By any stretch of the imagination it’s one of those strategies which could go horribly wrong, or might just take off!
But these days it’s all about calculated risk, and this is one of them!
Now, you might be forgiven for wondering what the iPhone and Mac giant is about to next launch on an unsuspecting world? After all, we’ve only recently been informed about iPad, which, I hasten to add, I’ve already ordered!!
Well the answer is nothing! At least not immediately, not that I’m aware of……….
You see, this particular Apple initiative, is an Irish organic food venture, centered in the picturesque hilltop village of Kilrea. It’s the brainchild of restaurant owner Barry Dallat who has just issued a national challenge to get everyone thinking about where their food comes from, and the real cost to the environment.
Perched above the River Bann, where 1200 years earlier marauding Norse Vikings once sailed upstream, his award winning restaurant Arbutus sits just off the square.
Over the last year Barry’s struck up a trading relationship with Culmore Organic farm, less than a mile across the river,
As a result Barry believes he has the lowest carbon footprint of any epicurean establishment in the country, and is offering a personally supervised, weekend cookery course with lunch, to anyone who can better his claim.
Organic beef, milk, cream, potatoes, eggs, honey and of course apples, are all sourced from the farm, and used in his extensive and succulent dishes.
Given the old adage that there’s no such thing as bad publicity, Barry’s hoping he can be disproved.
It’s a very Irish approach to doing business and raising your profile!
Yet, at it’s heart is a genuine conviction to open dialogue across the country with fellow restaurateurs and clients to discover what others are doing and how he can improve his approach.
So, perhaps ultimately, the challenge is to all of us, to engage with the spirit of Barry’s initiative, wherever we live!
What do you think?
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