Cornstore's Summer of Fish

Cornstore's Summer of Fish

With a stunning display by Chef John O’Connell, the Cornstore put the focus very firmly on their new fish menu last Tuesday. And make no mistake about it, they take their fish seriously here and it comprises close to fifty per cent of the menu at one of Cork's most popular restaurants, also well known for its aged steaks. Chef O'Connell and his team demonstrated in the most delightful way why the fish this summer at the Cornstore will be irresistible.

Mags O’Connor, who heads up the Cornstore’s Sales and Marketing, was delighted with their latest award. Both the restaurants, in Cork and Limerick have been given the Just Ask Award for May to add to the recent award for their Kids Menu. Tuesday though was all about the fish and it was hard to take the eye off the fantastic display. But it was there to be eaten and soon, with The Loungeman entertaining, we were enjoying ourselves, the display demolished in a very short time!

We had oysters and mussels, crab and crevettes, cod brandad, gravad lax, smoked salmon, anchovies on a red onion tart, and of course some of the whole salmon that was the centrepiece of the display. What a range of textures and flavours, even drinks as we also sampled a Dirty Martini that had some oyster in the bottom of the glass!

Chef O'Connell

Great produce, terrific cooking and mouth-watering presentation and you'll get more of all three in the months ahead. Mussels, oysters, scallops, Tiger Prawn and smoked salmon, will all feature on the list of starters. If I were to pick one now, I’d go for the Pan Seared Scallops with cod brandad, courgette and almond butter.

Crab, Crevette and lobster all feature in the selection of salads while Cod (with champ), Roast Salmon (with linguini) and a luxurious Fish and Chips (the fish is lobster) tops the bill in the mains section.   

But what I am really looking forward to are the Seafood Platters to share, ranging in price from €11.95 pps to €37.95pps. The latter is called the The Grand Market Platter and consists of Rock Oysters, crevettes, pickled dressed crab, cob bandad, salmon rillettes, marinated fillet of smoked salmon, steamed natural mussels and grilled ½ lobster. Wow!

* At the Cornstore, fish is not just for the adults. It also features strongly on their award winning Kids Menu.

** If you, not the kids!, are looking for a wine to go with the fish, may I recommended their Estivalia Sauvignon Blanc (Chile). Really enjoyed a couple of glasses (€6.50) of that on Tuesday evening.

Taste of the Week: Orchard Cottage Goats Milk Cheese

Taste of the Week

Orchard Cottage Goats Milk Cheese

The Desmond family in Ballinhassig, (County Cork), make a fantastic soft goats cheese, under the Orchard Cottage label, and it is our Taste of the Week. Can't make out how I’ve haven't come across this one until now.

It is beautiful and comes in a jar. There are two different combinations: the round balls of cheese come in a  sunflower oil with sun dried tomatoes, basil and garlic and also in sunflower oil with thyme and garlic. This latter has won a silver medal at the world cheese awards and is the one I’ve tasted. The other one (pictured) is in the fridge - though not for long more!

The cheese flavour is mild and the texture is creamy, milder and creamier than usual, less of a tang. May have something to do with the fact that these goats feed mostly on good grass rather than on a rough hillside or bog. If you haven't liked goats cheese previously, this is worth a try and could well be the one that puts you on the way to liking it.

I got mine from the Fresh from West Cork stall in the English Market but the Orchard Cottage products are widely available including Thursday’s market in Mahon and Saturday’s in the Coal Quay. Read more about the Desmond’s farm here.

The Square Table - Great Addition to Blarney

The Square Table - Great Addition to Blarney

The menu at The Square Table, the recently opened restaurant in the centre of Blarney, is a source of immediate encouragement. Trusted producers such as Ballyhoura Mushrooms, Tom Durcan Meats and Ardsallagh Cheese are among those listed. Anyone using that kind of produce knows what they are about, I thought to myself, and soon enough I have delightful confirmation on my table, a square one!

Indeed, they are all square and by quarter-past one last Friday they were all full, not that that was the case earlier in the week. But, as the season starts in earnest, you might well want to book ahead for either dinner or lunch in this highly recommended spot, just opposite the village butcher Osborne.

We start with a Mushroom Soup (€4.75). But a mushroom soup with a difference: mushroom and wild garlic. This is a terrific combination, with the garlic adding a lovely flavour without overwhelming that of the mushrooms. We were off to a great start and quite a substantial one

There are a few tempting sandwiches on the menu, including Ardsallagh Goats Cheese with olive and sundried tomato chutney (€7.00), and I pick the Tom Durcan Spiced Beef with Coolea Aged Cheese and Beetroot. I am well fed for €7.50, happily crunching my way through a well balanced mix of textures and flavours.

Other tempting items on the menu included: Crispy egg, bacon, and Ballyhoura Mushrooms with bearnaise (€7.50) and a Ham Hock Pie with Spring Cabbage (€11.95). CL’s choice is Pan-fried Hake with Pea Puree and Smoked Bacon (€13.00), another delightful dish, well cooked and well presented.

Service is prompt and friendly here and prices are quite good. Our two course lunch cost a total of 30 euro. A great addition to Blarney and we wish Tricia and Martina all the best on their new venture at 5 The Square.

Mr Hederman smokes fish. The Touch of a Master

Frank Hederman. Master of Balance.

Mr Hederman smokes fish, which is a little like saying Steinway makes pianos. (Johnny Apple, New York Times).

There is a fine balance to smoking fish, according to Frank Hederman who has been doing it in Belvelly, Cobh, for over thirty years now. The balance between the original fish flavour, the salt (for the cure) and the smoke is achieved with some delicate handling and determined by the experienced touch of the smoker. Time, timing and touch.

The touch and timing improve with time. I remember a member of the 60s pop band, the Searchers, telling a guitarist friend of mine maybe 15 years back that they were now much better musicians than they had been when they were in the charts. I suggested to Frank that he was now a better smoker than he was 30 years ago.

He laughed and agreed and amid an aside or two, one about the above mentioned Mr Apple,  told me he was self-taught and even now learns something new everyday.  

This is a busy smokehouse. “There is something going on here in this smokehouse every day of the week”, he said. And no wonder, as they have customers at home and abroad to take care of. Frank is “the smoker of choice for some of the world’s finest chefs and has also smoked salmon for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II”.

Wild fish, and Frank is looking forward to getting some wild salmon soon, have to be handled with even more delicacy than normal. Any fisherman supplying Frank will need to know and love his fish and not just the money he can make from it. Early in his career, Frank saw a fisherman roughly lobbing salmon up from the boat, well below the level of the pier, on to the rough ground. The fish don't go down well and the act didn't go down well with Frank who never bought from him again.

The original smoker. Use the boot (right) for an idea of scale.

Frank’s timber smokehouse, the oldest traditional smokehouse in Ireland, is where the sides of salmon are hung on tenterhooks and bathed in natural smoke “for as long as they need”. The smoke comes from beech “which has fewer tannins than other woods, giving the salmon a distinctive delicate character”.

Frank likes to see his salmon handled well, both before it comes to him and after it leaves him. “We recommend that you allow it to come to room temperature before you eat it. Slice finely by cutting straight down to the skin with a very sharp knife.” And whatever you do, do not use lemon. “No lemon!”.

Frank is well entitled to lay down the law here. His experience is immense, yet there is no complacency and even now nothing is left to chance. He is always on the alert. A change in the outside atmosphere can upset the delicate balance sought inside. Will it rain soon? Does that smoke smell too strong?

He recalls how he started, by rebuilding an old shed, not quite according to the textbook, not all parallels were parallel. And here it all started, in a small smoker made of brick, the fish laid in a Pyrex dish. He used barrels from Midleton Distillery (50 pence a barrel) for chips and fed them in by hand “for hours on end”. The timber was soaked in alcohol and every now and then there was an explosion and the Pyrex dish came flying out the opening until a simple slat was attached.

Cheese and tomatoes in the smoker.

It was rough and ready. “I was daft and mad”, he laughs. But he went on to build Ireland's first modular fish plant and the rest is history.

Hederman's also smoke silver eel, mackerel, haddock and mussels and in the kitchen “simple recipes are transformed with the finest smoked fish, and other local specialities, including Ballycotton Irish queens, smoked Glenstal country butter, stoneground pinhead oatmeal from Macroom, and Ballintubber Farm vegetables. We make everything by hand, within reason, and use only natural preservatives such as lemon juice.”

Thanks to Frank and Caroline, you may enjoy Smoked Salmon Crush & Smoked Mackerel Crush; Smoked Salmon and Mackerel Pate; Poached Salmon & Crab salad with Marie Rose; Mrs. Hederman Smoked Fish Cakes; Smoked Tomato Tapenade; and much more. Check it out here .

These products are only available in local markets. Hederman’s have three stalls, in Midleton, Cobh (run by Frank’s amazing 83 year old Dad) and of course in the English Market (where their space is soon to be revamped).

Smoked Mackerel on a Hederman stall in Midleton.
Frank says Mackerel is the most under-rated fish.

My Irish Tea Rooms

Irish Tea Rooms Worth Noting!
(in no particular order)

What are your own favourites? Use Comment facility below to reply.

The Workshop, Ballygarvan, County Cork

The Ardmore Gallery & Tea Rooms

Welcome to Ardmore, Co. Waterford

Drumcliffe Tea House (Sligo)

Ben Bulben from Drumcliffe

Scrummylicious Bakery and Tearoom (Dungloe, Donegal)

Donegal sunset

Doneraile Court Tea Rooms (Doneraile, Cork)

The Awbeg river in Doneraile Court

Tea and Garden Rooms, Ballyvaughan, Co. Clare

The Phoenix Park Tea Rooms, Dublin

Pancake Cottage, Strawberry Field, Sneem to Moll's Gap Road, Co. Kerry

Duchess Tea Rooms, Bandon, Co. Cork

The Tea House at the Walled Garden, Kylemore Abbey, Co. Galway.

Tea Rooms at Camden Fort Meagher, Crosshaven, Co. Cork

Tea and a view over Cork Harbour

Adare's Old Creamery

Doll's House in the shop.

Branco and Blanc. Won't break the bank.

Branco and Blanc. Won't break the bank.
And very enjoyable too!

Chateau Belingard, Bergerac sec 2012, 12.5% abv, €13.99 Karwig Wines

Something of a favourite here since early in the century (not that long ago really!). It stands comparison with the whites of neighbouring Bordeaux and is better value. This blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Muscadelle is fresh and fruity with a long aftertaste.

Belingard sounds French but apparently it comes from an ancient Celtic language, “beleen garten” meaning the garden of the Beleen or Belin, the god of sun and war. More details on the story and the wine here . Highly Recommended.

Pegoes Branco 2013, Setubal (Portugal), 12.0%, €10.49 Wine Alliance stockists

This Setubal white is well worth looking out for. It is an excellent regional wine by the highly rated Santo Isidro Co-op (Jamie Goode says it is possibly Portugal’s best co-op) and at under eleven euro is fantastic value. It is made from the Fernao Pires grape (70%) and is pleasant and delicious, fresh and fruity, crisp and clean with zesty flavours, easy drinking with a clean refreshing finish. The advice here to drink it as soon as possible after purchase. Don't delay. Great value and Highly Recommended.

Amuse Bouche

Ferran Adria, the world’s greatest chef, is from the half of Spain which is riled by Mourinho's scheming. ‘I don’t understand him,’ he says. ‘It’s as if someone from Mars has arrived. The current situation is very strange. … I don't know very much about Mourinho’s evolution, but it seems in England he did the same. His purpose is to manipulate. I’m not interested in controversies. In my field I've won more prizes than Mourinho and I don’t say that everybody is bad…. I think its surreal.’

from El Classico by Richard Fitzpatrick

Black Bacon. Taste of the Week!

Treacle Treat. From the Saddleback Pig Company.

Got something of a sweet surprise on a recent visit to Bandon Farmers Market when I called to see Nathan Wall of the Saddleback Pig Company. “Try these,” he said, as he handed me a pack of what looked like blackish rashers.

What trick was this, I thought. But, in fact, it was a treat. The  “Sweet Black Bacon Smoked” are fantastic. Treacle has been used in the process and when the rashers are cooked, they do look even blacker. Their initial burst of sweet flavour is fantastic and they are my Taste of the Week.

It is a new product and I’m sure our local chefs can do something really special with it once they get to know of it. In the meantime, you get a pack (or two) from Nathan at the market in Bandon (every Saturday) and in Clonakilty (every Friday).

Nathan has a small family run farm situated in Baltimore, West Cork, specialising in the breeding and rearing of rare breed Saddleback pigs.

“Though only a small business we concentrate on the welfare of all our pigs which are reared and run outside where they are free to root and forage. Our pigs are raised on a diet of mainly vegetables and rolled barley which are chemical free and do not contain any growth enhancers allowing the pigs to mature over a longer period of time giving the meat a fuller flavour.”

Products include:

Sausages made from a minimum of 86 per cent meat with natural casings and no artificial preservatives.

Dry cured bacon naturally smoked or unsmoked in a cure made up of sea salt, raw cane sugar and a mixture of herbs and spices.

Hams produced in a brine of white wine, rosemary, bay, thyme, pepper and juniper.

All cuts of pork are available fresh or frozen.

Read more about them here.

Top Food & Drinks Posts for Past 12 Months

Top Food & Drinks Posts for Past 12 Months

(to end of April ‘14)

The Wine Geese. Top of the Charts!

Have decided to publish these regularly. If I do it annually, those coming in at the end of the year will hardly ever have a chance of making it to the top. Minimum requirement is 700 hits, just reached by Ballycotton newcomer Pier 26.

1 Happy Gaggle of Wine Geese

2 Happy New Beer at The Cotton Ball

3 Electric. Easy to book. Hard to leave.

4 Cullen Wines at Cafe Paradiso

5 The Sultan of Penrose Quay

6 Gallo & Galetti. Brendan is back.

7 Dining Al Fresco at Cobh’s Titanic Bar

8 Tapas at The Greenroom

9 The Chapel Steps Celebrates

10 Pride of Ireland Awards 2013/14

11 Dining in Style at Pier 26

Afternoon of food, fun and Hope

Afternoon of food, fun and Hope.

We enjoyed ourselves at Ballyseedy (Cobh Cross) yesterday as part one of the Hope Foundation's Eat4StreetKids ended on an enjoyable note. Amateur cooks of all ages brought their sugar and spice dishes - mainly sugar! - to the Bakestone Cafe where judges Lilly Higgins, Joe McNamee, Ali Honour, Gautham Iyers and Christine Girault had the tough (?) task of picking a winner.

While they were deciding, we were royally entertained by a lady originally from the southside of Chicago, Karen Underwood. Karen was delighted to help out and indeed put in a tremendous session.

Then came the judges’ decisions and there were quite a few prizes awarded. But really, all entrants were winners on the day, all willing to put in the effort, just like Karen Underwood and the judges themselves, to help out the underprivileged kids of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta).

We all got a chance to sample the food and must admit that my favourite was the Donkey’s Wedding Cake! Quite an afternoon and indeed, I was a winner myself, picking up a hamper of the famous Clonakilty Black Pudding in the raffle.  I think the only thing I missed out on was the bouncy castle!

The fund-raising for the Kolkata kids goes on and the focus this month switches to participating local restaurants and their customers. There are a number of options for both. One suggests either the customer or the restaurant adding fifty cent for Hope to the bill and another suggests the customer posts a picture of a dish to Twitter or Facebook and the restaurant pays the fifty cent.

Check it all out here or contact organiser Maggie Hogan at maggie@hopefoundation.ie or 021 4292990

Sage: a restaurant with personality!

I left my city house on Thursday evening and 12 miles later I was in Sage.....

Sage: a restaurant with personality!

I’m sitting in a restaurant reading the back label on a beer bottle, telling me this beer's got personality. I'm reminded of our former football manager Giovanni Trapattoni and his frequent use of the word, sometimes in relation to a particular player, sometimes when talking about the group.

And then I think about this restaurant and its personality. And the players here? Who are they? Basically, they are the 12 mile producers, for this is Sage in Midleton, the home of the 12 mile menu.

The local producers are pictured on the walls and on the Sage website. Lovely relaxed photos: the butcher on his bike (not straying too far from the support of the wall), the Conroys with their Woodside farm pig and the broad smile of Olive from Castlemary Goats and more.

And if these are the players, then chief patron Kevin Aherne is surely the “manager”. He has brought them all together in a top class “group” that is now more than the sum of its parts. In a week when a small restaurant in a Basque village is named as the best steakhouse in the world, there is no reason to think that Sage is less than a contender in any championship, home or away. Indeed, this week too Kevin has been named as Best Chef in Cork in the RAI Awards.

It is early (6.15pm) on a Thursday night and Sage is almost full, local and international visitors among the customers, as we study the menu. Lunch is when you get the pure 12 mile menu but the local produce permeates all Sage menus and is also seen in their adjoining Greenroom (open all day).

No surprise then that we picked the shared “A taste of 12 mile sharing board for 2” (€22.00) as our starter. They had two of everything on the board, so no fighting! Enjoyed it all including the compressed Chicken, the Beef Fillet carpaccio, the pig's cheek, the Sage Black pudding, the goat’s cheese, pickled vegetables, chorizo, monkfish, and more.

The specials board was one of the first things I checked as I came in and decided, more or less immediately, to have the Woodside Farm Pork Shoulder as my mains. It turned out to be a super dish, superbly presented.

It came with honey glazed veg, cream mash, Sage gravy and the most delightful Spring broccoli. Our other mains, another excellent plateful, was Hake, landed in Ballycotton, and served with Mussels, spinach potato, celeriac and a delicious bacon cream.

Oh, by the way, that beer too has personality, and much more besides. Indeed, brewers Blacks are on a winner with their Kinsale Pale Ale. Almost missed that list of local craft beers though, as it is at the back of the wine list!

And speaking of winners, thanks to Kevin and his staff, back and front (service was informative, calm and friendly, spot on), for another brilliant meal. For an hour or two last night Sage was the centre of our world. Well worth a detour, even a special journey.

Mussel Bites make a Tasty Tuesday Lunch!

Mussel Bites make a Tasty Tuesday Lunch!

The sun was out and about last Tuesday and the garden swing beckoned. And no problem about lunch as I had just arrived in from town with a pack of frozen Mussel Bites. Frozen. Yes, but no problem as these delicious bites can be cooked from frozen.

No need to wash or “beard” these beauties, all the way from Beara, and about 20 minutes later, with some leaves from the garden and sipping from a bottle of Rebel Red Ale by Franciscan Well, we were dining al fresco. Must say that the mussels, covered with multi-grain and garlic, were absolutely delicious and they went down very well with the ale.

With better days ahead, I’ll be sticking a few packs (€4.99 each)  of these in the freezer. They are very handy for a quick lunch and would also make a lovely starter or could even be served tapas style.

Beara Seafoods is a locally-based, family run company.  Its owner Ger Lynch is a fifth generation fisherman with thirty seven years experience in the cultivation and harvesting of mussels.  The mussels used in the product are locally grown on the Kenmare Bay, in SAC approved waters (Special Area of Conservation).  They are cultivated without the use of artificial feed or treatment of any sort and are packed with Atlantic goodness.  The Lynchs have taken a trusted family recipe and combined the two to create our delicious 100% Irish Mussel Bites. 

Helen Lynch told me that the succulent mussels are rolled in multi grain (rolled oats as well as a little rice and wheat) and real garlic is also added.  ”These Mussels Bites are healthy, low in fat and delicious too.  A 100g portion contains only 152 calories and 1.5g of fat; they are also packed with essential fish oils and protein.  What's more, they are very convenient for the modern family; suitable for baking, grilling or frying.  We recommend baking as it's a simple and healthy way of cooking.” 

“Our mussels have all the goodness of slow-food without the labour intensive preparation beforehand; a delicious, filling and healthy alternative to the more processed breaded products on the market.”  

Stockists:

Mussel Bites are available in over ten SuperValu branches throughout Munster and Beara Seafoods  intend to expand that list in the coming weeks.  Local (city-based) outlets include: 

Scally's SuperValu on the Mahon Road

Ryan's SuperValu, Glanmire and Grange

Downe's SuperValu, Ballincollig

Quish's SuperValu, Ballincollig

Bradley’s, North Main Street

Keohane Seafoods, Kinsale Road

For info: Contact Helen on 086 169 2816 or Ger on 086 384 5377.