Bushmills Community Garden, a hidden gem, will be featured at the upcoming Bushmills Salmon and Whiskey Festival

Gary Stewart, Chef Patron and Producer from Tartine at Distillers Arms and Wendy Gallagher from Causeway Coast Foodie Tours visited the Bushmills Community Garden this week to view progress themselves ahead of the upcoming Bushmills Salmon and Whiskey Festival, 6th - 8th October 2023. 

This impressive initiative is in its infancy but has caught the imagination of the Bushmills Business Association. They have shared the potential with Festival headliner Paula McIntyre MBE and the other chefs involved over the weekend, resulting in an exciting collaboration which aims to support and promote the development of the Bushmills Community Garden by using some of the herbs the volunteers have been cultivating.

Gary Stewart tells us, 'We proudly announce our collaboration with the Bushmills community garden for the upcoming Bushmills Salmon and Whiskey Festival and beyond! We are committed to supporting this project, allowing local people to come together to find friendship, support, and camaraderie. We will start by including some of their herbs in our cookery demonstrations but have many ideas for future support and partnerships.'

The Bushmills Community Garden is located in a central location with the stunning backdrop of the newly launched Causeway Distillery, a recent addition to the Old Bushmills Distillery in the background.

Wendy Gallagher from Causeway Coast Foodie Tours, a Bushmills girl, delivers and promotes experiences which include 'farm to fork' tours. 'We celebrate our local producers by providing them with a platform from which they can share their hard work and dedication to bringing fresh produce to the table. I am so impressed to see the potential of the Bushmills Community Garden and look forward to seeing how we can link in with experiences'. 

The Bushmills Business Association believe the collaboration will benefit both the gardening project
and the festival, allowing the creation of an authentic farm-to-fork experience in the future and hopes that local businesses and other Community groups will support the extraordinary efforts of the volunteers involved.

The Community Garden operates an open session every Friday afternoon between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Pop by and say hello. Over the festival weekend, there will be activities in and around the village highlighting the work of the Bushmills Community Garden. There is a real sense of momentum building.

The Bushmills Community Association are the driving force behind the development of the Bushmills Community Garden.

See the festival programme for details and timings, soon to be published on Bushmills Salmon and Whiskey Festival 2023 (bushmillsbanquet.com) 

To book a place on the 'Coast and Country with the Salmon and Whiskey Festival'  on Friday 6 October visit Coast and Country with the Salmon and Whiskey Festival - Causeway Coast Foodie Tours