Fermanagh County Show Foodhall stands and delivers top quality fayre

Although open to the public from earlier in the day, drawing huge crowds all afternoon and evening, the Food Hall was officially opened at 6.30pm on Tuesday, August 2 with a short ceremony.

Chairman of Fermanagh County Show Ann Orr welcomed those in attendance before announcing the winners of the best stands.

Alan Robinson of Teemore Engineering who won the Best Outdoor Stand

The winner of the ‘Best Indoor Stand’ was Desmond Wagstaff of The Wood Bowl, while taking first place for ‘Best Outdoor Stand’ was Teemore Engineering. Walmsley Tractors were second.

Desmond Wagstaff of 'The Wood Bowl' Garvary, Enniskillen won the Best Indoor Stand.

Head chef at the Killyhevlin Hotel Trevor Shannon announced the winner of the ‘Best Stand in the Food Hall’. Evie Morrison of Evangeline’s Cakes and Bakes was awarded first place with her baking business and second place went to Craic Foods, a speciality food store.

Youngest winner

Evie Morrison of Evangeline's Cakes and Bakes, Maguiresbridge won the Best Stand in the Food Hall.

At 15, Evie is the youngest winner of the ‘Best Stand in the Food Hall’ accolade in the Fermanagh County Show’s history.

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter, Evie was delighted to win the award commenting that she “couldn’t believe it”.

“I wasn’t expecting it at all,” she said, noting that it was her first year exhibiting and selling her cakes and traybakes at the Show.

Evie started her home baking business in 2020, during one of the lockdowns.

“I started off making cakes for family and friends in 2020,” she told this newspaper, explaining that she took inspiration from YouTube videos for her bakes.

“Then I went to a community market [ReLove Community Market, Enniskillen] in July [this year] where I sold some traybakes and then I decided to come to the Show,” she said, noting that winning the ‘Best Stand in the Food Hall’ award is very encouraging for her business.

Following the award announcements, Chair of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Councillor Barry McElduff gave a short speech, commenting that he was “really impressed with the event” and acknowledged how it is a “real festival of agriculture” and of “rural Fermanagh”.

Chef Glen Wheeler giving a cookery demonstration

Prior to the short opening ceremony and awards announcements, local chef Glen Wheeler, who owns Enniskillen restaurant 28 at the Hollow with his wife Zara, gave a cookery demonstration of fine cuisine. Later, the tent was again infused with delicious smells as Marty McAdam, chef and owner of Enniskillen eateries The Street Kitchen and Paget Lane showed his cookery skills to a captive audience.

The demonstrations concluded with Jayne Paget of Erin Grove Preserves and The Croft Farm Shop, who also had a stall within the Food Hall.

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter, Jayne was happy to be back at the County Show.

She said: “It’s really good, it’s great to have everything back to normal and the weather has been good so it’s all great.”

Although Jayne has had stands at previous Fermanagh County Shows with her business Erin Grove Preserves, this is the first year her and her team have brought a stand for their new venture The Croft Farm Shop.

“We’ve just been trialling this year to see how it will go but so far it’s been very popular. It’s good to have both together as well,” she said.

Steven Gunn and Josh Boyd from Boatyard Distillery

Among the stands located in the Food Hall there was great variety ranging from alcohol from the Boatyard Distillery, baked goods from Enniskillen-based bakery Lydia and butchery from O’Doherty’s, who allowed visitors to sample their famous black bacon.

The delicious smells emanating from the Food Hall tent ensured that it was a must-visit spot for many, if not all, County Show attendees.