Taste of Kildare acknowledges the dedication of the county’s creators

Ballymore, founded in Kildare in 1982, is deeply connected to the county. That's why we are proud to sponsor this year’s Taste of Kildare festival – a showcase of culinary expertise from across the region.

Taking place over the weekend of 20^th to 22^nd September, Taste of Kildare promises to be the most diverse and immersive experience yet, so in the weeks leading up to the event, we’ll be hearing from some of the key voices shaping this remarkable festival. 

Today that voice is chef, baker and Author Graham Herterich, aka The Cupcake Bloke. Graham shares an unbreakable bond with Kildare having been the last official baby to be born in Athy hospital. Here he tells us about his extraordinary career, and why being at The Taste of Kildare feels like a homecoming

“Without the support of Ballymore this wonderful festival couldn’t take place” 

I cannot wait to come home to Kildare and soak up the wonderful atmosphere of the festival; it always feels nostalgic as I lived in Athy, Kildare until I was eighteen, so my entire childhood is built on memories of being here.

We lived on Duke Street and my family owned and ran the butchers. It’s a place like no other and as soon as I see the flat landscape of Kildare approaching when I’m heading over on the train from Dublin, I know I’m home. 

It’s wonderful having such a big company like Ballymore supporting the event and in turn, the Irish culinary food scene. We’re quite a small and tight community and sponsorship from Ballymore means we can get out there in a different space and connect with our peers and customers, bringing our food and produce to new people. I’m incredibly grateful to Ballymore for this - and genuinely warmed by their connection to Kildare and how they are so pro-actively using their success to support the town they come from so that businesses like mine can experience the magic of the festival. I think it speaks volumes that they choose to invest their time and money to really make a difference to the people of Kildare in creating experiences like this. It shows their commitment to community and really embeds them into the identity of Kildare. 

 A celebration of Irish produce

This will be the second time I’ve been to the festival, the first was a few years ago, and speaking to Curator Avril Bannerton who I’ve known and worked with many times over the years, this one is bigger and fuller than ever. It also aligns wonderfully with the launch of my second book ‘Cook’ which is a celebration of traditional Irish recipes that convey my childhood, recreated with my own modern twist.

The book is a bit of a love-note to Kildare - it features maps where I pinpoint the places reminiscent of my childhood throughout the town - the butchers where I grew up - places that have triggered memories and inspired new recipes - I really am a Kildare boy through and through, the book is quite literally the taste of Kildare! 

That ‘twist’ optimises my culinary style - I’m a trained classical chef and my career has seen many twist and turns taking me down the Michelin Star restaurant route, product development and a dabble with Chain cafe’s before crystallising my dream of owning my own retail store "The Bakery" in Rialto which I opened in 2018. I’ve now dropped the wholesale of the business to concentrate on creating flavoursome, fun and quality bakes, working with my husband Daithí and my brother Pappy. 

Supporting independent Irish producers as well as realising my own passion of creating modern day versions of the classics is now my full time job and passion. It’s fast - busy - and wonderful. The bakery specialises in sweet creations - retro favourites such as the bourbon biscuit, but with a caramel and white chocolate spin! We also do a great selection of drinks and sandwiches and we sell locally sourced produce. I’m looking forward to bringing these and more to the festival and I’m hosting a couple of demos too which will be great fun. 

The first is an afternoon tea collaboration with Newbridge Silverware which will feature recipes from both of my books - my first book, ‘Bake’ is focused on traditional sweet treats, and as I mentioned, my new book ‘Cook’ features traditional savoury meals as I realised I had a lot more food memories from my childhood that I wanted to share. I’ll be doing a book signing on the Saturday afternoon which is a lovely chance to chat to people and have the craic. 

I’m really looking forward to seeing Melissa McCabe who is a fantastic chef, Derry Clarke and Jordan Bailey at the festival as well as many more. I’ll also be getting stuck in with a kids masterclass on the Sunday so it’s going to be a great weekend. 

Thanks to Ballymore we get to experience all that our region has to offer, and that’s the very best of Irish food and drink there is. Events such as this really help to put Kildare and the surrounding areas on the map, and like the founders of Ballymore who also reign from Kildare, this makes me incredibly proud.