Afternoon of food, fun and Hope

Afternoon of food, fun and Hope.

We enjoyed ourselves at Ballyseedy (Cobh Cross) yesterday as part one of the Hope Foundation's Eat4StreetKids ended on an enjoyable note. Amateur cooks of all ages brought their sugar and spice dishes - mainly sugar! - to the Bakestone Cafe where judges Lilly Higgins, Joe McNamee, Ali Honour, Gautham Iyers and Christine Girault had the tough (?) task of picking a winner.

While they were deciding, we were royally entertained by a lady originally from the southside of Chicago, Karen Underwood. Karen was delighted to help out and indeed put in a tremendous session.

Then came the judges’ decisions and there were quite a few prizes awarded. But really, all entrants were winners on the day, all willing to put in the effort, just like Karen Underwood and the judges themselves, to help out the underprivileged kids of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta).

We all got a chance to sample the food and must admit that my favourite was the Donkey’s Wedding Cake! Quite an afternoon and indeed, I was a winner myself, picking up a hamper of the famous Clonakilty Black Pudding in the raffle.  I think the only thing I missed out on was the bouncy castle!

The fund-raising for the Kolkata kids goes on and the focus this month switches to participating local restaurants and their customers. There are a number of options for both. One suggests either the customer or the restaurant adding fifty cent for Hope to the bill and another suggests the customer posts a picture of a dish to Twitter or Facebook and the restaurant pays the fifty cent.

Check it all out here or contact organiser Maggie Hogan at maggie@hopefoundation.ie or 021 4292990

Dream Deli. The new book from Lilly Higgins

Dream Deli. The new book from Lilly Higgins


Ballymaloe’s Rory O’Connell launched Dream Deli, the second book by Lilly Higgins, a past pupil of Ballymaloe, at The Farmgate Cafe this (Wednesday) morning.

Rory said he had been flicking through the book for a while before he realised that Lilly, as well as writing it, had also shot the many photographs that illustrate it. It is a gorgeous book, with hard covers, but with a light inviting feel inside, plenty of illustrations and nothing cramped about it at all.

Rory said it was great to get a book from a past pupil and add it to the collection in Ballymaloe: “It rounds the circle; the student has become the teacher. You can see that Lilly loves to share and that feeling of generosity drips off the pages.”

Lilly (left) with Yours Truly and Deirdre (Arbutus Bread).

Rory O'Connell

He loved her Crab and Chive Cakes and predicted that her Sicilian Wedding Cake would be a feature of many future weddings. “Fantastic,” he said. “The book should be mandatory for deli owners, for schools, for everybody.

Lilly, as cool and calm as ever, thanked everybody for coming and made sure that we all had enough of the lovely brunch bits that were available. And her mother made sure I got the all important cup of tea!

The book, published by Gill and MacMillan and just over 200 pages, has lots of fresh and simple recipes. They sum it up well on the cover: From breakfasts of homemade granola and smoothies, to gorgeous soups bursting with flavour; from stunning supper ideas, and of course, lots of delicious sweet treats for afternoon tea.

So come on Lilly. When are you going to open your real live Dream Deli? Can’t wait.

Available in all good book shops, including Liam Ruiseal, with a retail price in the region of €23.00.

Culture Night Food

Culture Night Food

Some food stops on the Culture trail in Cork's English Market last evening.

Bottom: Chocolate Soup and Belgian Waffle with salted caramel,

 both by Lilly Higgins at the ABC stall. Above: O'Connell's Crab Cake with

Smoked Mackerel and Salmon by Hederman.

Top: Plate from the Olive Stall.

Main pic shows people queuing at Hedermans.