 |
| Wobbly Circus street performer Dee Tierney |
The climax of the 2024 fEast, the East Cork Food and Drink Festival took place on Midleton main street last Sunday. Organised by Midleton & Area Chamber of Commerce, the annual
Showing posts with label FEAST. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FEAST. Show all posts
Monday, September 9, 2024
Friday, September 6, 2024
fEast Cork 2024 is up and running.... Ballyvolane House the venue for some Craicly Stories
fEast Cork 2024 is up and running.... Ballyvolane House the Craicly Stories venue last night
 |
| Shane McAuliffe from Crosshaven, Rory O'Connell of Ballymaloe Cookery School, and Christopher Braganza of The Spice Genie, pictured at the Craicly Stories event at Ballyvolane House. |
fEast Cork's Craicly Stories was hosted at
Monday, August 29, 2022
Friday is wine night at Grainstore and Ballymaloe House
Wine Events at Ballymaloe
Friday 2nd and 9th of September
 |
| Thomas (left) and Colm |
*********
Hosted by Niels and Penny Verburg of Luddite Wines.
Friday 9th September at 7pm in the Long Room at Ballymaloe House
€155 per person
Book via 021 465 2531
Limited availability, so please book early via 021 465 2531
An entertaining and delicious South African wine event with the wonderful Niels and Penny Verburg of Luddite Wines, Bot River, Western Cape, South Africa. Guaranteed to be a delicious and interesting evening with these entertaining duo returning to Ballymaloe House for the first time since 2012. We are looking forward to welcoming them back.
https://www.capewinemakersguild.com/users/niels-verburg
More info here.
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Sunil Ghai at SAGE
Sunil Ghai, Master of PICKLE, at SAGE
Sunil Ghai, of Pickle Dublin and one of Ireland's top chefs, was guest chef at Midleton's SAGE Restaurant
last Saturday as part of the fantastic FEAST Cork festival, bringing together the best of produce from the area and featuring local and visiting chefs and a whole lot more besides.
Sunil, relaxed in the kitchen and dining room, went down a treat as did his food. It was an unmissable opportunity to enjoy a feast by one of the foremost Indian chefs in Ireland, to sample his bold, contemporary cooking style. And we enjoyed an array of dishes inspired by his hometown of Gwalior in central India.
Kevin Aherne, chef patron st Sage, introduced Sunil and welcomed him, saying that the focus of FEAST 2019 was very much on the multiculturalism of food. Indeed there was a very successful 13 nation get-together in Midleton on the following day and, in my own case, I had attended a Polish dinner in Surf and Turf (Midleton) on Thursday night, an Argentinian BBQ at Barnabrow on Friday before heading back to Midleton on Saturday.
Kevin explained that both Sunil and he are members of Eurotoques. He said Sunil had surprised the chefs in the Sage kitchen with the variety of amazing aromas and flavours of his food and he would surprise us too. There was a surprise for Sunil himself. He told us he could hardly believe the way the local farmers brought their produce direct to the back door of the Midleton restaurant. "I don't know when this will happen in Dublin."
Also at Feast
 |
Take A Break! Halfway through, we were invited to try
the cucumber with three salts: black (mildest), lemon and chilli.
|
Sunil, relaxed in the kitchen and dining room, went down a treat as did his food. It was an unmissable opportunity to enjoy a feast by one of the foremost Indian chefs in Ireland, to sample his bold, contemporary cooking style. And we enjoyed an array of dishes inspired by his hometown of Gwalior in central India.
 |
| Sunil in Sage kitchen. Pic courtesy of Sage. |
Kevin Aherne, chef patron st Sage, introduced Sunil and welcomed him, saying that the focus of FEAST 2019 was very much on the multiculturalism of food. Indeed there was a very successful 13 nation get-together in Midleton on the following day and, in my own case, I had attended a Polish dinner in Surf and Turf (Midleton) on Thursday night, an Argentinian BBQ at Barnabrow on Friday before heading back to Midleton on Saturday.
Kevin explained that both Sunil and he are members of Eurotoques. He said Sunil had surprised the chefs in the Sage kitchen with the variety of amazing aromas and flavours of his food and he would surprise us too. There was a surprise for Sunil himself. He told us he could hardly believe the way the local farmers brought their produce direct to the back door of the Midleton restaurant. "I don't know when this will happen in Dublin."
 |
| The Gupshup Gwalior Platter was our starter. On the left is the Semolina Puff with chickpea, pomegranate and tamarind chutney; in the middle, the Crispy fried kale leaf in carom infused gram flour batter with chilled yogurt and mint chutney; and finally the Grilled Artichoke marinated in PICKLE spice mix & smoky chilli yogurt. The kale was outstanding but each was delicious. |
 |
| The Fish Course. But first we were invited to bite into the dark piece on top: a pickled lemon. Just bite in and you get an amazing explosion, like a concentrated lemon drink but with none of the sourness. Sunil told us that this Amritsari Fried Fish (cod in this case) is a very traditional Punjabi dish and he served it in Sage with a warm raita and charred asparagus. Looked inviting and tasted even better. |
 |
| The Gwalior Goat Keema Pao is the signature dish at Pickle. It is a Special goat preparation from Sunil's hometown: goat mince, diced and marinated liver, marinated for 24 hours in reshampatti (Rajasthani chillies) then slow cooked with shallots and yogurt. Served with Maska Pao (buttered Pao). Maska also means to "butter someone up, to flatter them". |
 |
| Our dessert was Gulab Jamun: fried milk doughnut poached in saffron and cardamom flavour sugar syrup. Yumil! |
Patryk Serves A Feast of Poland At FEAST Dinner In Surf & Turf
Patryk Serves A Feast of Poland
At FEAST Dinner In Surf & Turf
 |
| Smalec: home comforts |
“We got all those spices before France did,” said a smiling Patryk Suchojad, chef/patron at Midleton’s Surf and Turf, as he welcomed his guests to a Feast from Europe’s East, an event in this year’s FEAST.
He explained that Poland is a big country, the cooking in the north mainly fish based, while that is the south is mainly from the produce of the land. That's probably a bit too simplistic; he went on to tell us that there are many regions, each with its own profile on the table.
“That Pierogi dish on this evening’s menu, for instance, is stuffed with potato and curd cheese, but can really be stuffed with anything you like, varies from region to region. We have a long culinary tradition and indeed we did get those spices, via Iraq and Iran, before they found their way to France!”
 |
| Pickled, cured, brined, smoked... |
“There are a lot of similarities between Irish and Polish food, cabbage for instance,’ He said with a broad smile. “We both love our food.” “Polish food is basically a humble food, home cooking and you’ll see that in the Pork Lard on your table. That lard may include onions, garlic, spices. Sometimes it is smoked, may be kept for a long time. Very popular and many restaurants serve it”. We certainly enjoyed it, especially on the delicious bread that came with it.
Vodka was then poured for the guests and Patryk, who has been operating Surf and Turf on Distillery Walk (MIdleton) for the past two years, told us a bit about the śledzik. “We usually use herring but I couldn’t find any around here - maybe I didn’t try hard enough - but got the mackerel from Ballycotton. White wine and vinegar was used in the process. I love smoking stuff and I did the mussels for you.”
 |
| Stuffed dumplings |
That śledzik by the way was an amazing plateful (a generous one too and that generosity was repeated throughout the very enjoyable evening). It consisted of Kombu pickled mackerel, cured mackerel with horseradish apple and sour cream, gin and juniper brined sea trout, and those smoked mussels.
On then to the Chlodnik, a chilled beetroot soup, with quail’s egg and prawn. A cold and delicious soup, seasonal too of course. Wasn’t really looking forward to the dumplings of the Pierogi (apparently well-known “around the world”) but, stuffed with potato and cured cheese and served with some very tasty crackling and lovage oil, I had no problem at all and enjoyed every little bit of the threesome.
 |
| Beef roulade |
 |
| Apple Pie. Paired with a glass of sweet wild strawberry wine |
Now, as we sipped the last of a trio of different Polish beers, it was time for the main course, the Zrazy. This is a beef roulade, hunter’s sauce (mushroom mainly), Silesian dumplings, braised red cabbage. Quite a plateful and that roulade was outstanding. The beef had been “hammered” and rolled, packed with veg (including onion and carrots) and covered with smoked bacon (“proper bacon, not the injected stuff”). As you can imagine, this was full of flavour, a really worthy main course, crowning all that had come before.
And there was still time for an impressive finalé. The Szarlotka is a Polish style apple pie, baked uncovered, and made, not by Patrick, but by the lady of the house and served with Bison grass ice-cream. There’s a story about that ice-cream. I’ll tell you when I meet in the pub some night!
Also at Feast
Also at Feast
Distillery Walk
Midleton
Co. Cork
0214634071
(353) 21 463 4071
Sunday, September 8, 2019
Lobster & Sushi at Granary a Highlight of Midleton Sunday Stroll
Lobster & Sushi at Granary a Highlight of Midleton Sunday Stroll. FEAST 2019
 |
| Lobster from the Lobster Man |
Food was left, right and centre in Midleton last Sunday as FEAST 2019 reached its finalé. Restraint was called for as there so much on offer. The Lobster and Sushi offering at The Granary had been pinpointed earlier as a likely lunch plate and that was where we found ourselves in the early afternoon.
A big warm welcome and soon we were sitting at our outdoor table awaiting one plate with lobster, the other with sushi, and both also packed with a range of delicious salads. Oh, and not forgetting the glass of wine, all for twenty euro per person. The tables were communal and we like that on these occasions, even more so when on Sunday we were joined by two young gentleman and we went on to have a lovely chat before heading out to all those stalls on the sunny main street.
A big warm welcome and soon we were sitting at our outdoor table awaiting one plate with lobster, the other with sushi, and both also packed with a range of delicious salads. Oh, and not forgetting the glass of wine, all for twenty euro per person. The tables were communal and we like that on these occasions, even more so when on Sunday we were joined by two young gentleman and we went on to have a lovely chat before heading out to all those stalls on the sunny main street.
 |
| Okawari supplied the sushi. |
 |
| Our first stop on Sunday morning was to the demo area where Ballymaloe pastry chef JR Ryall and Ali of Ali's Kitchen were baking a "Raspberry Beret". They had to match their cake to a song and they choose the Prince number. Lots of fun as they got this part of the show on the road and they would be followed by a series of top names in the Irish food community. |
 |
| Local hotels and restaurants were represented in the many stalls on the main street and here we see Patryck of Surf and Turf greeting customers. |
 |
| This bad boy would get busier and busier. |
 |
| The bees came too! No shortage of wasps either. |
 |
| Children were very well catered for, especially in the farmers market area. Here they are busily painting their own tea towels. |
 |
| We got our dessert from the Bite Size stall, very nice too! |
Patryk Serves A Feast of Poland At FEAST Dinner In Surf & Turf
Sunil Ghai at SAGE (coming 11th)
Saturday, September 7, 2019
Asado at Barnabrow House. FEAST’s Argentinian BBQ
Asado at Barnabrow House. FEAST’s Argentinian BBQ
 |
| Chefs in the smoke |
The Argentinian BBQ (Asado) at Barnabrow, part of the series of the week-long FEAST Festival in East Cork, was sold out early on, the punters keen to see how Barnabrow’s resident Argentinian chef Mariano Sosa would introduce his homeland’s BBQ. Mariano, who has worked with celebrity Argentine chef, Francis Mallmann*, was assisted here by Barnabrow’s Head Chef Stuart Bowes.
Together Mariano and Stuart built a fire pit which was lit early on Friday morning. When we arrived about six in the evening, the cooking and smoking was in full swing over the slow burning hot ashes. No beef here but the eye-catching centrepiece was a whole lamb being cooked in the traditional way.
There was much more to see as pineapples and Midleton chickens, hanging from a simple frame over the heat, were being smoked. Trays of stuffed peppers (eggs) were on the heat. Potatoes were cooking in the ash and organic leeks from the garden were being grilled.
 |
| Chickens and pineapples swing over the heat. Lamb cooks in the centre. |
Appetites were being sharpened as the audience watched from a wooden terrace overhead, wine and beer at hand, lots of soft drinks too as there were quite a few families attending in the lovely evening sunshine.The heat of the sun wouldn’t linger for much longer - the blue sky did- so Barnabrow had wisely prepared the restaurant and soon we all headed there along with all that delicious food.
Then we tucked in as the platters arrived at the tables, packed with the various meats and all those vegetables along with simple Argentinian salads and their chimichurri sauce. Not too much talking now as we savoured the mix of smoky flavours. Not too smoky, mind you, that element was very nicely judged indeed. All delicious though I must admit I really enjoyed those potatoes and also the leeks.
A couple of platefuls later each and it was time for a walk. A little one, just across the walkway to a room where a splendid array of desserts were temptingly arranged. Didn’t think I'd manage that Valrhona Chocolate so settled for the juicy Cranachan Irish Raspberries.
The BBQ Menu
Whole Roast Midleton Lamb
Smoked Chicken
Smoked Pineapple
Grilled Garden Leeks
Stuffed Peppers
Salsa Criolla
Chimichurri
Ash Cooked Potatoes
Dessert Buffet
Lemon Posset with Rhubarb.
Valrhona Chocolate Mousse with Chantilly Cream.
Cranachan Irish Raspberries, toasted oats, whiskey cream, honey.
* Mallman (who you may have seen on Chef’s Table on Netflix), by the way, did a similar exercise next door in Ballymaloe at LitFest a few years back.
Also at Feast
Also at Feast
 |
| Barnabrow in the sun |
Barnabrow is famous for its Sunday lunch and its wedding receptions but there are many other events here too, some coming up soon.
Santa is coming to Lunch on 8 and 15 December and there's an Afternoon Tea there for Women's Little Christmas on 4 January.
And you may need to start thinking about ordering their superb Christmas hampers, ranging in price from €30 to €80.
Tel: 021 4652534
Email: info@barnabrowhouse.ie
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Ingenuity & the Bounty - the Seafood & Wine Dinner at Ballycotton’s Bayview Hotel.
Ingenuity & the Bounty - the Seafood & Wine Dinner at Ballycotton’s Bayview Hotel. FEAST 2019 is up and running!
 |
| Razor clams..... |
From the Norrie Rancheros via the Octopus’s Garden to the Slocked Apples and Blakas, and all that delicious aromatic Albarino in between, we had quite a ball at Ingenuity & the Bounty - the Seafood & Wine Dinner at Ballycotton’s Bayview Hotel in association with Rias Baixas Spanish Wines and the first major meal of FEAST 2019.
 |
| Norrie Rancheros |
Leslie Williams pointed to the harbour down below as he introduced the wines from the rias. “I love this part of the world. Ballycotton is a perfect place to serve Albarino. It is the most marine wine.” The fruit is grown in the lower estuaries of the long rias (sea inlets) that penetrate this north western region of Spain. Just spread out your fingers with the back of your hand upwards. The gaps between your digits are the rias, the rest (the low ground or baixas) is where the vines, tended mostly by women (the men away in the cities working), grow.
 |
| Dessert |
You can see the amazing menu in the photo: so many types of fish included - Crab, Razor Clams, Hake, Eel, Octopus, Mussel, Lobster, St Peter and The Stoner. And from the sea too came Dillisk (for the mayo), Sea Purslane, Samphire and Sea Beet. St Peter’s fish is the John Dory while The Stoner is the rock bass.
A superb meal then with a sweet finish - on the double. The dessert was the Slocked Apples (I know this practice of “hobbling” apples from an orchard as slogging) and Blackas (the local name for Blackberries). When the coffee arrived, so too did some substantial treats as you can see from the photo!
Leslie’s three wines went down well. We started with the Bago Amarelo 2018 by Adegas Galegas. Think we’d all have been quite happy to carry on with that. As a wine expert of my acquaintance declared at a recent tasting: there is no such thing as a bad Albarino.
But, at the Bayview, we found out some Albarinos are better than others! Certainly, the Santiago Roma Albarino 2018 from Bodegas Santiago Roma, while having the typical acidity, was more intense in all aspects than the Amarelo, including texture, aromas and flavours.
I had been expecting the Terras Gauda O Rosal 2018 to be the top wine. But had my doubts after the first sip as the Roma lingered strongly. But soon the O Rosal began to assert itself. It may not have had the forward intensity of the Roma but this more rounded, more sophisticated wine proved itself once again in the long run. No wonder Leslie declared it his favourite Albarino.
 |
| Octopus Garden |
This was the first major event of Feast (which started impressively at the Castlemartyr Resort Hotel on the previous day). And Stephen Belton, who manages the Bayview along with its big sister across the way, the Garryvoe, was in fine voice despite cheering on Dublin in Croke Park 24 hours earlier. “I’m delighted with the evening. Thanks to everybody for coming. We’re into our food here but not pretentious about it, very relaxed with our well sourced well cooked offerings. And great to see Feast expanding. There is so much to offer in East Cork now. A fantastic offering that can compare with any other place. East Cork is still emerging and Kevin and company are putting it up on the national stage.”
 |
| Lobster..... |
The Kevin he mentioned is Kevin Aherne of Sage in Midleton and he was next to speak and acknowledged that there was a business element, of course, to the festival, the hope being to attract more visitors to the region. “But this year we want the community of East Cork itself to enjoy it. There are now 40 events, spread over 7 days and it is growing, getting national, even international, press attention. Great for the growers, producers, chefs who enjoy it themselves.”
 |
| ..with the coffee! |
“Ireland is now a benchmark of world food and Cork is the best of that. East Cork is a part of it too and we want you to enjoy yourself. Taste the food. Have a drink. Have a laugh.” Not a bad motto at all and there is loads more to do from here until Sunday. Check out the events here at FEAST
Also at Feast
Thursday, September 6, 2018
A Feast of Small Plates at Ferrit & Lee. The Dynamic Duo of Distillery Walk.
A Feast of Small Plates at Ferrit & Lee
The Dynamic Duo of Distillery Walk.
 |
| Salud |
Small was beautiful at Ferrit & Lee on Wednesday night when the Midleton restaurant used local produce to skilfully illustrate the theme over three plates, Chefs and owners, Pat Ferriter and Stephen Lee humbly took a bow at the end of delicious meal, enhanced by wines from Liberty Wines and served with a smile by the totally efficient front of house team.
It was a full house when we started at 7.30 with a welcoming glass of the very drinkable House Sangria. In keeping with the festive aspect of the event, Clare and her crew were quite flexible with the wines. If you didn’t fancy the Sangria, you were offered wine instead and if if didn’t like white wine, you were offered red (and vice versa).
The first plate had four elements. The crisp Calamari rings were cooked to perfection and came with a very impressive spiced tomato sauce. The Ballycotton Crab with Jameson, Ginger and lime cured salmon was served on lettuce leaves, another well considered treat.
 |
| Plate 1 |
They kept coming. The Ardsallagh Feta was accompanied by the most flavoursome Beetroot tartare. And then the Beef and Organic Ballinrostig Smoked Cheese croquette looked small but tasted big, terrific beef and a major contribution from the local cheese.
Soon we were tucking into Plate No. 2, again with four offerings. The first, well the first I tried, was the East Ferry Farm Confit Duck Leg Spring Roll. Don’t think you’ll find better. Courgettes are very much in season as I know from the back garden and they featured with Ardsallagh Goat’s Cheese, Red Pepper and Pine Nut Bruschetta in a delicious combination. Jane Murphy (and her goats) has to be one of our top food heroes!
 |
| The second quartet |
Next up was the Ballycotton Smoked Mackerel and Horseradish Croquette. The flavour here was outstanding. And we finished the savoury bites with the excellent Ham-hock and Rosscarbery Black Pudding Terrine, served with an outstanding Apple Chutney.
It was all good really and the high standard was maintained right to the sweet end, three not-so-mini desserts! I began with the Strawberry and Custard Cream Shortbread, a little stack of deliciousness. The Lemon Posset with Foraged Blackberry Compote was a lovely combination and that was followed by the knockout Royal Chocolate Mousse with hazelnut praline.
 |
| The sweet ones! |
Tapas are generally associated with Spain and the country was well represented by the Liberty wines on the night. The white was the Castano organic Macabeo 2017 and the red, also Castano, was an organic Monastrell 2017 and we had started with the Sangria of course. A good start and a good finish and excellent in between. Ferriter and Lee are quite a duo in the kitchen. Catch them at Distillery Walk!
Feast builds up to a major climax this weekend. See the full programme here
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)