Competition: Potato.ie

August 8, 2011 in Competitions

To help spread the word about their new website, Potato.ie, Bord Bia has given us two vouchers for one night’s B&B for two people in a Bewley’s Hotel of the winner’s choice! Keep reading for details of how to enter.

Potato.ie is a new consumer website which has been launched by the Irish Potato Federation in association with Bord Bia. Both organisations are deeply committed to increasing Irish consumer awareness and knowledge of the benefits of potato consumption. As well as nutritional information, Bord Bia has provided a great number of easy-to-prepare convenient recipes, suitable for every occasion and lifestyle.

Potato.ie primarily seeks to impress upon people the important role potatoes play in the health and nutrition of the Irish nation as its favourite source of energy. Liam Glennon, President of the Irish Potato Federation, said, “Fresh potatoes are a great natural food product that can provide people, and particularly kids, with the energy and sustenance they need to get them through highly active daily schedules and lifestyles. Potatoes can provide most of the energy, dietary fibre, potassium and vitamin C the body needs for demanding activities such as sports. Furthermore, they contain virtually no fat, and significantly less fat than either pasta or rice.”

Lorcan Bourke from Bord Bia said, “The potato represents Ireland’s ‘Feel Good Food’ and remains deeply engrained in the Irish psyche, both within Ireland and amongst the Irish diaspora abroad. If a single crop has influenced a nation more in any country throughout the world, it would be hard to find. Many people want to be more adventurous in their use of potatoes and the website allows for this. This new website is communicating a number of key messages about potatoes – that they are tasty, healthy, convenient and that they represent value for money.”

Also at the launch of Potato.ie was food writer and celebrity TV home cook Donal Skehan, who said, “Potato.ie will allow people to explore new and exciting ways to cook potatoes for everyday meals. It will also help consumers fill gaps in their knowledge around potato consumption in areas such as variety, suitability, choices in store and tips on how to cook them when they get home.”

Each year in Ireland, household spend on potatoes amounts to c.€150 million, making potatoes by far the most important vegetable sold in retailers – this figure excludes sales made out-of-home through the catering industry and is testimony that they are a key staple food source of the population. [Source: Kantar Worldpanel]

Ireland’s total production area for potatoes in 2010 was over 11,200 hectares. Rooster and Kerrs Pink account for 57% of the area grown, while other main crop varieties account as follows: Golden Wonder (6%), Record (7%) and Cultra (2%). The second early variety, Queen, is the most popular early potato and accounts for 11% of the total production area. The first early varieties of Home Guard and Premier only account for 1% each.

Counties Meath, Dublin, Louth, Donegal and Cork are the largest potato-growing counties, while counties of secondary importance include Carlow, Kilkenny, Offaly and Kildare. Early production is focused on Wexford, Cork, Dublin and Louth.

Other features of Potato.ie include ‘recipe of the month’, cooking demonstration videos, ‘send in your favourite potato recipes’, competitions, potato education, ‘fun stuff for kids’ and a directory of the members of the Irish Potato Federation. The website also provides useful facts and figures on the contribution of the industry to the Irish economy.

And now for the best part! For a chance to win one of the two Bewley’s Hotel voucher, just leave a comment before 6:00 p.m. on Friday, 12 August, with the answer to this question:

What new season regal variety of potato is now in season?
A. Queen’s
B. Kerr’s Pink

Two winners will be randomly chosen and notified via email. Good luck, and be sure to check out Potato.ie!