Fermanagh UK’s ‘best kept foodie secret’, says Times

The Times newspaper has named Co Fermanagh as the UK’s ‘best kept foodie secret’.

Author Stephen Emms spoke with Enniskillen Taste Experience food tour manager Mark Edwards to hear about the culinary treats the county has to offer.

“The whole ethos for me is to put our county on the map,” Edwards says.

“We sit perfectly, geographically, between Belfast and Dublin. I’m very proud to be from here and just want to showcase everything.”

Two well-known chefs from Enniskillen who made appearances on the Great British Menu, Marty McAdam from the Street Kitchen and Glen Wheeler from 28 at the Hollow, also featured in the glowing appraisal of Fermanagh as an underrated food hotspot.

“On the Saturday lunchtime tour Edwards leads 24 people, all clutching branded jute bags, on a four-hour stroll around the recently rejuvenated town centre, with its striking new murals of musicians, fishermen and the local-born actor Adrian Dunbar,” the article reads.

“Most surprising is that we meet not one but two chefs who have appeared on BBC2’s notoriously tough Great British Menu, both of whom run successful restaurants here.

“On a cobbled lane below the main thoroughfare Marty McAdam, who was on last year’s series, steers the Street Kitchen, locally famed for its levelled-up brunches, as well as delicious crispy miso and soy-glazed pork baos, and cod and nori tacos.

“Meanwhile, under Blake’s in an arched former Guinness bottling station is the town’s most acclaimed restaurant, 28 at the Hollow, owned by the Great British Menu 2019 contender Glen Wheeler. Its set lunches and dinners are equally alluring.”