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Manning’s Emporium Food Tours

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Manning’s Emporium Food Tours brings you to the very heart of West Cork’s foodie culture with its absorbing day tours

If you love the local food you’re tasting along the Wild Atlantic Way, take a Manning’s Emporium foodie tour and you’ll discover how the spirit of West Cork infuses the flavours on your plate.

Each of our exclusive tours gives a distinct flavour, not just of the region’s deservedly famous artisan cheeses, hams and other delicacies, but of the people who make them, and the places that inspire them.

Manning’s Emporium has a reputation as one of the best places to eat in West Cork. Now its guides will take you into the heart of West Cork’s foodie scene to meet our passionate producers, and to explore the landscapes in which they work.

This is the perfect way to get a taste for artisan produce, and to learn more about the people, places and seascapes that give West Cork food its unique character.

All Manning’s Emporium food tours must be booked in advance.

Location:Ballylickey, Bantry, Co. Cork [N71 - Bantry to Glengarriff Road]
Opening Hours:Daily, 9am-7pm
Winter Hours:Closed Mondays
Tel:00 353 (0)27 50456
Email:[email protected]
Website:http://www.manningsemporium.ie
Wheelchair accessible?Access to undercover area, however no bathroom facilities.
Wi-Fi Available?Yes
Credit Cards:Yes
Special Dietary Requirements?Vegetarian, options available. Wide variety of gluten-free speciality items.
TripAdvisor Reviews: Yes
Facebook:Yes
Twitter:@emporiummanning

Durrus Cheese

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Durrus Cheese has been made in the upland valley of Coomkeen since the late seventies. It all started as an experiment in cheese-making for the family in the farmhouse kitchen.

This proved to be a lifestyle choice and soon Jeffa Gill was producing the now well-known cheese which is sold all across Ireland and into the UK and the USA.

Durrus is a semi-soft cheese with a natural washed rind, which takes the name of the nearby Durrus village. Having started the business using milk from her own small herd of cows Jeffa eventually began working with milk from two top quality local herds and has developed this distinctive range of cheeses from cows grazing on nearby pastures, some of which border Dunmanus Bay with its dramatic landscape and salt drenched land.

Jeffa and her team in Coomkeen currently produce four award-winning cheeses. The original standard in large and small wheels, our smallest the Durrus Óg and the Dunmanus, a large wheel, matured for at least 6 months with a firmer texture.

Durrus Cheese is well known for being one of the original raw milk Irish farmhouse cheeses. We now make pasteurised versions throughout the year and our raw milk cheeses are made in the summer months when the cows are on pasture.

The Coomkeen Loop walk is a lovely way to explore the Sheep’s Head Way walking trail and it passes the Durrus farm.

Glenilen Farm

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When Valerie Kingston began bringing cheesecakes to sell at Bantry market in 1997, she found that people just loved the rich tasty milk produced on Glenilen farm in Drimoleague.

Today, Alan and Valerie’s cheesecakes, yoghurts and desserts have gained a reputation across Ireland and beyond, and the family farm is a hive of activity.

But while the business has grown, the cows continue to lead a blissful life by the Ilen River, and Valerie continues to work on developing mouth-watering recipes, thoroughly taste-tested by the Kingston family!

Glenilen Farm Visits

OPTION 1: GUIDED – ADULT GROUPS
1 hour guided tour, by Alan or Valerie Kingston or a member of Glenilen Farm staff.
• Observe production from viewing corridor.
• Brief history of Glenilen Farm.
• Visit farmyard; hens, calves, solar panels, milking parlour.

How much does it Cost?
€50 group rate for groups of 1-10 persons. For groups of more that 10 persons the charge is €5 p.p.
Rate includes a free jar of Glenilen Farm yoghurt.

OPTION 2: GUIDED – SCHOOL/UNIVERSITY TOURS
1.5 hour guided tour, by Alan or Valerie Kingston or a member of Glenilen Farm staff.
• Observe production from viewing corridor.
• Brief history of Glenilen Farm.
• Visit farmyard; hens, calves, solar panels, milking parlour.

How much does it Cost?
€3 p.p. up to a maximum of 50 students.Group split into two with groups over 30.
Rate includes a free jar of Glenilen Farm yoghurt.

What should we bring?
All visitors should come prepared for the Irish elements and wear wellies if possible.
Bring a raincoat, and/or sunscreen hat if necessary.

Email us on [email protected] or phone +353 (0)28-31179 to make a booking.
Bookings are by appointment only. Tours run each Monday morning at 10am, subject to availability.

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This project has been supported by Cork County Council & the LEADER programme under the Rural Development Programmes 2007-13 and 2017-2021.