Harvest Days in Waterford. Visiting the Viking City

Harvest Days in Waterford

Visiting the Viking City

Harvest Festival

Hadn't been in Waterford in a while until we headed east for the recent Harvest Festival. Just ninety minutes after leaving Cork City we were parking in Bolton Street. It was the day before the festival started and we had decided to see some of the city, like any visitor.

First on the agenda was the much heralded Viking Triangle. It is based around Reginald's Tower, the Medieval Museum and the Bishop’s Palace and you can see them on a combined ticket. Amazing collections of exhibits, everything from a 12th century dog’s collar and Brendan Bowyer’s Hucklebuck shoes to exquisite jewelry (12th century) and the sword of a Viking warrior (broken on his death and buried with him).  And don't forget to visit Christ Church Cathedral. It is all on an easy walk.

Wine vault under the Medieval Museum

 We started in the circular Reginald's Tower, once part of the town's defences, built in the beginning of the 13th century, with a second phase in the 15th century. It was also used as a mint, prison and military store and now houses an exhibition. Here you will see that broken sword and much more as you wander its three small floors.

The modern Medieval Museum, incorporating the 13th century Choristers’ Hall and the 15th century Mayor’s Wine Vault, is Ireland's only such purpose built medieval museum and the first thing you are offered is an opportunity to try out as an archer! You may also mint coins here.

Impressive vestments

There is an Art of Devotion Tour (with many statues having been collected from old churches), models of Waterford, the stunning Vestments Room, read (and see) about James Rice and Luke Wadding, see the Waterford ring brooch, the city’s huge involvement in the import of wine and so much more. Check it all out here.

The Bishop’s Palace, the city’s “exquisite Georgian jewel” starts where the Museum leaves off and brings us right up to date. It houses a lovely cafe, where we stopped, and here you can have breakfast, lunch, morning coffees and afternoon teas, even private functions.

Medieval Museum

 You enter the tour via the Garden Hall and its beautiful fireplace. Portraits and another magnificent fireplace decorate the Grand Landing. Later, see the 18th century painting of the city. Read about General Thomas Francis Meagher.  And bacon problems in the 1890s.

Here you will see old Waterford glass, including the Penrose Decanter (the oldest surviving piece), the John Redmond/Ballybricken room, stories of the First World War (read about 14 year old John Condon, the youngest soldier to die in WW1)  and wars nearer home. Then peace and poverty, and sport of course. And then the better times, the nights of dance and music as you enter the Showbands Room and see those white shoes!

Oldest piece of Waterford glass

That night, following a gorgeous dinner at La Boheme, we met Nollaig Brennan at Downes Pub, an old rambling building (even contains a squash court). Here in the snug, we sipped the local Metalman Pale Ale and were introduced to the pub’s own whiskey, Downes’ No. Nine, smooth as the darkness slipping into the narrow streets outside but much warmer!

Busy too the following day with a visit to Waterford Crystal. By Friday lunchtime, the Harvest Festival had started in earnest and there were stalls in virtually every square around the Mall and the Viking Triangle.

 We were looking for a snack after the visit to the Crystal factory and found it in the Enterprise tent where Walsh's Bakery and the Bodega had combined in a Reuben Sandwich, well maybe a Reuben-ish one. In any case, the spiced beef in the local blaa was absolutely delicious. Other stalls around were offering exotic foods with Portuguese, Kenyan, Polish and more available.

The threatened rain arrived later in the afternoon and we headed out the road to the Ardkeen Superstore, on the face of it a normal supermarket. But inside you'll see that a high proportion of the offering is from small artisan producers and we picked up some nice things there.

Elliot Organ in Christchurch

 That evening saw us head out in the rain to the Bodega. The warm colours, the buzz and excellent food inside soon warmed us up.

The sun shone the following morning and the crowds were out in force, walking around the stalls and sampling. We followed suit of course and had a lovely conversation with Maire Power, the Sea Gardener. She has some interesting produce and after a few tastings, we bought some of her Mushroom and Olive Caponata (with seaweed), some bars (including my favourite Coconut and Lime) and a wee bag of Dillisk!

Great choice at Ardkeen Superstore

Also had a chat with Jeni Pim, busy volunteer (husband Nigel was helping out too) in the GROWfest Demo Tent in Blackfriars. Time too for a coffee at the excellent Momo cafe.Then we took a break from the busy streets to call into Christ Church, which houses the tomb of James Rice - quite a story!

I had seen in the week previous two big organs, one at St Luke’s in Cork and the other at St Coleman’s in Cloyne. But the one here certainly caught my eye as it looked so well. This is the Elliot Organ, restored in 2003 after vandalism, at a cost of some €300,000 euro! Now it is in regular use for services and concerts. Read all about the cathedral and its history here.

Saturday's blue sky

Our visit was now drawing to an end. But we had  a lunch date before departure, guests at the EAT Waterford meal in the marquee on the Mall. After that, just time for a quick browse through the stalls on the Mall and a call to Mag of Goatsbridge to buy a few of her tasty trout products. Back to the car then and, with traffic light, we were back in Cork in an hour and a half, bags full and bags of happy memories too!

Down on the quays

Culture Night. Paintings and Plates

Culture Night

Paintings and Plates

Silvia of La Cocina

The Crawford Gallery was the first stop on Culture Night (18.09.15) with particular attention paid to two paintings. The first encountered featured Hugh Lawton, a direct ancestor of current Bordeaux negociant Pierre Lawton, who was Mayor of Cork City in 1776, and his enormous portrait hangs above the main staircase in the Crawford. Hugh would have quite a few more visitors later on as the L’Atitude 51 Wine Walk had the painting marked as one of their stopping points.

My second painting of interest was another large one, the Men of the South by Sean Keating. This features a group of rather good looking IRA men who, but for the rifles and pistols, could be on their way to a match or a dance even. But you can see the tension as they patiently wait to carry out an ambush. Perhaps I gave this painting more attention than usual because of the state funeral, earlier that day, for executed 1916 rebel Thomas Kent.

Hugh Lawton

For me, there is always a food call or two during Culture Night, usually to the English Market. But the Crawford Gallery Cafe were offering an intriguing menu, with a touch of Swiss and Spanish, and here we stayed for a pleasant while.

My fondue was based on a humble cheddar from East Cork but, enhanced by the kitchen, it proved a gem. Meanwhile CL tucked into a plate of Tapas that featured Rosscarbery Black Pudding and Gubbeen chorizo among other interesting flavours.

And La Cocina proved a very sweet ending indeed, “not too much sugar” though. From quite a selection we picked and shared a wedge of No Flour Almond and Lemon and a luscious custard cake (almost like a profiterole). Believe it or not, each went well with the last of the Biohof Pratsch Riesling.

Tapas

More art and food next at Nash 19. Indeed, both are always on the menu since Claire Nash opened the Sternview Gallery about a year ago. Rebecca Bradley’s Provisional View is the current show (until October 15th). The Irish Times critic Aidan Dunne summed it up as “Outstanding textural paintings based on landscape”. It is just that the landscape - suburbs, coastlines, fields and bogs - is never quite the same, “our sense of place not certain” as the handout says.

Time then for more food and with a goodly group of her producers on hand, there was no shortage. Got some lovely tastes of Hederman’s pate and Ardsallagh cheese from Claire. More cheese from Tipperary with Cashel Blue and Crozier Blue (my slight favourite) on hand.

Restaurant manager Mairead was handing out samples of the outstanding Longueville House cider and nearby the O'Connell’s were generous with their spiced beef, now in demand all year round.

All smiles: Champion pudding and spiced beef

 Kanturk’s Timmy McCarthy, not for the first time, had mixed booze and blood to great effect.This time the Premium drop was Teeling Single Malt and the result was top class. We also tasted the Jack McCarthy Smoked Air Dried Beef that last week won the Supreme Champion Award (and a lovely trophy) in the Speciality Foods Competition and the McCarthy’s were similarly awarded for the White Pudding in these Associated Craft Butchers of Ireland awards.

Timmy is rarely puzzled but he did have a quizzical look on his face as he spoke to three Danish visitors. They didn't know what black pudding was, saying they don't have blood puddings on Denmark, once the leading producer of bacon. Different cultures on culture night!

• If truth be told, our first stop of the evening was at a No. 208 bus stop. It turned out to be a long wait. Two scheduled bus times came and went, without a bus in sight, before we finally set out some forty minutes later, very poor service for around four o'clock on a Friday. It was no much better coming home, with two arriving together after another forty minute wait.

Amuse Bouche

Our HQ was an old, disused cow house with a leaking roof; it was cold and damp, with broken doors and windows….

We were guarded twenty-four hours a day by local Volunteers, while the Cumann na mBan women prepared our meals, and we were never short of food. The local people of Baile Mhúirne and Clondrohid brought us daily supplies of bread, milk, butter, eggs, bacon and turf. The present generation will, I am sure, find it hard to understand the generosity…..  They had a humane, kind-hearted streak in their hearts for us, and I can tell you seóinins [selfish people] were few and far between during that period early in the twentieth century.

from Memoirs of an old Warrior, compiled and edited by Dónal Ó Héalaithe

The Krawczyk Family in Conversation

THE ART OF LIVING

IN CONVERSATION

WITH THE

KRAWCZYK

FAMILY

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26

URRU CULINARY STORE

5.00PM / FREE

Schull-based Frank Krawczyk (left) is one of Ireland’s best known and most respected salami and sausage makers.

His son Robbie is an award winning chef currently at the much acclaimed Tankardstown House.

Join Frank and Robbie in an around-the-table conversation format event. 

Of Russian-European ancestry, Frank will recount his family history, from gulags to re-settlement camps through London to the story of his, and his wife Anne’s, adventures into the West Cork of the ‘70’s, with us.

He will recount his battles with bureaucracy in his endeavours to establish a world class charcuterie business and, more recently, his championing of the Slow Food movement in West Cork. 

The conversation will be facilitated by food writer, Dianne Curtin. Active audience participation will be encouraged. Refreshments will be served.

This event is part of Engage Arts Festival 24 – 27 September at URRU. 

ruthhealy@urru.ie

La Bohème Waterford. Home Of The Celtic Chef

La Bohème Waterford

Home Of The Celtic Chef

Salmon (left) and cod

We dined at ease under the white arched ceilings of Waterford’s La Bohème last week, forgetting in the romantic lighting that we were in a basement (a rather elegant one, it must be said) of the impressive Georgian building that is the headquarters of the Port of Waterford Company.

Christine and Eric Thèze are your hosts here. Breton Eric is the chef. You are in good hands. He is the 2014 winner of the Celtic Cook-off, a huge supporter of local produce (even if France wins on the cheese plate!) as he showed in recent weeks. He played a big role in EAT Waterford’s input into the excellent Harvest Fest* in the city, Ireland’s oldest, and at the same time cooked a sell-out dinner in the West Cork Hotel in Skibbereen as part of A Taste of West Cork.

The restaurant, in George’s Street, has a wine bar (here you can also get nibbles and small plates, even platters) and offers an Early Bird (€24 for two course, 29 for three), a Market Menu (3 course for €35.00) and A La Carte. And there is also a 7 Course Surprise Tasting Menu (€70 per person) available for entire tables only. It is open Monday through Saturday from 5:30pm until late; open Friday for lunch; open Bank Holiday Sundays.

Our meal came from the A La Carte. Some great choices including a Summer Risotto, Terrine of Foie Gras, and Citrus Crab Salad on the starter list. Our picks were the Slow cooked Fenor Farm pork belly, poached pear, tomato and vanilla jam, seasonal greens (8.95) and the  Carpaccio of Hereford beef filet, black peppercorn crust, white truffle oil, lemon juice, rocket leaves, parmesan cheese shavings (10.95). Quality all the way.

And the high standard continued. Both mains came from the De La Mer section and both were top notch. We were wondering a bit about the gazpacho but our confidence in the chef was well founded and the salmon turned out to be a gem. Full description: Baked Irish salmon, basil, lemon and breadcrumb crust, gazpacho and cucumber. And I was totally happy with every little bit of the Steamed filet of Dunmore East cod, leeks, garden herbs, beurre blanc.

Both dishes came in at 21.95 and both were washed down with a carafe of a Vermentino from the Languedoc. As you might expect, La Bohème has an excellent fine wine list. But did you know their Craft Beer and Cider List is an award winner? Some tempting cocktails and aperitifs there too.

When it came to dessert, we passed up on all the sweet stuff, even the Classic Crème Brulée with a Brittany Financier (sorry, Eric!), and went for the cheese plate. We had many to choose from and our picks included the creamy Bleu d’Auvergne, the Comté and the Reblochon. So it was France all the way on that plate, even if the drink was a Dows LBV.

• For more on the Harvest Fest click here .
  House of Waterford Crystal Tour
  Bodega, Waterford. Good Food & Lots Of Buzz
  EAT Waterford. 5 Course Menu de Luxe on The Mall
  Harvest Days in Waterford. Visiting the Viking City
  
  

A Pair of Pouilly-Fuissé. Classy Chardonnay Couple

A Pair of Pouilly-Fuissé

Classy Chardonnay

The neighbouring villages of Pouilly and Fuissé in Burgundy, surrounded by vineyards full of Chardonnay vines, give their names to the rather large Pouilly-Fuissé appellation. It is, according to Oz Clarke, “the sexiest name in the Maconnais”,  and at its best produces rich dry white wine. Can be confused with Pouilly-Fumé, a white wine (Sauvignon Blanc) from the Loire. If this happens to you, if you grab one from the “wrong” shelf, don't worry. Just open the Fumé and enjoy.

According to Larousse Wines, Pouilly-Fuissé wines "have a clear character and a good range of flavours. As they get older, they develop dried fruit and honey notes".

Don't let them get too old though. Three to six years is the ageing potential.

Goichot Pouilly-Fuissé “Les Feuilles d’Or” 2014, 13%, €18.00 SuperValu French Wine event.

Colour is a medium gold and there are aromas of citrus and white fruits among quite a medley. In the mouth, it is smooth, close to creamy, richly fruited and soft with good acidity too plus a lingering finish. An elegant wine indeed and Very Highly Recommended. Recommended with shell fish, king prawns, lobster, crab or poultry in cream sauce as well as many goat’s cheese. 
The SuperValu sale continues until September 23rd.

Domaine Noblet-Charvet Pouilly-Fuissé 2013, 13.5%, €22.90 (now at 18.30), Karwig Wines.

Colour is a slightly deeper gold than the Goichot and it has much the same concentrated aromas with white fruit, citron, honey hints. Smooth, close to creamy again and rich, with a slight drift of spice, soft and fruity, with lively acidity. You may well find it goes better with your shellfish than the Guichot which in turn could well be better with the crab and lobster in the creamy sauces! Take your pick. I’d have a very slight preference for the Goichot but this too, from the well regarded Noblet family, is Very Highly Recommended.

Taste of the Week. So Milky Milk Chocolate

Taste of the Week

So Milky Milk Chocolate

One of the bonuses of visiting Clonakilty recently for A Taste of West Cork was the chance to meet chocolatier Allison Roberts at the tasting event in Spiller’s Lane. She was one of the local producers showing their wares and I stocked up on her chocolate bars, including the So Milky Milk bar, our Taste of the Week.

This has no “artificial anything” and is “Gluten free”. Aside from Cocoa, the other main ingredient is Coconut Blossom Syrup. And the milk is not from the cow but from the goat!

Clonakilty Chocolate is a Fairtrade operation, the beans coming to Clon from the farmers of Kokoo (Ghana). Even the wrapper is bio-degradeable. Eating it, the chocolate that is, will make you feel good in more ways than one!

Other bars include: Chai Chilli, 100% Cocoa, Decadent Dark, Wild West Salty, and Seriously Minted. The Salty and the Minted are also among my favourites but do sample and take your pick from a great choice.

Bodega Waterford. Good Food & Lots of Buzz.

Bodega Waterford

Good Food & Lots of Buzz

It is the sound, the sound of happy conversation, that hits you as you walk to your table in Waterford's Bodega. The warmly painted place is long and narrow, lots of paintings on the walls and waiters moving quickly up and down the center aisle. Busy, buzzy on a Thursday night. Wet outside but warm inside.

Got some nice dips and breads as we considered the menu. Could have had the Early Bird and a Home Grown menu, even a Harvest Fest Special, but we don't come here often so went for the A La Carte.

Fish and Duck

Also went for the local Metalman Pale Ale that they have on draught here. Not alone do they support local brews (and gins, and more) but they also support local food producers in a big way. See the long list here. Bodega is a member of EAT Waterford, a group of 25 restaurants that support local and that means your money stays in the local economy. Pull together!

Soon our starters arrived. I love my artichokes and this time I went for the Artichoke Hearts,

Stewed with White Wine, Tomatoes, Olive Oil & Fresh Herbs (7.90). Delicious. CL’s pick was the Bodega Chicken Liver Paté with Apple Relish & Ballybeg Green Leaves & Homemade Brioche (8.90). Excellent.

Lots of Tasting platters on offer, from the sea and from the land, some for singles, some for doubles. Another very popular dish - it seemed to be going out all night - was the Metalman Battered Fish and Chips. Tempted by all these, but we picked from elsewhere on the extensive menu.

My choice here was the Skeaghanore duck. This is a brilliant product and always ends up in a brilliant dish as was the case here. Fish is strongly featured across the menus and CL’s pick was the Pan-fried Sea-bass with Grantstown Tomato, chermoula and sautéed courgette, another superb dish.

We were feeling pretty full after all that but couldn't resist one of the desserts on the Specials Board, the Dennison’s Roast Plum and Greengage compote, pumpkin seed granola and buttermilk froyo. We shared that beauty and it was two happy punters that stepped out in the feckin’ rain! But there was a taxi in a line outside to ferry us to our hotel.

For review of the Waterford Harvest Fest, check here.
House of Waterford Crystal Tour - Recommended!
EAT Waterford. 5 Course Dinner de Luxe on The Mall.

Celtic Chef at La Boheme

Harvest Days in Waterford. Visiting the Viking City

Meitheal on the Mall. EAT Waterford.

Meitheal on the Mall

EAT Waterford

The Starter

Waterford, Ireland's oldest city, has probably seen many a meal in a tent over the centuries but the weekend event in the Marquee on The Mall highlighted local produce and we were treated to five courses of delicious food, all prepared by a meitheal of local chefs and a big crew of helpers.

Indeed, the whole Harvest Festival, which ran from Friday to Sunday, had local produce at its heart as producers in the various markets, SuperValu with their food academy, bars who had no shortage of craft beer and other local drinks (Blackwater gin and Muldoon whiskey for example) and especially the GIY locations around Blackfriars, all embraced the idea of locavoring.

Hake

The practice of sourcing locally grown food has much going for it: freshness (so nutritional superiority), better taste, avoids trucking and air transport, biodiversity, and perhaps most importantly, supporting the local economy.

EAT Waterford is an association of 25 of the city's restaurants, restaurants that produce a great diversity of styles based on produce from the local farms and producers and, of course, all that fresh fish from the nearby seas, You’ll see their brochure at many places, including tourist offices, all over the city. Pick one up and you’ll enjoy your stay all the better.

Lamb

Dessert x3!

The weekend Tasting Menu in the Marquee highlighted the excellence of both the food and the chefs. Five restaurants were involved in this year's effort and the people that got together to work their culinary magic were Christine and Eric (La Boheme), Stan, Mailo and Kelly (The Athenaeum), Donagh and Daithí (Loko), Arnaud and Patrice (L’Atmosphere), Tony (Bellissimo), and all their restaurant teams.

There were six opportunities to enjoy the meal. I came to eat at lunchtime on Saturday and enjoyed it immensely. I still think that the hake dish was the tops but all were excellent and we had a surprise glass of Muldoon Whiskey Liqueur as the finalé. The night sessions were sold out and it looks as if there will be more of them in 2016. A great idea and well done to all at EAT Waterford and to their producers.

Some of the chefs, gazpacho, the Muldoon surprise.

Also on this trip:

Celtic Chef at La Boheme

Bodega, good food, good fun

Interesting Tour of Waterford Glass

Harvest Days in Waterford. Visiting the Viking City

Amuse Bouche

There would be pleasant stops for a drink or food: the back bar of Jammet’s; the Dolphin with its delicious grills; the Red Bank restaurant, which for years as a child I had thought was a bank, when my father used leave me in the car and nip in; Neary’s pub with the bowls of gas along the counter; Davy Byrne’s, the pub James Joyce writes about in Ulysses; and others. We met friends of Arland’s including Brendan Behan, who seemed very fond of him. They joked and talked together, often in Irish.

from A Taste of Love by Theodora Fitzgibbon (2015)