BIM Young Chef Ambassadors begin their own Taste the Atlantic Seafood Journey

Burren Smokehouse to mentor young Dublin Chef

Following the recent announcement of five young chefs being appointed to the Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) Taste the Atlantic ambassador programme, each of the chefs have now been paired with a knowledgeable seafood producer along the Taste the Atlantic trail.  The producers have agreed to mentor their young chef and teach them everything they know about Ireland’s quality seafood.

Andrew Zeppa is from Dublin and has been working at the Yacht Pub and Upper Deck Restaurant in Clontarf for several years. The Burren Smokehouse, world renowned for their amazing smoked seafood have agreed to be his mentor over the coming month.  The Burren smokehouse, also hosts a visitor attraction on the Taste the Atlantic route called the ‘Irish Salmon Experience’.

Andrew’s challenge now is to learn as much as he can about Ireland’s premium seafood offering and create a range of dishes to showcase what he has discovered on his journey.  Andrew, along with the four other chefs, will then present their menu ideas to a panel of seafood experts, including Michelin starred Chef JP McMahon, for their feedback.  The programme aims to promote the wealth of seafood available along the Wild Atlantic Way and inspire chefs to include more of it on their menus so that visitors can ‘Taste the Atlantic’ on their plate.

BIM’s Taste the Atlantic Ambassador Programme is an exciting initiative created by Bord Iascaigh Mhara in partnership with Chef Network to drive awareness of the provenance of Irish seafood among young and aspiring chefs. All of the Ambassadors will receive one-to-one mentoring with one of Ireland’s leading seafood producers along the Wild Atlantic Way.

Taste the Atlantic, A Seafood Journey! was developed by BIM in partnership with Fáilte Ireland and the trail, sweeping from Malin Head, Co. Donegal to Kinsale, Co. Cork, showcases the incredible range of seafood producers and visitor attractions along the Wild Atlantic Way to visitors. This initiative is supported by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.