Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Botanical Themed Afternoon Tea to Call & Collect from The Montenotte Hotel

 Botanical Themed Afternoon Tea to Call & Collect from The Montenotte Hotel 

 


Over the past few months, have you been yearning for dainty finger sandwiches, fluffy scones and mouth-watering desserts and treats? Fear not, this May Bank Holiday weekend, The Montenotte Hotel has a unique and exciting way for you to treat yourself, your family or friends from the comfort of your own home as we finally welcome back summer.


“May Day” has been celebrated in Ireland since pagan times as the feast of Bealtaine. Traditionally, bonfires were lit to mark the coming of summer and to grant luck to people and their livestock. We do not do bonfires anymore, but it is the start of summer and you can have CAKE, as you enjoy your weekend at home with some of their tasty delights.

 

The team at the hotel led by Executive Head Chef Tabrez Shaikh, have enhanced their hugely popular Call & Collect Afternoon Tea and created a specifically themed Botanical Afternoon Tea for you to enjoy with your loved one with influences from the Victorian sunken gardens at the hotel including lavender and rosemary.

Like the real thing, this Botanical Afternoon Tea will be placed on a bespoke three-tiered carryout box. Priced at €55, it designed to lavishly delight two people. 

The menu is fresh, light, herbal and has an amazing blend of sweet and savoury and includes,

The Montenotte Battenberg, Lavender & White Chocolate Posset, Rosemary Infused French Chocolate Tart, Lemon Macaroon, Carrot & Mascarpone Cupcake, Herb Infused Bun, Bertha’s Revenge Sloe Gin & Plain Scones Savoury items include, Lemon Balm Chicken, Coronation Prawn, Black Forest Ham, Creamy Hen’s Egg, Cream Cheese & Walnuts.

 

You can add a bottle of “LOUIS PICAMELOT, BLANC DE BLANCS BRUT NV FRANCE” all for €95 which is the perfect aperitif.

General Manager of The Montenotte Hotel Brian Bowler said,

“We are delighted to be able to deliver on our promise to #stayunique by offering another way for you to celebrate the May Bank Holiday weekend in the comfort of your own home and enjoy our new Botanical themed afternoon tea. We hope it will provide some comfort to those of you seeking a semblance of normality amidst the current environment”

The Botanicals Afternoon Tea for Call and Collect is available throughout the May Bank Holiday weekend on Friday 30th April, Saturday 1st, Sunday 2nd & Monday 3rd May with collections from 12noon to 3pm daily.
To book online visit TheMontenotteHotel.com or call 021 4530050

For more on The Montenotte Hotel visit TheMontenotteHotel.com 




 

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Wild Hogs Food Truck and the Marina Market

Wild Hogs Food Truck and the Marina Market

Met Eireann are forecasting sunny weather for the next few days, the kind of weather that will tempt many down to the Marina and a visit to the market there. I did just that last Wednesday and I can tell you no dinner was needed that evening as the "Ze Octoberfest" (on the right below) was all the fuel that was needed until the following morning. The one on the left, The West Cork Gourmet Sausage Bap, was CL's choice, another winner.

Two specials from the Wild Hogs Food truck    

The Marina Market
"Cork's new weekend food and craft market. Check out our social media pages for all updates. Meanwhile Guji Coffee Bar and Wild Hogs Food Truck open every day, plus extra stalls every weekend!"

The paragraph above comes from the market's website but the set-up time-wise seems quite flexible. Not alone were Wilds Hogs and Guji Coffee doing brisk business when I called last Wednesday but there quite a few other food stalls open, including the likes of Ardsallagh Cheese,  Bufalina, Burnt Pizza,  The Sultan and Young Plant Superfoods. There are a few grassy banks around and people were taking the sun and enjoying their grub there. Guji are outside the building on the Centre Park Road side. When we looked inside, we could see nothing in the "cavern" from the door. But don't back away - the midweek stalls are down at the far end! More info on the market's Facebook page here. Regular updates too on the Wild Hogs page here. By the way, the weekend stalls feature much more than food. Be prepared to be surprised!



The Ardsallagh menu

Chef Richard Milnes is the man behind the Wild Hogs truck
and he uses local pork from the Allshire family farm in Rosscarbery
Tempting stuff from the East Cork goats cheese producer.




Quite a selection of pizzas here

Lots of room in this huge building. Expect it to be busier at the weekend. It is an easy walk from
the City Hall. If you are coming by car, continue on down the quay and you'll find a
large parking area at the back of the market.












Monday, April 19, 2021

Thinking Outside The Bottle With Stonewell Cider. This cidermaker successfully uses hops in his product. Even rhubarb!

Thinking Outside The Bottle With Stonewell Cider

This cidermaker successfully uses hops in his product. Even rhubarb!

Daniel Emerson - more than a cidermaker馃槈馃構



Let us start with the hops. At a recent discussion featuring three cidermakers on BeoirFest, Stonewell’s Daniel Emerson was asked how his stunning Tawny came about. Through a collaboration with local brewer/distiller Sam Black was the answer. “El Dorado hops added complexity and helped balance the extra sugar. “ The initial cider, made with Dabinett and Michelin apples, was bitter and the extra sugar came via capitalisation where sugar was added after fermentation, bringing the ABV to 15%.


The final product is an opulent, complex cider, and has been compared to sweet wine and sherry. Stonewell advise using it as “a slightly chilled aperitif but equally cheese or dessert accompaniment”. At the Ballymaloe LitFest 2016, expert Pete Brown (author of World’s Best Cider) was impressed after tasting it and said it reminded him of a Canadian Ice Cider, “beautiful’.


Daniel explained: "At the end of the process, the cider is very sweet, like an apple ice-cider. We decided to counteract this by passing it through Eldorado dry hops. The result was very good and the Tawny has proved remarkably successful.” And we could all see why. And you can still see why as it is still going strong. I’ve got the 2018 vintage on my desk here!



Cidermakers are regularly experimenting but Davy of Tempted, also on that Beoirfest talk, cautioned about doing it too soon as a producer. “You’ve got to put decent roots behind you and then move on to more refined products like Tawny.” 


I first came across Davy’s excellent ciders in Cahir in 2013 where his dry won out in its class (very competitive, as many cider makers were showing that day). Davy is now getting a name for his barrel-aged ciders and praise too. “Fantastic, incredible character,” enthused Daniel as he tasted the latest bitter-sweet from the Lisburn man.


So back to the story of apple and rhubarb. Back to 2016 where Stonewell’s R贸s Cider beat 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.



Geraldine Emerson from Stonewell Cider at the time: “We use all natural ingredients. The R贸s 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.” By the way, Davy’s Tempted were also winners on the day!


Rhubarb was and is used in R贸s. A local producer offered a lot of it to Daniel. He began to wonder what to do with it and decided to incorporate it in cider. But “extracting juice from rhubarb is a nightmare”. Still, he persevered and it too is still going strong. “You got it right,” declared Liam of Legacy, another cider-maker on the BeoirFest discussion. By the way, Davy is having success using Elderflower in his cider. No wonder himself and Daniel have a great respect for each other!


Recently I got a delivery of tins and jars of tuna from Donegal’s John Shine. I had read somewhere about tuna being used with Mozzarella and that became our focus. Yellowfin Tuna belly in olive oil was the chosen can. A quick trip to the local Dunnes Stores saw us get the Macroom Mozzarella. And then I thought that I had, thanks to my support of the Beoirfest show, a couple of bottles of R贸s. One was quickly produced. Well, the R贸s got on so well with the tuna and the cheese you’d have sworn they were made for each other. 


It isn’t all about the booze at Stonewell where Daniel and his team produce a really excellent non-alcoholic cider called Stonewell 0%.



I was delighted with the 330ml bottle that I recently bought in the local O’Donovan’s Off Licence. Light gold colour, no shortage of bubbles rising up. And there’s a fresh fruit aroma. The first thing you notice in the mouth is that this is refreshing, it is dry, crisp, and very much a real cider, a terrific drink after a long walk or a drive. And, of course, you can have a few of these and still drive. They have used typical bittersweet apples here so it’s not lacking in flavour, on the contrary. Very drinkable and very acceptable. Fit for purpose, for sure.


So how do they do it? “Traditionally we’ve been an alcoholic beverage maker, namely cider. So in order for to us to produce a non-alcoholic beverage we’ve had to go back to the drawing board and return to our studies to find out what was the best way to square this circle. Instead of simply trying to make a concoction with fresh apple juice, we opted for the more complex route of removing alcohol from a normal cider.


We fermented a cider using typical bittersweet apples. Once fermented we then used a process of osmosis, or to be precise reverse osmosis to extract the alcohol from the cider. This leaves a lot of the characteristics created by the fermentation process but with the added bonus that there’s no alcohol. At this stage of the process the cider is still “dry” in other words contains no sweetness, so to finish off this blend we add a small amount of apple juice which broadens the mouthfeel…. Made and blended by us in Cork, Stonewell 0% is a refreshing alternative for all those looking to avoid the sickly sweet mocktails or fizzy rock shandys at a social occasion.”


I have tasted quite a few non-alcoholic Irish beers and Irish ciders at this stage and it seems to me that the cider-makers, with Stonewell and Highbank (with their Drivers Cider) showing the way, have made a better fist of the "style" than the beer makers!


* It's not just "exotic" ciders at Stonewell, by the way. They also make classic dry (dry was reported by all three on the Beoirfest as the best seller) and a medium dry along with various specials. More info on their website here.

Dining NOW Guide. This Week's Choices In Cork. Update #3

Dining NOW Guide. This Week's Choices In Cork

(Contact me before 1.00pm Wed with a sentence, a pic and a link to menu, plan to update regularly)

 w/e 25/4/2021 Update #3

Click and Collect. At Home. Takeout. Takeaway.

Cask



This has been an incredibly difficult time for all of us and we'd like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation for any support you have shown us in the last year, from purchasing from our takeaway menus to even something as small as liking or sharing our social media. Thank you!

For the next 2 weeks our menu will include:

Option 1

Rosti potatoes, Croquetas de Jamon, Irish spring lamb & barley stew, Xixo BBQ skewers, Tonkatsu prawns & Banana and doce de leite empanadas.

and for our veggies we have:

Option 2

Rosti potatoes, Smoked aubergine croquettes, Barley & courgette stew, Halloumi xixo BBQ skewers, Tonkatsu asparagus & Banana and doce de leite empanadas.

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Next door at Greenes

Their weekend menus may be read here.

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Goldie

Giardiniera by Goldie. Full menu and order details here 
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Vienna Woods 



Voted Cork's Best Family Business in last weekend's Cork Business Association Awards. Check out their takeout menu here






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Da Mirco 3-Course Italian Feast

Start with white asparagus from the Veneto, continue with Italian Sausages and Scamorza from the English Market and the Dolce....... see below!


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Wild Rose Artisan Cakes

Would you like a slice of cake after a meal at home? That was a resounding yes. No surprise at that

when you've spotted this or the other impressive creations by Cobh's Wild Artisan Cakes.

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Ballymaloe House At Home


It’s asparagus season and the first of our walled garden and freshly picked, it will be part of our #ballymaloeathome menu this weekend #seasonalfood #treatyourself



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Beautiful Veneto awaits us this week! Veneto is home to the rich, vibrant, full-bodied Amarone and Ripasso, as well as the very popular Prosecco, but as is our wont, we aim to bring you on a journey away from the classics to discover something new or different. And this week’s wine does precisely that!

“Vino Nato Disobbediente” (translates as ‘a wine born disobedient’) made by biodynamic producer Monte Dall’Ora in the Valpolicella Classico region, disobeys the appellation rules. With it’s extremely light 10.5% abv and sold in the larger 1litre ‘peasant’ wine format, it’s a wine made more for the family table than for a formal dining setting. More details of the wine (and the food that comes with it) on their Facebook here.

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Liberty Grill



HOME DINING Fri 23rd / Sat 24th

3 Courses

Pre Order online LibertyGrill.ie @LibertyGrillCork

Simple as.. We deliver on the day, when ready turn on your oven to 180 or 160 fan, Pop hot appetiser in for 8 mins, While you enjoy these, pop in your mains & sides, they will be ready as soon as you've finished your appetiser! Menus and details here.
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Cush Ballycotton


Comin’ in hot this week with another delicious menu ⚓️ make sure to get your order in 馃檶馃徏
Here’s how it works:
Please place your order by emailing reception@cush.ie with which dishes you would like (1 starter, 1 main, 1 desserts per person) BEFORE 12PM on Thursday, along with if you would like your home dining experience on Friday or Saturday. We will respond to you with an allocated collection time between 5pm - 7pm on your preferred collection day.
*LIMITED AVAILABILITY EACH WEEK*
*ORDERS MADE AFTER 12PM THURSDAY WILL NOT BE TAKEN*
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S A T U R D A Y D E L I V E R Y

By GOOD DAY DELI


We're changing it up + delivering our Kete Kai Boxes + M艒rena Larder Boxes on Saturdays for your celebrations, picnics, lazy lunches + spins to the coast! See link for more details.

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Bunnyconnellan's. Great Views. Great Food too
Herb crusted pollock (from last week's menu)



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The Glass Curtain

Best Restaurant at the Cork Business Association Awards last weekend!

This weekends menus are as follows, and as always, will be available to order from 12pm today (Monday) via The Glass Curtain At Home

  • Friday 40 for 2 people sharing Fish Tacos Panko breaded haddock, pico de gallo, sweetcorn salsa, shredded cabbage, flour tortillas, bravas potatoes with lime chipotle aioli // Doughnuts, cinnamon sugar, rhubarb puree, vanilla custard

  • Saturday 40 for 2 people sharing BBQ short rib of beef, glazed beets, grilled corn, smoked potatoes, bbq beef jus // Chocolate chip cookies, salted caramel sauce

  • Sunday 40 for 2 people sharing Roast rack of pork, crispy crackling, white bean cassoulet, salsa verde, chargrilled spring cabbage // Apple tarte tatin, vanilla anglaise

Veggie option all weekend

  • 35 for 2 people sharing Veggie tacos, panko breaded halloumi and sweet potatoes, pico de gallo, sweetcorn salsa, shredded cabbage, flour tortillas, bravas potatoes with lime chipotle aioli // Served with dessert of the evening

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Jacques - New menu for this coming weekend
Jacques House Pat茅 (on last week's menu)


Check it out here. To place an order call 0214277387 or go to www.Jacquesrestaurant.ie. Collections are Friday and Saturday.
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On the Pig's Back

Fancy a sunny alfresco picnic? And there will be sunny days this week!
We’ve got your lunch sorted at On The Pig's Back!

We have a full range of quiches, salads , pizza , sausage rolls and savoury tarts , perfect for the Sunny outdoors!

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May Bank Holiday Specials



Hotel Montenotte

BOTANICAL THEMED AFTERNOON TEA TO CALL & COLLECT

Have you been yearning for dainty finger sandwiches, fluffy scones and mouth-watering desserts and treats? Fear not, this May Bank Holiday weekend, here at The Montenotte Hotel we have a unique and exciting way for you to treat yourself, your family or friends  from the comfort of your own home as we finally welcome back summer.

“May Day” has been celebrated in Ireland since pagan times as the feast of Bealtaine.  Traditionally, bonfires were lit to mark the coming of summer and to grant luck to people and their livestock. We do not do bonfires anymore, but it is the start of summer  and you can have cake, as you enjoy your weekend at home with some of our tasty delights and even catch up with some of the Cork International Choral Festival virtual hybrid concerts.

More details and ordering here

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Celebrate The May Bank Holiday with Heat at Home from Market Lane

 


We wanted you to know that our May Heat at Home box has just gone on sale!

This month we’re offering locally sourced Rib of Beef, Chicken wrapped in pancetta or an eye-openingly delicious Veggie Moussaka. We’ve new season potatoes and asparagus as sides, while our dessert choices are a Hazelnut and Pear tart or a Lemon Posset.

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CORK HOTEL GROWING VEGETABLES AND HERBS IN NEW ROOFTOP GARDEN

CORK HOTEL GROWING VEGETABLES AND HERBS

IN NEW ROOFTOP GARDEN

 Garden on the roof of the Cork International Hotel will provide ingredients for the kitchen and cocktails

 

Hotel Greening Manager, Edel Kavanagh and Maintenance Manager, Shane O’Mahony.  Photo: Brian Lougheed

A new rooftop garden has been constructed at the Cork International Hotel. It will be used to grow vegetables and herbs for the hotel's team of chefs. The ingredients will also be used in cocktails sold at the bar. The opening of the new addition coincides with Earth Day which takes place this Thursday, April 22nd. Earth Day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. 

The Cork International Hotel has set ambitious goals to lower its carbon footprint by 5% every year by reducing energy consumption and waste. The hotel plans to reduce waste by 15% in the next year and to achieve these goals, they will be implementing an inhouse composting system.

The hotel is working with its team to encourage eco-friendly practices at work and at home. It’s also engaging with suppliers to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and is introducing ‘carbon neutralising’ initiatives for guests after travelling. All team members at the hotel have begun a 6 month training programme with “50 Shades Greener”.

General Manager of the Cork International Hotel, Carmel Lonergan said: “We are committed to ensuring that our activities at the hotel have the least possible detrimental impact on the environment. The construction of a rooftop garden is just one element of this. We are dedicated to our team’s education and awareness to ensure that there is a culture of environmental responsibility across the company at every level which will ensure our sustainable strategy is maintained year on year. During the past year, it really gave us an opportunity to see what improvements we can make as individuals and as a business. It has been so fulfilling and actually so much fun to see how we have all worked together as a team to bring our vision to reality.

 

Hotel Greening Manager, Edel Kavanagh said: “It is such an honour to have been appointed as the Greening Manager for the hotel, along with my existing role of Front Office Manager. We all have a responsibility to look after the world that we live in and it is such an exciting project for us as a team. We are passionate about making a difference but we are also really excited about the creative and fun challenges that we have set for the team over the next few months”.


Head Chef at the Cork International Hotel, Christopher O’Sullivan said: “It’s wonderful to see what was an unused space being turned into a practical, kitchen garden. We’re committed to responsibly sourced produce and you can’t get more responsibly sourced than vegetables and herbs grown on our own roof. It also means we will have the freshest ingredients possible in our food and drinks.” 

press release


Sunday, April 18, 2021

Jacques Add To The Variety Of Dine At Home Options. Their Castletownbere Lobster’s A Tasty Winner

Jacques Add To Variety Of Eat At Home Options

Their Castletownbere Lobster’s A Tasty Winner


Jacques are back in the game and resumed at their usual high standard as we found out last weekend. And they are also adding to the amazing variety of dishes available to take home in the city and county. Their “comeback” saw lobster on their Easter Weekend Menu and the next weekend’s offering had Fish Bouillabaisse included.

Last week, when we checked out the list, lobster was back and we were hooked. Also available were Moroccan Lamb Shanks and Organic Spatchcocked Spiced Chicken and the dessert in all cases was the very tempting Boozy Tiramisu (with lots of 5 Farms Liquor included!). Not alone do they cater for different tastes, they also cater for different budgets with prices (for 2 courses for 2 people) usually ranging from forty to fifty euro.


We rarely have lobster and even more rarely have it at home so that’s the one we ordered, tempted also by the fact that the whole meal requires no cooking on our part, just some re-heating. All easy peasy and all delicious.

No heating at all with the starter, the Jacques Pat茅 with Sourdough Crisp Breads and Rhubarb Chutney. Enough for two people, it said! Enough for a large family, I reckon. But it wasn’t just the quantity, the quality was top-drawer.

They also have quite a selection of wine to pair with the various dishes and the Mara Martin Godello came with our box. The traditional food match is seafood, especially shellfish specialities like scallops, mussels, clams, lobster, crab and oysters. And it was spot-on, a marvellous match for the lobster. 

The main event, after 20 minutes in the oven, was now on the plate. It came with a lemon and herb butter and a parmesan crust and was  served with  their Potato Rosti and green leaf salad dressed with a French dressing. Silence descended for quite a spell, just the odd whine from the dog who waited, in vain (we did make it up to him later), for a morsel of the lobster. A superb highlight of a lovely meal.

Bet you’d like to try Jacques this coming weekend. Then do keep an eye on their social media (Instagram and Facebook mostly, I think). The menu is up every Monday. Check it out, make your choice and ring 0214277387 with your order on Monday or Tuesday. Heat At Home collections are very Friday and Saturday. 

On arrival!