We caught up with Claire Williams, one of Taste Tramore’s co-founders, to hear more about the group’s formation and their future plans.
Taste Tramore is a newly-formed collective of independent restaurants and food suppliers based in Tramore, Co. Waterford. Thanks to Taste Tramore, there is a quiet foodie revolution rumbling in Waterford’s best-known seaside town.
Independent restaurants, cafes, and food suppliers have banded together to form the initiative – and they are determined to show the culinary world that Tramore has so much more to offer than the traditional fish and chips.
The birth of Taste Tramore
Claire Williams, the co-founder and social media manager of Taste Tramore, looks back fondly on the inaugural meeting of the collective in June 2019. “There were about eight-nine businesses at the first meeting, and we came away from it thinking we really might have something here.
“We realised that even though we were competitors in a sense, we were stronger together. We had people there from all different backgrounds with a variety of skills to share. Our mission was to co-promote our businesses, and to promote Tramore as a foodie destination.”
It is, of course, much easier to promote a product of high quality – and quality food is something Tramore has no shortage of. From the healthy offerings of Bia & Brew and Unbeetable Food, to the exotic delights of Mezze and The Reckless Chef, to the indulgent pizzas of Ranch and The Shack, to the famous sourdough products of the Seagull bakery and the delectable locally-made coffee from Trá Coffee Roasters – there is truly something for everyone under the Taste Tramore umbrella.
Taste Tramore’s eco-focus
With environmental issues more present than ever in our international consciousness, Tramore is currently working towards the title of Ireland’s first disposable-cup-free town. Taste Tramore is spearheading this initiative, in partnership with Waterford Council.
Dublin-based start-up 2GoCup are the suppliers of the sleek reusable cups now spotted throughout cafes and restaurants in Tramore. These cups are purchased with a €1 deposit and can be re-used by the customer up to 1000 times, or returned to any of the cafes in the network with deposit refunded. According to Claire, feedback from both businesses and customers has been extremely positive.
In October 2019, Taste Tramore hosted an Eco Taste Trail. It highlighted sustainable, minimal-waste practices in local restaurants through offering a selection of ‘eco-dishes’ to customers for the minimal cost of €3.
Upcoming Taste Tramore events
Taste Tramore also has a full calendar of tasty events planned for 2020, which aim to firmly solidify their hometown as a spot on the Irish foodie map. One such plan is a sea-themed food festival in September. This festival will showcase the most delicious offerings of Taste Tramore’s members, while also celebrating the natural resources Tramore has on offer.
While the full programme has yet to be revealed, Claire did exclusively reveal that it will involve seaweed baths and a group sea swim…
To find out more about the Taste Tramore initiative, or to get planning a tasty stop on your Irish road-trip, follow Taste Tramore on Instagram or Facebook. You can thank us later!
