Happy 60th Cork Film Festival!

Happy 60th Cork Film Festival!

Celebrate with Film. And Food!

Chocolat is one of my favourite films and it is featured as part of the "culinary strand" in this year's Cork Film Festival, the 60th edition. This rather special showing will be in the Farmgate and other culinary highlight venues include Ballymaloe and Christchurch.

November 7th:

An (Red Bean Paste)

The opening element of the culinary strand this year will be the Fab Food Trail and will see twelve guests treated to some of the best produce Cork has to offer. An experienced and engaging guide will lead the way on this walking tour as the lucky few sample the finest foods from cheese mongers, fish mongers, butchers, bakers and more.

The event will culminate with a screening in the beautiful Triskel Christchurch of the Japanese film An (Red Bean Paste). An (2015) is directed by Naomi Kawase, and tells the story of a 76 year old woman, Tokue, who responds to an advert for a pastry kiosk. Initially reluctant to hire Tokue, the owner quickly realises he has struck gold when he tastes her beautiful red bean paste (An). Tokue strikes up a bond with a shy school girl, Wakana, who is a regular customer and the three prove to be a unique unit until they are suddenly split apart.

More info here.

November 9th:

Following on from last year’s festival we will see the return of the hugely successful event in the Farmgate Café in Cork’s English Market. This year, the screening is the French classic Chocolat (2000) directed by Lasse Hallstrom. The film sees you drawn into the world of Vianne Rocher and her daughter Anouk as they open an artisan chocolate shop in a conservative French village.  Starring some of the best known names in the industry including Johnny Depp, Dame Judy Dench, Alfred Molina and Hugh O’Connor (who also has a film in the Festival this year). 

This event is sure to be a treat. The menu will be a Chocolat inspired menu.

More info here.

November 13th:

 An exciting addition to the culinary strand this year will be the inclusion of the Ballymaloe Grainstore event. This unique evening will see guests enjoy a fabulous meal in the classic Ballymaloe House followed by a screening of Some Like It Hot (1959) in the beautifully converted Grainstore. Some Like it Hot is a multi award winning comedy featuring performances from stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. 

Set in 1929, we follow the exploits of Joe (Curtis) and Jerry (Lemon) as they create female identities to evade the Mob, skip town with a travelling band and vie for the affection of Sugar Kane (Monroe). Lose yourself in Wilder’s hilarious masterpiece in the truly exceptional setting of Ballymaloe Grainstore.


Enjoy a meal at Ballymaloe and the film for €65.00
or
Just the film for €10.00

More details here.

Clonakilty Chocolate. All my changes were there

Clonakilty Chocolate

All my changes were there

In Neil Young’s song “Helpless” you hear this line: All my changes were there. He was referring to his hometown in Ontario, Canada. Allison Roberts is also from Ontario and naturally enough had some moulding there.

One that would last came as a result of her following up an ad in a local shop window for a chocolate making course. That skill didn't bring her to Clonakilty but it was a major factor in her staying in West Cork where she now makes delicious Fairtrade chocolate in a room at the back of her house on a hill overlooking the town.

That early course saw the 12 year old invest in a set of moulds, including a turtle. And for “years and years, at Easter and at Christmas, I made mypocket money by making and selling chocolate”.

Growing up and attending university, she began to realise the negative impact of globalisation and was “always inclined” to Fairtrade. Years later, after traveling and stints living in Taiwan and Australia, she arrived in West Cork for “a six months stay”.

And, of course, one of the first things she saw were the signs on the way in to Clon declaring it to be Ireland's first Fairtrade town. It was a sign in more ways than one. And then there was another, more practical, sign that would lead to that six months going on and on. A local shop was looking for local chocolate. Allison sent home for the moulds, including that turtle, and went to work.

And there was yet another hook to the local community. An older lady recruited the Canadian to the Fairtrade Committee and now Allison is the group's treasurer. “There are lots of ways of doing Fairtrade,” she says. “Start by buying from the local farmers.”

“I like local but cocoa is faraway. Be aware of where your stuff comes from. All mine comes from Africa.” Indeed, it all comes from a group of farmers in Ghana, the Kuapa Kokoo Fairtrade Farming Co-operative. Allison visited there in 2013 as a representative of Fairtrade Ireland and you can read and see all about it here.

During our recent visit, we were nibbling away at all kinds of bits and pieces of chocolate as we spoke. “West Cork and the people in it have a magnetic energy, I soon realized I had found my home and in 2010, after seeking out local blessings, my traveling chocolate business was named Clonakilty Chocolate.”

The chocolate is made in a large back room in the house that Allison and Justin share and where baby Ari is the most recent chocolate loving addition. He was very quiet during our visit and Allison said it's great to be able to work at home and keep an an eye on her son.

She has two employees now. Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays are production days. Thursdays are spent bagging and labelling while Fridays see her at the local market. If you visit Clon on a Friday, be sure and check out the market and you’ll see Allison and her bike which she uses both for transport and display.

You can buy the chocolates at the markets, in many shops in the town, in Cork city and in quite a few places around the country. See the full range of stockists here.

Allison would love to get her bars and treats into other markets but obviously can’t cover them all herself. So if you have a suitable established stall, perhaps selling other similar products, why not get in touch via the website contacts. If you’d like to buy and there is no stockist near you, then check out the online shop - it includes a Choco-Lovers Club!

As well as the beans from Ghana, she also uses milk. She can get powdered cows milk in Ireland but has to import the goats milk equivalent from Holland.

The Goats Milk bar (So Milky Milk) is one of my favourites and I was surprised to hear her say that it is “controversial”, in the sense that people are either for it or against it. Luckily though, the majority love it! She is also “super delighted that the 100% bar pure Cocoa Bar is going really well, even if it's not the best seller”.

What is her own favorite? “That varies from time to time. At the moment it is the Chai.” She could well be selling a lot of these bars in the months ahead as “it is the Christmas one”.

And there was a Christmas feel as we left the chocolate house - we finished off with some of her fresh truffles. Gorgeous!

• And before we said goodbye, Allison had a word for a fellow local producer. She told us the Clonakilty Brewing Company was about to hit the market after Christmas.
  
  
  Watch out too for Allison herself as she features in a Christmas edition of Rachel Allen's Coastal Cooking. Musician Justin featured in the first!

France. Via le route rouge

France. Via le route rouge

Let’s take a red wine trip in France, not all encompassing by any means. Indeed, I’m being a bit contrary here as two of our areas visited, the left bank in Graves and the Loire valley, are perhaps better known for their white wines. But they've got some red gems from those gravelly soils as well.

Passed these vineyards in Graves a few times

Clos Floridene Graves (AOC) 2011, 13.5%, €16.35 Maison des Vins, Podensac.

D’accord, let us begin in Podensac, in Graves. It’s a small enough town with a nice restaurant called Chez Charlotte where a three course meal cost me €22.00 in 2014. The friendly proprietor speaks good English and is also proud of the area, listing the main attractions as Charlotte (big smile!), the Lillet Distillery, the Maison des Vins and the fact that they have a water tower by the famous architect Le Corbusier.

Denis Dubourdieu is also renowned in the Bordeaux area but as a wine-maker. In 1982, he and his wife founded Clos Floridene. This wine is a fresh and fruity blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (72%) and Merlot (28%).

Colour is a deep garnet and blackcurrant dominates the aromas. The palate is an intense mix of fruit, and tannic flavours, some spice too and, with a long silky finish, this left bank red is Very Highly Recommended.

Chateau Saint Eugène Martillac 2011, Pessac-Léognan (AOC), 13%, €12.80 in Graves

Colour is cherry red, a shiny one! Ripe red fruits and violets feature in the aromas. On the palate, there are excellent fruit flavours and a matching acidity, fine tannins at play here too. Rather powerful, with some spice, dry and warm and a long finish. Very Highly Recommended. The blend is 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot and it has spent 12 months in barriques.

The chateau is located in the heart of Martillac and its clay-limestone soil was newly planted, mainly with Merlot, in 1998. Owners are the Gonet family, well known as owners in the Champagne region for over 200 years. Martillac is a commune in the Pessac-Léognan area which itself is in the outskirts of Bordeaux and includes the legendary Haut-Brion.

Found this old vineyard tractor in Languedoc museum

Chateau la Bastide L’Optime 2011, Corbieres (AOC), 14%, €18.30 Karwig Wines

Let’s now take the L'Autoroute des Deux Mers from Bordeaux towards Narbonne - you’ll be glad of a glass of wine after driving around Toulouse on the peripherique - and head for Corbieres, one of the biggest appellations in the Languedoc.

We are tasting another blend, this of 80% Syrah and 20% Grenache, from vines whose average age is 50 years. It has spent 12 months in barriques bordelaises. Colour is a dark red with a lighter rim. Intense red fruity nose along with some spice. The attack is fairly intense, fruit and pepper combining, round tannins there too, but it is smooth and warm as it spreads across the palate to a long dry finish. Powerful and concentrated, this too is Very Highly Recommended.

Lunch in a Rhone village

Cellier de Monterail Cotes du Rhone 2014, 13%, c. €12.50 O’Donovan’s Off Licence

It is just a short trip from the Languedoc to the Southern Rhone where most of the generic Cotes du Rhone is produced. Grenache is usually the main grape, as it is here with over 40%; its companions in this bottle are Syrah and Mourvedre (the usual suspects in the GSM trio) along with Cinsault.

Quite a light red with pleasant enough red fruit aromas on the nose. This basic wine of the region illustrates why the Cotes du Rhone is so popular and so well known in Ireland. It is well balanced, round and full with some spice and the tannins remind you gently that they in play. Recommended.

O’Donovan’s choose this to represent France in their recent Rugby World Cup promotion though they picked an even better French wine (Chateau de la Ligne) to represent Ireland!

Driving through Southern Rhone vineyards

M. Chapoutier Les Meysonniers, Crozes-Hermitage (AOC) 2012, 13%, €21.95 Bradley’s Offlicence

The highly respected winemaker Michel Chapoutier, one of the big names in the Rhone (ref: Larousse)  is an uncompromising terroir lover and committed too to organic and biological winemaking, preferring to “use the power of life” rather than “the power of death”, the -ides (herbicides, pesticides etc), in the vineyard. He doesn't like to see wine being over-analyzed as it takes the fun out of it and you’ll note that all his labels are marked in Braille.

And, yes, as well as talking the talk he walks the walk. Just take a glass of this hand-harvested foot-treaded Syrah from the Northern Rhone. It is in the classic style, fresh and fruity. Colour is a medium to dark red with a bright hue. Aromas are of ripe red fruit. The initial fresh and fruity attack is long lasting, tannins there too but smooth; it is ample and round and then the long finish. Superbly balanced wine and Very Highly Recommended.

On the Loire. I was safely on the bank, glass in hand!

Chateau du Petit Thouars, Cuvee Amiral 2009 Touraine (France), 12.5%, €15.00 at the chateau

After the Rhone we head to the north and to the area around the town of Chinon in the Loire which we will leave with the boot full of wine and just a short journey to the ferry port of Roscoff!

“Many great men of our family served in the French Navy,” owner Sebastien du Petit Thouars told me when we called to his chateau near where the Vienne and Loire rivers meet.  And so, in memory of those great men, he called his top wine Amiral.

Colour is a deep red, close to purple, with a great sheen. Red fruit dominates the intense aromas. Fruit, fresh, juicy with a lively acidity and a pronounced dry and lengthy finish. Tasted this first when I bought it two years ago and it is definitely heading in the right direction. Only trouble for me is that this was my last bottle of the Very Highly Recommended wine. By the way, du Petit Thouars wines now come under the Chinon designation.

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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 18^th 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

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)

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.

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

Cloghroe

Blarney

(021) 438 1470

http://www.blairsinn.ie/

Opening Hours

Mon-Thu 12.00pm to 11.30pm

Fri-Sat     12.00pm to 11.30pm

Sun          12.00pm to 11.00pm