Very Enjoyable Outing To Grainstore's Ballymaloe May Fair

 Very Enjoyable Outing To Grainstore's Ballymaloe May Fair

Very much enjoyed my few hours at the May Fair organised by the Grainstore at Ballymaloe at the weekend. The first person I met was none other than Colm McCan who is delighted that the Pop-up Wine Shop is to open every afternoon (2.00 - 5.00pm) for the year ahead. I got a sneak peek inside and that pour illustration above may bring back memories to a few of you of great days and evenings at the Ballymaloe Pop-up Wine Shop in Brown Thomas. Colm has wine from a selection of suppliers in Ballymaloe. Not just wine though: Ballymaloe Cider and their House Gin are also available here in bottle.

Quite a few stalls in the Grainstore itself, including jewelry, clothing and more. It was here that I bought some beautifully crafted soaps from Clarkes of Dublin.              

We were also on the lookout for Massaman curry paste at the Malay Kitchen Stall and we found the two ladies from the Malay Kitchen in the Big Shed. Had a lovely chat, plus a little tasting, and came away with a kit that included the Massaman.

On the way in, we had bought a superb sourdough from the Grumpy Bakers and on the way out we got a few of their very tempting pastries. All these were destined for the home table but the beautiful treat from Yum Gelato, especially the Mango, was consumed on a nearby table in the sun. Yum! 

In between, we had another delicious tasting, this of the Cully & Sully Risotto range, very impressive indeed. Couldn't wait when we got home and, for supper, enjoyed their Tempting Tomato and that will feature as Taste of the Week very soon!

Our "main course" was just around the corner, at one of the many outdoor stalls serving hot food. Gidi's menu featured a traditional Yemenite and Moroccan family recipe with the traditional Cork title of "The Whole Shebang." 

The finest Kinsale beef and lamb, spiced and barbequed, along with a salad of green leaves, tomatoes and basil dressed with mint, yogurt and zhoug, all packed into a pitta, with a hint of chilli. Delicious, quite a dish for a tenner, and went down well with a glass of juicy ale from the nearby Wicklow Wolf Brewery stand.

More drinks stalls in the area included Blackwater Distillery (Peter Mulryan told me they have settled well into their new distillery and are planning on doing tours fairly soon). Denis from Kinsale Mead was enjoying a deadly Charcoal mint stracciatella from Yum Gelato while Valentia Vermouth were quite busy at the time.

Denis, and the early afternoon sun, had put me in the humour for a gelato and we were heading that way when I spotted Beardy Dave at the Dingle Gin and Porterhouse stall. He had a quartet of cans on offer for a tenner and they too went into the bag. In fact there was no room in the bags but Dave had a Porterhouse tote on hand!

So, after that final call to Yum and the Grumpy Baker, we were on our way, looking forward to getting through all the food and drink in the bags.