With a contract secured to provide 21,000 slices of meat to the Ryder Cup, these are busy times for McGeogh. The meat drying process takes six months, and he can hardly keep up with demand.

Last year, he air-dried 1,200 legs of lamb at the family butcher business in Oughterard, Co Galway. "I just started the beef and had that ready for the Ryder Cup." He plans a wider launch for January.

"I'm going to start air-drying like mad so the meat will be ready."

Buyers from speciality stores and supermarket multiples sampled everything from meats and cheeses to chocolates and cakes, as they speed-dated producers at Bord Bia's international speciality food forum. Sainsbury sent buyers. Selfridges director of food & catering Ewan Venters declared himself impressed with what he saw.

The posh London department store already stocks Irish cheese, whiskey, beer and liqueur, and is about to launch smoked fish produced by Frank Hederman of Cobh, Co Cork.

"Some of the confectionery opportunities are exciting, " Venters said. "I never associated Ireland with having so many chocolates, and I have seen some fabulous chutneys and marmalades."

The heat was handy for Jack Canavan and Peter Keane of Gaeltacht company Fior Uisce, based in the old Gaeltarra Knitwear factory in Tourmakeady. Everyone was drinking their 'premium' spring water, which is packaged only in glass bottles and is sold into the organic and health food markets.

Along with Tipperary, Fior Uisce is one of only two Irish spring waters licensed and sold in the United States, and the company has just secured its first overseas national distribution agreement in Britain.

Keane, a hydrogeologist by trade, bored the well five years ago. "I was working on a CocaCola plant in the Middle East, and myself and a couple of others decided to do our own bottling plant."

Artisan food is becoming big business. Bord Bia reckons Ireland has about 300 speciality food companies, 80% of them in Munster and Leinster.

"We estimate that turnover in 2005 was 475m, which is a compound growth rate of 10%, " said Bord Bia's Muiris Kennedy. "The number of producers coming on stream has doubled in six years."

With the speciality market still dominated by imports, Kennedy sees potential for the Irish sector to double in size within five years. Even the multiples are trying to differentiate themselves by offering artisan products, and are modifying centralised distribution models to stock regional produce.

Packaging and provenance are buzz words. "Presentation is key, " said Michelle Lowth, who with husband Michael set up Danucci artisan chocolate company in Dundalk, Co Louth, last year. "People judge a product on presentation in a lot of speciality foods, and we're getting feedback that people like our packaging. It's contemporary. It stands out."

Launched in November, the chocolates will be going into Superquinn's store in Dublin's Blanchardstown. Like many other producers, the couple, both accountants in a previous life, also want to crack the UK.

That market accounted for about 90m of last year's turnover, according to Bord Bia's estimates.

Distribution is one of the biggest challenges facing speciality food producers, and experience helps. Good4U Food and Drink Co, whose health food products include seeds, sprouts and wheatgrass, is selling into Tesco, Dunnes, Superquinn and SuperValu, and just secured its first UK contract with a multiple. Bernadette Butler, who runs the company with her daughters, sold an earlier company, Platter Foods, to Kerry Group.

"We got our big break with Superquinn, " said Cork pizza chef Dave Flynn, who is selling premium pizzas with toppings including Clonakilty Black Pudding. His Alternative Pizza Company is moving into a new factory this week and expects to produce 500,000 pizzas this year and is looking to the UK and Europe.

Venters advised "as much collaboration as possible between small producers to develop safe and efficient routes into whatever market they choose". And he had another morsel of advice for those in the business. A market opportunity in "conveniently packaged and semi-prepared foods" is not being exploited, he said.

He knows what he is talking about. Selfridges distinguishes between "cooks" and "foodies" when segmenting its customers: the foodies buy all the cookery books, but shy away from hard graft.

Last month, Venters introduced the "world's most expensive sandwich" to Selfridges as a stunt to launch a new sandwich range targeting foodies. The price: £85.

The ingredients: Japanese Wagyu beef, from the legendary cattle fed on beer and rubbed with sake, duck foie gras, black truffle mayonnaise, brie de meaux, confit of peppers, rocket and tomatoes on sourdough bread.

Not only was it a PR coup, but the store is now shifting about 50 of the sandwiches a week. "Financial institutions will ring up and order 12 sandwiches for a lunch, " Venters said.

Boiled ham and sliced pan just don't cut the same dash.