NEW AFTERNOON TEA MENU AT THE METROPOLE HOTEL FEATURES SEASONAL PRODUCE

 SEASONAL PRODUCE INSPIRES NEW AFTERNOON TEA MENU AT 

THE METROPOLE HOTEL 

Teatime at The Met for Pierce Lowney, Director of Food and Beverage at Trigon Hotels and Sandra Murphy, Group Brand and Communications Manager at Trigon Hotels. Pic: Brian Lougheed 

Seasonal and locally grown produce have inspired a new Autumn Afternoon Tea at the Metropole Hotel. 

The hotel's team is committed to supporting local suppliers and using seasonality when designing the menus. Trigon Hotels, which includes the Metropole Hotel and the Cork International Hotel, works with more than 20 local growers and producers and is always looking for new partners.  

Head Chef at the Metropole Hotel, Mark Cronin, and the team of chefs have transformed blackcurrants, chestnuts and pumpkins into delicate pastries and cakes to encapsulate the flavours of Autumn for the latest afternoon tea menu.

The sweet and savoury selection includes Blackcurrant and Ginger Delicacies on Crushed Hazelnuts, Freshly Baked Chai-Spiced Scones served with Folláin Blackcurrant Jam, and Poached Prawns in Lemon Mayonnaise on Edward Buckley Soda Bread.

The Autumn Afternoon Tea costs €40 per person and will be served in the Met Tea Room. It is available daily from 12pm to 4pm throughout the Autumn months. 

Pierce Lowney, Director of Food and Beverage at Trigon Hotels, said: “Autumn foods are rich in colour and flavour, and our team of chefs have designed an Afternoon Tea menu that brings the best of Autumn flavours to every bite. People can escape the cold and wet weather by relaxing in the Met Tea Room with delicious treats washed down with a cup of chai tea.”

On the menu is: 

PATISSERIE

Blackcurrant and Ginger Delice on Crushed Hazelnuts 

Revisited Famous MET Trifle 

Chocolate Marquise with Fig Jam & Candied Chestnuts 

Pear & Salted Caramel Choux Bun

BAKERY

Freshly Baked Chai Spiced Scones, Folláin Blackcurrant Jam, Irish Salted Butter and Fresh Cream 

White Chocolate & Chai Blondie, Toasted Pecan

Iced Pumpkin Bundt Cake

SAVOURY

Smoked Chicken, Fennel & Grape Crostini 

Pastrami, Dijon Mayonnaise, Emmental & Baby Lettuce Leaves on White Bread 

Poached Prawn in a Lemon Mayonnaise on Edward Buckley Soda Bread 

Cucumber, Mint and Crème Fraiche on Granary Bread

Pre-booking is essential and reservations can be made online https://www.themetropolehotel.ie/dining/the-met-cork/afternoon-tea/

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On the craft trail with Eight Degrees, Connemara and Trouble Brewing

On the craft trail with Eight Degrees, Connemara and Trouble Brewing

Eight Degrees Déjà Vu Hopfenweisse, 7.5% ABV, 440 ml can No 21 Coburg St

Buy-Back Brewers Bounce Back

This Hopfenweisse is the welcome-back shot from the Antipodean founders of Eight Degrees, who had just bought back the brewery. It may be a Weisse, but the Naturally Adventurous duo, while happy to brew traditional styles traditionally, have never been keen on just imitating. Here, as is their wont,  they have added their own twist!

“We’ve created a beer that epitomises our love for taking traditional beer styles and adding a modern twist.” Weissbiers come in varying styles, and you don't find Hopfenweisse in many style listings, but they can be placed alongside beers such as Hefeweizen. 

According to Han-Peter Drexler, brewmaster of respected weiss brewers Schneider, wheat beer is not the easiest of beers to brew: “For me, wheat beer is terrible to produce…..but the result is amazing if everything works perfectly.”

You can expect a large foamy head in wheat beers, and here, above a clear amber/golden body (well populated with rising bubbles), the Deja Vu delivers. Another wheat beer characteristic is banana in both aromas and on the palate, and it also shows. The Eight Degrees difference comes from the hops, including the dry hopping with Mandarina Bavaria, adding a well-judged input of sweet tropical citrus notes to an already attractive beer. Quite an ale by the comeback kids and Very Highly Recommended.

Geek Bits

Style: Hopfenweisse
Malt: Irish malted barley, wheat.
Hops: Amarillo, dry hopped with Mandarina Bavaria.
ABV: 7.5%

Connemara Irish Ale, 4.5% ABV, 330 ml can Lidl

an open fermented ale

Our Connemara Irish Ale comes with a soft, foamy head over a  red-orange body. Juicy, yes, and full of flavour, yet there is something “old-fashioned” about the palate, and that should be expected as this is an open fermented ale. Connemara is a taste journey from first sip to last, thanks to the use of traditional recipes and the best possible local ingredients sourced directly from carefully selected producers.

They say: “Our masterly crafted recipe produces a taste explosion from start to finish. A perfect hop medley and yeast blend provides our ale with a flavour that will make you want more. Irish ale has a long and dignified history. We've kept to those traditional values by producing an open fermented ale with a reddish hue and a beautifully sweet palate that is bursting with hop flavour while remaining low in bitterness. It's like Connemara sunset in a glass.” I wouldn’t disagree!

Very Highly Recommended.

Trouble Brewing Little Monster Pale Ale,  3.5% ABV,

440 ml can Bradleys 

Recommended for a session!

The colour of our Little Monster is pale orange, with a brilliant, if short-lived, white head and shoals of bubbles rushing towards the top. The aromas are citrusy and tropical. The flavours are unexpectedly intense for the ABV and closely follow the aromas, with mango and pineapple among the tropical notes. Additionally, there is a quite bitter element from the hops. The beer is refreshing with a lip-smacking, dry finish. The ingredients include oats, wheat, and rye, as well as malt and yeast, of course.

Little Monster was launched three years ago. The hops used are Sabro, Mosaic, Azacca, and El Dorado. Despite being 3.5%, it is quite flavourful and would more than hold its own in a session. Recommended.

A superb thirst-quenching Picpoul De Pinet from Chateau de la Mirande

La Mirande Picpoul De Pinet (AOP) 2023, 13.0% ABV

RRP: €17.35. Stockists: Stockists: 64 Wine Dublin, Bradley’s of Cork, Greenman Dublin, Le Caveau Kilkenny 

A gorgeous, thirst-quenching Picpoul

Chateau de la Mirande, with its vineyard surrounded by garigue, is located in the Languedoc, in an area with a saltwater lagoon dedicated to producing and cultivating oysters and mussels. And this is just the wine to pair with these bivalve molluscs! This stellar example of Picpoul is Very Highly Recommended.

Green harvesting and organic viticulture are part of the estate’s philosophy. Marie-Laure took over the vineyard after her father Joseph Albajan's passing and continues the family tradition of producing superb, thirst-quenching Picpoul, loaded with flavour, freshness, and vitality.

The La Mirande has a clear, light gold colour and fresh aromas of peaches, apricots and citrus fruits with a little aniseed in the background. The texture is very crisp with good acidity. The flavours are of stone fruits and white flowers with a dash of lemon and lime, leading to a sharp and refreshing finish. 

Mussels and oysters will be the simplest of accompaniments for your nicely chilled Picpoul, while a linguine of crab and chilli is also shortlisted! 

Picpoul de Pinet is often called the Muscadet of the south. It is an approachable white wine for any dining occasion, including as an aperitif, and I find it can fill in, more than adequately, for Alarbino. The name means lip—stinger (after its high acidity), but that has never put anyone off enjoying it!

Picpoul is an ancient grape, but the disease Phylloxera almost did for it until the French discovered it could thrive on sandy soil. Hence its renaissance in the Languedoc. It is no surprise, then, that Picpoul is found in coastal vineyards such as those which surround Pinet and the Etang de Thau (lots of oysters here, conveniently!), just west of Montpellier.

CORK BUSINESSES IN THE MIX AS FINALISTS REVEALED IN GOOD FOOD IRELAND® AWARDS 2024

press release

CORK BUSINESSES IN THE MIX 

FINALISTS REVEALED IN GOOD FOOD IRELAND® AWARDS 2024 

IN ASSOCIATION WITH FBD INSURANCE

Tulip time at Ballymaloe House

 

Good Food Ireland® is delighted to announce the finalists for its highly regarded national awards, with an impressive 17 businesses from Co. Cork making the 2024 shortlist across multiple categories. 

 

The winners are due to be revealed at a high-profile dinner taking place on Monday 11^th November at The K Club, Co. Kildare. 

 

The Good Food Ireland® Awards 2024 in association with FBD Insurance celebrate businesses at every layer of our island’s food and drink industry. From primary producers, manufacturers, and chefs, to shops, hotels, tourism experiences, and restaurants, those businesses who make the shortlist are regarded by the judges as embodying all that makes Ireland’s food offering so standout. 

  

The core emphasis of the Awards is the consumer experience of local, fresh, seasonal, Irish ingredients. Good Food Ireland® highlights tourism-hospitality and retail businesses that prioritise local produce and encourages others. This in turn supports Irish farmers, food producers and fishermen, sustainably strengthening local economies and communities. 

Spice from Kerala used by Rebel City Distillery

 

An independent collection of Irish and international leaders with in-depth knowledge of the hospitality industry makes up this year’s judging panel who shortlisted the nominees from those businesses approved by Good Food Ireland®, subject to meeting strict criteria through onsite inspection.  They include: Founder and Managing Director of Good Food Ireland® Margaret Jeffares, former Good Food Ireland® Operations Director Susan Kerr, Journalist John Wilson, Hospitality consultant Tom O’Connell, Lecturer in the School of Hospitality Management & Tourism at TU Dublin Dr Detta Melia, Executive Chairman and Owner of Odyssey International Kevin Shannon, and previous Chef and Hotelier Maurice Keller.  The expert panel will select the overall winner following mystery inspections and assessments in the weeks preceding the prize giving dinner in November. 

Autumn at Hayfield Manor

 

Featuring across 12 different categories, the Co. Cork businesses who made the shortlist are: 

5 Star Hotel of the Year - Hayfield Manor

Culinary Haven of the Year - Ballymaloe House Hotel

Restaurant of the Year - Fishy Fishy / The Church Restaurant

Café of the Year – On the Pigs Back Cafe & Deli Douglas / Kalbo’s

Pub of the Year - The Lifeboat Inn

Shop of the Year - Urru Culinary Store

Food Tourism Experience Award - Ballymaloe Cookery School, Organic Farm & Gardens

Meat Producer of the Year - Tom Durcan Meats

Dairy Producer of the Year - Milleens Cheese

Fish & Seafood Producer of the Year- Ummera Smoked Products / K O' Connell English Market

Bakery & Chocolate Producer of the Year - Praline Pastry & Chocolate Shop / Koko Kinsale

Drinks Producer of the Year - Rebel City Distillery / Five Farms Irish Cream Liqueur

 

For the first time this year there was also the opportunity for all other businesses around the island of Ireland who believe they share the Good Food Ireland® philosophy, to enter a dedicated “Food Lovers Choice Award” for which the public can cast their votes up until Sunday 20^th October. 

The terrace at the Lifeboat Inn, Courtmacsherry.

 

Other awards of recognition will include: the Good Food Ireland® 5 Star Hotel of the Year; Culinary Haven of the Year; Restaurant of the Year; Pub of the Year and the Supreme Award sponsored by the Awards’ Official Partners FBD Insurance. Tourism Ireland is sponsoring the Good Food Ireland® Food Tourism Experience Award which highlights those businesses who feature local Irish food or drink as part of their visitor experience, whilst Bord Bia sponsors the highly regarded Overall Producer of the Year Award and AIB the Sustainability Award. Other award sponsors include: The National Dairy Council, Roe and Co; Boursot Wines, and Waterford, along with The K Club, Co. Kildare as Host Partner. 

  

Margaret Jeffares, Founder and Managing Director of Good Food Ireland® says: "We’re delighted to be back with another Good Food Ireland® Awards and, as part of the judging panel I have to admit that each year we do this, it gets harder due to the high calibre of entries and increasing commitment to prioritising local Irish produce. It is important that those businesses communicate this shared philosophy to inform customers and attract new visitors seeking an authentic, cultural Irish food or drink experience. Seeing all these businesses collaborate and work together across sectors to help build our island’s reputation for spectacular food and drink overseas in order to create inclusive economic growth is truly fantastic. 

  

“All of those businesses who have made it onto 2024’s shortlist are a genuine inspiration. Proud and passionate ambassadors of Ireland who strive to capture the very essence of the authenticity and provenance that makes our food and drink so uniquely ours. All the judges would like to extend our congratulations to them and wish everyone the best of luck for the 11^th November." 

  

See the full shortlist of finalists for the Good Food Ireland® Awards 2024 in association with FBD Insurance below. For full details on the individual awards, tickets to the event, and general information about Good Food Ireland® visit goodfoodireland.ie 

Fish Box's a winner as we sample the superb fish offerings of Kay’s Kitchen, a new hot food stall in the English Market.

Fish Box's a winner as we sample the superb fish offerings of Kay’s Kitchen, a new hot food stall in the English Market.

Large array of fishy delights

The place may be small, but there's a large array of fishy delights at the new Kay's Kitchen in Cork's English Market. With Kay, fish, and English Market in one sentence, you'll likely guess that the legendary K. O'Connell's Fish Stall (established 1962) has something to do with this tasty new and hot development. And you'd be correct!

We visited the other day and were surprised at all the choices on offer. It was hard to decide, so we picked the Fish Box, which itself has a variety of flavours and textures.”

Chef Martina Cronin, formerly the co-owner of the fabulous Square Table in Blarney, warmly welcomed us and guided us through the many dishes before we decided on the €15.00 box. The Fish Box includes Panko Crumbed Haddock, Fish Cake, Smoked Salmon Croquettes, Fried Potatoes, Salad, and Dip.

She and fellow chef Darren Connolly, the owner of the popular Cafe Vega in Cobh (now closed), have been working hard to assemble this selection. They aim it mostly at city customers who might like something hot and different for lunch. However, we took our box home. After a quick spin in the bus and then a short turn in the air fryer, we sat down at the table and enjoyed every little bit. We got a hot lunch for two for fifteen euro. Not bad, right?

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It's has been a busy year, eating out around Ireland (Munster mainly). Check our current list here.

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Other choices include Crispy Baguette, Pan-fried prawns, and Gubbeen chorizo, finished with Romanesco. Or perhaps you’d go for the Grilled Fish Taco, Sun Dried Tomato, Quinoa, Herb Créme Fraiche, and Pickled Chilli. How about the Fresh Salmon Leek Cheddar Croquettes?

During cold days, consider trying the Prawn and Sea Bass Hotpot, fresh Chowder, or Celeriac Soup. The signature dish is the Fish Burger (Panko crumbed) served with salad and spuds and is well worth considering. They also offer Tarts (Smoked Salmon and capers) and Quiches (such as Chorizo, tomato, Onion jam, and French Compté).

And that’s not the end of it! Smoked Salmon on a Brioche Bun with Horseradish and potato salad sounds very tempting, as does the Classic Prawn cocktail with Marie Rose Sauce and Home-made Brown Bread.

Kay’s Kitchen, just across the aisle from the mothership O’Connell’s Fish Stall, has a selection of soft drinks on the counter. It is open Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and  Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

K O’Connell Fish Merchants has been selected as a finalist in The Good Food Ireland's “Fish + Seafood Supplier of the Year” award. Voting has now opened. Have your say here.

 

Cobh on a sunny morning

Cobh on a sunny morning

October 2024

The Bandstand

Sonia O'Sullivan, always a winner.

Looking west: Annie Moore and siblings

Sailing

Looking down on Pearse Square, with Titanic Experience in the background, from the cathedral.

Des Res. The Crescent.

Gorgeous. Jack Doyle remembered

St Colman's Cathedral. Commenced 1868, completed 1919.
Designed by E. W. Pugin and G. C. Ashlin in 1868

Coffees, cakes, curiosities (including vintage Carrigaline pottery)
at Belvelly Vintage, 5 Harbour Row, Cobh, Ireland P24N407

Resting boat. Busy bird.

Casement Square, with a tour group at Lusitania Monument

St Brendan, The Navigator.
By marygregoriysculptor.blogspot.ie  

The Commodore Hotel, always looking well.

Colourful mural at Cobh Railway Station.

Jazz Dining Experiences feature as Metropole Hotel confirms line-up for this year's Jazz Festival Club.

Jazz Dining Experiences feature as Metropole Hotel 

confirms the line-up for this year's Jazz Festival Club. 

Excitement is building at the Metropole Hotel ahead of this year’s Cork Jazz Festival. The full line-up has been confirmed with a host of diverse artists on several stages around the hotel throughout the October Bank Holiday weekend.

The original home of the Cork Jazz Festival is welcoming firm favourites along with some new additions to the bill. Fans of swing, funk, groove and blues will be well catered for with an exciting mix of Irish and international acts.

The line-up includes the New York Brass Band, The Swing Bandits featuring The Loungeman, Harry Connolly, Pixie and The Gypsies, Fiona Kennedy, Hugh Buckley Trio, MTU Gospel Choir and Le Hot Club Quintet.

Live performances will start at 1:30 pm daily and continue until the early hours of the morning. Attendees can move from stage to stage to enjoy the special atmosphere and excitement of the Festival Club.  

Several Jazz Dining Experiences offer a four-course dinner in the hotel’s Riverview Restaurant, accompanied by live music performances and access to the Jazz Festival Club.

The hotel also offers weekend breaks with one-, two-, and three-night packages, including B and B, a cocktail on arrival, dinner, and entrance to the Jazz Festival Club.

Pierce Lowney, Director of Food and Beverage at Trigon Hotels, said: “The Metropole Hotel is the perfect location for the Jazz Festival with five stages set up in the hotel, including our newly renovated Ballroom. We have an exciting lineup of live performances this year, catering to all ages. Our Jazz Dining Experience packages mean that people can come and soak up the atmosphere during the day before sitting down to a delicious meal prepared by our team of chefs and then continue to dance the night away.”

The Metropole Hotel Festival Club is strictly an over-23s venue. Tickets start at €41 plus booking fee per person per night, and a range of prices is available for the Jazz Dining Experience and Jazz Weekend Breaks.

For details of the line up and to purchase tickets or any of the packages go to https://www.themetropolehotel.ie/whats-on/events-in-cork/cork-jazz-festival/

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