Farm to fork delights at Glenbrook Farm

Acollaboration of minds and passions has led to the creation of a special new event that will see a food producer and food preparer join forces for a unique culinary experience in Cork.

While farmers and chefs have always collaborated, this latest event will see such a collaboration brought to a whole new level.

Maris Urbanovics, acclaimed head chef of The Cove Restaurant at Fota Island Resort, is set to cook food produced by Peter Twomey of Glenbrook Farm and serve it up in a barnyard on Glenbrook Farm.

To call this farm to fork is an understatement. This is growing, preparing, cooking, presenting and dining, all in one fell swoop.

Peter Twomey of Glenbrook Farm is a third-generation farmer living with his wife, Kate, and children, 15 minutes north of Cork city.

I recently visited the farm. On the day I arrived, the sky was a cloudless canvas of blue and green hills tumbled for miles around.

Although it felt remote, their land is still within the confines of Cork city, which is perfect for throwing a foodie event.

Their land is a dairy farm and has always had cows but recently they incorporated free-range pigs and are now also producing honey.

“It’s rare to find free-range pigs,” Kate explained to me. “We see cows everywhere across our countryside, but where are all the pigs? We eat pork, sausages, rashers, bacon — so where does it all come from?”

Kate’s statement hit home. For a country that prides itself on its bacon and cabbage, we never see pigs roaming our farmlands the same way we see cows. Glenbrook Farm is changing that.

Peter and Kate showed me their mother pig with her piglets. The sow’s snout was covered in mud and grass, which is great, Peter explained, as it’s what you want to see. They’re outside eating grass doing what they’re meant to be doing. They certainly seemed in a state of bliss, rolling around the damp, soft and shaded sod.

Maris is a chef with the flair of an artist and is extremely considered about where his produce comes from.

Over time he has removed all large-scale meat producers and now works solely with local, smaller-scale productions. Maris calls his local suppliers his “Champions” and he is their biggest advocate.

He is a truly passionate creator of dishes and only the finest local ingredients will do.

Maris was holding a bouquet of what seemed like gorgeous flowers but on closer inspection was actually an edible bunch of leaves grown from the allotment rented by Rooftop Farm who will provide all the veggies for the event.

A guided tour of the farm was given and the vegetables were shooting out of the ground like wild with the white wings of butterflies fluttering in and out of the alternating rows of kale and purple broccoli, courgettes and celery.

Apparently, because cows have been using the land for so many years, the soil is richly fertile so the produce is growing faster than normal, and the method of farming seemed to be favourable for biodiversity given the volume of pollinators on display.

The vegetable patch felt perfectly in line with the mantra of the event. Great produce, grown locally, prepared exquisitely.

Maris whizzed around excitedly exclaiming how he could re-design the menu all over again with the abundance of wonderful ingredients at his disposal.

Maris and the Twomeys seem to be a match made in heaven, as they, seemingly in lockstep unison, explained the concept behind their event.

They very clearly have the same vision in mind and equally share the same passion.

Maris has designed a six-course menu that celebrates his Champion producers of Cork, with pork from Glenbrook Farm, as well as Rossmore Oysters.

A broad range of ages has already bought tickets so anyone with an interest in high-quality food production and cuisine will enjoy this event.

Parking will be available on the night, but also taxis seem appropriate given the short distance if you’re traveling from the city. Wines are being supplied by Le Caveau.

40 guests will be treated to Maris’s culinary creations as they are seated at long dining tables with interaction from Peter who will explain his farming ethos and the processes behind the rearing of his pigs.

They seem to have struck an interesting partnership and I can envisage more events like this occurring down the line.

The Glenbrook Farm pop-up restaurant will take place on Saturday and Sunday, September 16 and 17.

All ticket information can be found on@glenbrookfarmcork.

People can also visit Glenbrook Farm to buy pork boxes and various products direct from the farm shop.