Sunday, October 18, 2015

Richy Virahsawmy. Clon’s Renaissance Man

Richy Virahsawmy
Clon’s Renaissance Man
Richy Virahsawmy is something of a renaissance man. He is a restaurant owner, a cook, a teacher, a consultant, an active contributor to the local community in Clonakilty, a TV chef, an author, and a farmer. He has cooked for you and me, for celebrities (Michael Flatley), in big houses (Castle Hyde, Castlefreke), for large crowds (World Web Summit and at the National Ploughing Championship), for Prime Ministers and their guests (in Downing Street and in his native Mauritius).

I won’t go into all the details in this post but you may read all about his background here. The Irish leg of his career began when he joined the staff of Inchydoney Lodge and his dream of opening his own restaurant became reality in 2002 when Richy’s was established in Clonakilty.

And, ten years later, worried that a restaurant that only opened a few days week might not be enough on its own, he reinforced his position in the town with the opening of the adjoining cafe, turning the operation into a multi-functional one. Now he had two types of dining room in the one premises.

Superb chowder, with Murphy's & Walnut Brown Bread
 Now too he could really get to grips with expanding his teaching. Autumn/Winter Courses include fish cookery, Canapes and Small Bites, Slow Cookin, Sushi Making, Cooking for Friends are among those available. These are all interactive classes: you cook and, at the end of the evening, sit down with your fellow students and eat!


And Richy loves teaching children to cook and every week he has classes for a small group (eight to twelve) of kids with autism. Indeed, in an attempt to meet the threat of obesity, he plans to increase his work with schoolchildren and has earmarked an old house on his farm for that purpose, and more. Watch this space.

He, his Finnish wife Johanna, and their three children, live on the farm in nearby Rosscarbery in a cleverly converted barn! The farm is worked and they have established a market garden there with herbs, and greens, tomatoes and so on, grown for the restaurant. Richy finds it hard to understand why so many Irish farmers stopped doing this for themselves. Another bonus is that most of the restaurant waste is composted here.


Back at the restaurant, it is all go. But not with the staff. He has a good team, twenty four strong, his chefs “stay longer”. The place, the flow of work, is tidy, highly organized, everything in its place.

“Ninety per cent is made in-house. You can't go much higher than that.” And the menus rarely stand still, always a few on the specials boards, He had taken an “office day”, on the day of our visit, to work on the Spring-Summer menus for 2016. A few years back, he introduced a pizza menu and that is going strongly.

When Richy started up in 2002, he knew he wouldn't have to go far for good produce. It is all around here in Clonakilty, in the fields of the local farms, and in the nearby seas. And he makes great use of it as we found out, again, last week.
There were at least five specials on the board and I started with one of them: the West Cork Seafood Chowder, packed with little chunks of fish and a few mussels in their shells, a terrific chowder and a great starter on a cool enough day. Meanwhile, CL was warming up with the Buttersquash and Sweetcorn Soup.

Again, I found my mains on the Specials list: Tuna Nicoise Salad, boiled egg, anchovies and green beans. A superb combination of flavours (the meaty tuna and the salty anchovies), colours and textures (crunchy beans, soft eggs). And the salad, from the farm, was simply outstanding.

That well dressed salad also made an appearance in CL’s dish: Chicken, avocado and pomegranate salad, Gubbeen bacon, balsamic and extra virgin olive oil. Again, this was one to savour, take your time with, a pleasure to eat.

We would have loved a dessert and were tempted but settled for a cup of coffee, a chat with the man himself and a tour of the kitchen.
The R Cafe (left) & the restaurant

Ryan Brothers Have The Recipe

press release
Ryan Family have a winning recipe.
Michael (left) and Declan Ryan

~ Winner of Georgina Campbell Ireland’s Natural Food Award 2016 announced as Declan Ryan's Arbutus Bread, Cork ~

~ Winner of Georgina Campbell Ireland’s Casual Dining Restaurant of the Year 2016 announced as Michael and Catherine Ryan’s Isaacs Restaurant, Cork ~

Well respected and long established independent food and hospitality guide ‘Georgina Campbell’s Ireland’ has just announced their top recommendations for the best places to eat, drink and stay for the year ahead (2016). Scooping two of the top accolades, in separate categories, are Cork based Arbutus Bread – an artisanal wholesale bakery specialising in sourdough and yeast breads, which won the Natural Food Award, and Isaac’s Restaurant located on Mac Curtain Street, Cork serving seasonal and local dishes, which won Best Casual Dining Restaurant. The cherry on top of this outstanding achievement is that both businesses are owned by brothers Declan and Michael Ryan. 

Commenting on behalf of Arbutus, Declan Ryan beamed saying, “We are absolutely thrilled to be named the Natural Food Award Winners, it really speaks to what we are all about in terms of ethos. Arbutus Breads are committed to producing natural artisan products without chemical additives to traditional methods, as we know this delivers the best product quality and customer satisfaction. There is nothing better than the smell of freshly baked bread and it is a credit to all our hard working team at the bakery to be recognised in this way.” 

Speaking on behalf of Isaacs Restaurant, Michael Ryan welcomed the news saying, “It is always great to be told people like what you are doing, you put your heart and soul into each dish and to be recognised by a respected guide such as Georgina Campbell’s Ireland is the icing on the cake!” 

The Ryan family have a long history of being at the cutting edge of the culinary arts having previously achieved Ireland’s very first Michelin star at Arbutus Lodge.  The following year, Ireland had two Michelin starred restaurants, Arbutus Lodge and Cashel Palace both owned by the Ryan Family. 

In 1992 Michael and Catherine Ryan along with Canice Sharkey opened Isaacs Restaurant in what was once a 18th century warehouse on Mac Curtain Street. This atmospheric venue has since gone from strength to strength with the support of next generation Emma Ryan who has recently joined the team, winning numerous awards, including this latest gong from Georgina Campbell. The dining experience at Isaac’s is regularly praised by leading food critics and guides and most importantly by its food loving customers! 

Cheers!

Michael was not the only brother to put his experience and talent to good use as following the sale of the Arbutus Lodge in 1999; Declan who decided retirement was not for him, converted a garage at his house in Montenotte, Cork into a bakery and travelled to France to gain additional expertise. From humble beginnings Arbutus Bread has moved into a much larger premises in Mayfield, Cork and grown to now produce 2,000 loaves of a variety of breads every night, still made by traditional methods and using only natural, additive-free ingredients. Today the thriving bakery has seven fulltime bakers and is run by Declan and Patsy Ryan along with David Matues, head baker and from the next generation Darragh and Elaine Ryan. 

Another family member has also got the food business bug as Philip Ryan (son of Michael and Catherine at Isaacs Restaurant) has established himself as a successful entrepreneur, introducing Cork City’s newest gastro-venue Brick Lane, and is an key organiser of a food and beer festival with locations in 4 cities across the country under the brand of ‘Oktoberfest Beag’. The Ryan family certainly have that winning recipe.

For more information on Arbutus see www.arbutusbread.com and for more on Isaacs see www.isaacsrestaurant.ie

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Amuse Bouche

We travelled to Oosterbeek, a small village an hour south-east of Amsterdam, to the home of Hans Hermans, one of the filmmakers. Before showing the film, he served a traditional Dutch lunch of Edam cheese and salted herring in his small kitchen, then invited us into the living room. We sat on floor cushions as his co-producer Martin Maat, started the movie.
The film, entitled Justice for Sergei, was not easy to watch…... I let my guard down and the tears flowed as they've never flowed before or since.

Red Notice (How I became Putin’s No.1 Enemy) by Bill Browder (2015)

Friday, October 16, 2015

Taste of the Week. At Lunch in Adare Manor

Taste of the Week. 
Starter in Adare Manor

Sometimes, at a meal, you stop talking and take extra notice of what you are eating. Such an occasion came up at a recent wine tasting lunch in the Adare Manor Hotel. We were on the starter: Smoked Irish Salmon with Mango Salsa, Crab, herb and citrus creme fraiche. 

Think I may well have had this combination before but the plate in Adare was quite a treat, a superb mix of flavours and textures, even colours. Taste of the Week, without a doubt. If you want to enjoy, you’d better hurry! Extensive refurbishment is planned for the leading five star hotel from early next year and it will be closed for up to 18 months.

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Blair Boys Talk the Talk And Walk the Walk.

Blair Boys Talk the Talk

And Walk the Walk

The Blair brothers, Richard and Duncan, can talk the talk and walk the walk. Whether as headliners at the recent major Irish festival in Milwaukee or as one of the stars of this year’s Theatre of Food at Electric Picnic, the Cloghroe duo can hold their own with the best.

But these naturals don't need a stage  to talk. They need no prompting to talk about the wonderful local produce they source for their much awarded Blairs Inn, no prompting to talk about their producers. And their producers include craft brewers. They love their beer here and were one of the first restaurants to produce a beer list as well as a wine list!
We were there for lunch in midweek. We had a superb lunch. And, yes, we had a lovely conversation. Beer was the first topic. We settled on the Radik American Style Pale Ale, an excellent one hop one indeed, produced by Cork based Belgian Alain Dekoster. Watch out for this guerrilla brewer - he can turn up anywhere - and by the looks of it, anything he turns out is top notch!

Anyhow, back to the lunch and my main course of Silverside of O'Crualaoi Corned Beef on a bed of champ served with Cabbage and Parsley sauce (16.50). This is the House Speciality, a dish that won over young and old alike during EP and one that I regularly order when I'm in Cloghroe. Always amazed at the amazing quality of this meat, an ancient Irish treat, enhanced on this occasion by a shared dish of flavoursome vegetables - the turnip was a treat - including those tasty baked roosters! And the recommended beer? Radik Pale Ale, of course!
CL meanwhile was tucking into Baked Fillet of Hake on a Gubbeen chorizo mash, served with a red pepper coulis. A great piece of fish, well cooked, but that mash too took its share of the spotlight and the light coulis also played a key role. And of course that dish of massive vegetables. Not forgetting her Pale Ale. Alain would have been happy to hear the praise!

Gubbeen too featured on my starter, also known as the Cloghroe Salad (8.65). Could have eaten the leaves supplied by their Mallow grower on their own!  But so well dressed and combined with warm brown bread, it was quite a treat, expertly assembled.
 And there was even more expertise in CL’s starter: Warm Tartlet of Ballinhassig Goat’s Cheese, creamed leeks and smoked salmon on a balsamic reduction (9.25). They lit the fire for us in Blair’s but we were already warming up with the excellent food.


Great stuff in this highly recommended award winning venue. Do visit and do join the conversation. You’ll have the craic here and be well fed.


Blair’s Inn
(021) 438 1470
Opening Hours
Mon-Thu 12.00pm to 11.30pm
Fri-Sat     12.00pm to 11.30pm
Sun          12.00pm to 11.00pm

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Craggy Range 2013. “The Vintage of a Generation”

Craggy Range 2013
“The Vintage of a Generation”
Craggy Range
New Zealand winemakers are calling 2013 the Vintage of a Generation and there was much evidence in support at the Craggy Range tasting in Adare Manor Hotel last week. Right across the range and not just with the outstanding wines from the Prestige Collection.

Okay, so this is a New Zealand winemaker and, yes, they have a Sauvignon blanc. It comes from the Te Muna vineyard in Martinborough. We started with this 2013 edition. Hannah Gordon, the company’s UK/Europe Business Manager, was our guide in Adare and she said it was not your typical NZ Sauvignon blanc: “It is slightly more classical, more elegant. It has had five months in oak, also some lees contact, so it has a nice richness, the acidity is calmed down. A great food wine, very versatile.”

The 2013 Chardonnay came from Kidnappers Vineyard in Hawkes Bay, the “warmest area in NZ but with a cooling sea breeze”. This too has had oak (nine months) but the influence is not overly much. There is a great concentration, an almost creamy feel and a long finish. Hannah said it is a great food wine, a Burgundy style. “The idea is to reflect the place and the name comes from the time when Captain Cook’s servants were kidnapped here.”
So now we were getting the picture, the “other side of the New Zealand story, learning from the Old World without copying”. And that was further underlined as the tasting progressed.


Back now to Te Muna Road which has a climate like Burgundy and is “the birthplace of quality Pinot Noir in New Zealand.” This 2012 Pinot Noir has “vibrant fruits..verging on creamy..a bit of classic earthiness to it, like the Old World”.


And then a step up again, this time to the 2013 Aroha, again a Pinot Noir from Te Muna Road but part of the Prestige Collection, a wine that could last 10 to 15 years. Hannah pointed to the dense fruit flavours. The texture and finish are all top class. Grapes from the two best blocks (16 & 19) were used for this gem. Aroha means love in the Maori language.



Sophia
In 1876 the floods in New Zealand’s region of Hawke's Bay turned some rivers into land. You may read about it here.  

Gimblett Gravels was one such place and is “the most famous single vineyard on New Zealand”.  And from these gravels comes a surprising wine. “It was the biggest surprise for us,” said Hannah as she introduced us to two Syrah. And another surprise, the most awarded wine in New Zealand is not a Sauvignon blanc but Le Sol, one of this pair of Syrah.

The 2011 Syrah is excellent, medium bodied with fruit and spice and a long finish. But that 2013 Le Sol (French for soil) is simply amazing. No wonder Decanter named it as the best Syrah in the new world.

“Syrah is the new story of New Zealand,” said Hannah. “This is our highlight wine, fresh, fruity (with great density of aroma), acidity, fine tannins, and very accessible even at this young age. This could age for 15-20 years.”
We would finish with a couple of Bordeaux blends, one of which, Sophia, “put us on the world wine map”. First up was the 2011 Te Kahu from the Gimblett Gravels and the name means Morning Mist. Fruit for sure but this is more elegant than fruit driven, with a persistent finish. The blend is 70% Merlot with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and a very little Petit Verdot.

The 2013 Sophia, with 62% Merlot, brought us even more convincing evidence of the excellence of that year with “its spiced fruit character. It is fresh, acidic, with a fine tannin structure dominant but not too heavy, a beautiful wine”.

Jancis Robinson loves this one, even if not its “heavy” bottle: “Really well accomplished. Long and neat. Really lovely wine that lasted well in an opened bottle - a good sign”.
Lunch at Adare. Smoked Irish Salmon with Mango Salsa, Crab, herb & citrus creme fraiche
and Roast rump of Irish lamb, kohlrabi, crispy sweetbreads, butterbean puree.
Sophia, from the old Greek Sophia, means wisdom. We could all love (philo) this and become instant philosophers!

The love continued through the excellent lunch in the amazing Oak Room where we got a chance to sample some of the wines again and where we were introduced to Sophia 2004. Those that doubted, if there were any, joined the confirmed philosophers. Great wines in a lovely venue with excellent company - hard to beat on a Wednesday afternoon!

  • There is much more information on the wines (distributed here in Ireland by Tindal Wines) on the Craggy Range website. It is one of the very best wine websites that I've come across.
  • If you’d like to visit and stay at Adare Manor, you’d better hurry! Extensive refurbishment is planned for the leading five star hotel from early next year and it will be closed for up to 18 months.
  • Well done to Hannah and to Peter McCabe of Tindal’s for their input last week and to Anthony Tindal himself who left us in no doubt that he was a confirmed philosopher! Brian Lawlor, Food & Beverage Manager at Adare Manor, was on hand to make sure everything, including lunch, went well. It did!

    Just in from Ballymaloe's Colm McCann:

    Upcoming wine events at Ballymaloe 

    Bank Holiday Monday 26th October 2015, 8.00pm
    Wine dinner with John Wilson wine writer, The Irish Times
    In Ballymaloe House €85 including dinner and wines
    John Wilson, one of Ireland’s top wine writers, will present, over dinner, a tasting of a selection of his favourite wines from the new edition of his book ‘Wilson on Wine 2016’


    Thursday 12th November, 7.30pm

    A Unique and Fascinating Comparative Wine Tasting with Maximilian J. Riedel
    of Riedel Wine Glass
    In the Grainstore at Ballymaloe
    Tickets for the Riedel event are priced at €65 for individual tickets or €55 each for bookings of 2 or more. Each ticket includes €97.50 worth of Riedel VERITAS glass which each ticket holder can take home in a portable gift box

    Special rates also available for accommodation

    Ballymaloe House, Shanagarry, Co. Cork
    Tel: 021 4652531 


Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Taste of the Week. Macroom buffalo steaks

Taste of the Week. 
Macroom buffalo steaks
Pic by O'Mahony's Butchers

"Full of flavour and tender," I said. "What more would you want?" Stupid question.
"Another one," she said.

We were chatting about our Taste of the Week, the ribeye steaks produced by Johnny Lynch of Macroom Buffalo and sold in the English Market by Eoin O'Mahony. Sirloin also available.

Yes, indeed. Another one is the correct answer!

Monday, October 12, 2015

Dingle Days. Glorious Food, Drink and Scenery

Dingle Days

Glorious Food, Drink and Scenery
Dingle has it all - glorious food, drink and scenery. It is a terrific visit at anytime and can be visited whether the sun shines or not. Nature doesn't have to perform at its best just because you’re on a visit. Indeed, sometimes Nature in a bad mood is as well worth seeing as it is on the days of calm and balm.

I was there for the Blas na hEireann tastings and the annual food festival and it was a marvelous few days. Tough enough start though on the Thursday with a full day of tastings for Blas in the Skelligs Hotel. Tough? Did I hear you say? Well try tasting nine blue cheeses in a row. Or, in the final session of the day, sampling 15 beers as the sun went down.
Savoury chocolates!

Venturing out in Ventry
But it has its rewards and the first came later that night in An Canteen when we sat down to a very local three course meal by the brothers Niall and Brian. Superb fish on the first two courses and those amazing savoury chocolates by Dovinia were a highlight. And I must also mention that excellent Connemara Pale Ale by the Independent Brewery.

Friday was largely a free day, so we headed west with the first stop at Ventry as the sunseekers were out in some numbers and, let me say, in their t-shirts. Also spent some time watching a group of kayakers getting ready and then sailing off into the haze. The weather had changed, duller and windier, by the time we got to Slea Head but we still got down to the sands and close to the rocks.
Dunquin

Lunch at Blasket Centre: Baked potato, tuna, cheese
The Blasket Centre is a great place to visit to get a feel for the peninsula and the islands and , as a bonus, it is a good spot to stop for lunch. Fueled up, we carried on and came to Clogher Head. Last time, our walk up here was stopped by a heavy shower but there was no such problems on this occasion. Great views out there, even if there was a little haze in the mid-distance.

On then towards Ballyferriter and a visit to Wine Strand before closing the loop - the sun was out again -  and cutting cross-county back to Dingle. We were keen to see the Conor Pass while the weather was still reasonable. By the time we got up though, the clouds had taken over. Still we had a fine view down to Dingle and beyond.
Ceann Sibeal from Clogher Head
Welcome to Wine Strand
Then an hour or two was spent at the awards by the Enterprise Office from the various counties (details here) and after that it was time to think about eating again. We were joined by some of the judges (lots of laughs with Susan and Judith Boyle) in the Global Village who came up with a terrific tasting menu, very popular too as empty plates went back every time. This was a selection of the peninsula’s finest produce over six tasting courses. Highlights were the fish (turbot, seaweed and fennel) and the meat (wild boar, scallop and raisins).

Saturday was a reasonably fine day and we were soon out and about after a good breakfast at the excellent and friendly Benners Hotel, so centrally located. Garvey’s SuperValu had their line of food already in place on the pavement outside. I had a look inside and was impressed. Outside, the market stalls on the various streets were busy and we called to quite a few.
Welcome to Dingle Gin & Vodka from Joe
Turbot at Global Village
Saturday though was mainly about the amazing Taste Trail and you may read all about that here. Caught up on the news from the award ceremony for Blas and delighted for the winners, particularly for those that we know. Taste trail or not, we were still up for a meal later that night and had booked in to the Grey’s Lane Bistro. It was a good call and a lovely meal.

Took it easy on the Sunday morning and, after yet another good breakfast in Benner's, two happy punters checked out and headed home. Dingle, we'll be back!
Smiling traders!

Sunday, October 11, 2015

The Rising Tide on a High. Winners of Kinsale Chowder Cook-Off

The Rising Tide on a High
Winners of Kinsale Chowder Cook-Off

Winners: Sandra and Craig of the Rising Tide
It was the first chowder that we tasted and we knew it was a good one. The Rising Tide's Sandra Murphy, with Head Chef Craig Guiney alongside, greeted us with a big smile and that smile got even bigger later on when the Rising Tide were declared the winners of the ‘Cork Heat’ of the All-Ireland Chowder Cook-Off.  

This hugely popular competition, sponsored by Clóna,was the opening event of the Kinsale Gourmet Festival, and was hosted by the Kinsale Good Food Circle at Acton’s Hotel last Friday.

Quite a few strong contenders emerged as we made our way around the room. Quinlan’s Seafood Bar were making their debut here and confidence was high as they been crowned Supreme Champions for their fresh crab-meat at the recent Blas na hEireann Awards in Dingle.
Cornstore (left) was busy as was Clon's Richy
The White Horse Bar, from Ballincollig, was one of our first calls - we had arranged a “date’ on twitter. Cockles were in the mix here and it was gluten free. Indeed, I’m told the popular restaurant takes good care of people looking for gluten free. So there’s a tip for you.

The Electric Fish Bar featured mussels in their chowder and that too tasted as if it would be a contender as did Ricky's from Clonakilty, also offering mussel in their bowl. Ballycotton Pier 26 had one of the more colourful offerings, smoked fish in the mix, while the Pink Elephant had prawns.

The Poacher’s Inn had another good one with Star Anise among the flavours while runners up Bastion featured Saffron (which went down very well with CL). Ballydehob’s Budds emerged as a place to watch. Their regular chowder was good and they also had a vegan one on hand. They make great use of seaweed and their seaweed butter was a very tasty example indeed.
A warming chowder from the White Horse crew
Graeme Campbell, executive head chef at the Celtic Ross, had recruited the formidable Sally Barnes and they had another excellent chowder, accompanied by some of Sally’s smoked mackerel paté.

Actually, quite a few of the accompaniments were tasty. Didn't taste all the brown bread available but I thought the one from Nine Market Street in Kinsale was outstanding. Perhaps the top “side” was the drink offered by Cornstore, a Jameson Black Barrel, basil and rosemary infused whiskey sour. Thanks to local brewer Sam Black for the heads up!

Cornstore were the holders and they made a terrific effort to make it two in a row with an excellent chowder containing smoked haddock, mussel chowder, bacon and dry sherry and a vegetable mirepoix.
Budd's of Ballydehob and their vegan chowder (smaller pot)
The line-up in the Kinsale Suite at Actons featured:  Cornstore Restaurant, Budds Restaurant, Ballydehob, The Rising Tide, Glounthaune, The Fish Bar at Electric, Cork City, Bastion of Kinsale, The Pink Elephant, Kilbrittain, The White Horse, Ballincollig,  Richy’s Restaurant, Clonakilty, Poachers Inn, Bandon, Pier 26 Restaurant, Ballycotton, Celtic Ross Hotel, Rosscarbery, Quinlans Seafood Bar, Cork City, Nine Market St, Kinsale and The Speckled Door, Old Head.

The winner will represent Cork at the All-Ireland Chowder Cook-Off in Kinsale next April, and subsequently travel to Newport, Rhode Island to be part of the Great Chowder Cook-off in June, 2017.

Friday, October 9, 2015

Amuse Bouche

Dinner, with the queen, could be an ordeal. The simple meal - soup, fish, cold beef and the cream puddings of which Victoria was particularly fond - began at 9 and usually lasted precisely thirty minutes. The queen was served first and gobbled her food. Slow eaters, such as Gladstone, who was said to chew every mouthful thirty-three times, found their plates snatched away by the servants when they had barely begun.

from Victoria by Jane Ridley