The two-day event, which is hosted and managed by chef and director of Eat Galway Restaurant Group, JP McMahon – also the founder of FOTE – aims to challenge attitudes and inspire new ideas about the future of food through a number of presentations, seminars, tastings and demonstrations.
Aimed at chefs and the public alike, McMahon founded the festival three years ago when he invited 40 of the world’s top chefs to Galway to “create a benchmark for the best practice in food, its culture, and the people who produce it.” To this day, the focus remains on “taking food to the next level”, with food and drink always at the heart of the event.
As the only contract catering brand to sponsor, Gather & Gather believe that “FOTE is an excellent opportunity to inspire and influence its own staff and customers – as well as the food industry – about the role that food plays in our everyday lives, particularly at work where we spend so much of time.”
Alan Russell, Gather & Gather director of operations in Ireland said: “Gather &Gather is a firm believer that great food brings people together; it connects them wherever they are. The sponsorship and on-going commitment to FOTE is about the same thing; educating people to appreciate food, the importance of local ingredients, the skills in its preparation and the joy of sharing a meal, a snack and a drink.
“Our relationship with FOTE complements our chef accreditation programme and gives us access to a network of top chefs giving everyone in the business the chance to learn and share ideas, insights and recipes. It also builds on our work with groups like Springboard in the UK and Chef Network in Ireland. I am really looking forward to October – it’s brilliant to be playing a part in FOTE.”
McMahon added: “It doesn’t matter where we eat: fine dining restaurants, street food, or at work, snacking or in the staff restaurant, we all need to eat better and to do this we need to debate this on an open platform at an international level.
“Gather & Gather sponsoring FOTE gives the movement access to the workplace catering market and totally backs are argument that it is no longer feasible for chefs to just stand behind the stove. They must reach out to everyone to make food better for the next generation. It’s great to have them as part of our team and I am especially grateful to Mark Anderson, Alan Russell and Allister Richards, Gather & Gather’s managing director, for making this happen.”
FOTE 2017 will take place in Galway, Ireland from 9-10 October. More information is available via the FOTE website: https://foodontheedge.ie/what-is-fote/.