FAMILIES INVITED TO ‘GO BANANAS’ IN CAUSE OF HEALTHY EATING

press release

CORK FAMILIES INVITED TO ‘GO BANANAS’

 IN CAUSE OF HEALTHY EATING

 

National Banana Day is Wednesday, April 15th. 

Families in Cork and elsewhere throughout Ireland are being invited to ‘go bananas’ all in the cause of healthy eating in a campaign to mark National Banana Day which falls on Wednesday, April 15th and extends throughout the week, according to its promoters, fruit importers Fyffes.

Now in its fourth year, the initiative is seen by the company as a reminder to shoppers to ‘think bananas’ when it comes to choosing a natural and nutritious convenience food or meal accompaniment whilst being a creative way of relieving ‘lockdown fatigue’ by giving support to the serious purpose of encouraging wholesome eating habits, especially amongst young and growing children.

Restricted to online activities due to current regulations, activities planned this year invite mums, dads and little ones to compete in a fun-filled series of ‘banana-bingo’ word challenges being hosted by them via their Facebook page. Running each day, Tuesday to Friday from 9am to 2pm, the competition will award cash prizes for the winners whose names will be announced at 5pm daily.

Also featuring on the page is a tasty range of banana-infused recipes that stay-at-home parents and children can enjoy making, including a selection of lip-licking deserts and savoury creations for which bananas are the principal ingredient.

Upbeat about the appeal the event will have for people of all ages, Fyffes marketing manager, Emma Hunt-Duffy said: “Besides raising awareness of the health benefits of bananas, our goal will be to highlight what a fun and versatile fruit it is”.

Press release

Taste of the Day that's in it.

Taste of the Day
The Big Red Egg from Skellig Chocolate

Happy Easter Everyone.
We're in the cocoon but so too is this big
red Strawberry and Champagne Egg from
Skellig Chocolate. Don't think it will last too long, the egg that is, not the cocoon.

And, don't forget the real eggs. This East Ferry Farm box came via our local craft butcher Davidson's Montenotte

#buylocal #supportlocal

Amuse Bouche

Thierry Puzelat (right front), in L'Atitude two years ago.

What do you think is the most misunderstood aspect about natural wine?

For winemakers, the biggest mistake is to be so involved in the philosophy that they forget their job: making good wine.

For drinkers and winemakers, in our world where everything is immediate, they generally don’t understand that wine and nature need time. 

from Natural Wine for the People by Alice Feiring (2019). Very Highly Recommended. The question is by the author, the answer by Thierry Puzelat, a winemaker from the Loire.

Darina Allen, Rory O’Connell and Rachel Allen voted Blas na hÉireann 2020 Producers’ Champions

Innovators, educators and Irish food ambassadors,

Darina Allen, Rory O’Connell and Rachel Allen voted

Blas na hÉireann 2020 Producers’ Champions 

Every year, Blas na hÉireann surveys Irish producers asking them to nominate their Producers’ Champion for the year and in 2020, Darina Allen, Rory O’Connell and Rachel Allen have been chosen collectively as the year’s joint Blas na hÉireann Producers’ Champions.

Joining past Producers’ Champions and heroes of the Irish food industry like An Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Coveney, Neven Maguire, John & Sally McKenna and Kai’s Jess Murphy, the 2020 Producers’ Champion honour is voted for by Irish food producers when asked who they feel is doing the most to support Irish food both at home and abroad.

There was a very clear theme from this year’s survey that reflected an appreciation of the late Mrs. Allen’s legacy at Ballymaloe and of Rory, Darina and Rachel, in their individual and collective roles, continuing that legacy as innovators, constant supporters of the best Irish ingredients and producers, and educators of the next generation of cooks and growers.

Darina Allen and her brother Rory O’Connell established Ballymaloe Cookery School in 1983, the world-famous cookery school on an organic farm which has been producing home chefs and professionals to be found in kitchens all over the world for over 37 years. Rachel Allen studied at Ballymaloe herself before joining the team as a teacher, and all three are key members of the core teaching team at the Cookery School.

All three are exceptional teachers and also cookbook writers and tireless ambassadors for Irish food both at home and abroad.  They are well respected voices on multiple aspects of the food from Slow Food and Farmers’ Markets to traditional techniques and sustainability issues.  Advocates of the importance of children learning how to grow and cook food.  They share their expertise through their many award-winning TV programmes.

Often dubbed the Oscars of Irish food, Blas na hÉireann, the Irish Food Awards is the largest food awards on the island, open to all 32 counties, with judging taking place during June and July, finalists notified in August, and finalist judging in Dingle, the home of the awards, in October. With workshops and masterclasses in Dingle, final Blas na hÉireann 2020 awards will be presented alongside producer networking events during the Dingle Food Festival, always an unmissable event for food lovers.

“I know I speak for Rory and Rachel when I say we are thrilled to be announced as Blas na hÉireann 2020 Producers’ Champions.” said Darina Allen. “In this current global crisis, industry celebrations like Blas are needed now more than ever to highlight the great effort of our food community, the importance of good food and the many talented producers we are lucky to have on the island. People in the sector have been through tough times before and the resilience, ingenuity and hard work of Irish makers, growers and producers make them a force to be reckoned with. We look forward to being in Dingle in October to continue to celebrate and support all that is great in Irish food.”

“Our goal at Blas na hÉireann has always been to help Irish producers to tell their stories,” says Artie Clifford, Chairperson and founder of Blas na hÉireann,

“something our three Producers’ Champions have been proudly doing themselves for many years. Their in-depth knowledge and showcasing of Irish products, producers and their narratives has helped bring valuable attention to the sector.

Winning a Blas award has a similar impact in marking a product or producer out as special and worth exploring and has been shown to work for our previous winners in bringing them to the attention of food-lovers both at home and abroad. We are looking forward to doing it all again for Blas na hÉireann 2020, in a time that has its own unique challenges, and we hope to welcome food lovers and our 2020 Producers’ Champions to Dingle in October.”

Entries for Blas na hÉireann 2020 are now open online at the discounted early bird fee of €60 per entry (ex VAT). The early bird discount has been extended to 30^th April. The full entry fee, applicable from 1^st May to 25th May is €75 per entry (ex VAT).

Press release 

Champagne Cyril Freshens Up Charlie. An Online Masterclass.

Bubbles (via Pixabay)

Champagne Cyril Freshens Up Charlie.
An Online Masterclass.

Charles Heidsieck, one of the most admired Champagne houses, was founded in 1851, by the man who would become known as ‘Champagne Charlie’. Their size, and commitment to excellence, has been underpinned by a winemaking team that between them have been named 'Sparkling Winemaker of the Year' at the International Wine Challenge 16 times.

Cyril Brun is current Chef de Caves of Charles Heidsieck Champagne, and last Thursday he took close to two hundred of us through an online masterclass. The theme was: Tradition through innovation: Charles’ signature in the future.

If Charles (aficionados use the first name) has been making Champagne since 1851 you may well think that innovation is scarcely needed at this point in time. But nothing stands still. Cyril though puts Charles fans at ease, assuring us that there is nothing drastic afoot, that much will stay as it is, that he is just tweaking things a bit.

Cyril joined Charles Heidsieck in summer 2015 after more than 15 years as deputy cellar master at Veuve Clicquot. Cyril also had experience at Haut Brion and spent few years working for Metro where he was wine buyer. Since he joined, he has been implementing several slight changes to preserve and improve what fans all know as the “Charles style”

Cyril onscreen

 

As you can imagine, over the decades, Charles Heidsieck has built exceptional relationships with the best growers across Champagne. Precise selection of grapes takes place from 60 specific sites. 

Let us start with the three Champagne grapes. Cyril’s opinion is that this trinity of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier, will go on and on. One of the participants asked if “new” grapes were being “trialed”. Cyril answered that, though he was open to trialing, he has not been fully convinced of any new grape being allowed into the champagne club. “Maybe in future.”

Blending from two or three grapes might seem a straightforward process. It’s not. It is a critical task for any champagne house. Fairly complex too, with three dimensions:

• wines are blended from different crus;
• wines are blended from different grape varieties;
• wines are blended from different years.

Willem Pinçon, Senior Brand Manager at Liberty Wines, 
linked Cyril and the participants

As it stands, there is competition amongst the various champagne houses for these three grapes. Charles Heidsieck have embarked on a “more selective sourcing of grapes”. They are exploring exciting new villages in Vallée de la Marne and in Côte des Bars yet the selection now comes from about 50 villages instead of 80 in the past. At the same time, they are consolidating their Pinot Noir.

One of Cyril’s primary tasks in recent years has been to enhance the freshness of the Charles champagnes without moving too far from the signature style. Oxygen management through “jetting” is one method. Jetting, kicked off by a high-speed injection of 0.1μl of water and sulphites, ensures consistency of each batch after disgorgement, same amount of oxygen in each and every bottle. The method has been used for decades in brewing.

The house is gradually moving - they started four years back - to using synthetic cork for the entire range. After many trials, Mytik Diam corks were chosen and they find it a perfect tool to make the best of the jetting effect. Other benefits include: no corked taste; no fear of long storage; consistency of every bottle (no distortion due to variations of oxygen), and, many of us will be glad to hear, easier opening!

Facebook pic from Charles

The masterclass was followed by a question and answer session. Here’s a flavour for you…

“How do you decide when to pick?”

Cyril emphasised that balance, not ripeness, is the key element in picking. So he does not rely solely on the technical measurement of sugar content - he tastes, “a lot”. Nowadays, because of climate change, they are picking 2 to 3 weeks earlier than ten years ago. (Editor’s note: Are you listening, Mr Trump?)

“Why do you have so much more information on the label?” 

Cyril was happy to answer: “Transparency is the respect we pay to our customers.”

“What is the best vintage you have tasted?”

Cyril started with the 1981, “still a young one”. But he seems most taken with the 1955. “Very memorable. Time has had no impact on it.”

Irish importers Liberty Wines tell us that the masterpiece from Charles Heidsieck is the Blanc des Millénaires. Made of the best Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs (Cramant, Avize, Oger, Le Mesnil-Sur-Oger and Vertus), this is an elegant and distinctive Blanc de Blancs. Cyril described the 2004, the current release, as "fabulously fresh and already offering the beautiful colour, long finish and silky texture so characteristic of this cuvée, as legendary as the celebrated founder of the House”.

That’s a good tip for you, so I’ll end on that! Santé!!

Cobh will remember Titanic anniversary

Cobh will remember Titanic anniversary

Junior Cert student Bláthín Verwey from Cobh prepares to place a floral tribute in the sea from the pier where 123 passengers departed Cobh to join the Titanic 108 years ago.

(Photos taken by her father Hendrick Verwey)

For the first time in over 20 years, there will no public ceremony to mark the anniversary of the sinking of The Titanic in its last port of call, Cobh, Co. Cork, as a result of the Coronavirus lockdown measures.

Instead, a member of the Cobh Tourism Board will place a solitary floral tribute on the Titanic Memorial in the town square, to honour all those who lost their lives 108 years ago.

Commenting, Chairman of Cobh Tourism Jack Walsh said, “Instead of a traditional public ceremony this year, we are inviting everyone to say a prayer or share a thought this Saturday (11th April) for all those who embarked on their final journey from Queenstown, as the town of Cobh was then known, on board the ill-fated Titanic.

“As you remember all those who died on Titanic, please also think about those who have been taken from us in the current Pandemic – they are not a statistic or a story, they are real people with families who love them and hopefully their ancestors will continue to remember them and commemorate this current tragedy long into the future.”

The colourful town of Cobh is famed as the last port of call of the Titanic.  All year around, you can visit the town’s Titanic Memorial Garden, which is situated on the waterfront overlooking The Titanic’s final anchorage.  Here you will see a Glass Memorial wall which bears the names of the 123 passengers that embarked in Queenstown.  The town also has a Titanic Memorial in the town square, dedicated to the 79 passengers who boarded The Titanic in Cobh on 11^th April 1912 and lost their lives. And there are a number of fascinating museums and heritage centres dedicated to The Titanic story, including Cobh Heritage Centre and The Titanic Experience.

Continuing, Jack Walsh said “Cobh is a beautiful, scenic town with a rich maritime history and the Titanic story has become deeply engrained in our local identity. Those who departed from Titanic’s last port of call did so with trepidation, excitement and in hope of a new life in America. The tragedy that unfolded on that maiden voyage is something that we are committed to paying tribute to, even this year, with an overarching emphasis on remembering above all else the tragic loss of life for many of those onboard.”

For more see www.visitcobh.com

* The Titanic Memorial Garden was developed in Cove Fort in 2013 by Cobh Tourism with assistance from SECAD and Cobh Town Council.

press release

A Wonderful Wine from the Golden Mile. Abadía Retuerta “Selección Especial”

Abadía Retuerta “Selección Especial” Castilla y León (IGP) 2014, 14%

A Wonderful Wine from the Golden Mile.

We are on the bank of the Douro river in Spain, just leaving the famous Ribera del Duero winery of Vega Sicilia. The car is taking us west along the N122. A few minutes later, with the river still to our right, we pass another of the well-known wineries here, this called Pingus. We are heading to the winery of Abadia Retuerta in Sardon and we soon arrive there, as close to the river as we have been in the 15 minutes since leaving Vega Sicilia.

We have travelled the “Golden Mile”. Maybe not so golden for some. Abadia falls just outside the DO of Ribera del Duero. And so you’ll find the wines of Abadia and its neighbours just west of the official boundary sold under the IGP Castilla y León. According to the current World Wine Atlas, “local politics rather than geography is responsible for the exclusion”.

Santa María de Retuerta is one of the historical estates in the region. Its beautiful abbey of Santa María de Retuerta is a reminder of a winemaking tradition which faded and even disappeared. In 1996, the Spanish Wine Lover tells us that the financial support of Novartis, the pharmaceutical group, helped to launch an ambitious project which now has 210 hectares under vine in the 700-hectare estate.

“Our winemaker Ángel Anocíbar likes to describe Selección Especial as a compendium of each new vintage in the Abadía Retuerta estate. And the recently released 2014, …., is one that he finds particularly satisfying.”

This is how Abadia introduce this wine and it is indeed a particularly good one, outstanding in fact. But don’t let the Vino de la Tierra of Castilla y Leon on the label put you off - this is excellent, as good as many Ribera and Very Highly Recommended.

The 2014 is a blend of 70% Tempranillo, 17% Syrah and 13% Cabernet Sauvignon. The richness of Tempranillo, the intensity of Syrah and the aromatic elegance of Cabernet Sauvignon have earned it international recognition (according to the back label). I got a few bottles in Karwig Wines both before and during last year’s closing down sale. Don’t think it’s available anywhere in Ireland now.

Colour is a dark ruby. Aromas are intense, of blackcurrant, cherry, vanilla. Fruit flavours are concentrated, a touch of spice, abundant fine-grained tannins a benign factor. Vintage conditions were excellent and this rich wine is a polished expression of the fruit and the year. Eleven months in oak, French and American, help make this a harmonious wine, smooth and easy drinking. An excellent example of the winery’s style and a very special selection indeed.

“Although Tempranillo is the dominant variety, French varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Petit Verdot are also meticulously planted in the slopes by the Douro river. As vinification is gravity-led, the winery uses small crane-operated tanks and each pago (parcel) is worked separately. Aging is all done in French oak.”

It seems that the perceived handicap of being outside the Ribera DO is being carried lightly. The less precise limits of the IGP Castilla y Leon allows the winemaker quite a lot of freedom and it is used well. Besides, being in the Golden Mile, with a string of illustrious wineries within a few minutes drive, is quite a selling point for well-made Abadia Retuerta wines.

And not just for the wines. The ruined abbey became the property of the Novartis Group in 1988 and the group has successfully resumed its age-old wine-making tradition through Bodega Abadía Retuerta and, today, Abadía Retuerta Le Domaine has been completely restored and houses a 12th century Romanesque church and a luxurious five-star hotel called Le Domaine. It is in the Relais & Châteaux network and hosts a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Time now to get out of the car, stretch our legs, have a bite to eat in the Refectorio. A glass of that Selección Especial should go well with the De-boned Wagyu rib-eye lacquered in sweet & sour sauce, turnip purée and tender onion.

Taste of the Week. Earl Grey loose tea from Mahers

Taste of the Week

Earl Grey loose tea from Mahers 

In 1991 John and Mary Mackey acquired Mahers Coffee from Dick Maher. At this time the business was purely retail, selling quality beans and ground coffee to its customers in Cork. 

In 1993 they expanded the business establishing the wholesale division supplying restaurants and cafes with their coffee. Due to the exceptional quality of their beans and the personal service provided, the business expanded rapidly.

Today Mahers Pure Coffee customers include top gourmet restaurants, independently owned hotels, local artisan cafes, canteens, schools, and offices. And me. Even in these Covid19 times. They deliver directly to customers all over Munster and provide a courier service nationwide.

My recent order included coffee, of course, and their loose Earl Grey tea, described as “The English Classic with natural bergamot oils on a fine blend of digestible black teas”. It is superb, one of the best Earl Greys I’ve ever tasted and now our Taste of the Week.

And their delivery service is also excellent. Check it out.

Mahers Pure Coffee 

25 Oliver Plunkett Street
Cork

Phone. (021) 427 0008

info@maherspurecoffee.ie

Domaine Bertrand Ambroise. The Lovely Lettre d’Eloïse Duo

Maison Bertrand Ambroise

The Lovely Lettre d’Eloïse Duo

Organic farming is a way of life for the Ambroise family since 2013. Once upon a time, Bertrand was front and rear at his Premeaux-Prissey vineyard. He was the boss. Now his children, Francois and Ludivine, have taken on the business and Bertrand says he, no longer the boss, now works for them. He is glad to have them share the load, allowing him the freedom to concentrate on making good wines, such as this pair, made and named for his granddaughter.

Daughter Ludivine has said the move to organic viticulture is one of “true belief” as she lost her grand-father due to illness caused by chemicals used in the fields.Take a taste of their Nuits St Georges ‘Les Haut Pruliers’ to see where they are heading. This is a faultless wine with an astounding finalé and is also available from le Caveau.

Bertrand Ambroise Lettre d’Eloïse “Coteaux Bourguignons” (AOC) 2017, 13%, €18.45 
64 Wine Dublin, Bradley’s of Cork, Greenman Dublin, Le Caveau Kilkenny

This Pinot Noir is fermented in mixed-age 400 litre oak barrels, they don't want oak influence here, so no new barrels are used.

Mid to light ruby. Cherry and strawberries plus herbal and savoury notes too in the inviting aromas. Quite a bit of character on the palate, juicy, fresh and fruity and more body than you’d expect from a Pinot Noir. Tannins not quite rounded - you’ll feel them on your lips. Very engaging all the way to an excellent finish. 

Much has been squeezed from the parcels of poor soil and, lovingly guarded every step of the way, much remains in the bottle. A gorgeous well-priced wine, one of the domaine’s many Pinot Noirs. Very Highly Recommended. And well priced also.

Saw a few matching suggestions and the one that made most sense was Roasted duck breast with plum sauce. One from BBC Food here.

Bertrand

Bertrand Ambroise Lettre d’Eloïse Chardonnay “Coteaux Bourguignons” (AOC) 2017, 13%, €18.25
64 Wine Dublin, Bradley’s of Cork, Greenman Dublin, Le Caveau Kilkenny

The fruit for this excellent Chardonnay, one of nine produced by Domaine Ambroise, comes from young vines. It is fermented for ten months or so in barrels of different ages (one, two and three years old oak), not fined and only lightly filtered.

Colour is a light straw. Citrus and floral notes in the aromas. A citrusy tingle as it hits the palate, good acidity also.  This fresh and lively wine, a wonderful drop indeed, is very well made and Very Highly Recommended.

Le Caveau tell us the grapes for Lettre d’Eloise white come from young vines planted on clay and silex soils in Prémeaux-Prisse. “This is a wine of wonderful quality, showing citrus and acacia in abundance, framed with a delicate vein of acidity. A real roundness captures the freshness of barrel-fermented fruit.”

New virtual marketplace launched to support small Irish businesses during COVID-19 pandemic

press release

New virtual marketplace launched to support

 small Irish businesses during COVID-19 pandemic

Website live today (6th April) at 12 noon.

More than 120 small, independent Irish companies have already registered for The Doorstep Market, a one-stop shop which will enable people to shop local and buy Irish while staying at home.

The initiative, created by volunteers in response to the COVID-19 crisis, will be launched today (06.04.20), with the website www.thedoorstepmarket.ie going live at 12pm.

In addition to making it easy for people to support local and buy Irish, the website also offers a free e-commerce platform so Irish businesses can get online and start trading quickly and easily. Businesses can also use the site to collaborate on offers and deliveries.  Consumers can browse a wide variety of Irish products on a single site, while buying from multiple different suppliers in a single transaction.

Despite the current restrictions making it impossible to meet in person, co-founders Grace Tallon and Joe O’Connor have been working closely together to develop the project over the past week, mostly using video conferencing technologies.

Grace Tallon, co-founder of The Doorstep Market, said: “We’re really excited about the ambitious virtual shopping experience that The Doorstep Market will offer Irish consumers, with a huge and growing selection of Irish products and services. We’re encouraging people to stay home, and shop local.”

Joe O’Connor, co-founder of The Doorstep Market: “Irish people want to help support their small, independent businesses get through this crisis in whatever way they can. With The Doorstep Market, they can now do that in a single place, from the comfort and safety of their own homes.”

For more information visit www.thedoorstepmarket.ie