Castle Scoops 2013 Travellers' Choice Award

Castle Scoops 2013 Travellers' Choice Award

In the Gearagh, a beautiful
natural attraction in Macroom.

The boutique 4 * Castle Hotel in Macroom, Co. Cork, beat off stiff competition and was voted a best ‘customer service’ hotel by Trip Advisor this week in its annual Trip Advisor Travellers’ Choice Awards.

The Castle Hotel was ranked 12th within the top twenty five hotels in Ireland by Trip Advisor. The hotel is no stranger to Trip Advisor and was awarded a Certificate of Excellence for 2011 and secured best “bargain” and “family” hotel in 2012.

The prestigious awards are run on an annual basis by Trip Advisor, which is the world’s largest travel community, where millions of travellers seek information on all items travel related.

Owner, Don Buckley said “It is refreshing to be awarded by Trip Advisor and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the team at The Castle Hotel for their continued hard work in achieving best practices in the hotel.  We are delighted to be right up there with well established hotels such as  The Aghadoe Heights Hotel (13th) & The Four Seasons (11th). This is a fantastic boost for management and staff and will spur us on to exceed our guest requirements”.

For further information on family packages and special offers contact The Castle Hotel on 026-41074.

Other Cork hotels featured in the Top 25 were Hayfield Manor (#2), Inchadoney Island Lodge and Spa (#7), The River Lee Hotel (#21) and Bayview Hotel (Ballycotton, (#23). In the best Small Hotels, Ballyvolane House came in at Number 10 with Liss Ard in Skibbereen (#22), while the Cork Airport International Hotel took 1st spot in the Bargain Hotels category.

Rico To The Rescue!

Rico To The Rescue!

Rico Vallebella has opened the doors of his new Italian Restaurant in the city centre to the people of Cork who have been left out of pocket as a result of the closure of HMV. Rico’s Trattoria Pizzeria on Sheares Street, is offering 2 for 1 on all main meals in return for one HMV voucher.

Italian born Rico feels in the current climate “we have to look after one another” and he wants to do his bit to make sure the people of Cork get some value from the money they spent on these, now unredeemable, HMV vouchers.

Adjoining Rico’s is the new Mardyke Ping Pong bar, the first of its kind in Ireland. So why not turn this bad situation into a great night out where you can enjoy  2 for 1 on delicious Italian food followed by a few drinks and some Ping Pong – Now there’s a night with a difference!

Rico’s food is now famous in Cork as he began trading at Farmers Markets with signature dishes Parmigano and ‘arranchini’ filled rice balls, and within a few years had opened The Castle Bar and Trattoria at Blackrock Castle and Baile Bella, a pizzeria at Blackrock Village. So now’s your chance to try his famous cuisine at half the price!

Riccardo Vallebella’s new Italian venture in Cork Rico’s at the Mardyke Entertainment Complex assures you’ll find a familiar mix of fresh fast real food at good prices. Family favourite pasta and pizza dishes will feature along with daily specials from Mama’s recipe book. Start with antipasta and finish with ammazza caffé (to kill the coffee) and eat like the Italians!

*2 for 1 offer  not available at the weekends

Warm up in the Idaho Cafe.

Idaho Cafe. Side Street Oasis.

It is small and perfectly formed, they say themselves. It is also bright and bubbly and has been bouncing on the same spot at 19 Caroline Street (at its junction with Oliver Plunkett Street) since 2001. It is of course the Idaho Cafe and themselves are the bright and bubbly Richard and Mairead Jacob.

"Real food for real people” was the original motto and you could now make it real local food! “We try to source all our primary ingredients from within a 100km radius of Idaho Cafe.” They can even tell you the names of their top laying hens: Beryl and Gladys.  

The cafe’s location could hardly be better, barely more than the length of a wren’s flight (25 yards for you city folks who never hunted the wren) from the busy Patrick Street. It is a breakfast place, a quick or a leisurely coffee and sweet things stop morning and afternoon, and a re-filling and refreshing lunch station. It draws visitors, shoppers and business types, along with casual drop-ins like myself.

We dropped in there on Friday shortly before one and just managed to get a table. Turnaround can be quick here with the coffee drinkers coming and going so check with Richard behind the counter if it looks full.

The menu is quite extensive. They are strong on breakfast choices and the lunch choices are good also, augmented by daily specials. We started off with a Potato and Fennell Soup. Fennell can be an overpowering element but here it was all nicely judged, really well balanced and very tasty indeed. Also enjoyed the brown soda bread.

Idaho has quite a reputation for its salads. Friday’s feature was Chicken with beetroot, roasted pepper, red onion and pine nuts (10.50). Looked almost too good to eat but this French style mix, so well dressed, was just gorgeous and both plates went back without a shred of evidence! Well, maybe a smear of beetroot.

Then had a look at the Sweet Things, next to the Hippy Teas. My choice here was the Rhubarb Tart and a pot of the traditional Barry’s Tea (not under Hippy Teas!). Both went down a treat.

Terrific ambience in this busy little spot which, by the way, is Cash Only! Contact them at (021) 427 6376 or idaho.cafe@gmail.com. Read more about Idaho here

Baigorri Crianza and Reserva

Baigorri Crianza and Reserva

Baigorri Tempranillo Crianza 2008, La Rioja, 14.5%, €11.40 in the bodega at Samaniego.
Baigorri Tempranillo Reserva 2006, La Rioja, 14.0%, €18.66 in the bodega at Samaniego.


Happy day: the 12th June 2012. That was the day I pulled into the winery of Baigorri, its glass cube rising above but not dominating the nearby medieval village of Samaniego in La Rioja, and left with some really lovely wines, including these two.

We rang the bell and Pilar met us at the door and let us in. We were too late for the tour but had a lovely chat with the young lady who had polished off her English on the Clash Road in Little Island (Cork).

I was amazed at the stunning winery, designed and built by the architect Inaki Aspiazu, creating an unmissable yet compatible landmark. The cube is just the top of a seven storey structure that carries on underneath the surface and means that virtually every movement of the wine making process owes much to gravity.

And the results in the bottles are brilliant too.

The Crianza

Colour is dark red and there are intense aromas of red fruits, regularly found with Tempranillo in this region.

But the palate is something else, above expectations. Full of fruit flavours but very rounded, quite sophisticated. A really well made wine with a persistent finish.

Probably the best value of the wines that I bought here and very highly recommended.

The Reserva

The Reserva is another excellent wine but is pretty expensive. If I were stuck for money and in the bodega again, I’d probably buy two Crianza rather than one Reserva!

There are good reasons for the big price difference. It has been a good deal longer in the process, including longer in oak. The grapes are picked from very old vines, manually selected and de-stalked before being fermented in French oak.

It is one hundred per cent Tempranillo whereas the Crianza is a blend of 90% Tempranillo, 5% Garnacha and 5% indigenous varieties.

The colour is a dark ruby red. The nose is rich with ripe fruit and hints of spice and leather. On the palate it is pleasant, warm and fruity, slightly spicy, with a supple texture drawn from the tannins and the oak, rounded and so well balanced with a persistent dry finish. Another in the very highly recommended category.

Gathering the Wine Geese Home

Gathering the Wine Geese Home

Just heard from Beverley of L'Atitude 51. She has some exciting news on the wine front:



In association with The Gathering Ireland, we are organizing a series of “Meet the Wine Geese” events throughout 2013, where Wine Geese from across the globe, ranging from some of the more famous Bordeaux players to the smaller less-well known producers will be flying home to meet wine (and history) enthusiasts and share their stories and wines – they’ll recount their winery’s history and connections with Ireland and give a guided tasting of their wines – they talk, we taste!

The aim is to host at least one event per month which will be open to the public in venues across Cork city and county, including some historical venues. A schedule of events is currently being drafted and will be made available shortly. We are really excited to include the wine tasting & presentation by Jean Charles Cazes of Chateau Lynch-Bages, at The Grain Store, Ballymaloe on Sunday 10th March (http://www.ballymaloe.ie/things-to-do/wine-events) as one of our 12 events. As this is an opportunity to promote the best of Irish produce, tastings will tie in with other similar events, such as masterclasses in cheese & wine matching, etc...

The initiative is being led by L’Atitude 51 with support from Colm McCann of Ballymaloe and Maurice O’Mahony of Wine Alliance and has received approval from Cork City Council to be included as part of The Gathering Ireland's official line-up of events. We are looking to engage as many venues, suppliers, members of the hospitality trade and the media as we can to make the event as successful as possible.

We have a page on The Gathering's website where details of events will be posted as they are confirmed, as well as feedback on events held.


For more on the event please click here

Toys for Pigs!

Toys for pigs? And music.. Whatever next?


Truly Irish have a new and "a very exciting project which might just change the future of how/why we eat meat and the Irish pig industry.

Please take a look. We are involved with groups from the EU as well as BioAtlantis, UCD, UFBI in Ireland and the project has received funding of 1.68 million.

Our head office is located in Charleville with our 85 pig farmers located all over the country. Our goal has always been to safeguard 8,000 Irish jobs and to save the Irish pig industry."

Click here to read all about it

The Four Liars

The Four Liars

Spent an enjoyable ninety minutes or so in the Four Liars Bistro, in the shadow of Shandon, on Friday night. First impressions were good. The place was neat and tidy with solid but very comfortable tables and chairs. The standard table for two was more spacious than most.

We got a lovely warm welcome and the service was friendly throughout. Great too to read on the menu folder about their focus on local produce. The menu had been “put together with the best of local ingredients while adding a continental touch. All our food is sourced locally... our beef is from O’Flynn’s, Sunday’s Well, Chicken from the English Market, Fish from Good Fish, Carrigaline..”

I started off with a beauty: Lobster Bisque with Cognac and Cream. This, from the A La Carte, cost €9.50. A handful of prawns were in the very tasty bisque. The other starter, Duck Spring Rolls with Mango Chutney (7.25), was another excellent combination of taste and flavour.

Had been given one of those discount vouchers as a Christmas present and we used that to pick our mains from the Value Menu (which looks good value with three courses for 24.95). They also do an Early Bird with three courses for 19.95. The voucher also allowed us a drink, a glass of wine or a bottle of beer (no craft beer here, so had a Miller).

My mains was Chicken Creole sautéed in a sweet chilli and red wine sauce with Chorizo and sweet red peppers. A lovely piece of chicken, well cooked, spicy but not overly so and there was a really well made Potato Croquet also in the mix. And that wasn't all as we got a superb side plate of vegetables that included turnip, carrot and pea. Quite a pleasing dish, also quite filling and, if you didn’t have a voucher, reasonably priced at €15.00.

Between the various menus, there is a great choice. You may spend as much or as little as you like here, with mains on the A La Carte priced between €13.95 and €32.00. And, going by last Friday’s performance, I’d have no worries about quality. We enjoyed our visit and great to see another restaurant supporting local produce.

Four Liars Bistro,
The Butter Exchange,
Shandon,
Cork,
Ireland .

Contact:  021 4394040  and thefourliarsbistro@gmail.com

A twinning proposition: Timoleague and Samaniego

A twinning proposition: Timoleague and Samaniego

Timoleague (above) and Samaniego

Let us twin the ancient villages of Timoleague (West Cork) and Samaniego (La Rioja). Maybe I can’t pull that off but I sure can get Ummera and Baigorri together. Ummera is a famous state of the art smokehouse in Timoleague while Baigorri is a renowned state of the art winery in La Rioja.

Indeed, I have already brought them together, stumbling on a fantastic wine food pairing, as an unforeseen postscript when I recently opened a bottle of Baigorri Garnacha that I had purchased in Samaniego last summer.

Approaching the end of this bottle, I remembered that I had a few slices of the fantastic Ummera smoked duck to be finished off. Thought to myself that they might make a match.

For once, heaven agreed with me. Chewed a sliver of the duck and added a little wine. Eureka! The "chemistry"  revealed depths of smoky flavour, hitherto unsuspected. Amazingly, products from two ancient villages met on my palate and turned it into a flavour filled paradise.

Baigorri Garnacha, Rioja 2009, 14.5%, €19.54 at the winery in Haro.

Baigorri tend to experiment a bit and they even have a “garage” wine. This Garnacha has been influenced by the winemakers, a vin de l'auteur they call it. A well made wine for sure and highly recommended (very highly recommended if you add the smoked duck!) but a little pricey in comparison with their excellent Tempranillo Reserva.

Quite a dry introduction and then a bubbly rush of fruits. A flavoursome wine then with a stirring persistence. It has a rich red colour with calm fruity aromas, especially plum, plus hints of spice. Overall, the experience in the mouth echoes that of the bouquet.

Amuse Bouche

Amuse Bouche

Even here in Southern Italy, in unheated houses in winter, bread won’t rise because of the cold. Historically the answer was to take the rising mass to bed with you, using the human body and bed clothing to maintain the adequate temperature. I did this for a few weeks over this winter, the pleasant and yeasty gestation under the sheets and thick woolen blankets, likely the closest I’ll ever come to feeling the profound satisfaction observed on the faces of mother hens.
http://awaitingtable.com/2012/04/pane-nella-pignata-bread-baked-in-earthenware/ from the blog by SILVESTRO

BB and Amy in Cork Show later this month

Legendary photographer, Terry O’Neill, brings a major exhibition of his work to Cork in January 2013. The show will feature shots of Bridgette Bardot (left) and Amy Whitehouse (below) among many others. Read all about it here

Cork Baker’s Book in Paris Mix

Food and Drink Spotting

Cork Baker’s Book in Paris Mix

Just over 6 months ago chef and baker Patrick Ryan turned his back on a successful career in the UK to return home to set up the Firehouse Bakery and Bread School on Heir Island in West Cork.

On his return home Patrick brought with him his first published book 'Bread Revolution' which aims to return bread to its rightful place as 'King of the Table'. Patrick is now set to take his 'Bread Revolution' to Paris as it has been short listed for the Gourmand World Cook book awards best bread book 2012.

With participants from 171 countries Patrick's passion for real bread will go up against authors from France, Austria, Denmark and Singapore for the title of Best Bread book with the eventual winner being crowned at an awards dinner on February 23rd at Carrousel Du Louvre in Paris.

“Absolutely overwhelmed to receive such recognition” says Patrick. “ The idea behind 'Bread Revolution' was to just get people back baking again. I wanted to show that there is so much more to bread than just brown and white. With a few tips and thrifty tricks the humble loaf can so easily be transformed into a meal”.

'Bread Revolution' is just a taste of what you can get expect from a day’s bread making at The Firehouse Bakery and Bread School. With over 60 recipes including everything from nettle and chive flowerpot loaves to crusty sourdoughs 'Bread Revolution' provides true crust to crumb eating.

Shorts

Castle Hotel

Lucky enough to get a ticket to see The Boss in Cork?……

Don't be left 'Dancing In The Dark' this July 18th 2013 - The  boutique four star Castle Hotel in Macroom,  nestled between Blarney and Killarney and just 30 minutes from Cork City, is the ideal base for Springsteen fans to explore the scenic South West of Ireland.

The four star Castle Hotel is delighted to launch The Bruce Springsteen Special package and, for as little as  €55 per person sharing.  guests are in for a treat. For further information on this offer and other special offers currently available at the Castle Hotel visit here.

From Vineyards Direct
“We're very excited to announce the arrival of 2 magnificent new wines from the iconic Château de la Négly in the Languedoc, and a Bourgogne Blanc from the stellar producer Domaine Michelot, a Meursault in all but name at a  terrific price.

Negly, within sight of the Mediterranean, the sea breeze helps to soften the sometimes harsh heat of the summer and this combined with the unique terroir and painstaking methods of the estate results in an utterly delicious and very well priced wine at just €14.49 per bottle.” Details here.

Longueville House ‏@Longuevillecork
Longueville House & Restaurant open every weekend throughout January. Great DBB deals on weekend stays! T 02247156 http://Www.longuevillehouse.ie

Colours of Beer
Beertone, classification of your beer by its color.

Cafe Portebleue ‏@cafe_portebleue
Seared scallops with pan fried lardons flambeed in pastis. Try it and love it! http://www.cafeportebleue.com  #CafePortebleue

Galway Oysters
Galway: With so much to look forward to this New Year, make sure you mark the world's oldest oyster festival in your diary for 27th-29th September 2013. 10 per cent discount ‘til end of Jan here

I like the cha cha cha

I like the cha cha cha

They like to cha cha cha, they like to cha cha cha 

Everybody likes to cha cha cha

I used to love that old Sam Cooke song and now I got another Cha Cha Cha in my life. For the past few days I’ve been sampling three Cha green teas that I bought from Fixx Coffee  in Dublin. 

Cha Very Berry Tea received the accolade of a Gold Star in the Great Taste Awards 2012. They are handpicked and sourced from single estates at the foothills of the Himalayas. “Our Cha Teas are organic and certified by the EU Regulatory Authorities”.

Opened up the packet and picked the Golden Mango, with naturally extracted flavours of Mango and Vanilla, for the first tasting. The aromas were absolutely fantastic. But would they be too much for the flavours. No. Sure, I still savoured the smells but also loved the flavours. Wow. What a winner! A delicious flavour enjoyed either hot or cold, I’m told, but I haven’t tried it cold yet.

Then on to the Spring Mint. The aromas here were unmistakably those of spearmint, really cool and clean. A beautiful cup, fragrant and cooling. Must make sure I have some in for the summer.

The teabags are made from non chemical bleached filter paper and each tin contains 25 x 1.5g teabags (Tin Size 37.5g).

Finally, it was the turn of the Pure Green. Pure tea, boy, supple and dry, unhindered by any fancy flavours yet doing the job in a firm yet calm and relaxing manner. That it is full of antioxidants helps!

Cha Teas perform best when brewed for 2-3 minutes at 90C and served in a 250-300ml cup. Keep an eye on your cuppa – use a timer! You don’t want to spoil a good thing.

The teas were part of an offer on the Fixx Coffee site and naturally there was also some coffee on offer. I tried their Cubita Roasted Beans. They said this “is an exquisite coffee that has strong earthy tones, with a hint of smokiness and a caramel finish, it is the most popular brand of coffee in Cuba”.  Must say I agree one hundred per cent with the tasting notes here. A classic in a cup!

So now I move from Cha Cha Cha to Bolero: the music beating insistently out in the sun, load conversastions, a cup of cubita on the table and an eye out for the señoritas. Only an eye though as  mi señora, who also loves the cubita, is keeping an eye on me!

Operation: Transform the Chicken!

Operation: Transform the Chicken!

Back in the jour, there was poulet fumé. En vacances in France, it was a treat but nothing to write ( it was long before Twitter) home about. 

Indeed, we had to come home and fast forward a fair bit to find something to write home about. And that was the smoked chicken from Anthony Creswell in Ummera. Indeed anything Anthony smokes is worth not just writing home about but bringing home with you.

Sampled a fair few of his delicacies over the recent holidays before getting down to the chicken. What to eat with it? That was the question until I began browsing through the latest Aldi newsletter and spotted the potato salad they had printed as part of their association with RTE’s Operation Transform.

This has proved to be quite a popular programme and the 6th series gets underway this very Tuesday evening. Dr. Eva Orsmond is one of the key people and her recipes appear in the Aldi booklet and all the info will be on the programme’s website. 

In the meantime, I have attached a copy of the potato salad that did indeed go very well with the smoked chicken, even though Eve suggested you use it with her pan-fried salmon dish. In any event, it is quite versatile and very tasty!

Speaking of matches, I tried another one over the holidays and indeed, must say I am very pleased with it. Have you still got some Christmas pudding in the house? Good. Don’t use it until you get your hands on a bottle or two of A Winter’s Ale from Mitchelstown’s 8 Degrees Brewing Company.

The Ale, which is “reinforced” by some Green Saffron Spices, is stronger than usual. But don’t worry. This doesn’t call for a lot. We shared a bottle between each pair. Pour into a small glass, even a wine glass, and sip it with your steamed pudding. Gorgeous. That was the verdict here. Well worth a try.

Operation Transform starts Tuesday 8th January at 8.30pm on RTÉ One