Food Coast Donegal Welcomes Taste Causeway Members on a Culinary Journey in Cross-Border Collaboration

Food Coast Donegal hosted a delegation of food businesses and producers from Taste Causeway in Castle Grove Country House Hotel On Tuesday 28^th November 2023. The visit to Donegal follows an earlier visit by Food Coast Donegal members to Bushmills and the Causeway Coast. During both trips, visitors sampled the finest produce that both destinations have to offer and explored possibilities for future cross-border collaboration and partnerships.

Entitled ‘A Taste of Collaboration’, the event is part of an ongoing collaboration between Food Coast Donegal and Taste Causeway, which aims to create meaningful connections, foster mutual learning, and explore opportunities for joint ventures within the food and drink industry. ‘A Taste of Collaboration’ project is funded by Enterprise Causeway as part of its €7.8m Bushmills Courthouse project.

Over 25 food and drink producers, hospitality and visitor experience providers from the Taste Causeway and Food Coast Donegal networks are collaborating in a ‘buddy’ system. It is anticipated, that when the Bushmills Courthouse opens in 2024, the space will play host to food events, workshops, and festivals on a cross-border basis.

The Donegal visit began in Castle Grove Country House, which provided an ideal setting for businesses and stakeholder organisations from Donegal County Council Tourism and Heritage Teams, Lough Foyle Ferry and support from Tourism NI and Failte Ireland, to reconnect with their counterparts and engage in a networking session. This offered a unique opportunity for suppliers, producers, and experience providers to share experiences, discuss project ideas, and explore industry trends and opportunities.

Following an insightful morning, a group session discussed key takeaways and project ideas from both visits. The afternoon agenda included a visit by representatives from the Taste Causeway and Enterprise Causeway to the renowned Kinnegar Brewing in Letterkenny, offering participants a first-hand experience of the local craft brewing scene.

Brenda Hegarty, Head of Enterprise for Donegal said: "This event lays the groundwork for dynamic collaborations between Taste Causeway and Food Coast Donegal. The potential for fostering impactful connections among our local food and drink producers is evident, signalling exciting prospects for cross-border partnerships in the food and drink industry. On behalf of Food Coast Donegal, I extend heartfelt gratitude to the entire Taste Causeway team for coming to Donegal and look forward to continuing our joint efforts to facilitate and encourage mutual learning, networking, and growth.”

Commenting on the visit, Jayne Taggart, CEO of Enterprise Causeway said: "The first 'Taste of Collaboration' event back in September in Bushmills laid an extremely solid foundation for exciting cooperations between the Taste Causeway and Food Coast Donegal networks, and just how our new social enterprise, The Courthouse Bushmills, can play an active role in facilitating such activity and events when it opens next year.

“Our return visit provided ample opportunities to further the connections made, really getting down to mapping out collaborations and cross-border projects. The room was filled with such positive energy, with encouraging action points to take into the New Year to realise these new opportunities for future partnership working.

"A huge thanks to Food Coast Donegal and the stunning Castlegrove Country House Hotel for hosting, and of course to Kinnegar Brewing for giving us a tour of their incredible facility. It was the epitome of the hospitality Donegal is so well renowned for.”

Sharon Scott from Taste Causeway summarised the benefits of collaboration: “Our reciprocal visit to Donegal further cemented the relationships and collaborations forged in Bushmills. As well as looking at the strengths of our local food and drink produce, we explored opportunities to develop commercially focused, market led itineraries, packages and experiences. We are looking forward to the next stages of this valuable collaboration in 2024 and beyond.”