Ballymaloe to showcase Tuscan Wines and Olive Oil

Wines and Olive Oil of Tuscany

Winemaker Dinner  

Wednesday 9^th November 2011, 8pm, at Ballymaloe

      

     

For the first time to be held in Ireland, launching the new season’s Tuscan Olive Oil, will be the owners of some of Tuscany’s iconic Olive Oil & Wine Estates, in association with Liberty Wines. The Tuscan estates represented here by the owners themselves, on Wednesday 9^th November, at Ballymaloe will be:

Bea Contini Bonacossi, from Capezzana, Carmignano www.capezzana.it

Federico Giuntini, Selvapiana, Rufina www.selvapiana.it

and David Gleave MW, of Liberty Wines will introduce the wines and olive oils of Fontodi www.fontodi.com

                 Dinner in the evening will be with the owners/winemakers from these Tuscan wine & Olive Oil estates here themselves for a unique evening at Ballymaloe, in association with Liberty Wines, with a specially chosen menu to match some of the finest wines from Tuscany, and the new seasons Olive Oil.

Wine and Olive Oil dinner, 8.00pm, €95

Tel: 021 4652531

res@ballymaloe.ie  

Full details also online www.ballymaloe.ie

PICPOUL HEAD TO HEAD

PICPOUL HEAD TO HEAD


Domaine Reine Juliette, Terres Rouges, Picpoul de Pinet, Languedoc 2010, 13.5%, €12.00 Bubble Brothers, 3 stars


Colour is of light honey and it has a moderately aromatic nose. Not a major impression on the palate but quite a friendly one, more of a purr, less of a bark. It has a nice lively acidity with thirst quenching fruit.

While the acidity is sharp it never gets anywhere the point where you feel you might as well be sipping a Citron Pressé. If you want something to go with your mussels or oysters (and there are a lot of months with “r” coming up) this is a banker.


 

Les Costières de Pomerols, Picpoul de Pinet, Languedoc 2010, 12.5%, €7.00 Tesco, 4 stars.


Colour and nose is much the same as the previous Picpoul. The acidity is still there but this is definitely more flavoursome, more rounded.

There will always, it seems, be arguments about Tesco’s pricing policy in the drinks department but nor argument that their buyers have come up with a good one here, underlined by the fact that Decanter gave it their Regional Trophy (Languedoc –Roussillon) for a white at under ten UK pounds.

Some differences

A – Closure is artificial cork on Bubble’s, screw-cap on the Tesco.

B- Alcohol is 13.5% in Bubble, 12.5% in the Tesco bottle.

C- The Tesco price is €7.00, Bubbles €12.00

FRANCISCAN WELL OCTOBER FEST

Click on image to enlarge

FRANCISCAN WELL
OCTOBER BEER FEST

No shortage of choice when I called in to the well established OctoberFest at the Franciscan Well Brewery and Pub at the weekend. There were dozens of beers on tap, and many more in bottle at the bar itself. 

Renewed acquaintance with John Radley of Cremin and Radley who had a stand there. Tempted also to renew acquaintance with their Fruli Strawberry beer or the Schneider Aventinus but then spotted the new Irish lager from Kerry named after the arctic explorer Tom Crean. 

This 4.6% ABV from the Dingle Brewing Company is not half bad and I enjoyed my pint. The blurb says it is light and delicately hopped..perfectly balanced and elegant... I’d agree with that. 

Hadn’t seen the Svyturys range before so I had a try at their stand. Got a glass of their Ekstra, a pale easy drinking lager at 5.2%. They are especially proud of the Nefiltruotas Raw, a Zwickelbier Lager described as the lager world’s answer to real ale. Liked my sample and will explore this Lithuanian beer further. Some humourous ads on their site, by the way! 

The Franciscan Well joined in the Bord Bia national Beer/Cheese Tasting Events this weekend and on Saturday afternoon, they had the very knowledgeable Willie Healy of the well known Bandon food store URRU  in charge of that particular stand. 

Here I got the chance to sample their newest stout, the Shandon Century Extra Stout (7.5%), available on tap and in a limited issue of numbered bottles (which, I’m told, are flying out the door at Bradley’s Off Licence). It is something special, full bodied and smooth and with a great dry flavour. 

Willie had examples from four local cheese producers for sampling with the stout and the other Franciscan products and they were Hegarty’s, Gubbeen, Ardsallagh and the Fermoy Natural Cheese Company. My favourite match was the stout and the cheddar from Hegarty’s. 

Well done to the Franciscan Well who had the whole thing well organised and had plenty of friendly staff on duty to help out. 

Beer and cheese. And the blues!

Organiser Barrie Tyner (with the large bottle) at the Beer/Cheese event at the
Midleton Farmers Market today Saturday

SOUP RECIPES BY THE SCORE

 1000s of SOUPS!

Soups to cosy up to That cool autumn air makes a mug of warming soup all the more inviting, and we’ve over 1000 Soup recipes to try! Share your favourite soup recipe!

Soup recipe collections Vegetable soups Chicken soups Lentil soups Halloween soups All Soup recipes

EXCITEMENT AT THE CORNSTORE

Kerli Estnurm , Mike Ryan and Kate O'Donovan at THE CORNSTORE CORK

Cornstore Restaurant - 
awards finalist twice in one week

It’s been an exciting week for the Cornstore Restaurant Group with the Cornstore Cork restaurant selected as a finalist for one of the Irish hospitality industry’s highest honours; the prestigious Hotel & Catering Review ‘Gold Medal Award for Casual Dining’.

On top of that, The Frawley Group (which comprises the Cornstore Restaurants in Cork and Limerick, the Cornstore At Home gourmet deli, and Aubars Bar & Club) was selected as one of three finalists in the inaugural Limerick Region Business Awards 2011 for ‘Best Large Indigenous Company’.

Eight of the best of Ireland’s relaxed dining sector were selected as finalists for the Gold Medal Award for Casual Dining at the 23rd Annual Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Awards on Monday, October 24th, 2011 in Dublin.

Run by Executive Chef Mike Ryan, the Cornstore opened in Cork in 2007 and has gained wide acclaim since its launch, not least from the Gold Medal Awards jury this year, who recognised the restaurant’s commitment to promoting the best of seasonal, local Munster produce to diners.

The Limerick Region Business Awards were designed to give a platform to businesses to showcase their accomplishments, celebrating success and highlighting business achievements, innovation and excellence in the region, and were held on Friday October 21st in Limerick.

Commenting on the recognition these nominations bring to the Group, proprietor Padraic Frawley said; “We are delighted to have been acknowledged by both the hospitality sector and the business sector in this last week. It is a testament to our policy of supporting local business in sourcing quality local suppliers. Being nominated for these awards brings a recognition which validates our hard work and determination, and also recognises our hard working staff. As well, it demonstrates our ability to do business in even the toughest of times.”

MIDLETON'S BEER AND CHEESE MATCH

BEER AND CHEESE MATCH
at Midleton Farmers Market

Barry Tyner has been busy organising:


"This Saturday we are having a celebration of Irish Farmhouse Cheeses and Craft Beers at the Midleton Farmers Market. That means a big tasting table set up and everyone gets to sample for free.

We are also having a Costume Competition in aid of Bernardos. All stall holders will be in costume and prizes for the best costume for the kids.

We also have Stevie G doing a Jazz set and Andrea and his band belting out Rhythm & Blues. A clown performer will be going round keeping the kids on their toes."


Should be fun. Think I'll drop down in the morning.

HAYFIELD MANOR HOTEL STRIKES GOLD!

Congrats to Hayfield Manor on winning the  Hospitality Industry's Highest Accolade

Ettienne Van Vrede General Manager, Karen Fleming Assistant Manager and Michael O'Driscoll Head Doorman (right) with the Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Award for Excellence 2011.

HAYFIELD MANOR HOTEL, the luxurious five star hotel in Cork city, has been awarded the highest accolade in the Irish hospitality industry, the prestigious Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Award for Excellence 2011.The landmark Cork hotel, which celebrated 15 years in business this year, triumphed ahead of hundreds of its peers in the Irish hospitality industry, beating off stiff competition from hotels, restaurants and caterers across the island of Ireland to win the supreme award at the 23rd Annual Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Awards  on Monday night.

Owned and operated by the Scally family, who bought the former Musgrave estate from the famous merchant clan in 1996 and turned it into the city’s first five star hotel, Hayfield Manor is a standard-bearer for Irish hospitality, providing Irish and international guests with unrivalled customer care in sumptuous surroundings.

The five star hotel has been described as a ‘beacon for Irish tourism’ by members of the Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Awards Jury, who together travelled close to 20,000 kilometres across the island this summer to search for Ireland’s greatest hospitality provider.

‘Hayfield Manor is a most deserving winner of the supreme Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Award for Excellence 2011, which is the highest accolade we can bestow on any hotel or catering business,’ commented Sarah Grennan, editor of Hotel & Catering Review and chair of the Gold Medal Awards Jury. ‘This luxurious five star hotel has proved consistently excellent in all aspects of its operation over our many years adjudicating for the Gold Medal Awards. Our judges have been bowled over by the standard of service delivered by the hotel’s loyal team of staff who are proud ambassadors for Irish tourism.’

HANDY MEALS AT THE MARKET

HANDY MEALS AT THE MARKET 

Go into a supermarket nowadays and you’ll see signs all over the place for meal deals. You won't see such signs at your local farmers market but with a little “digging” you certainly can come up with a convenient meal.

Mahon Point is the farmers market that I am most familiar with and here is a recent example.

Starter: Chicken & Brandy paté from Barry Tyner

Mains: Lamb Tagine from Flynn’s Kitchen.

Dessert: Panacotta from Glenilen.

Lots of variations are possible: olives from the Real Olive Co., salmon paté from the Old Millbank and maybe crab cakes and soups from Flynn’s for starters; various types of Indian dishes from Green Saffron and also Flynn’s do a few more for mains; cheeses from Gubbeen and Marks, cakes and pastries from Bite Size and others, fruits and more for your dessert.

I probably left out quite a few (sorry!) but you can see my point. You can quickly make up a really high class convenient three course meal.

Was at the market this morning and Ballintubber Farm, where we bought our vegetables today, had loads of pumpkins on sale (photo). Stalls were busier than usual – Ian O’Flynn thought it might be because the schools were off due to the election – and we picked up some fish from O’Driscoll’s, various bits and pieces of pig from Woodside, apple juice from Ballyhoura, a favourite yeast loaf from the Natural Foods (photo), and more to set things up nicely for the jazz weekend.

Only regret was that I had to leave before the Beer and Cheese event got underway at noon!

Amuse Bouche

“Wang Long’s mother works in a foreigners’ hotel..... She told me that foreigners are really wasteful. They throw away the tea bags after just one cup. And the tea isn’t good enough for them – they have to add milk before they can drink it.”

 From Beijing Coma by Ma Jian.

GOURMET RAINBOW AT END OF BOREEN

GOURMET RAINBOW AT END OF BOREEN

Anthony Creswell with his 2010 UK Great Taste Gold and newly delivered salmon being processed.

On a boreen at the back of Timoleague, the back if we agree the front faces the estuary, there is a fork and if you take the left, even before you take the left, you will see a modest timber building below you.

It looks like a big hut but this is a state of the art smoke house and is the home of multi-award winning Ummera. Some of the awards are displayed outside. I had a guide here last week, none other than the owner Anthony Creswell.

Not only is this building a state of the art organic smoke house, it is also a highly efficient production unit, very streamlined indeed with the raw material arriving at one door and the tasty finished products leaving at the other end.

On the day I arrived, a delivery of salmon from Clew Bay had been made. The ice-packed boxes were being opened and the salmon, all individually tagged, were being filleted in preparation for the smoking. At the end is the packing and the dispatch, a room from which these high class products are sent to destinations all over the world.

The much sought after Ummera Smoked Products include Smoked Organic Salmon, Organic Gravadlax, Smoked Eel, Smoked Chicken, Smoked Duck and Smoked Dry Cured Bacon and are available at a range of outlets in Ireland. Sea Salt from Portugal and Raw Cane Sugar (Organic) from Costa Rica are used in the process but no artificial preservatives.

Ummera products have even ended up in Hawaii but they are also appreciated locally and indeed I enjoyed a gorgeous plateful of them in Dillon’s Restaurant (highly recommended) in Timoleague village before meeting Anthony.

Aside from being a very efficient “production line”, the smoke house is also extremely environmentally friendly. There are armies of worms working out the back in the vermi-composting unit set up to dispose of production waste and the site has a natural wetland for water waste.

The business goes back to the early 70s but this new house was built in 2000 and modified in 2004 to meet the demanding standards required by the Irish Government and the EU for the export of meat and poultry products. This enabled Ummera Smoked Chicken and Smoked Dry Cured Bacon to be exported throughout the EU in compliance to EU regulations. The Ummera Smoke house is the only one in Ireland licensed to smoke both fish and meat (including poultry).

Check out all the fascinating details here. http://www.ummera.com/

GOOD FOOD IRELAND AT THE BREEDER’S CUP

GOOD FOOD IRELAND SHOWCASES AT THE BREEDER’S CUP

Good Food Ireland has being invited by Irish Thoroughbred Marketing to represent Ireland at The Breeders Cup “Taste of the World” Welcome Party in Louisville, Kentucky on November 3rd 2011. The brainchild of American celebrity chef Bobby Flay, the 15 countries that have won the Breeders Cup will come together to showcase the cuisine of their country.

These include France, Japan, USA, New Zealand, UK, Argentina and Australia amongst others. Good Food Ireland will also be included in the Winners Circle Ceremony for a Breeders Cup world championship race named in honour of the event. Coverage of the Welcome Party will be beamed to millions of people during ESPN’s domestic and international broadcast on Nov 4th and 5th.

“It is a great honour for Good Food Ireland to represent our country at this prestigious event. Ireland’s cuisine is largely driven by local ingredients and seasonal variations and the Good Food Ireland members clearly epitomise the best. The Breeders Cup is an ideal event to promote Ireland’s cuisine and the wonderful food that can be experienced in our network of businesses around the island of Ireland.

It is a primary audience many of whom regularly travel to Ireland for its great thoroughbred industry.  Good Food Ireland is very grateful to Irish Thoroughbred Marketing for affording this opportunity to us. ” say Margaret Jeffares, Founder and Managing Director, Good Food Ireland.

Good Food Ireland member chefs, Ed Cooney, The Merrion Hotel, Dublin and Maurice Keller, Arlington Lodge Country House Hotel, Waterford will showcase Butter Poached Fillet of Clare Island Salmon with a Lemon Oil Dulse, Green Vegetable Broth & Lobster, Traditional Irish Soda Breads, Burren Smokehouse Organic Smoked Salmon and Irish Farmhouse Cheese.

CORKSCREW WINE FAIR TO AID FOCUS IRELAND

In an effort to raise money for Focus Ireland, The Corkscrew are putting on a winter wine fair. 

What's on offer?

An opportunity to taste over 100 of the best wines available in Ireland in the relaxed and luxurious setting of the Westbury Hotel in Dublin. "We will be generously supported by some of our importers and as ever, it will be great to meet them and to see what new wines are available."

The details

The Corkscrew Winter Wine Fair in aid of Focus Ireland

Sunday, November 20th 12.30 - 5.30pm.

Westbury Hotel, Dublin

Tickets are €25 (all proceeds to Focus Ireland) and available online at http://www.thecorkscrew.ie/winter-wine-fair.html.

About Focus Ireland

  

Homelessness in Ireland is on the rise, while funding for charitable organisations such as Focus Ireland is under severe pressure.  Their services for people who are homeless are especially important at this time of year with colder, wetter weather and the emotional strain of the Christmas period.