Cork’s Long Table presents "Cork’s Long Table Picnic at Home"

Cork’s Long Table presents

Cork’s Long Table Picnic at Home

Participate from your home

21^st June 2020

Participants of the iconic Cork’s Long Table and Walk the Long Table are busy creating beautiful hampers of their favourite local produce and select beverages, as part of Cork Midsummer Festival's Midsummer Moments, an exciting series of events and experiences to celebrate the arts this June.

A founding member of the Cork’s Long Table collective, Claire Nash of Nash 19, commented: “We would hate the date to pass without marking it this year... So we decided to do a picnic reflecting the tremendous season which we will be reopening with, foods bursting with flavour and anticipation. We are all chomping at the bit to reopen, start cooking, and looking after our customers again. We hope you’ll join us, for another glorious day in Cork.”

Savour a selection of delights from the locality, celebrating all that is amazing about Cork Produce for the most luxurious Midsummer Night’s picnic at home, on June 21^st.

A picnic box for two, with four courses, will feature seasonal produce harvested from the Cork region: fish, meats, cheeses, breads, berries, sweets, refreshing local beverages and flowers.

The contents of the hamper will be cooked and prepared by the finest chefs from The Imperial Hotel, Farmgate Café, Ali's Kitchen, Dockland Restaurant and Nash 19; and packed with the help of Crawford & Co, Jacobs and Electric.

Hampers will be available for collection between 12.30pm and 3.30pm on June 21^st (Midsummer’s Day and Father’s Day) from The Imperial Hotel at designated times to adhere to social distancing guidelines. A limited number of tickets for hampers will go on sale at noon this Friday 5^th June via the Cork Midsummer website.

Keep an eye on Cork’s Long Table Dinner social media channels for updates:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/corkslongtabledinner/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CorksLongTable

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/corkslongtable/?hl=en

www.corkmidsummer.com

press release

Night of the Long Table. Four Hundred Dine Out on Cork’s South Mall

Night of the Long Table

Four Hundred Dine Out on Cork’s South Mall

Phil (standing) wishes Happy Birthday to fiancée Veronica; they get married today.

A night out to remember for the over four hundred diners who gathered on Cork’s South Mall for an outdoor dinner, the second running of Cork’s Long Table. And the sun came too, making it a glorious occasion for the organisers and their partners including Bord Bia, Failte Ireland, Cork City Council and Cork Midsummer Festival.

There was a choice of drink on the way in, anything from Prosecco to cider to beer to a cordial. The first suppliers we met were Colm McCan (what a hat) and Pascal Rossignol of Le Caveau, helping out on the night.

All calm before the service

Soon we were seated at our table, strangers to the right of us, strangers to the left. A few minutes later though and strangers no more! 

A tasty oyster signalled the start of the serving and then came the Producers Boards with Smoked mussels and mackerel, crab with lemon mayo (perhaps my favourite), black and white pudding, spiced beef, crubeens and ham hock terrine, chutney, breads, mozzarella. That got us talking and sharing and there was something for everyone!

Welcome to the Long Table from Colm(left) and Pascal of Le Caveau

The mains meanwhile were being prepared in the kitchens of the nearby Imperial Hotel and distributed to the various staging posts on the pavement. It was worth waiting for, not that we were waiting at all. The rack of lamb with pea purée, salsa verde, mixed leaf salad and loads of superb British Queens, not forgetting Glenilen butter, was totally satisfying though a few of us volunteered for seconds when the opportunity arose.

And the dessert, a very generous one indeed, was Strawberries with crushed meringue, cream and rose petal, another delight. And to finish we had cheese: Milleens to remember the late Veronica Steele and Hegarty’s Cheddar.

Starter board

All the while, the wine, the beer, the cider, whatever you fancied was being served and the brass band played. There was even a birthday surprise for Veronica, served up by fiancé Phil; all go for this couple who get married today. We wish them well!

Once announced, the Long Table Dinner sold out within hours, such was the feeling that this was going to be a good one. And once you saw the list of quality suppliers, you knew the basis was there for a terrific meal. 

Lamb

Suppliers included Frank Hederman, K. O’Connell Fish, Tim McCarthy’s, Rosscarberry Recipes, McCarthy Meats, Haven Fish, Glenilen Farm, Waterfall Farms, Bumblebee Flower Farm, Dave Barry’s Farm, Bushy Berries, On the Pig’s Back, Murphy’s,  Longueville House, 9 White Deer, Le Caveau and Counterpoint.

I've often heard chefs say they are nothing without the producers but the restaurants and chefs have a major role to play in getting the best from the produce and that certainly happened last night with Ali’s Kitchen, Electric Fishbar, The Farmgate, Fenn’s Quay, The Imperial Hotel, Isaac’s Restaurant, Jacob’s on the Mall, Jacque’s Restaurant, L’Atitude 51, Nash 19 and the Rocketman all playing important roles. Cheers to the hard-working owners and staff.

* I’m glad too that Rebel Chilli were also involved as it was in their competition that I, having been caught out by the early booking rush, won the tickets that got me to the Mall. Thanks, folks!

It's a wrap for 2017