Croke Park is changing the game by championing seasonally inspired and locally acquired food for meetings and events, with carbon ‘foodprint’ scores and a new 50 Mile Menu concept, making it easier for businesses to plan sustainable and environmentally conscious events.
As part of their ongoing sustainability efforts, Croke Park has launched innovative new menus to champion seasonally inspired and locally acquired food at meetings, conferences and corporate events hosted in the stadium.
Most events now have a commitment to being as sustainable as possible, so event organisers will be eager to hear that every dish on these new menus have been given an innovative carbon ‘foodprint’ score, such is the level of detail and traceability put in place by the Meetings & Events team.
Croke Park is also the first events venue in Ireland to launch a 50 Mile Menu, featuring ingredients sourced only within a 50 mile radius of Croke Park. Businesses can choose to build their entire meeting or event around the 50 mile offering.
Croke Park Meetings & Events source 85% of all produce from within the island of Ireland, with 70% grown or produced from within a 50 mile radius of the stadium, including Croke Park’s very own farm. This statistic inspired the multi-award-winning events team to develop the new menus, which serves to showcase local suppliers and give clients more choice and control when it comes to deciding how strong a sustainability focus they want their event to have.
Not only will these new measures reduce food miles and lower the carbon footprint of an event, but it ensures those hosting meetings, conferences, trade shows and galas at Croke Park are serving the freshest and most seasonal produce available.
Croke Park is already a world-leader in sustainable events and practices. Commenting on this new initiative, Marie Smyth from Croke Park Meetings & Events said, “We take our sustainability as seriously as our sports and want to make it easier for businesses to plan sustainable and environmentally conscious events. Our Executive Chef, Ruairi Boyce, and his passionate team have created a new range of seasonal, sustainable, and sensational menus for attendees to enjoy at their next event, including our ground-breaking 50 Mile Menu.
“Our new menus do good as well as tasting great! 85% of all ingredients are sourced from the island of Ireland. Better again, 70% are sourced from within just 50 miles of the stadium, allowing us to create our innovative new 50 Mile Menu offering.”
“The 50 Mile Menu is our proudest food achievement to date, thanks to a talented team that are not only changing the face of stadium food, but pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in terms of both catering and sustainable events.”
“We’re also changing the game by giving people the ability to calculate the carbon impact of their menu choices. Using our catering partner Aramark’s ‘Foodprint’ labelling system, all menu items now come with a carbon impact score. This score gives event organisers the knowledge needed to plan an environmentally conscious event.”
Whether you’re having a breakfast meeting or bespoke fine dining, every menu is now seasonal, sustainable, and sensational.
The new menus will include the following 50-mile suppliers: Boyne Valley Meats, Kish Fish, Hugh Maguire Butchers, Ballymooney Foods, Kerrigan’s Mushrooms, Garden of Eden Herbs, McCarthy’s Strawberry Farm, Taylor’s of Lusk, Iona Fruit Farm, John Thorne of Lusk, and more.
The Croke Farm in North County Dublin is well known for providing locally grown turf to keep the pitch in top condition, but what people may not know is that the farm is also used to grow a selection of herbs and fresh fruit and vegetables for use in the stadium’s menus. Croke Park has also partnered with Fingal Beekeepers’ Association to have beehives to support bee and pollinator activity and produce a unique Croke Park honey. It’s small scale for now, but the ambition is to grow this activity.
Putting sustainability on the menu is just the latest in a suite of sustainability measures already in place at Croke Park, who are well established as a world leader in sustainable events. In 2014, six years ahead of schedule, they became a zero-waste stadium, with 100% of their waste being recycled, reused or recovered. They were the first stadium in Ireland and Britain to secure both ISO14001 and ISO 20121 international standards and the very first stadium in the world to obtain certification to the newest international Environmental Standard ISO 14001:2015.
To find out more, visit crokepark.ie/meetings-events
