Range manufacturer Martyn Edwards – Frank Ford (ME-FF) has taken part in an Italian food festival where it served almost 3,000 portions of fish and chips.
The Redcar-based business attended Irish Fest, an annual festival in the hilltop village of Casalattico in the Lazio region of Italy. The event celebrates the area’s strong connection with Ireland following the many Italians who relocated to the Emerald Isles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
During the day-long celebration, Casalattico locals and visitors tuck into a range of Irish cuisine including traditional fish and chips, ice cream and Guinness while enjoying Irish music and dancing.
Each year, ME-FF provides the frying range and the staff to cook fish and chips. So popular has the festival become that what started as a two pan range has been added to over the years to feature eight.
ME-FF managing director Dave Atkinson, comments: “I feel very proud to be part of the festival. It was initially started 17 years ago by fish and chip shop owners Maria and Angelo Macari to raise money for the village and keep the community tight. Sadly, Maria is no longer with us, but the whole town comes together, along with Angelo, their children – Maria, Patricia and Rita – and Franchesco Morelli, another well-established fish and chip shop owner, each year to keep her legacy alive.
“We’ve been involved from the start when it was really just fish and chips as that’s what many Italians moved to Ireland for – to open fish and chip shops.
“Over the years, the festival has grown, grown, grown and now includes burgers, pizzas and ice creams – all food you will find in an Italian/Irish-owned fish and chip shop in Ireland. It’s a fantastic event that brings the community together and we look forward to returning every year.”
The event is sponsored and promoted by Martyn Edwards – Frank Ford and Dublin-based foodservice supplier Kepak whose brands include Big Al’s, Gold Star and Deli Delicious.
