National Craft Fair

I went to the National Craft Fair at the RDS and got a lot of gluten free food!




A friend suggested going to the National Craft Fair this weekend. I figured, 'Why not?' It's a nice way to spend an afternoon and I would get to see lots of gluten free brands in the Food Emporium.

So, we spent the first hour wandering around all of the arts area before finally making our way to the Food Emporium.

The first gluten free food I spotted was A Piece of Cake. They had these few specimens on display. It was very busy so we didn't get the chance to ask any questions. 

In the Good Food Ireland area we wandered a little looking at all the stalls. There was so much to see!

We found this amazing oil by Harnett's. There was a deal that we could have three for €10 so I picked Lemon & Ginger, Basil, and Chilli & Garlic. The girl serving assured us it was all gluten free because their products are oil. Ideal for spicing up a gluten free dish! 

Our next stop was Pure foods. The man in the picture was super busy. His younger assistant was greeting people and explaining that the products are gluten and wheat free. We bought carrot cake. We devoured it before I could snap a picture. It was slightly on the dry side but I used to have carrot cake as birthday bake so I was just happy to be having it again!

We moved on to the Foods of Athenry. Yes we did a weird loop thing around the Food Emporium but that's beside the point. I completely stopped here. They had mince pies, Christmas pudding, cookies, meusli.. I was nearly drooling in front of the guy. I'm pretty sure the girl and guy were laughing at my dumb struck delight. 

 

When I picked myself off the floor, and we bought cookies, we moved on to find Carrick Cottage Dips. They even provided gluten free stick things to test from their tester pots. Again, they had a great special offer and we bought three dips. The dips are good for a year because they are dry rubs. You mix them with natural yoghurt or mayonnaise, any sort of base, to make the actual dip. Or, you can use it as a dry rub or spice in cooking. 

We didn't get a chance to ask Jane Russell about their sausages because they had a huge number of people firing questions at them, BUT we spied on their board that they have certain sausages that are gluten free. Yay for sausages!

 

I took this picture thinking that they would be unaware but the girl here gave me the biggest smile and I just can't help but share it. I have to say, she was lovely and a great ambassador for Delicious. I've seen these cakes in shops but I've never actually tried one. However, we bought Christmas cake and mince pies. She said they'll last until Christmas so fingers crossed they'll last in our presses that long :-P. I've never liked Christmas cake or mince pies; they always made me feel ill, and now I know why, but I tasted theirs and it was lovely. I'll report back at Christmas!

 

Crisps were a huge weakness for me. They stock Keogh's crisps in the library in Maynooth so I've had them before. They had buckets of the flavours on the counter, so, dutifully, we began tasting. They had special on (3 bags of crisps for €5 and a bag of potatoes for free) so, like any good foodies, we took up the offer.

Here we have it, our haul. We had a lovely day at the National Craft Fair. If you've a free afternoon tomorrow (8th December), I'd recommend going out for a wander. Let me know how you get on and what you think by commenting below or on twitter.