Dining well at the Celtic Ross in the summer of 23

🍣🍒Dining well at the Celtic Ross

in the summer of 23🍕🍷

It has been a few summers since I sampled the food at the Kingfisher Bar & Bistro in the Celtic Ross and glad to say that we enjoyed a superb evening meal there recently. Local produce is, as always, well handled here and well presented. Even though all our six dishes got the thumbs up, the gorgeous dessert featuring Bushby Strawberries, a superb finalé, stole the show.

We spotted a 20% off midweek deal in the Rosscarbery Hotel a few months back. There was no hesitation in booking the two-night (including one dinner) deal. Glad that we did as the hotel is looking very well indeed both outside and in.  Our room, with a view out towards the Warren, was splendid, beautifully furnished, spacious and very comfortable indeed.

Scallops

Over the two days, we had a superb base for visiting West Cork. We started with a visit to the outstanding Mizen Head on the way in from Kerry. Later, we would enjoy a road trip that included Union Hall, Glandore, Reen Pier, Castletownsend (lunch at Mary Ann’s), Baltimore, Lough Hyne, and Clonakilty. 

We know that Celtic Ross manager Neil Grant’s fitness regime includes doing the cliff walk between the local Warren Strand and Owenahincha so we took that short sharp trek in as well and loved the views over the strand and out to Galley Head.

Hake

As we studied the menu in the busy Kingfisher (and for a good while after), we sipped one of our favourite ales, the KPA by Blacks of Kinsale, another illustration of the hotel’s support for local and very refreshing after an active day. No shortage of local spirits on offer as you might expect.

As it happened we each picked a starter with Asian touches, leaving Seared Beef Carpaccio, Roasted Beetroots, Local Smoked Salmon, and Stuffed Mushrooms for another day.

Sticky Beef

Blacks KPA

CL went with the Grilled Scallops with Garlic & Chili Butter and enjoyed it no end, a lovely lively dish with the local scallops getting a lift from the garlic and the chilli butter sauce.

I was also on a winner with the Sticky Beef Salad, Cucumber & Red Onion Salad, Chili Vinaigrette, and Roasted Peanuts; loved the beef, the salad (the onion outstanding), the crunch of the nuts, the crisp carrots, the tickle of the little greens. Superb! More than a starter.

And I moved on to another beauty. Shepherds Pie may not sound all that exciting but this Braised Lamb Shoulder 'Sheppard's Pie' with Herb Crumb and Roasting Gravy was a different class. That meat and gravy at the bottom was just so good that I took my time with it, the better to enjoy every morsel.

CL’s mains was the Hake Creamed Roaringwater Bay Mussels & Leeks, local and fresh and full of flavour but I think I was the big winner as this was the Best shepherds pie ever and soon I would be having one of the best desserts ever.

Pie

The dessert list consisted of Raspberry Pavlova, Lemon Posset, Sticky Toffee Pudding, Warm Salted Chocolate Caramel Brownie, Selection of Sorbets and Selection of Irish Cheese. They also had a selection of coffee liqueurs and digestives, some based on the local and popular Five Farms Cream Liqueur.

Not a strawberry on the list but, when the Pavlova came, it was plastered from head to toe with those delicious Bushby Strawberries and even the one or two raspberries on view were also top-notch. A superb end to a surprisingly super meal illustrates there’s delicious life in the Celtic Ross kitchen despite the upheavals of recent years. But their loyal customers know that! I’m just alerting travellers in the area to put the Kingfisher on their list.

The Celtic Ross Hotel as seen from the nearby cliff that starts at the eastern side of the Warren Strand

See also on this trip:

Light Lunch at Mary Ann's in Castletownsend

One Day in West Cork

Mizen Head Fascinates, even on a grey and windy day.

Reen Pier Magic. Day and Night.

Baltimore Young People Learning The Waves.

Dining Well In Celtic Ross. Summer of '23.

CORK BUSINESSES DOMINATE THE SHORTLIST AS THE GOOD FOOD IRELAND® AWARDS RETURN

press release

CORK BUSINESSES DOMINATE THE SHORTLIST 

AS THE GOOD FOOD IRELAND® AWARDS RETURN

Margaret Jeffares, Founder and Managing Director of Good Food Ireland, and Simon Coveney T.D., Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment at launch of highly-coveted Good Food Ireland Awards. 

 

Good Food Ireland® is delighted to announce the shortlisted finalists for its highly-regarded awards. County Cork was revealed to have an impressive 14 finalists shortlisted – the most of any county in Ireland.

The winners are due to be revealed at a high-profile business lunch taking place on Monday 17^th April at The K Club, County Kildare.

The awards are unique in their cross-sector approach and core criteria around commitment to local Irish produce and the organisers are delighted to have them back after the Covid enforced gap. They aim to enhance linkages between agriculture and tourism and present significant opportunities for stimulating local production, retaining tourism earnings in the local area, and improving the distribution of economic benefits of tourism to the four corners of the island.

An independent panel of Irish and International leaders including Founder and Managing Director of Good Food Ireland® Margaret Jeffares, journalists John Wilson and Amii McKeever, IFAC Consultant Stephanie Walsh and Executive Chairman and Owner of Odyssey International Kevin Shannon, shortlisted the nominees from those businesses approved by Good Food Ireland®, subject to meeting strict criteria through onsite inspection. The expert panel will select the overall winner following mystery inspections and assessments.

The winners are due to be revealed at a high-profile business lunch taking place on
Monday 17th April at The K Club (above), County Kildare.

Featuring across 10 different categories, the County Cork businesses who made the shortlist are:

Hotel Of The Year – Hayfield Manor and Celtic Ross Hotel

Culinary Haven Of The Year – Ballymaloe House Hotel

Restaurant Of The Year – Fishy Fishy

Pub Of The Year – The Lifeboat Inn

Shop Of The Year – The Roughty Foodie

Food Truck Of The Year – The Garden Cafe Truck at Ballymaloe Cookery School and CRAFT West Cork at The Celtic Ross Hotel

Excellence In Food Tourism Award – Ballymaloe Cookery School Organic Farm & Gardens

Producer Of The Year (Fish & Seafood) – Ummera Smoked Products and "K'O'Connell Fish Merchants”

Producer Of The Year (Bakery & Chocolate) – Koko Kinsale and Praline

Producer Of The Year (Drinks) – Five Farms Irish Cream Liqueur

The public also has the opportunity to cast their votes for their favourite places across the island of Ireland in the Food Lovers Choice Award. The shortlist will be drawn from the finalists in all other categories. Online voting will commence on Tuesday 7^th March and remain open until Monday 20^th March.

Other awards of recognition will include Outstanding Contribution to Food Production, Outstanding Contribution to Irish Food/Drink Internationally and Lifetime Achievement Award.

Returning for the first time since pre-Covid, the awards – proudly sponsored by Kerrygold, Irish Farmers Association, Bord Bia, Tourism Ireland and National Dairy Council – will be opened by guest of honour, Simon Coveney T.D., Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and attended by some 300 guests including business owners, Irish and international chefs, buyers, food and drink writers, media and industry leaders. Anita Mendiratta, Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, will deliver the afternoon’s Key Note speech.

Margaret Jeffares, Founder and Managing Director of Good Food Ireland® says: "There is great excitement around the return of The Good Food Ireland® Awards this year to celebrate the successful collaboration of cross-sector businesses working together for inclusive economic growth.

“All of those wonderful businesses who have made the shortlist are a committed collection of passionate and driven people who genuinely capture the essence of Ireland's food and drink, setting it in a cultural context to inspire travellers, international consumers and locals to seek out real authenticity and Irish provenance. All the judges would like to extend our congratulations to them all and wish everyone the best of luck for the 17^th April."

See the full shortlist of finalists below. For full details on the individual awards, tickets to the event, and general information about Good Food Ireland® visit goodfoodireland.ie

 

 

About the Awards:

The 2023 Good Food Ireland® Awards are proudly sponsored by Kerrygold, Irish Farmers Association, Tourism Ireland, Bord Bia, IFAC and National Dairy Council.

All businesses approved by Good Food Ireland, subject to meeting strict criteria through onsite inspection, are eligible for the awards. An independent panel of industry experts will create a shortlist of finalists in each of the award categories. Following further onsite mystery inspection and assessment the winners will be selected. The public will also have an opportunity to vote from a shortlist of finalists for their Favourite Place to Eat, Favourite Food or Drink Producer or Favourite Place to Shop in each of the tourism regions across the island of Ireland.

 

Norma Kelly of Mitchelstown's Praline displays some of her delicious sweet things!

FULL 2023 GOOD FOOD IRELAND® AWARDS FINALISTS

Hotel Of The Year

Grand Central Hotel Belfast

Hayfield Manor, Cork

Celtic Ross Hotel, Cork

Anantara The Marker Dublin Hotel, Dublin

The Merrion, Dublin

The Europe Hotel & Resort, Kerry

The K Club, Kildare

The Dunraven Adare, Limerick

 

Culinary Haven Of The Year

The Bushmills Inn, Co Antrim

Killeavy Castle Estate, Armagh

Ballymaloe House Hotel, Cork

BrookLodge & Macreddin Village, Wicklow

Killeen House Hotel & Rozzers Restaurant, Kerry

Cashel House Hotel, Galway

Rathmullan House, Donegal

Ghan House, Louth

 

Restaurant Of The Year

Fish City, Antrim

An Port Mor, Mayo

Prime 74, Tipperary

The Lemon Tree Restaurant, Donegal

Potager Restaurant, Dublin

Woodruff Restaurant, Dublin

Aniar, Galway

Fishy Fishy, Cork

Hugo's, Dublin

 

Pub Of The Year

The King's Head, Galway

The Glyde Inn, Louth

The Tavern Bar & Restaurant, Mayo

Harte's of Kildare, Kildare

Mikey Ryan's Bar & Kitchen, Tipperary

The Lifeboat Inn, Cork

The Oarsman, Leitrim

Rusty Mackerel, Donegal

 

Café Of The Year

Sweet n Green, Clare

Kelly's Kitchen Café, Newport

Farmhouse Café & Bakery, Dublin

GROW HQ, Waterford

Fennelly's of Callan, Kilkenny

The Hungry Bear Café, Wexford

Barrons Bakery & Coffee House, Waterford

Kelly's Café, Wexford

 

Shop Of The Year

The Roughty Foodie, Cork

Country Choice, Tipperary

Buddy's Farmers Market, Dublin

Brogan's Butchers, Meath

Cavistons Seafood Restaurant & Food Emporium, Dublin

Leaf & Larder Delicatessen & Bakery, Kerry

Firecastle, Kildare

 

Food Truck Of The Year

The Garden Cafe Truck at Ballymaloe Cookery School, Cork

CRAFT West Cork at The Celtic Ross Hotel, Cork

Koha Street Kitchen, Sligo

SEABISCUIT at The Strand Cahore, Wexford

 

Sustainability Award

GROW HQ, Waterford

BrookLodge & Macreddin Village, Wicklow

Connemara Smokehouse, Galway

Oriel Sea Salt, Louth

Fish City, Antrim

Atlantis of Kilmore Quay, Wexford

O' Shea Farms, Kilkenny

 

Excellence In Food Tourism Award

Long Meadow Cider, Armagh

Burren Smokehouse & Visitor Centre, Clare

Ballymaloe Cookery School Organic Farm & Gardens, Cork

Wilde Irish Chocolates, Clare

Vintage Tea Trips, Dublin

The Glyde Inn, Louth

Coppenagh House Farm, Carlow

Producer Of The Year – Fruit & Vegetables

"Garryhinch Wood Exotic Mushrooms", Offaly

The Apple Farm, Tipperary

O'Shea Farms, Waterford

Kearns Fruit Farm, Wexford

 

Producer Of The Year - Meat

Coppenagh House Farm, Carlow

Market House Ennistymon, Clare

Calvey's Achill Mountain Lamb, Mayo

Jane Russell's Original Irish Sausages, Kildare

Kelly's of Newport, Mayo

Donabate Dexter, Dublin

 

Producer Of The Year - Fish & Seafood

Burren Smokehouse, Clare

Ummera Smoked Products, Cork

"K'O'Connell Fish Merchants ", Cork

Realt na Mara Shellfish, Kerry

Atlantis of Kilmore Quay, Wexford

 

Producer Of The Year – Bakery & Chocolate

Koko Kinsale, Cork

Praline, Cork

Jinny's Bakery & Tea Rooms, Leitrim

Walshe's Bakehouse, Waterford

Ditty's Bakery, Derry

 

Producer Of The Year - Drinks

Armagh Cider Company, Armagh

Jackford Irish Gin, Wexford

Western Herd Brewing Company, Clare

Five Farms Irish Cream Liqueur, Cork

Dew Drop Inn & Brewhouse, Kildare

 

Producer Of The Year - Dairy

Glastry Farm Ice Cream, Down

The Village Dairy, Carlow

Freezin Friesian, Waterford

Killowen Farm, Wexford

Boyne Valley Farmhouse Cheese, Meath

 

Producer Of The Year - Jams & Savoury

Wexford Home Preserves, Wexford

Leahy Beekeeping, Galway

Achill Island Sea Salt, Mayo

Wild Irish Foragers & Preservers, Offaly

Harnett's Oils, Down

Keogh's Crisps, Dublin

 

Producer of the Year

Supreme Award

Outstanding Contribution to Food Production

Outstanding Contribution to Irish Food and Drink Internationally

Lifetime Achievement Award

Good Food Ireland®

goodfoodireland.ie

@goodfoodireland

CorkBilly Latest Food & Drink

CorkBilly Latest Food & Drink

Week 210820. Update #1

Plan to issue this mid-week with updates towards weekend. If you have any food or drink news, DM me a line or two, plus a link and a photo if available. Of course, if you have "big" news, let me know also and we can do a full standalone post.

Escape to Celtic Ross for this three day lazy summer break

The team at Celtic Ross have created this three day lazy summer break in West Cork to maximise the benefits of a visit to Rosscarbery and experience the variety of culinary offerings at Celtic Ross and the local food producers featured on our menus. This three day escape is a definite opportunity to explore, eat sleep and enjoy!

Inclusions in this package are:

•Bed and breakfast for three nights in a double or twin room

•Clonakilty gin cocktail to enjoy at your leisure

•Dinner in the Kingfisher Restaurant on an evening of your choice

•West Cork style street food from CRAFT

•Afternoon tea for two with a selection of home baked sweet and savoury treats

•Complimentary Rosscarbery walking guidebook

•Complimentary use of the leisure centre.

More details and booking here

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Hederman Smoked Salmon

Coming Fridays & Saturdays to the

@EnglishMarket

- freshly made Hederman smoked salmon wraps to go. Have a healthy & delicious picnic lunch.

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Creamy Chocolate Eclairs from Hassett's

Did you know that Hassett's Bakery make their Eclairs with Fresh Irish Cream and rich Belgian chocolate? "Pop into our stores in Douglas, Carrigaline or The English Market to taste how great they are." Check out their video here on Twitter.

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Vienna Woods Hotel

Cork's Vienna Woods Hotel is a country house hotel steeped in history. A ten minute drive from Cork's City Centre, perched among the leafy woodlands of Glanmire, Cork's Vienna Woods Hotel is the perfect getaway for every occasion.

 
Vienna Woods is open for residents and indoor and outdoor dining for non-residents. 
*To comply with government guidelines, indoor dining is only facilitated for fully vaccinated, please have your covid cert/ proof of vaccination and a valid ID. 
Please ring 021 455 6800 or email info@viennawoodshotel.com

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The perfect subscription for you - The Wine Lover!

from Cork based Wines Of The World

Their wine experts select 6 delicious wines from around the world and send to your door each month.

Includes:

• A mix of 6 different wines each month

• Free Delivery Nationwide

• Tasting Notes for each wine

• Details here

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BILLY LYONS
corkbilly.com (from Irish Times 18th Nov 2013)

Dublin gets the column inches, but Cork has a renowned food scene, and there is good value to be found, says Lyons, who has blogged about food in Cork since he retired six years ago. He had a few local favourites (in 2013).

Cicchetti at Gusto Nov '13

“At Cafe Gusto, Washington Street, six Cicchetti (Italian tapas), two main courses (from a large choice) and two glasses of good wine costs €30 for two, Thursday to Saturday. At the House Cafe in the Opera House, typical fare includes Ballyhoura wild mushrooms with free range egg in a delicious omelette for €8.50. Small-plate menus are increasingly popular. Jacques, in the city, and the Greenroom at Sage in Midleton are also worth a call.”

More on the Gusto Cicchetti here

The Coffee House

Coffee House - Fermoy Café

Vine leaves from Kilworth!

A friend of mine in the Fermoy area  is very enthusiastic about the newish Coffee House in the town. It is run by Tom and located where the French restaurant  (La Bigoudenne) used to be many years ago.

"Tom has his own coffee roastery in Poland so has a very unique selection of coffees. His wife, Kasha, bakes all their cakes and breads and they do a roaring trade on a Friday night for interesting takeaway at very good value, from 12e per person, a feast! 

He is a real character who is not very good at self promotion! He does a great lunch during the week that is well worth checking out if you are in the area!"

More details on the Coffee House Facebook here.

Priory Coffee Arrive In The Victorian Quarter

The brand new Priory Coffee Co. on MacCurtain Street, Cork City, opened on Monday! "We can't wait to welcome you! You can come in or use our handy Priory Hatch for Coffee & food on the go! "

Priory are already well established in North Main St Cork (next to Gate Cinema), in Youghal (Main St), Mallow (106 Main St), Fermoy (Brian Boru Sq), and Riverstick.www.priorycoffee.com

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CORK HOTEL STAFF JOIN LORD MAYOR IN CYCLING TO DUBLIN AND BACK IN AID OF COPE FOUNDATION

 

Lord Mayor, Cllr. Colm Kelleher with Aaron Mansworth and Sandra Murphy of the Trigon Hotels clocking up the kilometres.

Trigon Hotels cycled the distance from Cork to Dublin and back during a six-hour spinathon in Cork City Centre last Friday. The event raised over €1,000 for Cope Foundation.

Hotel team members took to static bikes on Harley Street which were kindly given by UCC’s Mardyke Arena. They travelled 576km and burned a combined total of more than 14,000 calories. 

A team of 40 people were involved in the event including cyclists and bucket collectors. The Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr. Colm Kelleher was among the supporters to cheer on the participants. 

Lord Mayor, Cllr. Colm Kelleher said “It is wonderful to see this collaboration with Trigon Hotels and Cope Foundation and Ability@work. Inclusivity is imperative in the workplace and it is great to see Trigon Hotels foster such a close relationship with the Cope Foundation. It has been challenging for charities to have fundraising events since the pandemic began due to not being able to organise and host their usual events and so it is really important to support charities and companies when they do organise events.”

The Watergrasshill Vineyard
Did you know there's a vineyard in Watergrasshill? It is small, experimental and in its infancy. See more on its Twitter account: @Ireland_Wines


Design POP Info

Quite a lot of food interest in this month's Design Pop.

For instance, you can see creative studio Play Nice team up with food obsessives Currabinny at Wandesford Quay.

Play nice studio

Play Nice are a creative studio based in Dublin that designs, builds and styles eye-catching immersive spaces for people and products. Our aim is to create playful digital or physical worlds of colour for people to engage in and enjoy. That can range from providing creativity for photoshoots, temporary pop-ups or permanent work in public or commercial spaces.

Currabinny

William Murray & James Kavanagh gave birth to Currabinny after a discussion on how they could turn their unwavering obsession (food) into a career. William studied & grew his love of food at Ballymaloe Cookery School in Co. Cork - which is headed up Darina Allen & Rory O’Connell. In Ballymaloe, William nurtured his love of dishes that are unashamedly created with lots of real butter, Maldon Salt & seasonal, fresh vegetables. James comes from the other side of the food world; marketing. Having worked for two of his favourite Irish brands; Kerrygold & Barry’s Tea, he has learned what goes into making a beautiful product. Witnessing the passion & quality that goes into making a Barry’s teabag, and how the perfect grass has to exist in order for Kerrygold Butter to be as delicious as it is, has strongly influenced his food ethos.  

All the info on this and many other events here