No Free Dinners

There is no such thing as a free dinner. If the Minister for Agriculture and the chief of An Bord Bia, the food board, invite you over to view the fantastic new Deli Futures concept, which they have devised to help Irish artisan producers to market their goods, it all sounds like a good idea. Dozens of us turned up, the wine flowed, we chatted and ogled the wondrous food products that Ireland's artisans are making with such brilliance.

But, there was a price. The price was the pain of having to sit through an after-dinner speech by Derek Davis, which fused the bucolic brilliance and originality of a Jury's cabaret turn with the sort of sectarian tripe the late James Young was flogging to death 25 years ago. Seriously not funny, especially from a man who is a good and professional broadcaster.

But, before the pain, we were able to admire the Deli Futures concept, which seeks to make connections between the artisans and the store buyers. HIP is the acronym, which this time out means Highly Individual Products, and Bord Bia are behind it because this sector is the most dynamic in the food marketplace, and has the chance to grow by 40% in the next few years. The folk in Bord Bia are pretty hip themselves ­ except for their Derek Davis fetish ­ and Ireland's artisans are fortunate to have their support.

www.bordbia.ie