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Restaurants fear staff shortage

The Restaurants Association of Ireland said hospitality businesses, particularly restaurants, pubs and bars, face a challenge in getting staff back after Covid restrictions end restaurantstaff

Nearly a third of restaurant and bar staff may have been lost to the sector due to Covid closures, the Restaurants Association of Ireland has estimated.

The sector is potentially facing into a severe crisis of labour shortages and company closures, the Restaurants Association of Ireland has warned.

The association said hospitality businesses, particularly restaurants, pubs and bars, face a challenge in getting staff back after Covid restrictions end.

Chief executive Adrian Cummins said a huge shortage of skilled labour from chefs to waiting staff is looming, with up to 30% of the workforce likely to have been lost to other industries directly because of Covid lockdowns.

Mr Cummins also warned that there are likely to be numerous restaurant companies going out of business if indoor dining fails to resume by early July.

'Thyme' film promotes Mayo

The scenery of Mayo and the Wild Atlantic Way is wowing viewers across Great Britain – in the romantic comedy 'Wild Mountain Thyme', which is being launched by Lionsgate, westporthse0419 on all major premium video-on-demand retailers in Great Britain.

Tourism Ireland worked with the Irish co-producers, Port Pictures, to create a short behind-the-scenes film – in which writer-director John Patrick Shanley and actors Jamie Dornan, Emily Blunt, Christopher Walken and Jon Hamm describe and praise the special locations chosen for filming.

To coincide with the release of Wild Mountain Thyme, the behind-the-scenes film is being shared with Tourism Ireland’s fans and followers on social platforms in Great Britain. Tourism Ireland aims to highlight our stunning scenery, reminding people that the film was shot on location here.

Double Decker Dining

A double-decker bus has been transformed into a restaurant on wheels,. romayo

The Volvo bus has been reborn as Romayo’s Roadster – a fully-fitted foodie venue which took the family-run chain 12 weeks to convert at a cost of €200,000.

Romayo’s operations director, Dario Macari, said: “When the pandemic hit, opening up new outlets became very difficult because construction activity was halted.

“So we thought we would create an American-style drive-in and treat it as a destination so people could escape their homes. It is still a public service vehicle – but in a very different way.” The roadster, believed to be the largest mobile food operation in Ireland, officially launched on bank holiday Monday and is parked off junction eight of the N11 near Pluck’s in Kilmacanogue, Co Wicklow.

Galway Arts Fest postponed

The Galway Arts Festival has been put back to September, as a result of the ongoing public health restrictions. festival0521

Organisers say the 2021 Festival will take place between 28 August and 18 September.

Concerts due to take place at the Festival Big Top in July have been rescheduled to 2022.

It is the second time that gigs by acts including The Flaming Lips, Jon Hopkins and Pixies have been postponed.They had initially been due to take place last summer.Tickets for all shows will remain valid.

A hybrid programme of live and online events will take place as part of this year’s festival, with details to be announced in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Galway's time as European Capital of Culture formally concludes today, marking the end of a difficult and, at times, controversial project.

Tulfarris Food Truck

A silver vintage Airstream food trailer is driving appetites at Tulfarris Hotel and Golf Resort on the shores of the Blessington Lakes. Due to Covid-19 restrictions the Wicklow hotel h foodvan as not been able to open its restaurants and bars but has come up with a sleek dining solution in the form of a 1970’s, aircraft grade, ‘Tulfarris Silverstream Food Trailer’.

The vintage truck will be on site daily from 2-9.00pm and will serve hungry golfers, walkers, and day trippers. The ‘grab and go’ menu options include dishes such as the Tulfarris famous chicken wings, gourmet beef burgers, the O’Neil’s famous pork and leek hot dog and the super spicy Vietnamese ‘Banh Mi’ Baguette. The menu also includes rustic ‘skin on fries’, squid and haddock goujons, pizza slices and vegetarian and vegan delights and hearty salads.