Dining at Russborough House

Dining at Russborough House

We are on our way to dinner at Russborough House. It is one of the most sought after invitations and we are looking forward to the evening as we ease up the drive. The old Jaguar makes quite a sound on the gravel as the brakes are applied. Sir Alfred and Lady Beit are waiting for us in the great hall, genuinely delighted to see us.

Amazing stucco throughout, here on the main stairs

Soon, the other guests arrive and we are shown to the dining room with its Spanish carpet, paintings of the family and that magnificent fireplace with a bust of Bacchus (is that a red wine stain I see on his face?). We start off with a 1954 Hock Deidesheimer. 

Soon the conversation is buzzing. Not by accident, I might add. Our hosts are well-known for their shrewd and thoughtful organisation and have spent quite time on the seating arrangements. We dine in some comfort. Dishes include roast pheasant, game chips and braised chicory and the fish is poached salmon with extremely thinly cut cucumber, new potatoes and mint. We are fully at ease by the time Sir Alfred introduces us to his favourite Sauterne. Oh, by the way, cheese is served here instead of dessert.

It isn’t always fine cuisine here, not even for our hosts. I was told that when Sir Alfred dines on his own he might have bangers and mash, served in a silver salver of course!

Ready to dine?

Anyhow, at the end of the meal, the hospitality continued in fine style. We are offered luxury cigarettes from Turkey and Cuban Cohiba cigars, with port on the dining room table. Cognac too of course. All kinds of aromas, include fine perfumes, mix in that smoke-filled room.

More stucco. One of many chandeliers

Pollard is the long-serving butler to Sir Alfred and they work hand in hand on all kinds of arrangements for events in the house and estate. You can be sure that Pollard had been instructed as to the vintage of the wine and whether or not a tablecloth should be used. That level of detail plus Lady Beit’s organisational skills almost always ensures a perfect evening. And in the morning - we are staying for the night - we are informed that breakfast  (usually includes grapefruit segments) will be served in the dining room at 9.30am. 

Aesop's greedy dog about to lose his bone in the water

It is all routine here and the place works like clockwork, lunch at 1.00pm and afternoon tea at 5pm precisely. For the latter, and we’ve been there from time, you may enjoy Darjeeling tea plus a chocolate biscuit each. Fine china and silver thongs for the sugar bowl are always used. And don’t miss dinner, timed for 7pm precisely!

More Aesop: The Shepherd feeds an injured lion who will eventually spare the shepherd when they meet in the arena

The Beits have a staff of between 20 and 25, like an extended family, though there is no familiarity as the staff always address them as ‘Sir Alfred’ and ‘Her Ladyship’. They only recruit people who are both able and dedicated - from the gardeners who grow the fruit and vegetables to the maid who makes the butter.

Dinner was interrupted when Rose Dugdale came calling in April 1974

The staff here are always immaculately dressed, with maids in white pinafores. They see food and wine that is rarely seen in everyday life as their employer is a wine connoisseur with a liking for dessert wines and also Clarets such as Chateau Margaux.

Face from the colonnade

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Fantasy dinner over and no Margaux for me, I’m afraid, on our recent visit to this fascinating house, so much to see and take in and our excellent guide Iris gave us a terrific tour. Most of the info about the habits of the Beits (and the previous families) are detailed in various exhibitions around the house and you can get some fascinating insights into the Beits (and their troubles with the IRA and gangsters), down below in the basement.

Oh, by the way, I didn’t get to see the kitchens here. Simply because they are still in use, serving up food for the house café. It is a very busy spot with a couple of adjoining dining rooms and some visitors take food out to enjoy in the open air and keep an eye on the kids who are well catered for here with various playing areas and walks through the parklands. We confined ourselves to a couple of pastries and coffee before hitting the road home to Cork.

Two timber floors, the one on the right from Russborough. On the left, is detail from a Benedictine monastery in Engelberg (Switzerland), the 3D effect achieved by the use of four different timbers. Something similar in Wicklow?

See also on this trip:
 Museum of Style Icons
Decorator to the Stars Designed Newbridge Silver Café
Dining at Russborough House
Wine, Dine & Golf at Tulfarris Hotel & Golf Resort

Russborough House
Historic house and parklands
Blessington, Co. Wicklow
See also: Museum of Style Icons

‘Decorator to the Stars’ Designed Newbridge Silver Café. Museum of Style Icons, Factory Visit, Shop!

‘Decorator to the Stars’ Designed Newbridge Silver Café. Lots More to see Here !

Museum of Style Icons, Factory Visit, Shop!

The café - pic via Newbridge website

Didn’t know I was going to lunch in a space designed by the “Decorator to the Stars” when I pulled off Exit 12 on the M7 on a recent Sunday, planning to visit the famous Newbridge Silverware facility. 

A vintage piece

After a two hour trip from Cork, the café was our first stop. It sure is a stylish one. Carleton Varney has designed the interiors of landmark buildings from Washington to Japan, and now the world-renowned interior designer has brought his iconic style to Newbridge Silverware.  The ‘Decorator to the Stars’, who is also known in the USA as ‘Mr. Colour’, was commissioned by Newbridge Silverware in 2017 to redesign its restaurant, which is now known as ‘Café Carleton’.

Entrance

The big bright and airy café uses what seem to be the official colours, blue and white, and lots of silver too of course! With a big dinner ahead that evening, I settled for a wrap, a good one too and well priced. They have a huge selection here and the Sunday lunch was very popular. Staff were friendly and absolutely efficient; the place ran like clockwork but with no shortage of smiles. One of the best of its type around, I’d say.

The menu (breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea) changes regularly and a board shows a long list of Irish suppliers that they support.

Rose was our welcoming guide on the factory tour and she told us the history of the place as we walked around. Newbridge Cutlery Company was founded in 1934 and is one of Ireland’s oldest surviving companies. It started in a local army barracks and a large order from the army gave it a welcome boost in the early years. 

In the 90s, their cutlery wasn’t cutting it anymore and a decision to start making jewellery proved a wise one. Cutting edge design and acclaimed photo shoots with supermodels such as Sophie Dahl, Yasmin le Bon and Naomi Campbell, enhanced the company’s brand image. RTE newsreader Anne Doyle was one of the first local personalities to wear the jewellery. 

In 2007, the Museum of Style Icons was initiated and Newbridge is now associated with the world of celebrity and fashion. Still a lot of hard work here though, lots of manual stuff going on day after day and it still takes three years to train a cutler.

I won’t bore you with too much detail but terms such as Coining Machine, Linishing Machine, Cross Roller, Coining Machine were all new to me. Then there was Pronging, Vibration, and Clairpols. Hafting was another one, an old cutler’s term for joining a blade to a handle! Antique terms in a very modern company.

Yet a company that seems to inspire great loyalty in its workers, many of whom spend decades here. You’ll see lots of photos around the place of personalities who are nowadays associated with Newbridge but up there too you notice many pictures of valued employees and there’s a long list of workers named as you enter the building.

We saw the result of their hard work in the shop, including in the Christmas shop. Better not say anything about the latter - don’t want to spoil the surprise for anyone!

All in all, we enjoyed our few hours here even if we had been on our feet for most of it. Soon, we were putting them up at the Tulfarris Hotel and Golf Resort about 20 minutes away at the other side of the motorway. Read my post about the hotel here.

Display detail in the Christmas shop

See also: Museum of Style Icons
Tulfarris Hotel & Golf
Dining at Russborough House

Museum of Style Icons at Newbridge Silverware

Museum of Style Icons at Newbridge Silverware

Come up and see me sometime

Take a tour through the Museum of Style Icons at Newbridge Silverware and you'll come out dripping with nostalgia (if you're a certain age of course). Then again, maybe age doesn’t matter that much as many of the visitors I saw were young and seemed to be well into the celebrities, the fashion and the music.

Olivia's shoe

Indeed, the music, or at least those who made it, is quite a large element of the very interesting display. You'll see the Beatles and Bob Dylan (hardly springs to mind as a fashion icon but do look at that jacket) among others but the largest space is reserved for the musical Grease. Indeed, that film was playing in one of the rooms as we walked around.

Olivia Newton-John's dancing shoes are displayed, with her autograph. And there is also a Paul McCartney autographed guitar.

Mostly though it is about the film stars and the clothes they wore on set and at receptions and parties while promoting the various films.  Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe and Tippi Hedren are all well featured.

Marilyn and her dress

And Lisa Minnelli’s costume from Cabaret is prominently displayed as is Elizabeth Taylor's ample kaftan from Boom. I certainly remember Cabaret but Boom not at all.

The exhibition ‘Fashion and Fantasy – a Lifetime Curation of Haute Couture’ contains a collection of one off or extremely rare designer pieces which date from the 1950’s to the 2000’s. Curated by international fashion collector, Gottlieb, it includes rare and one of a kind pieces by Chanel, Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Lacroix, Givenchy, Balmain, and Hermes among many others.

Paul's left-handed Hofner bass

From time to time there are special exhibitions mounted. Keep an eye on their website for updates. By the way, the whole exhibition is free to enter. So, whether you’ve called in to do a bit of shopping or for a bite of lunch in the lovely café, do allow time to go up the red carpet and have a browse!

See also:
Decorator to the Stars Designed Newbridge Silver Café
Dining at Russborough House

Tulfarris Hotel & Golf

Dylan's fancy jacket

Grease

Amuse Bouche

We were greeted by a pleasant middle-aged lady who escorted us into a refectory….

There were some pitchers of iced tea on the table, hopefully to be turned into wine. Nice-looking young men and women, alight with the Holy Spirit, brought out platters of food. I’d expected loaves and fishes, but we got rice and beans, and poultry that had come second in a cockfight.

from The Cuban Affair by Nelson DeMille (2017). No Recommendation.

Bayview Lunch Brings Out The Sun!

Bayview Lunch Brings Out The Sun!

Red Mullet

Fancied some good fish last Friday so we headed off to Ballycotton’s marvellously situated Bayview Hotel, a hotel where head chef Ciaran Scully has an unrivalled reputation when its comes to fish. But, as we turned right at Shanagarry, we could see the fog straight ahead and it stayed with us, not quite blocking out the view of the pier as we parked but certainly most of the bay was out of sight.

But the mood and the weather improved as we tucked into our excellent lunch and, before the dessert, we were able to see right across the large bay to the Garryvoe Hotel, a “sister” of the Bayview. It turned out to be a lovely afternoon. Would have been a good one to take the cliff walk but, well, we were pretty full at that point so a stroll down to the shore was a much as we managed.

Terrine

There’s an amazing menu here, packed with a huge choice of good things, not all from the sea. We were thinking of trying Roscoff Onion & Rebel Red Broth topped with Sourdough Croutes & Melted Hegarty’s Cheddar, just one of the soups on offer.  A Salad of Macroom Mozzarella, Leamlara Farm Leaves, Heritage Tomatoes, Basil Pesto, Balsamic, Sourdough also caught the eye.

Grilled Inch House Black pudding with Beetroot Ketchup, Young Buck Blue Cheese, Onion Mousse featured prominently in our short-list of starters. But our pick - we shared it - was the Pig’s Head Brawn Terrine, Plum and Pedro Jiménez Puree, Bayview Piccalilli. This was perfect, the tasty meat flavours improved no end by that purée and even more so by the selection of pickled vegetables. These guys know how to pimp your terrine! 

There were Steak, Duck leg, Lambs Liver on the mains. But fish of course is the specialty here and the Fish Board of Smoked Mackerel Pate, Dublin Bay Prawns, Little Darling Pickled Herrings, Ballycotton Smoked Salmon Salad & Sourdough Baguette beckoned but will have to wait for another visit!

They always have a selection of simply pan-fried fish here, served with side salad and chunky chips (really chunky!), usually priced around the €22.00 euro mark. We know the plaice around here is always top class so that was CL’s pick while I went for the Red Mullet. 

The plaice was perfection itself, no batter to take from its delicious flavour. And I can honestly say the same about the more “meaty” mullet, a fish you don’t see that often on local menus. Hopefully that will change as it really is a beauty.

The choices continue at the end. There’s an Irish Farmhouse Cheese selection, Ice-cream variations, plus Sorbets. The Bayview uses lots of Irish produce and Tipperary Farm Boulaban is their ice-cream supplier. And we finished off with the Bayview Affogato: Boulaban Vanilla Ice Cream drowned In Freshly Made Double Espresso Black Barrel Syrup. Nice!

The four-star Bayview has a cliff-top nest in Ballycotton, overlooking both the pier and bay, a great place to dine and stay.

Bayview Hotel 

Ballycotton

Co. Cork

Ireland

A Couple of Classics. To Charm the Palate if not the Wallet.

A Couple of Classics. 

To Charm the Palate if not the Wallet

Marques de Riscal Gran Reserva Rioja (DOC) 2011, 14.5%, €44.95 Bradley’s Cork

Colour is a dark ruby. Aromas are a rich mix of dark fruits (plums etc). Rich fruit too on the palate, no shortage of spice, polished tannins in play too, all adding t a pleasurable harmony from initial attack to the slow-fading notes of the long finish. Full bodied with a velvety power, this is one to savour, slowly. Very Highly Recommended.

Riscal, who up to the middle of the previous century were synonymous with Bordeaux style wines in Rioja, are a large company. Sometimes they are better known for their Frank Gehry designed hotel in the vineyard.

In some ways, the hotel has helped wine-lovers re-discover the Riscal wines, according to the “The Finest Wines of Spain”. And this Gran Reserva is one of their finest. Quantities are relatively small but “it has all the subtle appeal of delicate, traditional Gran Reserva aged in old American oak”.

By the way, the Gran Reserva wines age in a huge vault directly beneath the hotel’s lobby. Other wines of note from this producer include Proximo, and Baron de Chirel along with the 100% Tempranillo, the Frank Gehry Seleccion, named for the famous architect. 

Most Rioja reds will have spent some time in oak. Check out the various designations below:

The green label (cosecha) indicates less than one year in oak, less than one in bottle.

The red label (crianza) indicates 1 year in oak, 1 in bottle.

The burgundy (reserva) indicates 1 year in oak, 2 in bottle.

The royal blue (gran reserva) indicates 2 years in oak, three years in bottle.

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Masi Costasera Amarone Classico (DOCG) 2013,  15%, about €39.95, Bradley’s Cork.

This is often referred to as Masi’s gentle giant, a benchmark for the Amarone category. It is indeed excellent and Very Highly Recommended. 

Downings. A Great Base for Donegal Visit

Downings. Delightful Base for Donegal Visit

Sunset on Sheephaven Bay

From previous experience, we knew that the beachside village of Downings is a terrific base for visiting much of Donegal. It is on the lovely compact Rosguill peninsula and the spectacular Fanad Lighthouse is less than 30 minutes away. 

Glenveagh National Park

Glenveagh National Park is also about half an hour's drive  while Bunbeg and Burtonport, with ferry connections to the islands, are an hour's trip or so. Letterkenny, the largest and most populous town, is also within easy reach. And there's a

Jutting into the Wild Atlantic. Delightful Pieces of Donegal

Jutting into the Wild Atlantic. Delightful Pieces of Donegal

Jutting into the Wild Atlantic are three of the most beautiful pieces of Donegal: Inishowen, Fanad (and it’s spectacular lighthouse) and the petite and pretty Rosguill. Inishowen, with Ireland’s most north-westerly point Malin Head, is the biggest, Fanad (and it’s spectacular lighthouse) is next to the west and then comes tiny Rosguill (a micro-version of the others).

Malin, aside from the remains of an old signal tower and some more modern and equally wrecked Irish army lookout sheds, has no buildings on the head. But it does have Ireland’s most north-westerly bakery and coffee shop parked right up there. Also a curious sign saying Eire 80, a wartime note to German pilots saying that this is Ireland and keep your bombs at bay. These white-painted signs, designed to be read from the sky, were all around the country. Malin though has plenty of walks around the head, all nicely laid-out and signposted. The views are spectacular.

One of the Malin walks

And, in the nearby village, it has one of the most innovative cafés in the country in Wild Strand where seaweed is the essential ingredient.

Having reached Malin, you need to drive all the way back down towards Letterkenny to get to Fanad. You can also shorten the trip a bit by taking the ferry from Buncrana across Lough Swilly to Rathmullan. In any event, the ferry times didn’t suit us on the day so we drove the long way and then all the way up to Fanad.

Sat-Nav wasn’t cooperating that much and we had to rely on the road signs and eventually we were on the long road in. Thought we might be late for the last tour but there were a few more scheduled. Bought our tickets and walked up to the lighthouse. Like quite a few other lighthouses, Fanad now has apartments to rent.

We didn’t disturb those residents though as we took the tour. Our guide gave us the history telling us that, after a two-year build period, it got its first light in 1817 but had no electricity until, believe it or not, 1975. In between, the biggest storm that struck was Debbie in 1961. By 1978 only a Principal Keeper was retained in Fanad, and when he retired in 1983 the lighthouse was reclassified as an Attendant station and the retired Principal Keeper remained on as part time Attendant. Now there is just a caretaker.

Fanad

We climbed the 79 cantilevered steps to the top and, from behind a glass enclosure, took in the views all around, especially Malin Head to the east and Tory Island to the west. We were shown four tiny bulbs, hardly as big as my little finger, in the lamp. But these are powerful little fellows and their light shines over 18 nautical miles, just over 33 kilometres.

The two wrecks whose memory is enshrined in local folklore are those of the Saldanha in 1811 and the Laurentic in 1917. The Saldanha, a Royal Navy Frigate of 38 guns and a crew of about 300 men, was driven by a north-west gale on to rocks off Ballymastocker Bay on the night of 4 December 1811 and that led to the erection of the lighthouse.

Powerful little bulbs at Fanad

But the lighthouse was powerless to prevent the sinking of the armed merchant cruiser, the Laurentic, on on 25th January 1917, when it hit two German mines at the mouth of the lough and sank with the loss of 354 crew. A 6-inch gun from this ship was recovered a few years back and is now on display on the pier in Downings.

The gun from the Laurentic on the pier at Downings

Rosguill

Soon we were on the way to Rosguill, the journey cut short thanks to the Harry Blaney Bridge.  This spans Mulroy Bay (there is water everywhere here!) and connects the Fanad peninsula to Carrigart Village and Carrigart is just a few minutes from Downings at the neck of the Rosguill peninsula. 

Lying between the Fanad to the east and Horn Head to the west, Rosguill is surrounded by the Atlantic. Beautiful ocean panoramas, white beaches and even that distant Harry Blaney Bridge are among the sights you’ll see as you do the short circuit (12 km). Might walk that the next time! Small and pretty.

Harry Blaney Bridge

After a long day at the wheel, we were glad to check in at the Rosapenna and take it easy for a while before heading out for food (and a couple of glasses of Kinnegar beer) at the excellent Grape and Grain, reviewing the amazing sights we had seen and enjoyed that day in north Donegal.

The Rosguill drive

Also on this trip: Kinnegar Brewery
 Mary T. From Mallow to Donegal's Castle Grove
Something fishy going on in Donegal
Superb Day Out at Oakfield Park & Buffers Bistro
Downings. A Great Base for Donegal Visit

Metropole Heritage Day Tour & Lunch

Metropole Heritage Day Tour & Lunch

This smart fellow
looks over the Lynch Suite

“The hotel was dry for the early decades,” concierge John Coleman (right) told our group as he took us on a Heritage Day tour of the Metropole Hotel, founded 122 years ago by the Musgrave family. The hotel quickly became known as The Met and the name endures. Guests around the turn of the century were mainly travelling salesmen.

What you may not have known, or may not remember, is that the ground floor of the building was given over to retail, with two shops on each side of the entrance. One of those, Hadji Bey, an Armenian that specialised in Turkish Delight, went on to become a Cork institution. Indeed, John told us The Met still serve the sweets,  now produced in Kildare rather than in Cork, to their guests.

The Met was also a great wedding venue, capable of handling up to seven weddings a day, wedding breakfasts in those days. I remember going there in the 1960s to a triple wedding featuring three sisters from the southside.

Afternoon tea?

John’s tour took us through some of the meeting rooms, all named after well-known writers. And there was a stop also at the Jack Lynch Suite to see the period detail, including an original radiator (still going strong). The current taoiseach has also stayed in this suite. Good views form the upper floors over the neighbours on MacCurtain Street. On the fourth floor we had a splendid views over the new Mary Elmes Bridge.

Pork

And John ensured we didn’t leave empty-handed as we were presented with a discounted offer on their classic afternoon tea and, after all those stairs (there was a lift too), we enjoyed their splendid homemade lemonade.

O'Flynn's Sausages

Last year, new owners (Trigon Group) spent millions on a refurbishment that included all the bedrooms, the new MET bar, restaurant and tea-room. Classy and comfortable is the result and do check out the snug too!

I had been checking the lunch menu here from time to time, thinking there was a nice bit of variety in the list and so, on Saturday, took the opportunity to try it out.

View over MacCurtain Street

Meeting rooms named
after famous writers

Just to give you an idea of the variety on offer, we could have had a Calamari Salad, a Classic Chicken Caesar Salad, a smoked Carrigaline Cheese, Fig and Onion  Tart (topped with crispy egg), the Mary Elmes Beef Brisket Burger and more.

All their beef is Irish and local producers such as Carrigaline above are supported. My pick was O’Flynn’s Pork and Sage Sausages with spicy roast red pepper and chickpea stew, crusty sourdough bread. 

The new Mary Elmes Bridge

Appropriately enough for Heritage Day I thought, as O’Flynn’s have been around long enough now to be considered part of the food heritage in these parts, a very enjoyable part indeed as Saturday’s lunch proved once again.

The Sticky Pulled Pork Sandwich with onions, toasted sourdough, fries, and a spicy slaw was CL’s choice and it too was excellent, full of flavour and the fries (which may not have been mentioned on the menu) were superb (I did steal a few).

Washed it all down with a glass of Murphy’s Stout, getting a little practice in for the upcoming Oyster Festival  that will be headquartered here in the Metropole but which will have events all over town and beyond from the 20th to the 22nd of September.

This Grand Old Dame of the Cork Victorian Quarter may well be 122 years old but she is still going strong, still able to teach the younger acts a hospitality trick or two. Well worth a visit!

Amuse Bouche

She had returned home…one afternoon to the smell of roast duck procured from Lai Chee Roast Chicken and Duck at the market. There was soup bubbling away… And fishcake, raw stuffed okra, silky tofu and straw mushrooms, all plated on the side, ready to be plunged into the boiling soup. Sweet tang yuan to round off the meal. Cutlery already in place. .. It had been years since they had shared a reunion dinner…. It took them a while to stop watching each other over the tops of their bowls and begin talking about their day.

from How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee (2019). Very Highly Recommended.