Master the art of Bread Baking

Master the art of Bread Baking with the Fabulous Master Baker, Fabrice Hergaux, of The Butler’s Pantry.

A Bread for Every Occasion with The Butler’s Pantry!

Master the art of bread baking with Fabrice Hergaux, Master Baker at The Butler's Pantry.  Fabrice will be letting guests in on some of his secrets that he has learned over a long and successful career. You will learn how to make brioche and how to transform it into different shapes such as mice and tortoises!  Fabrice will also be showing guests at the Miele Gallery how to make traditional flat bread with special attention on the French classic the ‘Savoyard’!  This is the very famous French bread that hails from the Mont Blanc region and uses unusual ingredients including potatoes, bacon lardons, Reblcohon cheese and cream. Lastly the demonstration will focus on Viennois bread - the 'plait', 'pain au lait' and 'plaisir au chocolat' a favourite for every breakfast table!

The night will commence at 6.30pm with refreshments from The Butler’s Pantry on arrival followed by a night of learning the secrets of making the best bread and of course tasting all that Fabrice bakes!

Now just think of the next brunch you are planning at home and how impressed your guests will be!

Event Details

Event :            Bread Making with the Fabulous Fabrice, Master Baker at The Butler’s

            Pantry

Date :              Tuesday 14^th May 2013

Time :             6.30pm – 8.30 pm

Venue :           Miele Gallery, 2024 Bianconi Avenue, Citywest Business Campus,

Dublin 24

Miele in conjunction with The Butler’s Pantry run an amazing array of demonstrations throughout the year at their Miele Gallery in Citywest for full details visit https://www.miele.ie/domestic/miele-experience-2883.htm

Tickets : €25 for 1 person and €40 for 2 persons, spaces are limited, to purchase tickets tel : 01 461 0710 or email gallery@miele.ie

Amuse Bouche.Matthew Fort on Pizza.

The most basic pizza of all is pizza Bianca, which may be lubricated with olive oil and flavoured with garlic. Slightly more sophisticated and no less ancient, is pizza marinara, so called because sailors – marinai – could take the ingredients with them to sea. The ingredients for the topping were just tomato puree, garlic, olive oil and oregano. Had pizzaioli stuck to such inspired simplicity, all might have been fine, but they didn’t. In 1889 Queen Margherita of Savoy paid a visit to the city**, and the pizza  Margherita,  which combines tomato, mozzarella and basil leaves in imitation of the Italian flag, was invented in her honour and that has become the archetypal pizza, and the standard by which pizzas may be judged – and that is the problem.

** Naples

From Eating Up Italy by Matthew Fort

Douglas Tea Rooms

Douglas Tea Rooms

Pushing the envelope. It is one thing to push one envelope. But to push two is quite monumental. And it felt just like that as I worked my way through massive crêpes, filled with sweet banana and even further sweetened with caramel sauce. All this at the end of an excellent three course French style meal at the lovely Douglas Tea Rooms, part of their contribution to the Cork French Food and Wine Festival.

I was in the suburb to check out the festival goings on in and around the On the Pig’s Back. Five o’clock had been listed as the start time but not much was happening even by five thirty. Did manage to source a Loire wine from O’Donovan’s, bought some sardines from a French lady and had a chat with Timmy McCarthy (of Jack McCarthy’s in Kanturk) and also with Denis Cronin of Crosshaven.

So the Irish were there in some force but the French (who may of course have adopted our notorious time-keeping) weren’t. So we decided on a visit to the Tea Rooms and then a return to the Marché. But the retour never happened. Blame it on the crepes!

Serious credit though to the Douglas Tea Rooms forgetting into the spirit of the festival and added affordabilité to the liberté, egalité and fraternité. Their excellent three course meal cost under twenty two euro.

Coq au Vin

 Three starters were offered. CL enjoyed an onion packed French Onion Soup. I had to be a little more physical, cracking my way through some large tasty prawns with a delicious garlic and herb sauce.

Three mains also and I picked the delicious Sole Veronique, two fillets of exquisite freshness and delicacy and white as ivory. CL this time had the more robust dish, her Coq au Vin featured almost half a juicy succulent chicken enlivened by some spicy chorizo. Hardly classical but pretty damn good. Juts googled Coq au Vin and got some 432,000 references, so there’s bound to be some differences in the recipes!

Just a nod to EU solidarity with the wine, a new one to the Team Rooms. And a good one. Recently lauded in the Independent, the unoaked organic Spanish Chardonnay by Senorio de Ayud was fresh and vibrant.

Sole Veronique

Should have known the crêpes were going to be special when our friendly continental waitress rubbed her stomach enthusiastically and smiled broadly when we gave her the order.

Later, we rose, in slo-mo, and barely made it to the car. No thought then of the goodies over in the Woollen Mills. Je suis desole, Isabelle. C’est triste mais c’est le jeu. L’an prochaine,peut-etre?

Keep in touch with the Douglas Tea Rooms, who support local producers (including Jack McCarthy), here. By the way, that menu is on today!

Meanwhile, back at the market.....

Update on "Bringing the Wine Geese Home" at Fleming's

Susan Boyle.

Reservations can be made with O’Donovans Off Licence Head Office only and are €100 per person.  Tickets are limited to 4 per booking and must be pre-paid.  

Contact Deirdre or Rose on 021-4296060 for details.  

Please note that the event is no longer a Black Tie occasion

Irish Foodie Coffee Shop. And more!

Irish Foodie Coffee Shop. And more!

Called into the Irish Foodie Coffee Shop in Blackpool the other day. It is very convenient, so close to the shopping centre and just next door to South Doc on the Commons Road side. You get a warm welcome here from Theresa and her daughter Caroline. You also get great value. For instance, a regular tea or coffee and a scone (with butter, jam and cream) costs just three euro!

They have had their problems. Only last June, their original café, just around the corner, was the victim of those awful floods and knocked them out for a while. But they bounced back and, since November, have been operating out of this building, bright on the outside and bright and spacious inside.

And it is really colourful inside as one part of the premises is where they operate their long standing flower business. They have flowers for all occasions. And even a selection of chocolates to go with the flowers if that occasion is romantic.

After a chat with Theresa, we were taken care by Caroline who prepared my toasted Panini and CL’s Wrap. We had lots of choices as to what was to go into them, all nicely laid out and easy to see. Lots of sweet stuff too in another glass cabinet alongside. We enjoyed our lunch along with a terrific pot of Barry’s Tea.

 And while you are there, why not take a look at Theresa’s collection of Tea pots and accessories from the good old days, or at least the part of it that is on display here. If you don't like the old stuff, then there is free Wi-Fi!

Location: Millfield Business Park (Sunbeam), Blackpool, Cork

Hours: Mon - Fri: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Sat: 9:30 am - 2:00 pm

Phone:            (021) 439 7870

Email: info@irishfoodie.ie

Website:         http://www.irishfoodie.ie

The Ballymaloe LitFest - not the book, just a few posts.

Welcome to the Big Shed

The Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine 
- May 2013 - not the book, just a few posts, all in the one place. 


The First Full Day of the Festival.
Neven Maguire at Ballymaloe
Sunday in the Big Shed
The Ballymaloe LitFest Pictorial
Tastings in the Big Shed
Going Natural - New Trends in Wine

French touch at Nash 19!

Mairead of Nash 19 tells they are supporting the Cork French Food and Wine Festival with a special menu from today to the weekend. Worth a try, mes amis!

Nash 19 Restaurant and Food Shop Supporting French Food Trial Lunch Menu

Special French Wine by the Glass €4.50 to celebrate Cork French Food and Wine Festival

Soupe de Poisson avec Croutons                                                                    

Creamy Mushroom and Fennell Soup                                    

V. Classic French Onion Soup                                                                          

V. Warm Salad of St. Tola de Chevre Chaud with Polenta Crumb, Roast Peppers & Candied Pecans   

Fresh Oysters by the Dozen from the Market (10 Mins)                                 

Nash 19 Showcase Producers Platter                                                             

                                   

Salade Nicoise au Seared Tuna (Cotes d’Azur)                                                   

From the Market O Connell’s Roast Hake on Risotto topped with Cress                                                                                                                                        

Crowe’s Tenderloin of Pork Fillet with Cherry and Juniper Cream  

Chicken Korma Curry (Green Saffron Spices) , Lime infused Basmati Rice

                                                                                                                             

Durcan’s Sirloin of Beef, Roast Shallots                                                                 

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pie with Waterfall Greens                    

Roast Red Onion and Fresh Thyme Tarte topped with Ardsallagh Goat Cheese

                                                                                                                                   

Crowes Smoked Ham and Local Cheddar Toasted Sandwich With a Cup of Soup    

                                                                                                  

Sides;-Salad of the Day / Seasonal Vegetables/ Hand cut Chunky Chips in Sea Salt    €3.00

Restaurant Opening Hours; Monday to Friday 7.30am to5pm.  Shop till 6pm

Open Every Saturday 8.30am to 4pm

Food and Drink Spotting. Smoker Bill Casey.

Food and Drink Spotting

Bill Casey.

Shanagarry Smoked Salmon

Lots of big names at the Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine last weekend but also some "smaller" names, very important to the local scene. One such is Bill Casey, the man behind Casey’s Fish Products and in particularly the Shanagarry Oak Smoked Organic Irish Salmon.

Came across this quality product a few months back at Pat Short’s Pub in nearby Castlemartyr and took the opportunity to revisit it on a slice of brown bread at Bill’s stall in the Big Shed in Ballymaloe.

The company is a family run business, is based in Shanagarry, and supplies the hotel, restaurant and export markets. The Smoked Salmon is produced using the highest grade Irish organic Salmon, reared in the Atlantic Ocean off the West Coast.

For smoking Bill uses a mixture of oak and beech chippings. “Great attention to detail is paid in the process from salting, washing and smoking, to ensure a uniform and consistent product.”

And, you’ll be glad to know that all pin bones are removed before packing. Apart from salt and smoke, no additives are used in the process.

Contact details

Address: Shanagarry, Midleton, Co. Cork.

Phone: 021-4646955 and 086-6611468.

Email: smokiecasey@gmail.com.

Cronin’s Pub May-hem!

Put the 26th May in your diary for a Soul & Seafood Experience: three chefs, outdoor seafood dining and all while listening to the sounds of "Soul Driven" a seven piece soul band from Cork.

Denis Cronin, the pub’s in house cooking guru, will be whipping up his famous Mad Fish Stew. Alongside will be Ted Berner and Ivan Whelan of Wild Side Catering. Expect oysters, mussels, periwinkles and a whole lot more fabulous fishy treats, for you to enjoy.

More info here

From  3 - 7pm, Sunday, 26th May.

Shorts

Nevin's Cheese Cake at BallymaloeLitFest gets international praise!

Come celebrate this Thursday 9th May, Richy's 11th anniversary. For one night only house wine for 11 Euro per bottle. Call 023 8821852. Bookings only at the Clonakilty restaurant.

Douglas Tea Room are joining the fun of the French Dining Weekend from this Thursday (9th) to Sunday (12th). Check out the menu!

Tweet from: Jacobs On The Mall ‏@JacobsOnTheMall GREAT NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT! Starting this Thursday 9 May we are opening for lunch each Thurs & Fri from 12-3. Sample menu here! http://jacobsonthemall2010.arobis40.com/sample-lunch-menu …

Goat cheese and Serrano ham, an unusual combination.

Don’t forget the 2nd French Food and Wine Festival (mainly in On the Pig’s Back in Douglas) starts this Thursday evening and continues until late Saturday. Details here.

Glenisk launches new pop-up store in Dublin

Glenisk launches a new pop-up store in Dublin

 

Banana Caramel

Dark Chocolate and Orange

Glenisk has launched a new pop-up store in Dublin. Situated at the corner of Dawson  Street and Duke Street, the store is called Glenisk Upfront & Personal, playing on the theme of pop up and shop front, and celebrating the opportunity to meet customers in person. The store, which will open for 10 weeks, aims to demonstrate the versatility of its organic yogurt, through a series of creative flavour combinations of the sweet and savoury variety.

 Glenisk’s Upfront & Personal is being managed by Christine Jordan, who has spent three months devising recipes for the store. The recipes feature many leading Irish food producers, like Goatsbridge Smoked Trout and Burren Smokehouse Organic Salmon, while also embracing global food themes. As well as smoked fish, savoury options include Carrot, Beetroot & Apple Salad with Orange Harissa Dressing; Greek Salad; and Mexican Bean & Avocado combinations. Each savoury dish is served with delicious Rosemary & Olive Oil Crostini, baked especially for Glenisk at Moore Street’s renowned Paris Bakery.

 Sweet treats include Greek Style Natural Yogurt with Dark Chocolate, Orange, Pistachio & Honey; Turkish Figs in Spiced Syrup with Toasted Almonds; Fresh Fruit, Granola & Honey; and Banana, Caramel & Milk Chocolate. The store will also offer a wide selection of delicious Cheesecakes and Smoothies, prepared with Glenisk Organic Yogurt and Crème Fraiche. Read more.

...hunting for the trumpets of the dead

We went hunting for the trumpets of the dead….. To find the trumpets of the dead, you need sharp eyes, stout boots and knowledgeable neighbours.

The trumpets of the dead lurk in sodden banks of rotting leaves at the edge of the forest. They resemble truncated body parts of alien creatures……

But les trompettes des morts are mushrooms; queer-looking mushrooms but, despite their unappetising appearance and gothic-horror name, safe to eat. Safe is not the right word. They are wonderful to eat.

From Our Man in Paris by John Lichfield

Les sœurs Jacques

Les sœurs Jacques

Jacques, one of Cork’s oldest restaurants,  has always had two smiling sisters, Jacque and Eithne. Now it’s got two entrances, the latest onto Oliver Plunkett Street. Two styles also as here, in this comfortable informal space, something lighter, close to tapas, is served on small (not that small, mind you!) plates. But, don’t worry, the quality is as high as ever.

Jacque had the day off when we called for some early bites but Eithne was there as the new space filled up about six o’clock last Friday evening; it opens for the tapas at 5.30pm. Had a look at the short wine list – fits on a page - and started with a carafe (250ml) of the Picpoul de Pinet 2011, Domaine Delsol, Languedoc, quite a decent example of the type.

Made our first food choices from the blackboard, which is small and brought to your table. Picked two fish dishes for sharing, one was Fish Cakes with tartare sauce (8.00) and the other was Crab Toes Asian Style (7.00). A delightful duo.

Onto to the next round and a new wine, this time a glass each of the appropriately named Domaine St Jacques  d’Albas, a really good Minervois from the south of France.

More choices now as the board came again and this time the picks were Mexican Style Meat Balls with Tomato Fondue (7.00), really tasty with just a hint of piquancy. And we also ordered and thoroughly enjoyed the USA style sticky ribs with Jacque’s slaw (9.00).

Jacques Restaurant is located at the heart of Cork City near the G.P.O. They are open Monday 10am - 4pm and Tuesday - Saturday 10am - 10pm. Lunch is served from 12pm - 4pm, side plates and tapas from 5.30pm to 10pm and the evening dinner menu (in the “old” section) is available between 6pm and 10pm. Those sisters will keep you going all day long!

The TASTE Council of Ireland

The TASTE Council of Ireland

The TASTE Council of Ireland*, in conjunction with Bord Bia, last Friday launched the ‘Future is Food’ education module at the third national food symposium at Ballymaloe House, Shanagarry, Co. Cork, with over 100 artisan food industry and education representatives in attendance. The theme of this year’s symposium was education in order to address how to broaden the appeal of local foods, artisanal foods and speciality foods for future generations. The module is aimed at increasing Transition Year students’ awareness and understanding of the food industry and the artisan sector in particular.

Referring to the launch of the initiative, Simon Coveney, TD, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine stated “Food Harvest 2020 highlighted the emergence of a significant artisan food sector, responding to consumer demands for locally produced and distinctive foods. This has brought a new stream of entrepreneurs into the artisan sector, which now directly supports 3,000 jobs. The ‘Food is the Future;’ Transition Year module will introduce a new generation of students to the richness of local food and to the skills required for taking micro food enterprises to the next level.  I would like to thank and congratulate the Taste Council and the pilot schools for committing to an exciting project highlighting food as a driver of the local economy.”

The ‘Food is Future’ Module

Discussing the role of education in the future of Ireland’s artisan sector, Cait Noone, Education Spokesperson, TASTE Council of Ireland, said, “The ‘Food is Future’ module aims to highlight and explore how practical education can increase students’ appreciation of the economic, environmental and social benefits of the food industry. We need to teach the younger generation about the immense value that artisan food producers play in Ireland’s agricultural landscape and relay the unique product and brand stories.”

West Cork Food at Prestigious Loch Fyne Food Fair

West Cork Food at Loch Fyne Food Fair in Scotland 18 - 19 May 2013

Roy Brett (right) in West Cork in 2011

Stephen Sage, editor of West Cork Food, brings us up to date on another exciting development:

Following the success of the Celtic Cook Off over the past two years, the West Cork Food/Celtic Cook Off working group have been invited to take part in the two-day Loch Fyne Food Fair in Scotland in May.

The invitation comes from Roy Brett, Celtic Cook Off winner for 2011 and guest chef during the 2012 event when he staged a Taste of Ondine night at the West Cork Hotel Restaurant; a menu based on that of his acclaimed Edinburgh restaurant and featuring West Cork food products. Roy is also Culinary Director at Loch Fyne Oyster Bar and Restaurant in Argyll.