HappyChef Daily · Today's restaurant news
A Spiddal Café Owner Now Leads Ireland's Restaurant Owners
- Ireland
- Malta
In Short
- Eimear Killian of Builín Blasta in Spiddal is the new president of the Restaurants Association of Ireland.
- Spiddal holds its first food festival over the October bank holiday weekend, from 23 to 26 October.
- Tourism Ireland held about 500 trade meetings for eleven Irish firms at a travel show in Rimini.
- Bord Bia puts almost €1 million into autumn beef promotion in the UK and Europe.
- Truck protests in southern Italy left fresh food shelves almost bare at a Mosta supermarket.
- The Planning Authority removed illegal paving in front of a Sliema seafront restaurant.
Today the west of Ireland had a good day. A café owner from Spiddal now speaks for 2,500 food-led businesses, and her village is getting ready for its first food weekend.
In Malta, two stories touch the daily work of every kitchen and terrace: fresh food from Italy that did not arrive, and a clear signal about using public land.
A Connemara Café Owner Becomes RAI President
Eimear Killian runs Builín Blasta Café and Retail in Spiddal. She is now president of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, the first one from Galway and the Gaeltacht.
She takes over from Seán Collender, who worked on bringing back the 9% VAT rate for food-led businesses. The association has about 2,500 members: restaurants, cafés, gastropubs and more.
At the same dinner, tourism minister Peter Burke received the 2026 Mike Butt Award. It is named after the man who opened Ireland's first Indian restaurant, the Golden Orient, in 1956.
Sources: Hospitality Ireland
Spiddal Plans Its First Food Weekend
The first Cois Fharraige food festival runs from Friday 23 to Monday 26 October. Local cafés and restaurants such as Sáile, Café Pota and Builín Blasta are part of the team behind it.
There is a market, workshops on seaweed and wild food, a bus tour from Galway with tastings, and a three-course feast on Sunday evening. Some events are already sold out.
Sources: Tuairisc.ie
Irish Tourism Firms Meet Italian Buyers In Rimini
Tourism Ireland took eleven Irish companies to TTG Travel Experience in Rimini, a big trade show for the travel business in Italy. The stand had around 500 meetings with tour operators, agents and travel media.
The pitch was city breaks in autumn and winter to Dublin, Cork, Galway and Belfast, plus Halloween. The aim is to get Irish products into Italian programmes for 2027 and later.
Sources: Hotel & Restaurant Times
Bord Bia Spends Almost €1 Million On Beef Abroad
Bord Bia is running beef campaigns this autumn in the UK, Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands. Steak leads in most markets, stewing cuts in the Netherlands.
At the SIAL food fair in Paris, 14 Irish food companies are on the stand. Farmers on the trip also meet French chefs who promote Irish beef.
Sources: Hospitality Ireland
Fresh Food From Italy Fails To Arrive In Malta
On Tuesday afternoon, the Eurospin shop in Mosta had almost no fresh produce, meat or dairy. A staff member said deliveries did not come because of strikes in Italy over high diesel prices.
Truck drivers, farmers and fishermen are protesting in southern Italy and Sicily. Lidl Malta said its supply was fine, while Wellbee's said it cannot promise anything for the coming weeks.
Malta buys a lot of fresh food from Italy. If you rely on Italian suppliers, it is a good week to check your next deliveries.
Sources: The Malta Independent
Sliema Seafront Terrace Loses Its Paving
Early on Tuesday, Planning Authority staff started to remove paving laid on public land in front of the Piccolo Padre restaurant in Sliema. Tables and chairs had been placed there on part of the pavement and road.
The works had no permit. A tent came down on 6 October, but the rest stayed. The Lands Authority had already given the owner 30 days to leave the public land.
The message for other places is clear: a terrace on public land needs the permit first.
Sources: Illum
What Does This Mean For Your Restaurant?
For Irish owners, a president who runs a small café in the Gaeltacht may bring the concerns of rural and family businesses closer to the table. For Maltese owners, this week is a reminder to keep a backup supplier and to keep your outdoor permits in order.
Sources
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