Ardmore. A Gem on the Waterford Coast.

Ardmore. A Gem on the Waterford Coast.

Breakfast at Cliff House

Ardmore is a gem on the Waterford coast. Fortunately, one the generous Deise folks don't mind sharing. Generations of people from neighbouring counties have made Ardmore their summer destination for its beaches, history, walks and the nearby mountains.

We headed there last Friday, the fabulous Cliff House Hotel above the village our final destination. But, as usual, we had a few stops and detours. First halt was in Youghal. It is not looking its best at the moment and hopefully the paint and brushes will be out and used before the season starts.

Ardmore

But there is no shortage of eating places here, well known like Aherne’s or newer and more casual such as Clancy’s. We were looking for a light lunch and Sage (not related to the restaurant of the same name in Midleton) had been recommended. It was bright and busy and I enjoyed my quiche and salad there. Details here.

Plan then was head to Helvic and work our way back through the Rinn gaeltacht. The fishing boats gathered in the harbour were a bit like some of the shops in Youghal, looking the worse for wear, but then the boats and the seaside towns (there are still sandbags in Youghal) have been through some horrendous weather in recent months and we are all hoping for better to come

Youghal

It was sunny and windy when we arrived in Helvick and now the rain made its appearance. So we wasted little time as we drove through Sean Phobal and so on, past the familiar beach at Ballyquin and on to Ardmore itself and up to the Cliff where a warm welcome awaited,a brolly held open even as we stepped from the car (a hint of the excellent service to come).

Soon we were installed in our room with a view and quickly made our way to the fabulous swimming pool, equipped with sauna and steam room and which also enjoys a great view over the bay.

Helvick

When the rain died down, we walked down to the town (to work up an appetite!) and made a loop back that took us past the famous round tower built in the 12th century. St Declan was here in the 5th century and his name is associated with some of the walks. Many (including a loop around the cliffs) start by the hotel and the staff there will give you all the information you need and indeed will provide a guide if necessary.

Your excursions from Ardmore needn't be confined to the coast. You may head for the nearby mountains. Mahon Falls is one of the attractions up there. If you want to do some shopping, then Cork and Waterford are each about an hour away while the lively towns of Lismore (for its castle and heritage centre) and Dungarvan are much closer.

Lismore

The Cliff House has some fantastic facilities though the outdoor dining areas were out of bounds last weekend! Do take time to explore. You will find quite a few books in your room but there are many more in the spacious and comfortable library which has one of the best views because of its height. The hotel is also unusual in that when you enter from the parking area, you are already on the fifth floor!

We enjoyed a memorable dinner there that Friday (details here). It was dark at that stage so we weren't able to take in the view but we did get it in the morning at breakfast, a very enjoyable breakfast I might add. In between, there was a call to the bar. An extensive menu of drinks here, as you'd expect, and delighted to see a terrific selection of Irish craft beers (and cider) on the list.

View from Cliff House room

Saturday was quite a decent day and we headed east to Portlaw (Waterford) and Turkstown (Kilkenny) to visit relations. Indeed, we visited Kilkenny, Waterford and then Tipperary in quick succession as we made our way home via Clonmel, Cahir and the M8. Only problem: what would we eat for dinner? The answer was in the freezer, the second portion of a curry made with Green Saffron’s Tikka cook-in sauce. Not quite Michelin! But just perfect.  

Looking towards Ardmore from Cliff House library

Come to the Supper Club

Come to the Supper Club

Banu and Ruth, of the South Indian Supper Club,  have been in touch to tell me they "have lots of events and evenings planned for the next few months that hopefully some of you will be able to attend". 

"Our supper clubs are going from strength to strength. We had our last one on Saturday night in Banu's house. It was fully booked and all had a great time! The dates for the next evenings are:

12th April - Saturday

3rd May - Saturday

14th June - Saturday

These events cost €35 for 3 courses plus a welcome cocktail and are lots of fun and very sociable! Please contact us for details (annamkitchencork@gmail.com). 

Our Indian cookery classes, which are proving a huge hit, are running on Monday evenings, and are held in the Cookery Cottage on South Douglas road. They run from 7-9pm and cost €25 for 2 hours. A 4 week cookery class will also be commencing on the 9th of May. This will cost €99. Banu will be teaching a range of Indian cusines during this class. Please contact us for more details. Also please do not forget to mention 48 hours prior to attending if you have been to any other of our classes so that we can make sure recipes aren't repeated. 

We are also now offering event catering. In conjunction with Lishh catering in Turner's Cross we are able to provide home cooked, tasty, authentic Indian food for your parties and events! Please spread the word!

We have also attached a recipe for you to have a go at at home. Let us know how you get on."

Spicy Potatoes South Indian Style
Ingredients

4 large potatoes

1 tbsp. oil

½ tsp black mustard seeds

1/4^th tsp asafoetida powder

½ tsp turmeric powder

½ to 1 tsp red chili powder

Salt

Method:

Peel and cube potatoes

Cook in boiling water until soft

Drain well

In a frying pan, heat oil

Crackle the mustard seeds

Take off the heat

Add all the spice powders with the salt

Add potatoes and coat well in the spiced oil

Place the potatoes on a baking tray or an over proof dish

Bake in preheated oven at 200 C for 3- to 40 mins until crisp and golden

Serve hot

Taste of the Week at Sage Cafe

Sage Cafe

While en route to Ardmore last Friday, we stopped in Youghal in search of a light lunch. And we found just that in Sage Cafe, in the shadow of the famous clock tower. This is a bright (big windows to the street) and busy cafe and incorporates a little food shop as well.

The counter inside the door was full of good things and it took us a while to make a choice. I picked the Quiche Lorraine with a choice of two salads. The quiche was excellent and the salads, a cous cous and a butter bean, were superb, all combining to make it Taste of the Week.

Sage is a member of Good Food Ireland and well worth a call if you are in the seaside town or, like us, just passing through.

Sage Cafe

86 North Main Street, Youghal, Cork Tel:

024 85844

OPENING HOURS:

Monday - Saturday 10am - 6pm

The Cliff House: Dining on the Edge

The Cliff House: Dining on the Edge

Which way to the Cliff House?

The Cliff House Hotel is an amazing building on the cliffs at Ardmore but it is its House Restaurant that is the star attraction, a Michelin star at that. Re-opened in 2008, after a huge investment, the hotel and the restaurant, have been at the cutting edge since. We were looking forward to the experience and we will be talking about it for a long time to come.

On the edge.

The restaurant has great views over the bay, back to the village and out to the ocean, but darkness was falling as we were led to our table near the panoramic window. The food was now the focus. And the wine, of course. There is a multi-course tasting menu, a very famous one indeed, but on this occasion we choose from the A La Carte (three courses €70.00).

They have an “exciting, surprising wine list”. Lots of study needed so we took the easy way out and went for the matching option (€27.50). The Cliff House is a huge supporter of local food (farm and sea) and no surprise either that they have a beer list that highlights many of the local craft brewers (including Eight Degrees, Dungarvan and O’Hara’s) as well as the excellent Stonewell cidery.

Breads

A Cauliflower panna cotta, edible Clay stones, and Beetroot and Soft Goat Cheese Macaroons were some of the Amuse Bouches that arrived in rapid succession. And then there were the breads, three of them, each tempting and delicious in its own way: Brioche, Spelt, and a Multi-seeded Cornbread.

With the pleasant preliminaries completed, we were on to the real starters. Both of us went for the West Cork Scallops: Seared, Grilled, Ceviche, Crème, Celeriac Preparations, Black Garlic, Lettuce, Dutch Salad, Irish Caviar. Amazing dish, great presentation (included a side glass), beautiful textures and flavours.

Amuse Bouche

You are probably familiar with Tokaji, the sweet Hungarian wine. From the same Furmint grape, they also make a dry white wine and our glass was an excellent example of this style (2011), quite dry but still luscious and aromatic. Well they did say the list was surprising!

Next there was a surprise sorbet, a little highlight to remember: a carrot and fennel sorbet with a Green tea foam. What a lovely combination of flavours and textures. If they take that kind of trouble with the small things, you can be confident of the big courses.

Scallops

And that superb standard continued throughout. CL loved her mains, the McGrath's Black Angus Beef: Fillet, Sausage, Small Vegetables, Potato Fondant, Kilbeggan Whiskey, Beef Tea, Garden Herbs. The beef was just so, pink and tender. And then there was a small wow moment when the Beef Tea was made at the table, the stock poured over the herbs in a little cafetiere!

I didn't have any “tea” with mine but loved every little bit of the Irish Rose Veal: Strip Loin, Stuffed, Oven Roasted, Sweetbreads, Blue Foot Mushroom, Bread and Butter, Veal Jus. That mushroom by the way was out of this world.

Beef

The wines, both red as you'd expect, were top notch. CL’s Orzado Carignan 2011 came from the Maule Valley in Chile while mine, Chateau Bellevue Bordeaux, mainly Merlot, was from much closer to home.

The time was flying by and we were on the verge of dessert. All through, the service was highly efficient but always there was time for a quick chat, the patience, and more importantly the knowledge, to answer a question. Flawless and friendly.

Veal

Chocolate often catches my eye and so I ordered the Organic Chocolate 65%, Alto el Sol Peru - Vintage 2013 and the Garofolo Madagascar Vintage 2012: Mousse, Crème, Vanilla Semi Freddo, Olive Oil, Sea Salt, ‘White’ Coffee Ice Cream. The matching wine was the Grenache based Banyuls Rimage, Pietri-Gerard, France 2011. Could have had a Dungarvan Stout with it but then a visit to the bar later was on the cards! Would have liked to tried a Rasteau with it.

Rhubarb 

CL had a last minute change of mind and was delighted with her Rhubarb: Sphere, Compote, Poached, Consommé, Yoghurt Candy Floss, Almond, Ginger, Honey Ice Cream. And delighted too with her sparkling wine match, the Cremant D’Alsace, Meyer-Fonne NV. A classy end to a top class meal.

Mid-week Magic by M. Petit. Oyster's English Market Menu.

Mid-week Magic by M. Petit

Oyster's English Market Menu

Every Tuesday Alex Petit, Head Chef at Oysters, takes a walk through the English Market on the lookout for ingredients that he’ll then transform into a magicial meal for their Mid Week Market Menu, four courses every Wednesday evening for just twenty five euro. The Frenchman turns out amazing food, indeed amazing value. Well worth a try and Very Highly Recommended.

The Menu has been running for a few weeks now and, last Wednesday (19th March) we, along with a group of suppliers and media, were in for the official launch. We were soon checking the menu, a set menu.

Let us start  at the start: Tuna - Avocado, Radish and local leaves. This was cool, in more ways than one! It was delicious, the Tuna tartare and the accompaniments giving us a terrific mix of flavours and textures.

The main course was another delight: Carrigaline Lamb - young Turnips, Beetroot, Potato and Buttermilk. That description is a little understated. And not just because there were some tempting rustic potatoes supplied. The lamb was done two ways as you can see from the picture and it was the slow cooked portions that had people talking. Superb produce, superb cooking and superb presentation and that is what the Mid Week Market Menu is all about.

In these parts, we are used to the cheese course being a cool one. But not on this occasion. The Mature Ardsallagh Cheese Souffle was a warm delicacy, all the flavour coming up to meet you and then spreading a gorgeous sensation across the palate. It was served with Apricot, Walnut and Onion Chutney.

Desserts can often be the weak link in many menus but not here. Pineapple - Jasmine, Pomegranate. That was the simple description. Simple yes but superbly so, a refreshing light experience, a delight for the eye and the palate and easily accommodated by the stomach. If all four course meals were like this! If all cost twenty five euro!

Oysters is an independently operated restaurant in the Clarion Hotel (Cork)

Oysters Restaurant

Lapps Quay

Co. Cork.

Ireland.

Phone: 021 427 3777

Oysters opens its doors to everyone every Tuesday to Saturday evening between 17:30 and 22:00.

Foot-treading has its merits! Douro Delight.

Foot-treading has its merits! 

Quinta do Judeu

A Cracking Douro Red.

Quinta do Judeu Corgo da Régua 2012 (Douro), 14%, €13.99 at Curious Wines, other stockists

If you thought foot-treading in wineries was a thing of the past, think again. It is alive and kicking, at least in the Douro region of Portugal. Chris Forbes of Taylor’s Port sang its praises - it maximises the juice and the flavors - at a tasting in Ballymaloe the other evening and, at the weekend, I had its merits beautifully confirmed by this bottle.

Colour is a dark red and the aromas are of red fruit. On the palate it is fresh and fruity and with a gentle mouthfeel. Tannins have their say but they are mild. Perfect with red meat, this is your everyday wine. And not just weekdays! Weekends as well. Very Highly Recommended.

While you might not expect the foot-treading, you won't be too surprised by the cork closure as after all it is a Portuguese wine. Grape varieties are local: Tinta Roriz 35%, Tinta Barroca 35%, Touriga Franca 20% and Touriga Nacional 10%. Decanting advised.

Domaine de Rochelin, Macon-Lugny 2012, 12.5%, €14.60 Karwig Wines

Must say I rather like the Chardonnays from this region and this is no exception. You've got a pale straw colour with tints of green and a nose of white fruits, peach and melon. It is fruity and fresh, with an almost plump feel and with a floral finish..

It is the result of sustainable cultivation, the aim being to create a style of freshness and exuding fruit aromas. I reckon they succeeded. Highly Recommended.

Bodegas Exopto, Dominio del Viento, Crianza 2010 Rioja, 13.5%, €15.99 Curious Wines.

Colour here is a light red and a bright one. The red fruit flavours are pleasantly obvious in the mouth while a mild acidity is enough to balance. Some spice too. All the delicious elements at play too in a decent finish. A well made rounded example of the type and Highly Recommended. It is made from 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha and has spent 12 months in oak barrels.

Domaine des Geslets, Les Geslets Bourgueil 2010, 13%

Domaine du Raifault Clos du Villy, Chinon 2009, 12.5%

Not sure you'll find either of these two in Ireland (you will find similar) but if you are in France during the summer, do watch out for them. I have been praising the reds of Chinon and its neighbour Bourgueil recently and these are two really excellent examples.

Amuse Bouche

There was literally an open door for cheap imports, and food, in general, became very cheap. A tin of Black Eagle salmon from North America, about five inches high, cost threepence. Australian butter, very yellow in colour, was considerably cheaper than Irish butter, and cheapest of all was Chinese ham. … These hams were not the same shape or colour as Irish hams; they were more rounded and they certainly stirred some primitive instinct in my young teen’s sensibilities. But some vested interest..put out a rumour that the Chinese had so many women that they were slaughtering the surplus and selling it off as bacon….sales of Chinese bacon..stopped.

From Rory and Ita by Roddy Doyle.

Foodcloud targets 50,000 signatures in pledge to reduce Ireland’s food waste

Press release from the Foodcloud

Bid to Reduce Food Waste

Pictured at the launch of the Foodcloud Fest are founders Iseult Ward and Aoibheann O'Brien
 with food expert Sophie Morris

Foodcloud, Ireland’s not-for-profit organisation that matches surplus food with those that need it most, today announced that it is targeting 50,000 signatures in a national pledge to reduce Ireland’s food waste. The organisation estimates that if 50,000 people in Ireland reduce food waste by just 1 kilogram per week, just over €1m will be saved, the equivalent of over 5.7 million meals. 

The Foodcloud pledge can be signed at the event or following the event at www.foodcloud.ie where individuals and businesses also find out more about reducing their food waste.  

Announcing the pledge, Iseult Ward, co-Founder of Foodcloud said, “At least one million tonnes of food in Ireland and almost 1.3 billion tonnes worldwide are wasted per year. To put that in context, one in every four calories produced from food in the world, is wasted. We want Irish people to think about how they can reduce this waste - with such a rich food and agricultural heritage, it makes sense that as a nation, we commit to this.”

To raise awareness of the pledge, Foodcloud will host The Foodcloud Feast on 2^nd April next, at Smock Alley Theatre in Temple Bar, Dublin. A lavish three course banquet of fresh, quality Irish ingredients that are ignored or forgotten by supermarkets, restaurants and the modern food system will be prepared by Sophie Morris, Chef and author of Sophie Kooks. 

RTE broadcaster and food waste campaigner, Philip Boucher Hayes will MC the Feast, and chair a discussion entitled Food Waste – the Challenge and the Opportunity. Participants in the discussion include: Oisín Quinn, The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Emer Costello, Labour Party’s MEP, Eoin MacCuirc, Bia FoodBank, Odile LeBolloch, EPA, Iseult Ward and Aoibheann O’Brien, FoodCloud and Conor O’Malley, Meade Potato Company.

Aoibheann O’Brien, co-Founder Foodcloud said, ‘The Foodcloud Feast will bring together policy-makers, chefs, retailers and foodies, to discuss how we can tackle the food waste challenge, but also identify the opportunities this provides for the food sector. The aim of the evening is to inspire guests by a vision for an Ireland where no good food goes to waste when there are people who are going hungry”

Tickets for The Foodcloud Feast are available through www.tickets.ie at €37 per person which includes a 3 course meal with wine or beer and lively debate, in the atmospheric surroundings of Smock Alley Theatre.

Foodcloud:

Established in Trinity College Dublin, in 2013, Foodcloud is a community-based social enterprise that brings food businesses and charities together with an easy-to –use and reliable technology platform, matching those with too much food with those who have too little. To date Foodcloud has redistributed over 5 tonnes of food, the equivalent of 13,000 meals to its network of 35 charities in Dublin City Centre, and Drogheda. FoodCloud holds a Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Minnovation Award, has graduated from TCD’s Launchbox, NDRC’s start-up accelerator programme, Launchpad and are recent winners of the Arthur Guinness Projects. Supporters include the Environmental Protection Agency, Diageo, Starbucks and Tesco Ireland. To find out more see www.foodcloud.ie

All About Farmers at Ballymaloe, Port. Cheese, Chocolate.

All About Farmers at Ballymaloe

Port. Cheese, Chocolate.

It was all about farmers at Ballymaloe last Thursday evening, appropriately enough in the week that the East Cork food destination celebrated the 90th birthday of Myrtle Allen.  Myrtle turned her front room into a restaurant fifty years ago and the rest is food history, still evolving. And Ballymaloe is still a farm, of course.

Thursday was also about Port, cheese and chocolate. The only real farmer on stage was Dan Hegarty whose family in Whitechurch make the well known and well loved cheddar. Chris Forbes from Taylor’s Port told us of the many small holders on the steep slopes of the Douro while Shana Wilkie of Wilkie’s Chocolate, Ireland's only bean to bar chocolate maker, told us of the small Peruvian farms from where she gets her beans.

It is mountainy in the Douro and very hot. There are some 35,000 tiny holdings, according to Chris, but Taylor’s buy grapes from less than 100. Taylor’s also grow their own - their Quinta de Vargellas is one of the best known in the world - and the port is made from a variety of indigenous grapes.

Port is a fortified wine. Fermentation is stopped after 2 or 3 days by adding 77% proof alcohol. That arrests the fermentation and maintains the high sugar level. Some hard work before all that though. The pickers start early, stop for lunch and wine, start again and stop in early evening for more food and more wine.

But they are not finished. They then start the traditional foot-treading in the lagar, two hours of tough going, squeezing out the juice and the colour. All Taylor’s vintage ports are made using traditional methods, including foot-threading.

We started the tasting with a 2008 LBV (Late Bottled Vintage). LBV was created in the 1970’s by Taylor’s, all the grapes coming from the one year and it spends 4 to 6 years in large wooden vats. Taylor’s are the world leaders in this style and, as we saw, it goes very well indeed with both cheese and chocolate (the Amazonas). By the way, if you open a bottle, Chris advised to finish within 3 to 4 weeks, as it loses its freshness after that.

Dan Hegarty was  very impressed with the Port and said he was thinking of giving up his favourite lager. Indeed, there is no shortage of good humour as Dan took us through the family’s relatively short history of making cheddar.

Shana and her relationship with the farmers

They started in 2000, using the traditional methods, and sell their products at different ages. They “went mad” early on, going flat out with production but now they are more restrained and there are only marginal increases from year to year. It is a two year cycle and they milk about 100 cows. On Thursday, we tasted three ages: 6 months, 12 months and 18. The older was the more popular though, according to Dan, his bank manager would prefer if the youngest was in top position!

Fonseca Quinta do Panascal Vintage Port 1998, the produce of just one vineyard, was next up, “an affordable way to drink vintage Port.” It is now 14 years in bottle with opulence, spiciness and red currant flavours. It proved an excellent match with Wilkie’s Amazonas with Cocoa Nibs and also with the 6 month old cheddar. And a word of advice from Chris: “On opening, decant, and drink that evening!”

Shana too had a few tips for recognising good chocolate. “Shiny chocolate is normally good, dull is not so good. A sharp snap is also a good sign.” Shana is originally a graphic designer “by trade" but always had a great interest in food.

She went on to tell how she got into chocolate making and got familiar with the different beans and flavours and was drawn to the Criollo flavour bean. She now works with a few families in Peru. At home, and home now is Midleton as she has returned to the East Cork, she is always experimenting, always getting better and indeed she already has some impressive awards to her name. 

Her Tumbes chocolate was an excellent match with the 10 Year Old Tawny. This port has spent ten years in small wooden casks, no new wood used. It is lighter in colour with mellow notes and little spice. Chris described it as a “liquid fruit cake”. Went well with the chocolate and also the 18 month cheddar. Great too with pates and terrines, according to Chris. “The style is fresh and clean and it is easy drinking.”

Chris surprised some by suggesting that these Tawines (we finished with the exquisite 20 Year Old, even lighter in colour and with a toastier aroma) be served slightly chilled and also suggested serving them in summer as well as the more traditional winter usage.

The three gathered on stage for a deserved round of applause and there was thanks too for Peter Corr of Febvre who assisted throughout the evening and for Ballymaloe’s Colm McCann and his team.

Left to right: Chris Forbes, Peter Corr, Shana Wilkie, Dan Hegarty and Yours Truly.