafts, Local Enterprise Office Waterford will sponsor two events during the Waterford Harvest Festival which takes place throughout the city from September 6th to September 8th.

The Love Local Lunch is a perennial favourite in the Waterford Harvest Festival calendar, as the business networking lunch showcases the abundant local quality produce, prepared by the talented kitchen team at Dooley’s Hotel.

Keynote speaker at this year’s Love Local Lunch is Peter Mulryan of Blackwater Distillery.  Following a long career as a series producer with the BBC and RTE, Mulryan established the gin distillery in Co. Waterford in 2014.  He will share his story of going from TV producer to gin distiller and setting up an award-winning distillery on the banks of the Blackwater River.

The LEO Waterford Love Local Lunch takes place at Dooley’s Hotel on Friday, September 6th.  Tickets cost €15, which includes a three course lunch and are available here.

Another event that Local Enterprise Waterford is delighted to support is the Copper Coast Pop-Up Market in the Apple Market.  A collective of talented local artists, crafters and food producers, the Copper Coast Pop-Up Market traders will display their wares beneath the Apple Market roof on Saturday, September 7th from 11am to 6pm.

These talented producers usually gather each month in Tramore and showcase their local home-made, handmade, eco-ethical products and the Pop-Up Market will give visitors and locals an opportunity to meet the makers and hear about their creations and the inspiration behind them.

Food, the Waterford Way Market at the Apple Market on Sunday, September 8^th is another chance to meet the people behind great food and discover new taste experiences as a wide range of demos will be on offer from Waterford’s diverse food community.

Richie Walsh, Head of Enterprise with Local Enterprise Office Waterford is delighted to support these two key events.  “Waterford is renowned for its hard-working, talented and passionate producers. Waterford Harvest Festival is fantastic platform for these creative and dedicated food and craft producers to showcase the very best of what they do.  The Copper Coast Pop-Up Market will give traders a great opportunity to be front and centre at the Harvest Festival.”

“The Love Local Lunch is always a hugely popular event.  It’s not only because of the quality of the lunch, but because of the calibre of speakers.  Peter is an engaging raconteur and visionary and I know people will be genuinely interested in hearing his story of how an ambitious idea became a multi-million-euro, award-winning enterprise.”

If your business in pre-start, start-up or established business phase and would like to find out more about what business support services are available from LEO Waterford visit www.localenterprise.ie/Waterford/