Most Germans believed until yesterday that their fiercely Green Federal Minister for Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture, Ms Renate Kunast, was a vegetarian.
But yesterday, the minister who rose to power on the back of the failure of the Government to cope with the BSE crisis in Germany, stunned the national media here by wolfing down some prime Irish beef at the Irish stand at Green Week show in Berlin.
She had been on a walkabout around the huge exhibition which for the next 10 days will host the largest food and drinks consumer exhibition on the globe, when she dined for Ireland. German journalists who hang on her every outspoken word, were astonished as she munched her way through a bit of Irish steak while they filmed her and her host, the Minister of State for Agriculture, Mr Noel Davern, at the Irish stand.
But Ms Kunast, who has lived in Donegal and is a frequent visitor to Ireland, was not just being polite. She delivered a strong message to Ireland and Europe's farmers that they must find new, more environmentally friendly ways of producing food.
The minister was just one of the many visitors to the Irish stand, which had the theme "Experience Ireland, the Food Island" where the best of Ireland's food and drink was on display. Entertainment at the stand was provided by a Berlin-based Irish traditional folk group, Midnight Court.