Down Under with O’Brien’s. Advice: Watch those sales!

Down Under with O’Brien’s

Advice: Watch those sales!

I always try and keep an eye out for the regular sales at O’Brien’s Wines. Some are quite short-lived. That was the case with their Australian & New Zealand one. But I did make that and bought these two, the Penfolds at 16.76, the D’Arenberg at 15.96. A decent saving and very decent wines indeed. I should follow my own advice more often!

Penfolds Koonunga Hill Seventy Six Shiraz Cabernet 2014, South Australia, 14.5%, €20.95 O’Briens

The name Seventy Six is a tribute to the “original and now legendary 1976” Shiraz Cabernet. This multi-regional blend is Shiraz (c.80%) and Cabernet Sauvignon and is regularly billed as a “retro” wine.

It is a deep red to purple with a lighter rim and the legs are slow to clear (you know why!). There are intense dark fruit aromas and pretty intense on the palate too. Dark fruits, some spice (it has spent 15 months in a mix of old and new (15%) oak, silky tannins and impressive length. Highly Recommended.

Penfolds are master blenders, “able to craft wines of distinction without ever compromising on quality”. Andrew Baldwin is one of their winemakers and, last November, I met him here in Cork and asked for a few tips on starting to explore Penfolds.

Without hesitation, he recommended this very wine because of “its drinkability, lots of fruit”. By the way, he also told me that the Koonunga Hill Chardonnay is “really approachable”. So there’s another tip for you!

D’Arenberg The Footbolt Shiraz 2012, McLaren Vale (Australia), 14.6%, €19.45 O’Brien’s Wine

Tasted this early in the year at the Australia Day tasting in Dublin, so I knew I was on to a little beauty.

It is one hundred per cent Shiraz, harvested in small batches, gently crushed and then transferred to open fermenters. Foot treading is undertaken two thirds of the way through fermentation. The wine is basket pressed and then aged in a mixture of new and used French and American oak for 12-18 months.

The Footbolt names comes not from the treading but from a favourite racehorse of the Osbourne family. In 1912, Joseph Osbourne made the hard decision to sell his horses to buy d’Arenberg.

Colour is a clean and bright purple. No need to nose the glass here as the aromas - attractive dark berries and plums mainly - come up to meet you. Terrific fruit too on the palate with great balance, tannins are fine, lovely sophie too and a lingering dry finish. Ootbolt is a favourite here and Very Highly Recommended.

Taste of the Week. Aran Islands Goats Cheese

Taste of the Week

Aran Islands Goats Cheese

Gabriel in Donegal

I found this Taste of the Week at A Taste of Donegal where Gabriel (you might know him, as he also does bus tours on Inis Mor, the largest of the islands) had a stand and was handing out samples of his Aran Islands Goats Cheese.

I tasted three in all: the soft cheese, the same soft cheese with Dillisk added, and a Greek Style cheese (not unlike Feta). Each was delicious and I came away with a container of each. These are just some of the range from his herd of Nubian and Saanen goats that graze on the unique pastures of the island.

From Gabriel's gallery

The climate is perfect for the grass and herbs as the island is warmed by the Gulf Stream. The diet of the goats gives the cheese its unique, delicious flavour with a beautiful tang and a gorgeous soft and creamy texture.

Already top chefs from the likes of the Twelve Restaurant in Barna, The Lodge at Ashford, The Ardilaun Hotel Galway, and The Strand Hotel, are using the cheeses. For stockists, check here

Aran Islands Goats Cheese

Oughill

Aran Islands.

Co. Galway

Tel: (087) 2226776 or (087) 8635327

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Aran-islands-goats-cheese-Cáis-Gabhair-Arann-497317160399598/?fref=ts

Web: http://arangoatcheese.com/index.htm

Email: gabriel@arangoatcheese.com

On Tour At Union Hall Smoked Fish

On Tour At Union Hall Smoked Fish
A Taste of West Cork event

Roll up folks. The tour starts now!

Four generations of the Nolans (including a couple of tiny tots) welcomed a record number of visitors to the Union Hall Smoked Fish smokery last Thursday, the tour part of the A Taste of West Cork Festival. 

Sean Nolan was surprised to see over fifty turn up to see the facility but the Nolans, who have been smoking fish for 25 years or so, weren't found wanting and soon a table was laden with samples from the smokery - the mackerel pate was perhaps the favourite - and no shortage of wine either.

Fed and “watered”, the guests, suitably garbed, were led into the building. “We’ll follow the flow of the fish through here,” said Sean. And everywhere the fish went, paperwork followed. “We were at the Intake Chill. That first step is recorded and the “fish can be traced all the way back”.

The polite visitors were a bit slow to move as we progressed to a large room. “Didn't expect this crowd,” said Sean. “It’s a bit like mass, I’ll have to get them to the front”, he joked. Soon we were on to the filleting stage where Sean revealed that the carcasses - these are farmed salmon - were sent back to Donegal. “We pay to get them in and we pay to get them out. Waste is a big problem.

Tasty!

Next step is the brineing, one and half hours for salmon, minutes for mackerel. Then he showed us the pin-boning machine. Not too sure how it works but it sure works we were told.

Now the fish is put on trays and into the smokers. Even the oak chips have to be certified. Salmon takes 15 hours while mackerel require 2.5 to 3 hours. The mackerel are hot smoked while the kippers are cold smoked.

Paper at every stage. “It is non-stop. The regulations are awkward,” he admitted. “But once you get on top of them, it is easier to stay there.”

A smoked salmon, neatly sliced by 30,000 euro worth of machinery

Now we moved on to a high risk area, now that the fish is ready to eat. Here they go through the slicing machine (30 grand!) that will “do any thickness you want”. The vacuum packers are here too.

Sean told us different areas of the country have different preferences. Smoked tuna is now the big seller in Dublin.

And he finished with a few tips. “Salmon freezes very well but do not freeze our fresh pate.” 

Ready to roll

Read more about this family company here

See also, from A Taste of West Cork:
Breton Delights at Celtic Ross
Down Under Wonders at the Eldon Hotel

STONEWELL RÓS CIDER IS CROWNED SUPREME CHAMPION

STONEWELL RÓS CIDER IS CROWNED SUPREME CHAMPION IN A GREAT YEAR FOR CIDERS AT THE 2016 BLAS NA hEIREANN IRISH FOOD AWARDS

Cider Crown for Stonewell's Geraldine.

Ciders win big at this year’s Awards…

Stonewell Rós Cider from Cork has beaten off stiff competition from food and drink producers all over the island of Ireland to be awarded the coveted Supreme Champion title of the 2016 Blas na hEireann, the Irish Food Awards, sponsored by Bord Bia.

Geraldine Emerson from Stonewell Cider said “We use all natural ingredients. The Rós cider has a very pure, clean taste. This award is great because it is recognition for all the work that goes into making it. We’re delighted.”

Ciders also made it to the top of the pile in the Best Artisan Category, proudly supported by Bord Bia. In a first for Blas na hEireann there was a tie for the prize which was won jointly by Tempted? Elderflower Cider and MacIvors Plum and Ginger Cider.

Tempted? cider is made by Davy and Janet Uprichard near Lisburn. MacIvors cider is made by the MacNeice family in Armagh.

“Ciders have done really well this year. We have had to expand the number of categories in this area. With the growth of the cider sector on the island, the producers are reacting to customer demand by developing new flavour combinations such Stonewell which is made with rhubarb juice. It’s a stunning drink” said Awards Chairperson, Artie Clifford.

“This has been such a strong year for so many of our producers. The bar gets raised year on year pushing the producers react accordingly and to constantly improve their offerings. This can only mean that the quality of Irish food and drink is world-class.”

Other key award winners included:

Best New Product which was won by The Purple Pantry for Teeling Small Batch and Ginger Marmalade. Best Start-Up was Dublin City Gin.  Best Seafood Innovation went to Kilmore Quay in Wexford for their Breaded Haddock Goujons.

The Best UCC Packaging Innovation Award went to Cracked Black Pepper Beef Bites made by the Monaghan-based company, Rucksnacks. Best Packaging Design, also sponsored by UCC, went to Amodeo Salad Dressing by Tuscany Bistro from Annacotty in Limerick. Rogha na Gaeltachta, proudly supported by Udarás na Gaeltachta went to Folláin Preserves, Cork.

Chef’s Larder awards were given to Cavanagh Free Range Eggs, Co. Fermanagh, Fancy Fungi Mushrooms from Wexford for their Umami Paste, Dexter Beef Dripping from Killenure Dexter in Tipperary, Shellfish Pearls from IASC, Cork and Bog Oak Bitters, also from Cork.

Best in Farmers Market Awards included Antrim; North Coast Smokehouse, Armagh; Burren Balsamics for their Armagh Bramley Apple Infused Balsamic Vinegar, Cavan; Ciste Milis for their Raspberry Bakewell, Clare; Anam Coffee for their Burren Seasonal Espresso Blend, Cork; Freebirds Bakery for their Raspberry Brownie, Donegal;  Bidlims Moods for their Mint Jelly, Dublin; Hawthorn Lane Piccalilli, Galway; Mocha Beans, Kerry; Pauline’s Pantry, Kildare;  Gibney's Garden Preserves, Kilkenny;  Cakeface Pastry, Laois;  Jenny's Little Kitchen, Limerick; The Green Apron, Louth;  Daisy’s Pantry, Mayo; Clew Bay Cookies, Meath; Tullyard Farm, Offaly; Wild Irish Foragers, Tipperary ; Ayle Foods, Waterford; Pure Food Company, Westmeath; An Olivia Chocolate, Wexford; Wild About,  and Wicklow for Daisy Cottage Farm.

Best in County Awards were given to Antrim; Tempted? Elderflower Cider,  Armagh; Mac Ivors Plum and Ginger Cider, Carlow; The Village Dairy for their The Village Dairy Fresh Jersey Milk, Cavan; Lakelands Dairy for their Tesco Salted Caramel Ice-cream, Clare; Carrygerry House for their Creamy Seafood Chowder, Cork; Stonewell for their Stonewell Ros Cider, Derry; Morelli’s Frozen Yoghurt with Cherry, Donegal; Green Pastures for their Low Fat Creme Fraiche , Down; Clandeboye Estate Greek Style Yoghurt, Dublin; Dublin City Gin, Fermanagh; Erin Grove preserves for their Sour Cherry and Cracked Black Pepper Fruits for Cheese, Galway; Kylemore Abbey, Kerry; Quinlan’s, Kildare; Rye River Brewing, Kilkenny; Mileeven Fine Foods, Laois; Abbey Farm Foods, Limerick; The Green Apron, Longford; Goodness Grains, Louth ;Hilton Foods, Mayo; Carr and Sons, Meath; What’s for Pudding, Monaghan; IGWT, Offaly; Wild Irish Foragers, Roscommon; Gilligan Meats, Sligo; Aurivo, Tipperary; Ayle Foods, Tyrone; Quinn’s Homemade Gelato, Waterford; Pure Food Company, Westmeath; An Olivia Chocolate, Wexford; Irish Country Meats and Wicklow for Gino’s Italian ice-cream.

The winners were announced at an event during the annual Dingle Food Festival on Saturday 1^st October, 2016. More than 2500 products were entered in a total of 120 categories. Finalist judging took place at the Dingle Skellig Hotel on Thursday 29^th September, 2016. Preliminary judging took place at UCC. Baking was judged at the Baking Academy of Ireland, Dublin.

The Blas na hEireann awards are the biggest blind tasting of produce in the country. The criteria on which the product is judged as well as the judging system itself, which was developed by Blas na hEireann with the Food Sciences Department of UCC, are now recognised as an international industry standard.

PRESS RELEASE

The Michelin Stars and Bibs

ANOTHER DUBLIN RESTAURANT GETS 2017 MICHELIN STAR

GUIDE HIGHLIGHTS ‘RICH DIVERSITY AND VARIETY’ OF IRELAND’S RESTAURANT SCENE

Heron & Grey restaurant in Dublin’s Blackrock village has been awarded a Michelin star in the 2017 Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland just published.

Located on Blackrock’s Main Street, Heron & Grey is a restaurant whose owners say ‘is focused on serving modern international cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere with a menu that changes on a bi-weekly basis’.

The addition of Heron & Grey to the Guide increases to 10 the overall number of Michelin star restaurants in the Republic of Ireland. Others that hold their awards from previous years are the Two Michelin star Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud and One Michelin star Chapter One, L’Ecrivain and The Greenhouse (Dublin City), Aniar and Loam restaurants (Galway City), Campagne and Lady Helen at Mount Juliet Hotel (Kilkenny) and House Restaurant at Cliff House Hotel, Ardmore (Waterford).

In Northern Ireland, two Belfast restaurants - Eipic (Howard Street) and Ox (Oxford Street) have also retained their Michelin star status.

New Bib Gourmand addition in Northern Ireland 

Also in Northern Ireland, Wine & Brine in Moira, Co. Armagh is awarded a Bib Gourmand listing, increasing to six the number of Northern Ireland establishments holding a Bib Gourmand in this year’s Guide. 

Bib Gourmand is an award that recognises establishments offering good food at affordable prices of EUR40 (Stg£28) or less for a three-course meal. Others that retain their awards from last year are Belfast-based Deanes at Queen’s, Bar+Grill at James Street South, and Home, along with Old Schoolhouse Inn (Lisbane, Newtownards) and Fontana (Holywood).

In the Republic of Ireland, 16 establishments retain their Bib Gourmand status. They are: 1826 Adare (Adare, Co. Limerick); The Courthouse (Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan); Café Hans (Cashel, Co. Tipperary); Sha-Roe Bistro (Clonegal, Co. Carlow); Chart House (Dingle, Co. Kerry); Aldridge Lodge (Duncannon, Co. Wexford); Copper Hen (Tramore, Co. Waterford); Giovannelli (Killorglin, Co. Kerry); Bastion and Fishy Fishy (both Kinsale, Co. Cork); Wild Honey Inn (Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare) plus five recipients in Dublin City - Delahunt (Camden Street), Etto (Merrion Row), Pichet (Trinity Street), Pig’s Ear (Nassau Street) and Pigeon House (Clontarf).

For the wider guidance of readers and visitors to Ireland, this year’s Michelin Guide lists a total of 371 establishments in the Republic of Ireland and 74 in Northern Ireland, including many that offer overnight accommodation.

Speaking at its launch, Michelin Guide Great Britain and Ireland editor, Rebecca Burr, noted that this year’s edition highlights ‘the rich diversity and variety’ of Ireland’s restaurant scene.

“Every year we actively seek out new candidates whilst reassessing restaurants already in the guide. Consistency is key," she said. 

Published today by leading tyre manufacturer Michelin, the Great Britain & Ireland 2017 Guide is priced at EUR18.99 and is available in bookshops and at http://travel.michelin.co.uk/

Press release

Spirit of Dingle Coming Soon.

On the 18th of December 2012, a week before Christmas, the Dingle Distillery started making whiskey. You may well see the results around this Christmas, as the whiskey has now served more than the necessary three years and one day in 700 litre capacity oak barrels.  The period time, the oak and the barrel size are all mandatory, we were told on a tour during last weekend’s Dingle Food Festival.

It looks as if it may be a Happy Christmas for Dingle and for the “Founding Fathers”. These pioneers could also be called the Funding Fathers as it was their money that got the project off the ground, each offering up about six thousand euro for a cask in his or her own name. We saw quite a few of the barrels during the tour and there is also a founding fathers’ wall with all the names inscribed.

Making Gin and Vodka, in Irish

The Spirit of Dingle, with the mouth of the harbour featured, is the name of a painting by a local artist that inspired the setting up of the distillery. And that view can be seen from the gates of the distillery which stands on the western edge of the town.

Like all whiskeys, Dingle’s goes through three main stages: fermentation, distillation and maturation. Yeast is added during fermentation and when it sinks to the bottom, that is the end of the fermentation (see timber fermentation vessels in 2x pic slideshow at bottom). By the way, if you can manage a sniff of a vessel when the yeast is active, it is a great way to clear a stuffy nose! Just don’t overdo it – it is potent!

At end of fermentation, the incipient whiskey has an abv of about 10 % , much like a very strong beer. By the end of the next stage the distilling, the abv has risen to 80 or 85%. It is “cut” with water later to bring the strength down to the normal 40%.

The process in Dingle though is distinguished by the use of a boil bowl on two of the copper stills. This gives what you need for nice, smooth spirit: plenty of reflux. This  built-in bulge (see 2 x pic slide show below) in the neck  – other stills have long slim necks – means the vapour doesn’t all rise right up and condense beyond the drop. You need it to condense and fall back into the still a few times before it eventually condenses and drips into the receiver. And so, to get this smooth spirit before maturation, was why  Dingle modified their still design.

I didn’t know that barrels used for the maturation of Irish whiskey had to be a certain size but I did know that the barrels have already been used elsewhere, “secondhand” as our guide Shane termed it. The barrels used most in Dingle have previously held Bourbon, Port, and Sherry. By the way, there is a constant evaporation during maturation, the often quoted Angels’ Share.

 

 

Shane then showed us a smaller area where their gin and vodka are produced in a much simpler way, though the gin process “is a little bit more difficult”.  Interestingly, Dingle uses no less than 13 botanicals in their very popular gin. All the bottling is done on site.

And the site has been in use, on and off, since 1840 when it started life as a flour mill. I spotted an old mill-wheel in storage. A fire destroyed this first business and later, in 1914, a lumber firm took over.

We were then taken to the tasting room and introduced to the main ingredients: malted barley, milled barley and yeast. Here, we enjoyed a taste of the vodka and the gin. No whiskey to taste, of course, but we did get a drop of the “raw spirit” with an abv of about 65%. Hot stuff, yet it tasted quite smooth  – “a good sign” said Shane.

Good things to come, then, from those whiskey casks. All at Dingle and, indeed a wider audience, are looking forward to the day in the very near future when Cask No. 2 is opened. (Cask No. 1 will be kept closed in perpetuity!). Happy Christmas with the spirit of Dingle!

See also: Driving the Dingle Peninsula
Dingle and its massive Food Festival

Amuse Bouche

‘Would you like some tea?’ asked the nurse, whose name was Lydia Wong. It was the first time I had tasted Lapsang Souchong, which smelled of burnt pine and tar. If I drink it nowadays I am reminded immediately of that day when I was a stand-in for the US Navy. ‘Do you like this tea?’ the nurse asked. “This is a poor man’s tea, made from the most inferior tea leaves. It is roasted and that way the flavour is released. It is very good for sex. It is good for women before sex. I always drink it.’

from Please Enjoy Your Happiness by Paul Brinkley-Rogers 2016 (Very Highly Recommended)

JOHN AND SALLY MCKENNA ARE BLAS NA hEIREANN PRODUCERS CHAMPIONS

Neven does the honours!

Food writers John and Sally McKenna have been named Producers Champions at this year’s Blas na hEireann Irish Food Awards.  The couple were nominated through a survey of all of the producers on the Blas database.
The award was created three years ago as a way for Blas na hEireann to acknowledge the work of people who help to spread the word about Irish produce.
“We asked producers to vote for whom they felt was doing the most for Irish food and drink both at home and abroad and if they wanted to build a dream team, who would they have on it? John and Sally McKenna came back as the resounding winners. I’m delighted because they have been supporting those producers and telling their stories for more than 30 years” said Awards chairperson Artie Clifford.
The winner of the first year’s Producers’ Champion Award, chef Neven Maguire was in Dingle to present the award to John and Sally McKenna.
“I can think of no-one more deserving of this award” said Neven Maguire.
“What they have done for Irish food is phenomenal. There has never been a better time to be in Irish food and John and Sally McKenna stand for everything that is good about it with their continuous support for chefs, producers and restauranteurs.”
John McKenna said they were “truly honoured”.
“It is really significant for us after 30 years of writing about the people who make our great Irish food and drink. To receive something that has been voted for by them is really special.”
“Every day when we sit down with the family, they ask who reared, who grew or who cooked this? We always buy Irish food. Ireland’s food is produced by the people and we are delighted to get this award from those producers through Blas na hEireann” said Sally McKenna.
Blas na hEireann are Ireland’s national food awards. The 2016 winners will be announced in Dingle on Saturday October 1st.

Iyer’s At Home

Gautham Iyer has been in the spotlight lately: Electric Picnic, a very successful pup-up at La Boheme, and a glowing mention from Tom Doorley. But he was back at the roots last week, in his small 14 seat cafe on the north bank of Cork’s north channel, serving up his by now rather famous South Indian vegetarian food.

The Cork cafe is simple. The food too is simple. Simply superb. There is a dedication at work here, a dedication that is not bounded by the four walls of Iyer’s Cafe. Even when he is at a football match he is thinking food. Do you know any other chef who comes home from a game with a bunch of mushrooms because he wasn’t just looking only at the playing field.

It reminds me of a very experienced photographer who, on being assigned a football game, would also come home with pictures of dogs and their walkers or an unusual bird on the wing. He also used to say: Don’t forget to look behind you!

Well, in Iyer’s, I did look behind me, all around me, but firstly at the menu board, and then mostly at my plate. No beer or wine here but they do have some lovely drinks. My favourite is perhaps the Mango Lassi, sweet and cool with a smooth creamy texture, ideal for the dosas and samosas.

The Dosas are pretty large thin pancakes or crepes and come plain or with various fillings. The Onion is one that is we enjoyed while the Masala also went down well. All are served with homemade chutneys (maybe tomato, maybe coconut) and sambar ( a kind of soup, maybe with a bit of spice).

You could also start with samosas, up to yourself really. If you are new to South Indian and unsure, just ask the friendly people behind the counter. They’ll put you right! Samosas, with various fillings, are always available here. They are beautifully made, light and delicate and, like everything else here, reasonably priced.

Last week though, CL asked for the Samosa Chaat, an enhanced version with chick pea chole, red onion, rice puffs and garnishes. Sampled a spoon or two of that and loved it, especially those rice puffs! Very tasty, crunchy and savoury and nicely spiced, very comforting on a cool day.

There are other variations. There is a Bhel Puri, an Utthappam (popular version of the humble dosa). And if you want a taste of virtually everything here then ask for the rice dish called Madras Thali.

And there are specials too. Gautham describes the Chilli gobi with an avocado and mint chutney as “a crowd pleaser”. The Green banana, peanut and panneer bon bons with Beetroot and mint chutney is one of his own favourites. Another recent one is Chestnut mushroom and walnut pakora, with a tangy chutney. So, no shortage of choice. Still, if you are a novice, maybe stick with the dosas and samosas for that first visit!

I don’t have that much experience of South Indian either but stepped out of the comfort zone and ordered the tamarind rice served with spinach kootu and poppadom. The rice had a gorgeous texture and flavour while the kootu was more serious, warming and filling. Quite a feed for just €6.95.

You just might have room for dessert. There are always a few cakes and cookies on the counter to tempt you. My favourite, the Pistachio and Rosewater, wasn’t on that day but there was considerable consolation at hand in a shared slice of the creamy Mango, Banana and Coconut Cake.

The bill for two courses each, a drink apiece, a Badger & Dodo coffee each, and a shared slice of cake, came to forty euro. Good food, good value.

Excellent Night at The Eldon

West Cork Goes Down Under

Lots of big name chefs in West Cork for the recent food festival but hard to beat adopted local Matthew Brownie. The Kiwi chef at Skibbereen’s Eldon Hotel went down under and came up with a ten course winner. The Haka and the Didgeridoo also featured as the fun went on well beyond the allotted time! Great fun and great value too as the whole meal, including a welcome glass of wine, cost just twenty five euro.

The room was decorated with appropriately coloured flowers and many stuffed animals, even a suitably dressed surfer came with his board. Our table was designated Darwin and had the green and white colours of Australia. Kangaroo, Hangi Smoked Lamb and Hokey Pokey Ice Cream were among the many dishes enjoyed after Chef Matthew’s humourous introduction that invited us to “have a blow down under style”. His friend, Pete, a Maori, did the Haka chants and followed with an explanation in English.

No minuscule portions here as we soon found out when the Cornflake Chicken Goujons, with sweet chilli sauce arrived on the table. Crispy on the outside, tasty and moist on the inside, this well chosen starter went down well.

Dish number two was the Pan-fried Kangaroo, with Ballymaloe Relish, another winner. Well cooked and a super match with the

Mussels

famous relish. Kangaroo meat, produced only from free ranging wild animals (there may be up to 50 million), is exported from Australia to scores of countries worldwide.

Next up was the Kumara soup. Kumara is another name for sweet potato and this lovely soup was really enhanced by a piece of crispy Chorizo sausage. Into the sea then for dish number four: the breaded New Zealand Green tipped mussels. This mussel is important economically to New Zealand and is one of the largest mussel species.

Kangaroo

Sweetcorn Fritters, with bacon, were the next offering, another very tasty one with a totally different texture to what had gone before. In fact, there was great variety throughout the multi-course meal.

Plate #6 was a gem: Maori Hangi smoked lamb, with gravy. Hangi is a traditional Maori method of cooking food using heated rocks buried in a pit oven and still used for special occasions. Don’t know where Matthew laid his Hangi but the result was brilliant, tender flavoursome slices of lamb with a smoky background. Delicious!

Back to the sea now for a ceviche that acted as a palate cleanser. Each Pacific nation has its own version of this marinated (raw) fish in fresh coconut milk. The dish is typically made from fresh raw fish cured in citrus juices and sourced with chilli peppers with some additional optional seasonings such as chopped onions, salt and cilantro. Not too sure of all the elements in Matthew’s version but it was cool and refreshing for sure!

Now for the sweet stuff ,starting with dish number eight, the Hokey Poke Ice-cream. A nice one too, with a caramel “crust” broken into the “mess”. More dessert followed with Lamingtons, a sponge cake dessert of Australian origin, featuring jammy fruit flavours (eg strawberry, raspberry) and then coated in desiccated coconut. Yum!

After all that we had a cheese finalé with crackers and grapes. Time then to finish off some Galway Hooker amber lager – we had switched from the wine – before walking, slowly, back to our base!

Breton Night At The Celtic Ross

Ancient East Meets Wild Atlantic Way

We expected good things aplenty when guest chef Eric Thezé from La Bohème in Waterford and host chef Alex Petit of the Celtic Ross teamed up at the West Cork venue to present a Brittany Tasting Menu as part of A Taste of West Cork festival. And good things was what we got!

Both chefs are from Brittany and while the vast majority of the ingredients were local, from West Cork itself, it was no surprise that the two brought in some superb vegetables from their homeland. Many of you will have driven through Brittany from the ferry port at Roscoff and will have seen the fields of artichokes.

And the artichokes featured in our first dish, the Mise en Bouche: Coquille St. Jacques, Roast Purple Artichoke, cauliflower purée and smoked lardons. Manager Neil Grant said he “allowed” Eric bring the scallop from Kilmore Quay but the artichoke was probably the star of the plate, its gorgeous mild flavour a perfect foil to the scallop and part of an excellent combination.

Again, many of you will have tasted another Breton speciality, the Buckwheat Galette. Our starter was packed with a generous amount of smoked salmon, with leeks too and topped with a lovely Chive Créme Fraîche. We were up and running, enjoying the food and a glass of wine. The wine was all French and I must say I was surprisingly impressed with the Les Folies Landiers Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, a Sur Lie version, dry and fresh.

Now it was time for the fish course: Roasted Monkfish on the bone, Mussels, Coco de Paimpol, Armorique bisque. What a superb dish. The perfectly cooked fish, the creamy beans and the rich lobster sauce. Wow!

And more richness to follow as the meat arrived: Duo of Irish lamb, rump and croquette, sel de Guerande, sauce Paloise, Jerusalem artichoke two ways. The Paloise is exactly the same as Béarnaise but you use tarragon instead of mint and the salt comes from near the small walled town of Guerande in the south coast of Brittany. Again, it all came together so well.

We were happy punters in the Celtic Ross but there was still one final treat to come: Sablé Breton (a Breton shortbread), Rosscarberry strawberries, salty caramel ice cream, Crème de Cassis Liqueur. I don’t think I need add to that, a very lovely end to a smashing evening that had started with a kir based on the local Stonewell Cider. If you’re coming to the East Cork Festival next September, do watch out for this event.

Coffees Stars

Coffees Stars
From Hancock & Abberton

Dublin based Hancock & Abberton were celebrating on the double at the recent Great Taste Awards when two of their coffees won gold stars. Their Really Good Organic Coffee, two stars this time, had won before and great to see a repeat but the surprise was perhaps the performance of their Decaf Coffee that was awarded one star, “indistinguishable from regular coffees in the blind tasting”.

I got the opportunity to sample both winners recently and yes that Decaf, made from 100% Arabica beans, is a pleasant surprise, all the elements of a good coffee, particularly those delicate floral notes, without the caffeine. Here’s what the Great Tastes judges said: ”a deep satisfying flavour, with good length. Well balanced bitterness and acidity with a refreshing aftertaste. …, gentle on the palate but nevertheless has depth. An excellent coffee of its type”.

Guy Hancock and Anne Abberton, who co founded the firm in 2004 (initially known as Café de Cuba) were naturally delighted to announce their Two Gold Stars and One Gold Star at the Great Taste Awards, the world’s most coveted blind-tasted food awards , which celebrates the very best in food and drink . “This win for our decaf coffee is also an testament that great tasting coffee need not be compromised by decaffeination.”

Really Good Organic Coffee has previously won two Gold Stars in the Great Taste Awards 2012 and repeated that feat.  It has been described by the judges as a coffee with “a lovely roasted aroma, clean citrus taste and rewarding aftertaste and mouth feel, the whole experience is well balanced between bitterness and acidity and complexity”. It is indeed another excellent coffee made from dark beans with a distinctive shine; it is rich and strong, well balanced and satisfying, especially earlier in the day!

Judged by over 500 of the most demanding palates, belonging to food critics, chefs, cooks, restaurateurs and producers as well as a whole host of food writers and journalists, Great Taste is widely acknowledged as the most respected food accreditation scheme for artisan and speciality food producers. So quite a pat on the back for Hancock and Abberton.

As well as a badge of honour, the unmistakeable black and gold Great Taste label is a signpost to a wonderful tasting product, which has been discovered through hours and hours of blind-tasting by hundreds of judges.

There were 10,000 Great Taste entries this year and the panel of judges included; TV chef and author, Valentine Warner, MasterChef judge and restaurant critic, Charles Campion, fifth generation baker, Tom Herbert from Hobbs House Bakery, and Great British Bake Off winner, Frances Quinn; food buyers from Harrods, Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason, Harvey Nichols and Waitrose and chefs including, James Golding, chef director of THE PIG Hotels, and Kevin Gratton, chef director of HIX Restaurants.

These two coffees now join the company’s other Great Taste Award winning brands including Café de Cuba Santiago (Great Taste Award Winner 2014 and Fixx Coffee (Great Taste Winner 2013 and 2009).

Hancock & Abberton supply to:­-
Trade customers such as cafes, hotels, restaurants, offices, showrooms and speciality retail outlets;
Coffee and Tea drinkers who frequent our trade customers’ outlets;
Coffee and Tea drinkers at home via the on line store
Stockists: http://www.hancockandabberton.com/blog/buy-really-good-organic-coffee-in-ireland.html