Neven's new Greenway Food Trails will kick off in Mayo

CHEF Neven Maguire will travel some of Ireland’s most spectacular greenways meeting more of Ireland’s best food producers and chefs in his new six part series, Neven’s Greenway Food Trails. The series kicks off in Mayo on January 4, on RTÉ One at 8.30 p.m.

Cycling through some of Ireland’s most stunning scenery, Neven explores established greenways such as the Great Western Greenway in Mayo, the Limerick, Waterford and Royal Canal greenways, and he also follows the routes of future greenways planned for south Kerry and Connemara.

Neven starts his journey in Westport, but before heading out on the greenway he calls in at Cornrue Bakery for breakfast. Here he meets local coffee roaster Aaron Page of Bean West Coffee.

The Cornrue Bakery specialises in sourdough bread and has developed a breadmaking technique unique to Ireland. Baker Patrick O’Reilly shows Neven the baking process which takes five days to complete. As a result of the longer production time, Cornrue bread is intensely flavoured and very easy to digest.

While in Newport, Neven visits Kelly’s Butchers, artisan producers renowned for their black and white puddings, bacon, and 14 varieties of sausages. Next door is Kelly’s Kitchen, an award-winning café run by the Kelly family, specialising in meat dishes. Head chef José González cooks a Trio of Beef Casserole using lesser-known cuts of beef - oxtail, beef cheek, and feather blade.

Between Newport and Mulranny, just off the greenway, is the Greenway Lane Café and Art Studio where Maureen O’Neill combines her love of cooking and art, offering freshly baked produce in her café, and art workshops in her studio.

Heading northwest, Neven’s next stop is the Mulranny Park Hotel, a former railway hotel, Greenway to meet local historian Joe McDermott and learn more about the historic railway and the origins of the greenway.

In Achill, he meets the Calvey family who have been producing Achill Mountain Lamb for four generations. Their Mayo Blackface mountain sheep are free to roam from the Atlantic beaches to the hills. Neven meets Martin Calvey to round up some sheep on the beach, and learns how the salty air and seaweed diet enhance the flavour of the meat.

Back in Westport for dinner, Neven calls in at Sage, an award-winning restaurant run by Bulgarian couple Shteryo Yurukov and Eva Ivanova. Shteryo cooks West Coast Monkfish with Pork Belly, Curried Lentils Bonbon, Celeriac and Tarragon Mustard.

Neven’s Greenway Food Trails is produced and directed by David Hare of InProductionTV and sponsored by Bord Bia.