This is showcase week for Irish produce, a chance for consumers to support the best of home-grown food as part of the Feile Bia celebration, which got under way yesterday.
On this occasion, at least, there is to be a meeting of minds between the food producers and those who serve it up in an ever-increasing number of restaurants.
A pact has been agreed. The restaurateurs will strive to source Irish produce, meat in particular, while the producers will play their part in complying with the restaurants' expectations.
There were some interesting insights recently at the southern launch of Feile Bia, which is sponsored principally by An Bord Bia. Mr Tim O'Leary, who farms at Carrigrohane, near Cork city, is chairman of the Cork branch of the Irish Farmers' Association. He said that since joining the EU, Irish farmers have tended to lose sight of the consumer. Instead, they have become bound up in paperwork, reform of the Common Agricultural Policy and milk quotas.
To find proof of this, he said, stroll along the supermarket aisles and look at the amount of foreign foodstuffs on offer.
"Up to now, I think we as farmers forgot about looking properly at the markets closer to home. But there's been a phenomenal change in agriculture, and now we have to do so. The competition has arrived, and if we don't do it, they will," he said.
The increasingly sophisticated Irish consumer was spoiled for choice and wouldn't hang about, he added. He or she would opt for better presentation and quality wherever it was to be found. Irish producers would either match the best on offer or lose out.
Food hygiene, traceability and quality are no longer buzz-words, Mr O'Leary said. They are requirements, and they can be met by Irish producers, but up to now they haven't been very good at getting the message across.
"This is an exciting initiative because, literally, it links the farm to the end user, the consumer. It's a very positive step for the food industry as a whole and it should be welcomed," he said.