Taste of the Week. Mr Jeffares Blackcurrant Cordial

Taste of the Week

Mr Jeffares Blackcurrant Cordial

This week's top taste again comes from one of the stalls in the Big Shed at the Ballymaloe LitFest, a great place to get up to date with the fabulous products that our farmers and other producers are coming up with.

Some terrific cordials around these days and this new Blackcurrant drink, from Mr Jeffares, is a winner for sure and our Taste of the Week. The family have been growing blackcurrants on their Wexford farm for three generations. Fortunately, they know and respect their fruit and do not add any artificial colour, flavour or preservative.

The pure juice “is accentuated by an extract of stevia rebaudiana”. This natural sweetener, also called sweetleaf, is enjoyed worldwide. If you are expecting a sugary taste, forget it. This is a refreshing tart drink, even when diluted with four parts water to one.

No shortage of ideas on how to get the best of it on their website here. Des Jeffares himself was in Ballymaloe and he told me one of his favourites was to use sparkling water. I tried that and it is a good one.

But there are many more ways and I think I'll soon be graduating to the vodka and Blackcurrant one. Then there’s nothing wrong either with topping it up with apple juice. Loads of ideas including Blackcurrant ice-lollies, a Smoothie, and a Salad Dressing. A very versatile Taste of the Week indeed and widely available. Check here for stockists.

Blogger Challenge! Paris is great. When Cono Sur are your hosts, it is even better!

THE CONO SUR BLOGGER CHALLENGE RETURNS!

CONO SUR INVITES IRELAND'S FOOD & LIFESTYLE BLOGGERS TO SUBMIT
AN ORIGINAL RECIPE TO WIN A TRIP FOR TWO TO CHILE

RECIPES ARE TO PAIR UP WITH CONO SUR'S
SINGLE VINEYARD SAUVIGNON BLANC, PINOT NOIR or RIESLING

Last year Cono Sur, one of Ireland's leading Chilean wine brands, launched its inaugural search to find the ultimate dish to match their Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Noir. The short-list consisted of recipes from Billy Lyons, Melanie May and Jeni Pim, who in addition to even had their recipes featured in EasyFood and Stellar Magazine. It was Billy who went on to the Paris final, but he was unfortunately pipped at the post by the Finnish entry.

This year the competition is back and it's bigger than ever, with Canada, Chile, USA and Japan joining Ireland and Sweden in a battle for the best recipe to pair with Cono Sur's premium Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, Single Vineyard Pinot Noir, or Single Vineyard Riesling.

The entrant with the most votes in Ireland will travel with a friend, compliments of Cono Sur, to compete in the Grand Finale held in Paris in November, with the overall winner winning a once-in-a-lifetime trip for two to the Cono Sur vineyards and winery in Chile.

Visit  www.facebook.com/conosurireland
and bloggercompetition.conosur.com for further details.

Paris is great anytime but when Cono Sur are your hosts, it is even better! Check out my 2014 adventure here.

HOW IT WORKS

For the two months between Thursday 4th June to Monday 4th August, Irish food & lifestyle bloggers across the country can log on to bloggercompetition.conosur.com and upload their original recipe that they feel pairs best with either the Cono Sur Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, Single Vineyard Pinot Noir, or Single Vineyard Riesling.

Voting is then open to the public from 11th August to 15th September, when Cono Sur will select the top three recipes with the most votes from each country to go on to Round Two as semi-finalists.

For Round Two, renowned chef Christopher Carpentier will prepare each semi-finalist's dish and select one finalist from each participating country. Winners will be announced and officially notified on 2nd October.

For the third and final round, the winner from each country will be sent to Paris for 12th-14th November to participate in the Grand Finale. Each finalist will prepare their dish for a panel of judges, including Cono Sur's General Manager and Chief Winemaker, Adolfo Hurtado, as well as chef Christopher Carpentier.

The overall winner will be chosen and announced on the night, winning a fantastic trip for two to Chile.

TIMELINE

• June 4th: Competition opens
• August 4th: End date for submissions
• August 11th: Public voting opens
• September 15th: Voting closes
• September 21st: Chef Christopher Carpentier begins cooking the top 3 entries from each country and chooses the best in conjunction with Cono Sur
• October 2nd: Finalists are notified and publicly announced
• November 13th: Grand finale in Paris

ABOUT CONO SUR SINGLE VINEYARD
The Single Vineyard range of wines was born from the idea of embodying the ideal vineyard site for each grape variety by optimizing the altitude, soil and climate conditions of the vineyard where it is grown, making each wine completely unique.

From voluptuous reds to fresh and aromatic whites, this range pays homage to Chile´s diverse appellations. Each label contains a distinct block number, block name and valley in order to reflect the personality and uniqueness of the terroir where each was born.

Cono Sur Single Vineyard wines retail at €19.99 and are available in specialist off-licences such as O’Briens Wines, nationwide; Mitchell & Sons, Dublin; Redmonds of Ranelagh, Dublin; Sweeney's of Glasnevin, Dublin; Jus de Vine, Portmarnock, Dublin; Bradley's of Cork; O’Driscoll's of Cork; and many more...

Kinsale - just a little taster!

Kinsale - just a little taster!

Just a few of the many eating places in the town.

Click here for more detailed info.

Amuse Bouche

The stories Madame Manec’s visitors bring into the kitchen are terrifying and difficult to believe. Parisian cousins nobody has heard from in decades now write letters begging for capons, hams, hens. The dentist is selling wine through the mail. The perfumer is slaughtering lambs and carrying them in suitcases on the train to Paris, where he sells the meat for an enormous profit.

In Saint-Malo, people are fined for locking their doors, for keeping doves, for hoarding meat. Truffles disappear. Sparkling wine disappears. No eye contact. No chatter in doorways. No sunbathing, no singing, no lovers strolling….

from All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (2014)

Siesta Time in Princes Street

Siesta Time in Princes Street

Quesadillas, Nachos, Fajitas, Guacamole, Tamale, Enchilada, Burrito, Chimichanga, Tacos are all on offer at Siesta in Princes Street. The restaurant opened just over two months back and here too you may have sweet things such as Churros.  Drinks, including Margaritas and Sangria, are available and, of course, beer and wine too.

Don't know very much about Mexican food but enjoyed the offerings at Siesta where Tamara is a very informative and courteous front of house and will help you out as there is quite a large menu to go through, with many variations on all the basics.

The list of starters includes quesadillas and nachos, spicy chicken wings, guacamole, stuffed jalapenos and so on. Thought I might like the Chicken and Bean Nachos (6.95). Didn't expect such a substantial dish where the crispy corn tortilla chips were smothered with refried pinto beans, chicken and cheese topped with Mexican salsa. Delicious mix of colour, texture and flavours and that chicken was pretty good too.

That same chicken featured in CL’s starter. Her Quesadillas Chicken (above) consisted of four crispy envelopes of baked flour tortilla packed with spicy chicken and with a salad on the side. Not quite as big as mine but just as full of flavour. Besides, we had three bowls on the side, one to cool, and two for heat! Red, green and white, just like the Mexican flag.

These bowls would stay on the table through the main course as well. If something wasn't hot enough, you could dip into the red, if you really wanted to up the spiciness then add from the green and, if you added too much go to the white sour cream.

Chicken and Bean Nachos

The mains list offered mainly chicken, beef and pork dishes, the meat often enclosed in one of the envelopes. That wasn't the case with our favourite on the night, the Chilli Con Carne (13.95). This consists of Premium Irish Minced Beef, cooked with red wine and pinto beans and served with rice (or French fries and salad). Great dish and very well priced.

Aside from the Mexican dishes, you can also have Fillet Steak, Burger, Baked Cod and a Seafood Paella. And they also offer three healthy salads, all featuring quinoa.

Tamale Pork

The dessert list is short but you just have to try the Churros, Mexican doughnuts served with Cinnamon, Chocolate Sauce and ice cream. Yum! Next time, maybe I’ll try the Dulce Leche cheesecake or the Lime Pie. Maybe not! Might be the Churros again!

The restaurant supports local suppliers and lists Barry O’Connor (meat), Keohane (fish), Sam Donegan (fruit and veg) and English Market (eggs) on the menu.

Churros

Siesta is open for both lunch and dinner. See the full menus here. Contact details and map here.

Boats and Bites. Float a Boat. Feast on Fish.

Boats and Bites. 
Float a Boat. Feast on Fish.

The Cork Harbour Festival continued last evening with a Boats and Bites event on the quay. Great to see the river being used more and more as a recreation area and great too to sample the fish bites from the various stalls. Didn't get to them all, of course, but particularly enjoyed the Ceviche from The Rocketman and the amazing oysters supplied with a smile by Harty's of Dungarvan. More of this, please, Cork.

The festival continues all this week. Details here.

Spanish Organic Duo

Spanish Organic Duo

Bodegas del Rosario Monastrell 2012 (Bullas DO), 14%, €12.90 Karwig Wines

Red fruits prominent in the pretty intense aromas here. Fresh and light on the palate, with excellent fruit flavours, tannins yes but very close to smooth. This medium bodied red has a good share of acidity, some spice too, with a pleasant finish. More for summer recreation than winter contemplation and Highly Recommended.

Monastrell is the Spanish equivalent of Mourvedre and it is unusual to see this grape out on its own in Ireland as it is much better known as a part of many French blends. Also unusual to see anything from this appellation of Bullas which is in Murcia in South East Spain and about 75 minutes inland from Alicante. Just goes to show the work that Karwig puts in in sourcing their wines.

Hacienda Grimon Crianza 2012 (Rioja DOC), 13.5%, €15.70 Le Caveau

Colour is a medium to dark red and it gives up dark fruit aromas. On the palate you have rounded fruit flavours, tannins are pretty well integrated and there is a long dry finish. Overall you get the impression that this is a more mature wine than the age indicates.

Perhaps the rigorous fruit selection plus the 16 months in oak (6 months is minimum for Crianza) has combined to good effect to give more than a hint of almost old fashioned Rioja elegance, a rather serious one at that, and the wine is Highly Recommended.

The blend is 85% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha and 5% Graciano. Viticulture is organic, no herbicides, no pesticides; the sheep provide the fertiliser and harvest is by hand.

Taste of the Week. Stonewell's New Sparkling Prestige

Taste of the Week

Stonewell's New Sparkling Prestige

Prosecco Beware!

The Stonewall Cider logo has won many plaudits since it was introduced about five years ago. It looks good on the regular cider bottles and looks even better on their new Esterre sparkling prestige.  And the 75 cl contents are a bubbling revelation.

Made exclusively from the beautiful Elstar Apple (grown in Tipperary and Waterford), Esterre is a sparkling cider "with reflections of a sparkling wine".  This is dry, really dry, is clean and crisp in the mouth with tart elements of the orchard and citrus notes and a smooth finish.

It is a class product in a class bottle. I'm delighted to say that I am very impressed with it and wouldn't be at all surprised to see it replace, to some degree, the ubiquitous Prosecco at receptions. And at 6% abv, you may allow yourself a second glass.

Available at: Matsons Wine Store in Bandon and Grange; Bradley's, North Main Street, Cork. Price: €16.99

Isaac’s. A Specials Kind Of Place

Isaac’s. A Specials Kind Of Place

There is something about Isaac's, one of Cork City’s most popular restaurants for over two decades. The warm welcome. The friendly staff. The attention to detail. I think that little bit extra may well be their Specials board.

Of course, they have an excellent list of regular dishes. But those specials are well worth looking out for. For instance, we were in for lunch last week and the list of specials included: Parsnip and Fennel Soup, an Asian Broth, Fresh Castletownbere Crab, Shanagarry Smoked Salmon, Pan fried Toulouse sausages with Flageolet beans, Baked filet of Cod with Chorizo and one dessert, a Rhubarb and Apple Crumble.

Add in the regular menu items and you have terrific selection to choose from. As it happened, I did choose from the main menu, taking the Vegetarian Indian Curries. Yes, curries. You get two of them, Chana Masala and Dahl Makhani. The two bowls are accompanied by three little side dishes and basmati rice, all for €14.50. A merry melange of colour, flavour and texture.

 Just what I needed after a cool morning down by the river watching the Ocean to City Race. Each curry was a star in its own right but those three little side dishes added an extra bit of magic. The fruity chutney added sweetness, the pickled cucumber a little tanginess and the yoghurt kept it all nice and cool, well almost! No point in having a totally cool curry!  

Had skipped the starters but did have an eye on the desserts. Again they had an excellent selection but I quickly made my mind up and went for the Chocolate Saint Emilion with rum soaked macaroon and cream. For €6.50, I had my rich and creamy taste of luxury, absolutely superb and enhanced no end by the whiff and flavour of that rum.

CL was also well pleased with her pudding, the rather substantial and toothsome Tunisian Orange Cake with poached seasonal fruit and yogurt. The fruit was rhubarb which is a vegetable that is used as a fruit! Call it what you like but it sure went down well.

Isaac’s, situated in an 18th century warehouse, which has been tastefully restored - see the exposed bricks and beams - uses “the finest seasonal ingredients, sourced locally & served simply”. Served with a smile too. And, whether you’re in for lunch (including Sunday), Early Bird, or Evening, do look out for those specials!

• You’ll hardly miss the Specials. Like many places it is highlighted on a big board but, unlike many places, you’ll also find them on a little card on your table. I did say attention to detail!

Eight New Names in World's Top 50 Restaurants.

press release

El Celler de Can Roca celebrates a return to the top of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants

Viva Espana

 Girona’s celebrated Roca brothers see their restaurant return to the No.1 spot

 White Rabbit in Moscow is named Highest New Entry, sponsored by LesConcierges

 Asador Etxebarri in Atxondo, Spain, is Highest Climber, sponsored by Lavazza

 Sydney’s Sepia is chosen as One To Watch, sponsored by Silestone by Cosentino

 Albert Adrià of Tickets in Barcelona is The World’s Best Pastry Chef, sponsored by Cacao Barry®

 Daniel Humm wins Chefs’ Choice Award, sponsored by Gaggenau

 Relae takes the Sustainable Restaurant Award, sponsored by Pago Los Balancines

 Eight new restaurants gain a place in the 50 Best list

Last night, Spanish restaurant El Celler de Can Roca regained its title as The S.Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurant. Previously the No.1 in 2013, the Roca brothers’ restaurant has continued to gain global recognition for its gastronomic prowess. The results were announced at the annual celebration of global gastronomy in London: The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2015, sponsored by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna.

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants brings together a unique community of extraordinary culinary talent to celebrate global gastronomy. Featuring restaurants from 21 countries around the world across six continents, the list provides an annual barometer of the greatest gastronomic experiences across the globe.

El Celler de Can Roca was opened in 1986 by brothers Joan and Josep alongside their parents’ simple restaurant in Girona. In 2007, younger brother Jordi completed the trio that has since created a gastronomic phenomenon. Head chef Joan, sommelier Josep and 2014’s World Best Pastry Chef, Jordi Roca, have created a culinary experience which explores traditional Catalan ingredients combined with an extraordinary variety of cooking methods that stimulates diners’ senses, emotions and memories – whether via an evocative smell, an explosion of flavour or a visual trick. The food is matched with an ambitious array of wines and finished with a selection of Jordi’s magical masterpieces.

With seven restaurants in the 50 Best list, Spain has more than one reason to celebrate with Mugaritz remaining at No.6 and Tickets in Barcelona making its first appearance in the list at No.42. Albert Adrià of Tickets – and formerly pastry chef of El Bulli - is also recognised for his extraordinary talent as the 2015 World’s Best Pastry Chef, sponsored by Cacao Barry.

Massimo Bottura’s Osteria Francescana has moved up to No.2 after two years occupying third place. Bottura’s ambitious creations are perfectly

executed and altogether enchanting, successfully balancing the demands of both heritage and modernity. Osteria Francescana is one of three Italian restaurants recognised on the list alongside Le Calandre in Rubano and Piazzo Duomo in Alba.

France boasts five restaurants in the 50 Best with Mirazur remaining at No.11 for the second year running, followed by L’Arpege in Paris which has climbed 13 places in 2015. 2013’s Diners Club® Lifetime Achievement Award winner Alain Ducasse celebrates a re-entry into the list at No.47 with the recently re-opened Au Plaza Athénée. 2015 also sees France’s Hélène Darroze take home the Veuve Clicquot World’s Best Female Chef Award and Daniel Boulud awarded The Diners Club® Lifetime Achievement Award for his culinary successes around the globe.

With six restaurants on the list overall and one new entry, the USA also has many reasons to be proud of its elite restaurants. Eleven Madison Park in New York remains in the top five and claims the Acqua Panna Best Restaurant in North America title. Dan Barber’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns outside New York makes its first appearance on the list at No.49.

South America boasts nine restaurants from across the region on the list. Central in Lima rises 13 places to No.4 and is crowned the Acqua Panna Best Restaurant in South America. Chile, Peru and Mexico all have new entries including Boragó, Maido, Quintonil and Biko respectively.

With seven restaurants recognised in the world list, Asia features twice in the top 10 for the first time. Gaggan in Bangkok rises seven places in the world ranking to No.10 with Narisawa, from Tokyo, moving up to No.8. China also celebrates a new entry at No.24 in the form of Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet.

William Drew, Group Editor of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, said: “It has been a hugely exciting year with such a variety of culinary talents celebrated here tonight. As the appetite for reaching new gastronomic heights continues to grow we feel privileged to play a part in this journey of discovery and are proud to bring together this unique community of extraordinary talent within the industry.”

How The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list is compiled

The list is created from the votes of The Diners Club® World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, an influential group of almost 1,000 international leaders in the restaurant community. The Academy comprises 27 separate regions around the world, each of which has 36 members, including a chairperson, and each member casts seven votes. Of those seven, at least three votes must recognise restaurants outside of the academy member’s own region.

The panel in each region is made up of food writers and critics, chefs, restaurateurs and highly regarded ‘gastronomes’. Members list their choices in order of preference, based on their best restaurant experiences of the previous 18 months. There is no pre-determined check-list of criteria, which helps to make the list as varied and open as possible.

This year, for the first time, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants is working with professional services consultancy Deloitte as its official independent adjudication partner. The adjudication by Deloitte will ensure that the integrity and authenticity of the voting process and the resulting list of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2015 are protected.

Amuse Bouche

Today’s food culture has given chefs a platform of influence, including the power, if not the luxury to innovate. As arbiters of taste, we can help inspire a Third Plate, a new way of eating that puts it all together.

That’s a tall order for any chef, not to mention eaters, but it’s an intuitive one as well. Because, as the stories in this book suggest, it always takes the shape of delicious food. Truly great flavor - the kind that produces plain old jaw-dropping wonder - is a powerful lens into the natural world because taste breaks through the delicate things we can't see or perceive. Taste is a soothsayer, a truth teller. And it can be a guide to reimagining our food system, and our diets, from the ground up.

from The Third Plate by Dan Barber

Amuse Bouche

Before the commander surrendered, an ardent National Socialist and the director of the local Panzerfaust (bazooka) factory, a Herr Bundnis, held an unorthodox dinner party. He invited his closest colleagues to a lavish meal. After the last round of drinks had been served, the room exploded, killing everyone instantly. He had arranged for the room to be rigged with explosives.

from Disobeying Hitler by Randall Hansen.

Highbank Organic Orchards. Hundreds of Apple Trees. Billions of Microbes

Highbank Organic Orchards

Hundreds of Apple Trees. Billions of Microbes

I’m walking through long rows of apple trees, all in blossom, pink and white abound. The grass between is ankle height, lush and liberally populated with white daisies. Lush, but recently topped. Had I been there a week earlier, I would have seen battalions of dandelions.

I am in Kilkenny, in the healthy heart of Highbank Orchards, an organic farm owned and managed by Rod and Julie Calder-Potts.  This is excellent land for farming, recognised as such for many centuries - even the Normans had their eyes on it.  The farm-yard is 17th century, the house is 19th, and the distillery (which I've come to see) is 21st.  

Rod in the new distillery

Now though, on a lovely May evening, all is calm as Rod takes us through the orchard, though not through all its twenty acres. Fourteen of these are mature, planted with quite a few varieties, including Dabinett, Blusher, Bramley and, scattered in among the others, that lovely juicy Katy. Katy is an early apple and has lost its blossoms.

Nothing has been sprayed here for twenty years. It is not that nothing ever threatens the apple trees but they are essentially healthy and can look after themselves. And Rod reckons much of that is down to the microbes in the soil, billions of them, all "working", not necessarily together - some eat one another - but combining to preserve the habitat. They are not disturbed, not traumatized by chemicals, and so the orchards live on and thrive. “Soil health depends on a thriving population of organisms”, says Dan Barber in The Third Plate.

Orchard spirit!

The next big occasion for the orchard is, of course, the harvest. The Calder-Potts keep the apples on the trees for as long as possible, indeed they allow them fall off naturally when fully ripe. Then they are swept up and taken to the nearby yard.

They are transferred then to the apple press, an expensive piece of kit, and the juice is extracted to be used in the delicious products that Highbank now produces: Apple Juice, Apple Juice with Organic Mulled Spices, their famous Orchard Syrup (Ireland's answer to maple syrup and launched in 2010), Highbank Drivers Cider (a delicious, sparkling refreshing non-alcoholic drink), Highbank Proper Cider, and a honeyed Medieval Cider.

Proper cider!

Recently they have moved up the ABV scale with the installation of their little distillery and are making Gins, Pink Flamingo Gin and the premium Crystal Gin. And there’ll be more! We enjoyed the tour of the bright new distillery. It is small. The operation is small-scale, bottling is done by hand. Small yes, but these are top class products.

Highbank is the setting for many events but most notably, from a food point of view, they have hosted the Keith Bohanna Bia Beag series with subjects such as artisan bread, locally roasted coffee, bean to bar chocolate. And, of course, there is the Highbank Christmas Food and Craft Fair.

They are a busy couple and you’ll see them at markets and food festivals all over the country, including most recently, Sheridan’s and Ballymaloe LitFest. Besides, they are involved in promoting good food generally. Kilkenny too is naturally close to their hearts and so we couldn't have had a better guide on a quick Saturday morning run through the marble city than Julie.

She showed us, with pride, restaurants such as Zuni and the Salt Yard, Slice of Heaven and its newly opened cookery school, the food hall at the Kilkenny Design Centre. Then you need something to serve your food in so off we went to Nicholas Mosse in Bennettsbridge, you need some nice lighting while dining and we got that at nearby Moth to a Flame (Larry Kinsella’s hand-made candles) and you also need something nice to look at on your walls and shelves and we found plenty of that at the Bridge Pottery.

Needless to say, the credit card took a bit of a hammering. On the previous afternoon, left to my own devices, I was on the drinks trail! Called to Billy Byrne’s Pub (the Bula Bus and its excellent onboard restaurant is parked in the back) and sipped some nice local beer by Ger Costello and a pale ale from 12 acres.

Of course, I couldn't leave Kilkenny without calling to Le Caveau. Pascal himself was busy on the road but we did take advantage of the reductions for Real Wine Month and went off happy with a couple of his organic wines.

And it was the drink that brought us to Kilkenny in the first place! In Highbank's internet competition earlier in the year, I won a meal at The Strawberry Tree and, in addition, I also won a bottle of Highbank's new Crystal Gin and that was in the car with us as we said au revoir to the Marble City and to two of its outstanding citizens, the Calder-Potts.

Le Caveau (left) and Bennettsbridge (from the Nicholas Mosse pottery)

See also: Wild and Organic Tasting Menu at The Strawberry Tree, Macreddin.
The Beautiful Gardens at Powerscourt Estate
Highbank Crystal Gin - Taste of the Week
In St Kevin's Footsteps at Glendalough
The Brooklodge Hotel in Macreddin Village