Organico Bantry

The West Cork run is in its 2nd year and is well on its way to becoming one of the most enjoyable half marathons in Ireland. The route lies along the main road from Glengarriff to Bantry with the sea to the right of the road for nearly the whole way. This is one of the most beautiful routes in Ireland (I enjoy it every day on the way to work!)

This year the run will take place on the 6th of May and there will be three different events - a half marathon, a 10 k walk and a ‘Kids dash’. Last year Organic entered a team and everyone completed in very good time - and we were all delighted with the tee shirts and mugs that we got to take home as momentos.

For more information on the route or to sign up click here

Organico Cafe is delighted to be involved with the West Cork Literary Festival again this year. the Cafe will be the venue for the Literary Club, which will offer organic food and wine, as well as music, games and a literary quiz. We will open from 6pm - 9pm Monday to Thursday.
The West Cork Literary Festival is a festival for writers and readers alike and attracts at least 150 people to Bantry every year. The programme is very varied - the 2007 workshops range from song writing to media, poetry, and sportswriting - and this year Gavin Kostick of the Fishamble Theater Company is to tutor a playwriting Workshop. Elenaor McEvoy is coming to give the Songwriting Workshop as well as a live performance.
From what we have seen in Organico Cafe the Festival is throughly enjoyed by all the attendees. Many of those who are accepted for publication in the Fish Anthology come and of course the winner (of the €10,000 prize) is sure to attend. The comapartively small numbers mean the Festival creates an intimate and friendly atmosphere, and the Workshop attendees get a lot of hands on attention from the leaders.

For more information on the programme for 2007 click here

Organic food is set to become one of the beggest food trends in Europe in this century, according to an article published in the Sunday Business Post (September 2005 By Suzanne Mitchell). She points out that Organic Baby Food now accounts for almost half of all baby food bought worldwide ( a figure which does not reflect how many parents feed their babies organically because many parents use organic ingredients to make their own babyfood). Furthermore, Mitchell points out that in Itlay local authorities are oblidged to include organic and quality products on their school menus. In the Uk over the last year many schools are trying to use organic suppliers in an attempt to clean up their image after Jaime Oliver lambasted them in his TV programme.

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In Ireland, the organic sector is growing by 10% per year (Mitchell got these stats a year ago - I think it has sped up since then.) Apparently this represent only 1% of the entire Irish food industry - worth an estimated 38 million in 2003. However if we follow European treads then it will be worth 4 times that by the end of this year.

Mitchell’s article is not entirely complimentary to the ‘organic philosophy’. She quotes many sources that question whether organic agriculture is better than conventional agriculture, and whether the resulting foods are better for consumers. She quotes the British Food Commission (2000) as saying:

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”Hundreds of organic products are coming on to the market, including highly processed jelly sweets, sugar-laden organic cereals, organic chicken burgers and even organic cigarettes.”

In Organico, we clearly do buy into the Organic Philosophy; but we also welcome articles of this sort that encourage consumers to question what they are being fed. Unfortunately many organic products are coming onto the market now that are just as harmful to health, if not to the environment, than non-organic foods. We still have to read labels and choose brands that w believe in, not just brands that shout the loudest through their adverts.

When buying for a Wholefood Shop you carry a weight of responsibility in terms of what you choose to stock, as many customers believe that if a product is on a Wholefood Shop shelf it is going to be beneficial for their health. Also, many of us are in this business because we want to sell positive products, so naturally we select the products we sell for their organic credentials - not just their packaging!

Here is the map for the Bantry Christmas competition. Click to enlarge it. Use it in conjuntion with the clues below (also published in the West Cork People) - it’s a treasure trail for Christmas…

Follow our Christmas Trail in Bantry and discover the secret letters hidden in these chosen shop windows. The lucky winner(s) will get a fabulous prize of a 15” LCD TV!
1) All stylish chicks love this shop!

2) Aladdin’s cave for children

3) The best place to see movies in West Cork!

4) All your I.T. Needs – your business is our business.

5) Where the 3 Wise Men bought their boots.

6) Packed with organic Christmas treats!

7) Let men be men & boys be boys

Find all your favourite books this Christmas

9) The shop for saving the planet!

10) You must be crafty to find this shop

11) What ____ did next…funky & fun gifts!

12) An Aladdin’s Cave for cooks

13) This shop is crammed full of wollens, glass & crystal…
Prize: 15” LCD TV

How to enter: It’s so simple! When you are next shopping in Bantry, have a walk around town and follow the clues to find the 14 shops on our trail. Fill in the names of the shops, and also the letters hidden in the shop windows. Then work out what 2 Christmas Words the letters make. Fill in your name and address and bring your entry to Wisemans’s on Main Street.

Closing Date: All entries must be in by the 22nd of December

Cathy Doyle gave a thoroughly inspiring talk last night on all aspects of women’s health and how to live better, eat better, and feel better about ourselves. Cathy is a Life Coach and specialises in natural approaches to living and healing; her mail aim is to motivate women to take control of their own lives and start embracing life for themselves. The venue was Organico Cafe, and over 25 women of all ages attended and had the oppertunity to ask Cathy personal questions and benefit from her advice on topics ranging from PMT, tiredness, sleeplessness, the menopause, depression, pregnancy and dijestive difficulties.

Cathy talked for over an hour and a half, so it’s impossible to give a comprehensive account here of what she said. She started by reccommending a book by Louise L. Hay, called ‘You Can Heal Your Life’. This is a book which is familliar to many people and is full of inspirational ways of changing our emotional patterns and habits that might be causing us to be unwell. She then reccommended another book by Bernadette Bohane, who is an Irish author and cancer survivor. Bohane’s book ‘The Choice’ tells of her experience and how she approached her condition; and her new bok ‘The Programme’ lays out a comprehensive approach to serious medical difficuties. Both are available from Organico Shop.

More on this talk later!

In Organico Bantry we are constantly trying to find new local suppliers of organic produce. Currently we stock: potatoes from Vincent (certified organcic); eggs and cheese from Gubbeen; Carraig Goats Cheese from Art Verschloot; salad and other veggies from Kristin (certified organic) and from Paul; honey in jars, squares and tubs (still in the comb) from about 5 different sources (all of whom avoid sugar-feeding their bees); soap made with Buttermilk from up on the Beara peninsula; fantastic organic teas from Peppermint Farm (including my personal favourite ‘Splendid Woman’s Tea’), cheese from Durrus Cheese; strawberries and squash from Danny Miles; and lovely berries from George.

We need: more veggies, more cheeses, more berries (they are so good in smoothies!) and more herbs (especially corriander!).

We also stock Glenisk Irish milk, which we use in our Cafe; Glenisk Organic yoghurts; Irish Organic Essential Oils from Atlantic Aromatics; Irish Organic Herbal Tinctures; and a fantastic Sea Calcium from Marigot which is made from seaweed sourced in the Irish Sea. Oh and some Irish wines made from fruit sourced in Ireland (not organic unfortunately) and from wild berries (Wines of the Glen).

As I have said before, local sourcing is hard work; it takes time and patience. But for good food it is the only way to go. What we are trying to be in our own small pond is an outlet for products from people who are serious about what they are growing and producing. We would like to hear from others who are in our position and also from anyone who might want to supply us (with Irish products!).

Promoting local artists and facilitating exhibitions and openings is a significant part of Organico Cafe’s activities. We try to change our exhibitions every month and try to exhibit artists who are local. As a result we always have facinating work on our walls to keep us all aware of the incredible amount of creativity out there. At the moment we have a facinating exhibition featuring Celtic Knotwork by Alan Barry-Davis; humorous prints on Nuns in bizzare situations by Roisin Russel and extrordinary flamboyant flights of fancy by Jackie Ovenden. And to add to the colourfulness of this exhibition Jackie’s daughter has submitted a few delightful watercolours.

Please contact us if you have any queries or would like us to host an exhibition for you.

At Organico we take your health seriously. It’s no secret these days that lifestyle, diet, nutrition and alternative remedies can all help improve your health. We are regularly asked important questions relating to health matters and in order to provide the best possible advice we are constantly updating our training in natural approaches to staying healthy and learning about the best practices in alternative medicine.

All our staff are trained to IAHS standards which have been worked out in consultation with the Irish Medicines Board to ensure that all staff are trained to give customers appropriate advice. Shop manager Liz Ewing and Assistant Manager Tracey Wilson and Hannah Dare are all qualified to I.A.H.S. Diploma level. Liz Ewing also completed a Nutritional qualification and all the staff (Liz, Tracey, Aki, Tim, & Fleur) completed their I.A.H.S. Protocol Training with outstanding results.
We’ve also recently had extensive beauty therapy training from Dr Hauscka. The Dr Hauschka Skin Care range, which is a favourite of stars such as Jennifer Aniston and Madonna is an amazing natural alternative to putting petroleum derivatives on your skin!
Always consult a Qualified Medical Practitioner!

In Organico Cafe we offer a wide selection for people who are coeliac or are trying to avoid Gluten, dairy, wheat, sugar, salt or saturated fats. Our aims are simple: to provide healthy, tasty and interesting food for everyone. We specialise in vegetarian foods because we believe that they are healthier and we are so enjoying cooking with vegetables, sprouts, beans, pulses and cheeses that we are not thinking of changing at this time, though we will keep you posted! Our customers are not all vegetarians but they all seem to love our food, so we must be doing something right!

All our soups are gluten free, dairy free and wheat free. We make our own stocks so we can be sure of this. Our curries and chilies are the same. We make all our own burgers, falafals and sausages, so we can tell you exactly what is in all of them. We use a lot of unusual grains such as Quinoa which is hugely popular as a salad and is also great in chillies. Our salads are all made fresh and on the premesis and with the exception of obvious ones like Bulgar wheat salad or couscous salad are gluten free.

We also offer a delicious gluten free cake made with apples, rice and millet flours, almonds and cinnamon, which is popular with coeliacs and non coeliacs too.
We can also make breads and cakes to order - we have a great receipe for GF chocolate cake and also for chocolate brownies.

In our shop we offer loads of GF pastas, crackers, bars, chocolate, sauces, and cooking ingredients.

More on this topic to follow.

It’s been a great summer for fruit and we’ve had the best of local mixed with some great exotic fruits. Our policy is to try and keep our food miles down and to that end we’ve had some great local berries this year. The highlight for me was the strawberries. You know, the kind of strawberries that make you tingle because they are packed with flavour - the kind you remember from your childhood.

We’ve also had some delicious exotic fruits to satisfy our customers requirements, however we’re trying to promote local in season fruits and vegetables and educate our customers with respect to the seasonality of supply and the impact of flying food all over the world.