VEGETARIAN AFTERNOON TEA WITH A QUAY TWIST COMES TO CORK

 VEGETARIAN AFTERNOON TEA WITH A QUAY TWIST COMES TO CORK

Menu delights include Artichoke hearts-spelt scones with vegan cream-avocado chocolate cake

The Quay Co-op, one of Ireland’s flagship vegetarian restaurants and wholefood stores, is introducing a brand new Vegetarian and/or Vegan Afternoon Tea which, fittingly, will be launched on World Vegan Day which takes place on November 1st. 

Vegetarian and Vegan Afternoon Tea will be available in the ‘Upstairs at the Co-op’ restaurant on O’Sullivan’s Quay, Cork. Guests will be treated to a mix of vegetarian and vegan savoury and sweet treats from 2.30 to 5.00pm Wednesday to Saturday, alongside the all-day dining menu.

The Quay Co-op is a worker’s co-operative and the home of Cork’s first vegetarian restaurant and cafe. It has been at the heart of Cork life since 1982 and is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. 

Simon Tiptaft, General Manager of the Quay Co-op says, “Our Vegetarian and Vegan Afternoon Tea is a chic and tasty new addition to our offering at the Quay Co-op. It gives Cork diners an opportunity to experience a deliciously different afternoon treat. All of our food at The Quay Co-op is exclusively vegetarian and vegan and our focus is on sourcing sustainable and ethically produced food while creating delightful dishes to please all palates. Our team from ‘Upstairs at The Quay Co-op’ Restaurant have created a delicious selection of sweet and savoury dainty dishes to be enjoyed from a perfect perch overlooking the River Lee. The Quay Co-op is for everyone and this will appeal whether you’re vegan, vegetarian, want to incorporate a more plant based lifestyle or just like good food.”

On the menu is: 

Savoury: Vegan avocado wraps, Mezze plate with artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, traditional hummus, dolmas, toasted almonds and marinated olives served with seeded pitta

Middle: Spelt scones with (vegan) cream and raspberry jam

Treat: Avocado chocolate cake, Apple crumble pot and Glazed carrot cake. 

Vegetarian or Vegan Afternoon Tea is €22.50 per person or €29.50 for sparking afternoon tea with a glass of prosecco. A festive edition will be served throughout December, featuring warming organic Gluhwein and will cost €27.50 per person.

The Quay Co-op began as a community cooperative before developing into a workers' cooperative. Today it employs 50 people between its vegetarian deli, bakery, wholefoods store and restaurant on O’Sullivan’s Quay, its vegetarian food-production facility on Cove Street and satellite stores in Carrigaline and Ballincollig. It continues to be owned by its members. 

Upstairs at the Quay Co-op Vegetarian Restaurant is open for lunch, Afternoon Tea and dinner Wednesday to Saturday from 12 noon. For more information visit www.quaycoop.com

press release

A Quart of Ale± #91 On the craft journey with Whitefield, West Cork, Clonakilty. + news via Rascals, Killarney & Craic Beer.

 A Quart of Ale± #91

On the craft journey with Whitefield, West Cork, Clonakilty and Journeyman

(+ news via Rascals, Killarney &  Craic Beer.)

Whitefield Old Smoke Smoked Porter 5.4%, 500ml bottle Bradleys

Whitefield (formerly White Gypsy) is a brewery in Templemore, County Tipperary. Cuilán Loughnane is the main person here and, according to Sláinte  (2014), his fingerprints “are all over the Irish brewing scene”. I knew that he (through White Gypsy) had helped Cork’s Elbow Lane and Waterford’s Metalman get up and running by contract brewing their beers and more. 

But Sláinte also details his earlier involvement, first with Dwan’s Brewery (Thurles) from 1997 and, from 2002,  he was head brewer at Dublin’s Messrs Maguire (the forerunners of J.W. Sweetman) before setting up on his own as White Gypsy in 2009, a move that saw him join the “Second Generation: Mid 2000s to 2011” of Irish craft brewers.

He has grown his own hops and also brewed beers specially for food, beers in wine sized 75cl bottles and aimed at the restaurant trade. He is still going strong under the new label. By the way, this porter is named after Templemore legend, Old Smoke Morrissey.

They say: Traditionally, beers made in the midlands would have had a slight smokiness due to the malt being dried from peat fires. This stout brings out that combination of smoke and roast while remaining light on the palate.

Black as a newly tarred road between Templemore and Nenagh. There’s a tanned head, soft, and soon sinking away to the black. Aromas are smoky, a hint of bacon as you sniff. And it’s much the same combination on the palate. But nothing too extreme, all rather svelte and subtle, terrific balance right to the very satisfactory finish indeed.

West Cork Baltimore Bitter 5.5%, 500ml bottle Upstairs at Quay Coop 

In December 2014, Dominic Casey, Henry Thornhill and brewer Kevin Waugh launched the West Cork Brewing Company. The 1st Brew-Hotel to set up in Ireland and also the country’s most southerly brewery.

It is based in Casey's of Baltimore Hotel and they started with three beers, Sherkin Lass a citrussy Pale Ale 4.4%, Roaring Ruby Dark Red Ale 4.4% and Stout X Stout West a chocolate porter 4.3%, the crew intent on their beers matching the quality of West Cork’s artisan foods. 

This Baltimore Bitter is one of their latest. Colour is a very dark red with a tan head, soft, and slow to disperse. Aromas are moderate, notes of pepper. On the palate, there’s quite an amalgam, fruit, honey and a tang of citrus, lime perhaps. Quite a lip-smacking finish.  

Refreshing and somewhat different, with a bitter aftertaste, and I can see it playing its part in the suggested pairings of Pulled Pork and Smoked Gouda. “We have used our own well water and the most traditional methods.” It is unfiltered and vegan friendly.

Clonakilty Smuggler Irish Porter 6.0%, 500ml bottle O’Donovan’s 

Dark stuff this with a bubbly frothy tan head that sinks slowly. Moderate aromas of roast and chocolate as the head sinks another notch, just a thin disc now. And, now on the palate, it is sweet chocolate, coffee too and a medium touch of bitterness at the finish.

They say: We are passionate about making beer with no compromise, brewing small batches with big personality. Using locally sourced grains, the best hops and water from our own well, our beers are handcrafted with care…. 

Pour slowly for a smooth creamy head. Enjoy at 10-12 degrees. It goes well with dark meats, rich desserts and chocolate, and is delicious and satisfying on its own.

The Deasy family brewed beer in Clonakilty (known as the brewery town) for almost 200 years, including the famous Clonakilty Wrastler. The Deasys also had a legendary reputation as successful smugglers along the dramatic and rugged coast of West Cork.

Journeyman IPA 5.2%, 500ml bottle, X-mas gift

Hazy amber is the colour here and the white foamy head lingers a while. Expecting more middle of the road from the final bottle of my five pack (all different styles) but certainly more of a punch here. Big whack of hops on the palate - they say, and I agree, “bursting with fruity hop flavour”. And, as was the case in the previous four, the balance is good, thanks to the malt. 

No details on the hops or malt used, at least none that I can find. Not too many details at all. And certainly nothing about food pairings. All I can tell you is that it went down pretty well with the middle chapters of the John Banville piece of crime fiction playfully titled April in Spain, though hardly a playful mystery, at all, at all, as Banville’s Chief Superintendent Hackett might add.

But there is something of a mystery on the label, and indeed on all the Journeyman labels in the pack. It tells us you of need of a great barrel to make a great beer, that Journeyman is steeped in the tradition of the highly skilled craft of coopering. Are these Journeyman beers are matured in wood rather than stainless steel?

Cooperage can be confusing. I walked past one earlier, in a building once owned by a distillery. It now houses the Aquaculture & Fisheries Development Centre, a research facility of UCC and embedded within the School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences (BEES).

Brewery News

The Rude Couple Canned By Rascals

NEW BEER ALERT! Say hi to our next limited edition release: Rude Boy white stout and Rude Girl black IPA.

The former is a full-bodied pale stout with chocolate, caramel and coffee tones, brewed with coffee from our neighbours Imbibe, with oak-smoked wheat adding a lovely touch of character. The latter is a robust medium-bodied IPA with a unique blend and balance of dark roasted malts and piney, resinous hops. 

We're very excited for Feb 24 when you'll be able to get your hands on these. Not only that, we're also having a launch party! Click here for FREE tickets. 

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Killarney Brewing & Distilling Co.

We're on the hunt for waiting staff for the Taproom on Muckross Road in Killarney. The role is made for someone full of energy who enjoys the craic and would like to know more about brewing and our premium Irish beers. Does that sound like you? Send your CV across to Ivan at Ivan@killarneybrewing.com.

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Craic Beer Community - Brew Project Four breweries, four unique beers all packaged up exclusively for the Brew Project. Includes online tasting session as well as in person meet-up in Dead Centre Brewing, Athlone to taste and discuss the beers! €65.00  Only 24 boxes left!

Have you been "Upstairs" at The Quay Coop? If Not, Now's the Time to Call.

Have you been "Upstairs" at The Quay Coop? 

If Not, Now's the Time to Call.

It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good.

Covid 19 has been the most recent of ill winds but even the omnipresent pandemic proved the truth of the old saying above. Just take a look at Upstairs, the restaurant at the Quay Coop, now one of the most beautiful dining rooms in the city. And, while you are there, in the former pawnbrokers premises, take a look at the revamped menu. And order some of the magnificent vegetarian food on offer.

With Covid restricting much of the restaurant’s normal activity, the Coop got working and gave the Upstairs a beautiful renovation and, while they were at, gave the menu an upgrade as well. Customers, without doing anything much, are the winners.

We dropped in last week and soon found ourselves seated by one of the best windows in the house, overlooking the quay itself, taking in the passing people and traffic, all the while enjoying the nicely judged heat from the stove a few yards away. And, when we got enough of the passing scene outside, we turned our eyes to the feast of art on the walls, the work of local artist Eileen Healy.

Mezze

But not before those same eyes had studied the new menu. The mains looked like serious dishes so we decided to share a starter and later, with first impressions confirmed, a dessert.

Took a while for me to settle on my mains. Had been looking at the Tarka Dhal but in the end picked the Pizza for the day. The Dhal would have been the more adventurous choice but something about the Pizza attracted me and I had no regrets, after all I can always call again! 

Enjoyed my  delicious base topped with sweetcorn, peppers, red onions, tomatoes and a handful of rocket, served with an excellent salad. Great colour, flavour and texture with those sweetcorn and onions leading the way. The pizza base itself was also delicious and stayed that way, never hardened at all, right to the end. 

CL meanwhile was quite enough, a good sign, as she tucked into her substantial Enchilada which was packed to its generous limits with Mexican spiced three bean vegetables and served with melted cheddar, guacamole, sour cream and salsa. 

Quite a choice of starters here also. We thought the Mezze Board might be the one. It came in two sizes and, even though sharing, we went with the smaller one. A good pick and 9 euro well spent in a terrific selection of Artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, traditional hummus, dolmas, toasted almonds & marinated olives served with seeded pitta . One of the very best of its kind that you’ll find in the Cork area.

Dessert? Well, one will do and our server diplomatically dropped it in neutral territory and quickly withdrew! 😉. Was reminded of a veteran soccer referee when asked for advice about hopping the ball between two players. “Just throw it in quickly,” he advised “and move back.  I once got an expensive watch bursted by staying too close”. Our server was in no such danger but that Frangipane (Mixed berry almond tart with whipped cream or vanilla ice-cream)  certainly tested one’s manners!

And we didn’t have any drink! They have an excellent wine list, lots of organic wine, and the full array of craft beers from the Baltimore crew that run the West Cork brewery. Great service in a very comfortable venue. Well, worth a call. And do watch out for their 10 euro lunch menu.

Upstairs at The Co-op is open Wednesday to Saturday from 12 noon with last orders at 8pm. Please make an advance reservation. Walk-ins are accommodated whenever possible. 

Upstairs Art

Pic via Quay Facebook

“Working from life keeps my work alive, figures, shoes, clouds, landscapes, flowers..I’m based in Cork City Ireland,” says Eileen Healy (right) whose work is hanging in all three rooms of the Upstairs Restaurant. “Ideal as wedding gifts, birthday gifts,” says the artist.

Upstairs are delighted to be able to show her work this winter: “Eileen recently announced the sale of her life’s work in an effort to secure a longterm home for her future. …. The housing shortage brought on by the banking crisis over 10 years ago still means that many people struggle to secure a home in Ireland and we applaud Eileen for highlighting this issue for the arts community. ”

You may have noticed I’m on a kind of “one, two” kick these days, usually consisting of a meal plus something else like a walk in a wood or a by the seaside or a visit to an attraction. This time, by coincidence, it was a visit to another art exhibition, this  the ODYSSEYS at the Crawford Art Gallery. 

It marks the centenary of James Joyce’s modernist masterpiece Ulysses. The exhibition offers an exploration of journeys through art, from Ancient Greece to present times, with a special focus on James Joyce’s often overlooked relationship with Cork. Odd isn’t it how the rebel city has never claimed this particular rebel?

Serving the people of Cork since 1800, the Oyster Tavern may have been one of the pubs visited by Simon and Stephen Dedalus in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. ‘Stephen watched the three glasses being raised from the counter as his father and his two cronies drank to the memory of their past.’

Coal Quay Celebrations (2014)

Joyce was not overly impressed with market smallholders, not clear if it was in the English Market or the Coal Quay. He wrote: One humiliation has succeeded another, the false smiles of the market sellers, the curveting and ogling of the barmaids with whom his father flirted.

More on ODYSSEYS here.

Coop Buzzing on Sullivan's Quay since 1982!

Coop Buzzing on Sullivan's Quay since 1982! 

Mid week in the Quay Coop and there’s a busy lunch service in progress. No menu on the tables so you get your info from the notice boards in the inner of three upstairs room. The outer room, the biggest, overlooks the River Lee. 

Lots of help too from the friendly folk at the serving counter and so we make up our minds pretty quickly, grab a bottle of water from the chill cabinet (plenty of soft drinks there as well) and sit ourselves down with our number on a stick. Wine is also available here, just a few bottles of each colour, all available by the glass.

We don’t have long to wait. We didn’t order a starter. Soups and small salads are available along with a vegan Antipasti Board. Oh forgot to mention - you probably know anyhow - that the Quay Coop (and it is a coop) is a vegetarian and vegan restaurant. And a good one. Food here is fuss free and well priced, well cooked and neatly presented. You are well fed and they make no big no big deal about it, no formality.

Anyhow, our two dishes look inviting and we tuck in. I’m very happy with my Shepherd’s Pie. Puy Lentils are a key ingredient in a tasty mix that also includes, carrots, celery, mushrooms and onions in a red wine gravy topped with root veg mash. Well cooked and well dispatched!

Across the table, CL was happily making progress with her Lasagna composed of Mediterranean vegetables, puy lentils, in a rich red wine and tomato sauce, béchamel sauce with red and white cheddar. Not an iota went back, both plates polished off.

Oh I almost forgot. When you order a main course - and you have quite a choice - you may have two salads of your choice. Or, if you want something hot, as we did, you may have Courgettes in a Tomato and Pesto Sauce along with rustic wedges. Both were excellent.

Coffee is very good here (as it is downstairs in the coffee dock that opens earlier in the morning) so we choose that along with a couple of treats from quite a selection. With everything at hand we sat back, relaxed, and savoured the Apple Crumble and also a slice of Almond Cake along with the coffee. Enjoyed the food and the friendly service.

Quay Coop

Sullivan’s Quay

Cork

Phone: +353 21 4317 026

Website: http://www.quaycoop.com/restaurant/

Restaurant Hours: Mon-Sat: 11am - 9pm; Sunday: 12 - 9pm

See recent account of the Quay Coop enterprise, including the wholefood shop and more, here https://www.corkbilly.com/2019/06/amazing-selection-of-produce-at-corks.html 

Amazing Selection of Produce at Cork's Quay Coop

Cork's Quay Coop

Huge Selection of Produce in this Multi-Roomed Store 

With Arthur (left) before the mid-week breakfast meeting

You probably know where the Quay Coop is. On Sullivan’s Quay. A wren’s flight from the west end of the South Mall. But do you know what’s behind the door? The doors? Here, you may need a guide. Room after room filled with good things: a coffee dock downstairs, a restaurant upstairs. In the maze of the shop, you’ll breads, teas, a health area, and their own products including soups and nut loaf.

You’ll even come across Key Books. It is run by volunteers as a not-for-profit venture, benefitting a range of charitable and cultural ventures the Quay Coop support. Drop into Key Books for a browse – Tuesday to Saturday 12 to 5pm.

Still with me? Now we’re out the back and crossing the street to their production facility. Fr Matthew probably lived on this spot. A later building housed a lap-dancing club. And on this site now, with its contrasting stories, the Quay Coop are modernising their production facility, bringing it  up to the standard and speed necessary to serve the export market. Already, they export to the UK and now the Benelux countries are next in line. They are in fact currently looking for a production manager.

Out here too, you’ll see their electric delivery van, unless of course it is off delivering. They are very happy with this economical and environmentally friendly workhorse which is regularly on the road to their other two shops, one in Carrigaline, the other in Ballincollig.

A fraction of the selection of teas here

Add caption

We were here for breakfast and to meet the people behind the venture, have a chat and share tips. We being a blogger or two like myself plus people from various city bodies such as Chamber of Commerce, Cork City Library, the Metropole Hotel and so on, all invited in by Marketing Administrator Mia Tran. 

Arthur, who has been with the Quay Coop since its foundation in 1982, is our guide both to the history and the geography of the very impressive operation. The coop is quite an employer with 70 currently on the books, spread across ten different nationalities.

So the food here is vegetarian and vegan. You could say “alternative” and Arthur says that in the early years they were also a source of alternative information, helping the many backpackers and so on find accommodation and entertainment of their liking. They still do a bit of that but the internet has taken over that function as well.

from the sea

So things have changed, many alternatives now. And the Coop sometimes wonder where they stand now. Because Cork is small, they think everybody “knows about us”. “But do they? And that is why we are reaching out today.” Reaching out with hands full, I hasten to add, as they supplied us with a delicious breakfast, a terrific start to the day.

Arthur and Una and all the staff are rightly proud of their achievements here, especially their exporting business. Their nut loaf is the export star at the moment and you can find it even in Harrods!

On the other hand, Arthur is disappointed that there is no Irish organic vegetable grower capable of satisfying the daily demand in the Quay shops and restaurant. They do deal with quite a few but none have the scale to keep the Quay Coop going every week of the year. There are some though talking to Bord Bia about upscaling and Arthur is hopeful something will come of that.

What can you expect to find in this many-roomed store? Here’s a list that will give you a good idea: organic fruit and vegetables of all kinds, organic wines, fresh bread from our in-house bakery, herbs and spices, an extensive range of gluten-free products, chilled and frozen foods, meat alternatives, environmentally friendly household and cleaning products, health supplements, natural baby products, natural and organic cosmetics.

Upstairs, the restaurant has a diverse menu including a wide range of vegan and vegetarian starters, salads, main courses, specials, desserts, teas and coffees, with plenty of choice for those with dietary requirements, or on a tight budget. It is famous for its fantastic grub, extensive menu and generous portions.

Electric

The Coffee Dock in the Sullivan’s Quay Shop offers delicious breakfasts, lunches, sandwiches, salads and desserts; a wide range of vegetarian or vegan. Everything is available to eat-in or to-go.

Since 1982, The Quay Co-op was and is a workers op-operative based on Sullivan’s Quay, in the heart of Cork City. It follows a green policy, in food, in packaging, in energy and transport, and in recycling. Read more about the coop and its philosophy here.  Better still, call in and explore.

Quay Co-op Vegetarian Restaurant, Organic & Health Food Shop,

24 Sullivan's Quay,

Cork City

Co. Cork