BAKESTONE CAFÉ & PANTRY CELEBRATE 10 YEARS THIS WEEK AND LAUNCH A NEW EXCLUSIVE COFFEE BLEND, COMMON GROUNDS

 BAKESTONE CAFÉ & PANTRY CELEBRATE 10 YEARS THIS WEEK

AND LAUNCH A NEW EXCLUSIVE COFFEE BLEND, COMMON GROUNDS

Proprietors Joe and Maura Carey with, left, Neil Muscheidt (Bakestone)

Bakestone Café & Pantry was founded by Cork natives Joe and Maura Carey in 2013 in Carrigtwohill. It offers an all-day menu with a focus on high-quality locally-sourced ingredients.

Brunch is popular in Bakestone and you can expect all the classics, Eggs Benedict, Eggs Royale and Eggs Florentine, plus family-friendly posh Buttermilk Pancakes with Poached Pear, Salted Carmel and Vanilla Mascarpone, or traditional French Toast with Maple Syrup and Bacon. At the weekends the Bakestone Full Breakfast with locally sourced produce is the cure to all ails. 

The lunchtime offering changes daily, depending on what's seasonal and what’s fresh. Expect homemade quiches, six different types of salads each made daily in-house along with  Arbutus sourdough breads and in-house relishes and pickles.

In 2018, Bakestone Café added a new retail element to the business in the form of The Pantry which sells a wide variety of local artisan products and baked goods. The Bakestone Pantry highlights over 150 Irish producers including many of the best Cork producers plus a whole range of homemade Bakehouse chutneys, jams, pickles, relishes and dressings.

In 2018 Bakestone also opened in Fota House, Arboretum & Gardens. Bakestone in Fota House is open from March until the end of September 7 days a week and weekends from October until the end of February.

Happy Birthday!!!

Owner of Bakestone Café & Pantry Joe Carey is delighted to be celebrating ten years of following his passion for great food and for supporting local producers “We feel very honoured to have served the people of East Cork and beyond over the past 10 years, we cherish the relationships we've built with our wonderful food producers and suppliers, and we feel very lucky to have our wonderful Bakestone team collected around everything we do.”

To mark the celebration Bakestone has announced a very special partnership with Badger & Dodo by launching a new exclusive house coffee blend called Common Grounds.  This exclusive coffee blend only available to Bakestone, consists of washed Peruvian and natural Ethiopian beans that boast flavours of vanilla, milk chocolate and orange. Medium body with a smooth round finish on the palate. Founded by Australian Brock Lewin, Badger & Dodo has roasted coffee in Cork since 2008. The brand sources only the best beans available, from quality single-origin estates, with all blending done by hand. 

Common Grounds is available at Bakestone Café & Pantry, Fota Retail Park in Carrigtwohill, County Cork and Baketone @ Fota House, Arboretum & Gardens Fota Island also in Carrigtwohill, or buy online at www.bakestone.ie

Bakestone will celebrate its 10th year with a series of events taking place in Bakestone including a Meet The Makers event in Autumn. Keep up to date with the latest news by following Bakestone Café & Pantry on social @bakestonecafe

Blas na hÉireann Producers' Champion 2023 Announced. And it's Kate Ryan!!!!

Blas na hÉireann Producers' Champion 2023 Announced. And it's Kate Ryan!!!!

Kate Ryan, award-winning food writer and founder of Flavour.ie, has been named Blas na hÉireann’s Producers’ Champion for 2023 for her dedication to championing the best of everything Irish and independent. She is pictured above with Fallon Moore and Artie Clifford (both Blas).

 

The Producers’ Champion is selected annually by Blas na hÉireann producers, based on a survey that goes out to the entire Blas network — a network that covers every county in Ireland with producers from across the food industry. Nominees for Producers’ Champion are put forward by producers early in the year, asked to nominate those they believe are representing and supporting their produce and that of other Irish food makers and growers in an effective and helpful way.

 Originally from Bristol, Kate moved to Cork in 2005 and quickly recognised the food scene in Ireland was becoming transformative. With a growing number of food and drink producers and an increasing abundance of exceptional restaurants to celebrate, her idea of Flavour.ie became a reality. The platform, which is dedicated to promoting Irish food and drink, also features her blog, The Flavour Files, where Kate writes about great local produce, seasonality, wild and foraged food, and craft drinks of all kinds, with recipes that illustrate how artisan foods are as at home in our kitchens as they are on a restaurant menu. 

As well as writing for her own website, Kate writes regularly as a food features writer for The Echo and Irish Examiner, and many of her articles feature in a number of other publications including BBC, The Opinion, Irish Foodie magazine and thejournal.ie. In 2017, Kate was commissioned by A Taste of West Cork Food Festival to write the Artisan Food Guide which showcases food and drink producers across West Cork. 

She has been a member of the Irish Food Writers Guild since 2019, becoming Secretary in 2021, now Treasurer and a Committee member. In July of this year, Kate will present a paper at the prestigious Oxford Food Symposium based on research completed for her final project of the PGDip in Irish Food Culture (UCC). She has also been a judge for Blas na hÉireann for many years.

 “I’m incredibly honoured to have been awarded Producers’ Champion by Blas na hÉireann,” said Kate Ryan. “I write about Irish producers to showcase and highlight what they do because I care so passionately about them. We are blessed on this island to have such a vast amount of fantastic produce and it is so important to celebrate that. I started Flavour.ie as an ode to exceptional Irish producers, so this award is down to them.”

 “Kate’s contribution to the Irish food scene is deeply appreciated, as is her continued support for producers,” said Artie Clifford, founder of Blas na hÉireann. “We have known Kate for many years, as a judge for the awards and as a supporter and friend of Blas, so we understand how passionate she is, and how genuine her dedication is to what she has made her cause. She is incredibly well-regarded in the industry so I know that the extended Blas family will see this award of Producers’ Champion 2023 for Kate as something that is extremely well-deserved.” 

 Joining past Producers’ Champions like Simon Coveney TD, Neven Maguire, John & Sally McKenna, Shane McArdle, Kai’s Jess Murphy, Darina Allen, Rory O’Connell, Rachel Allen, Brian McDermott and last year’s winners Johnny McDowell & Laura Bradley from Indie Füde, Kate Ryan is keeping very good company indeed. 

 Final call for entries to Blas na hÉireann 2023 – closing date is 17th May and costs €90 per entry (ex VAT). http://www.irishfoodawards.com

Dinner for Billy👑 and Clare👑 at the Royal Hotel Valentia

 Dinner for Billy👑 and Clare👑

at the Royal Hotel Valentia

Since 1833, then known as the Valentia Hotel, the island’s hotel has been welcoming and extending hospitality to guests. It later became known as Young's Hotel and it wasn't until after a visit from Prince Arthur (the son of Queen Victoria) in 1869 that it took the name ‘Royal'.

No royalty there in the closing days of April 2023 when we visited for dinner. We were staying nearby but the hotel could well have been our base. It is so convenient, just yards from where the car ferry from Cahersiveen lands, and is the gateway to the island and its many attractions: its scenic walks, the ancient Tetrapod Trackway, the historic slate quarry and the lighthouse (where you may visit). The Royal even offers a package for Kerry’s Internationally Recognised Dark Sky Reserve.

It has recently renovated 33 rooms. It can cater for any social event from weddings to a hearty lunch for two. We were there for dinner for two and were treated quite royally, like every other customer. They have a very friendly and efficient staff here in the large restaurant that looks right out onto the water, so near that a Great Black-backed Gull popped up on our window sill to have a look at my plate, I think he was a regular! 

So what did we have? The menu is along the usual lines that you see in Kerry (and many other Irish) pubs and sometimes you have to look at the specials list to get away from the Seafood Chowder, Chicken Wings, Fish and Chips and Burgers that populate these offerings. Not that there is anything wrong with them, as we were to find out. 

Goats cheese starter

I had an excellent Chowder (Mixed smoked fish and white fish with vegetables in a velouté sauce served with soda bread) here, as I did in The Lobster in Waterville.

CL picked the Goats Cheese Bruschetta with Red Currant Jelly (topped with onion chutney & served with fresh mixed salad). She was delighted with it, reckoning that it was well ahead of a similar dish in The Lobster.

In addition to the regular dishes, they also have a Kids Menu and offer a selection of pizzas, all handy if you are travelling with younger people.

Up to about ten years ago, it was almost impossible to get craft beer in Kerry. But, with at least five breweries in the county, all that has changed. Has it changed in the venerable Royal? Yes indeed it has and they know the difference between real craft and mass produced stuff. The server unhesitatingly says she has Killarney Blond on tap and we, unhesitatingly, say yes we’ll have one each. It was just after they arrived on the table that the gull popped up, so perhaps he just wanted a drink!

Back to the food and my  Crispy Battered Scampi (Prawns in homemade beer batter, served with homemade potato wedges with side salad and tartar sauce) had just arrived. Don’t know when I last had them but they certainly went down well even if I got fries rather than wedges. Nicely cooked, good quality and no lack of quantity either.

Knightstown
Clock Tower

We were totally ignoring the specials here (they included a couple of roasts of the day, beef and pork) and CL decided to go for a burger, a rare occasion. She too got a massive plateful, Beef Burger with Bacon & Cheese (Hereford Irish ground beef patty in a toasted brioche bun - dressed with Marie Rose sauce, lettuce, tomato, onions, melted cheddar cheese & bacon. Served with homemade potato wedges, homemade onion rings & relish). Phew. A classy burger though, again fries rather than wedges, and she just about got through it!

No room at all for desserts after those packed plates but we did enjoy a second round of the Blonde before strolling back to the B&B to take a look at the sun (which had only just made its first appearance of the day, a brief one) as it set beyond the lighthouse, the whole scene visible from our balcony. That was the special of the day!

Also on this trip:

The Lobster Waterville

Skellig Experience Centre - The Monks Dinner

McGill Brewery*

Royal Hotel, Knightstown

A Right Royal Progress Through The Kingdom

* Post to follow

Recent Kerry posts

Killarney's lovely Victoria Hotel

Dinner at The Ivy in Killarney

Dining at The Harrow Killarney

Excellent Lunch at Brehon Hotel

Seeing Red at the lovely Sneem Hotel

Lunch at Killarney Brewery & Distillery in Fossa.

Dingle Drive, Slea Head and more 

 

Looking for a unique dining experience? Here's something different.

Looking for a unique dining experience? 

Here's something different.

Soprano Abigail LaDuke pictured at launch in Waterford Whisky distillery 

The upcoming Blackwater Valley Opera Festival in Waterford and Cork has some beautiful fine dining options at the festival and the concerts. The organisers have partnered with Eunice Power to offer a Formal Dining Menu; and with Eamo & Ró for a choice of 3 Gourmet Table Picnics  – available at Lismore Castle, and for concerts at Dromore Yard.   

 

THE MACBETH MENU by EUNICE POWER

Eunice Power’s fantastic pre-opera dinner menus for 2023 – The Macbeth Menu and The Macbeth Menu (Vegan), will be served in luxurious, stretch tents within the beautiful grounds of Lismore Castle. 

 

Gourmet Table Picnic Dining with Eamo & Ró 

Choose from The Gustoso Picnic 1, The Elegante Picnic 2, or The Vegano Picnic 3 

 

Bring Your Own Picnic (BYOP)

People are also very welcome to bring their own picnic before the concert, and book a spot in one of the outhouses at Dromore Yard with seats and chairs, so they can picnic in comfort. Limited seating so they will need to book in advance. A selection of fine wines and champagne will be available from the bar. Any pre-paid orders made online will be served to them  – ready for their arrival and chilled as appropriate.

 

Lunchtime recital packages

There will also be some new lunchtime recital packages in partnership with selected local restaurants, supporting local suppliers.

 

Chorus Recital Villierstown Church 2022 festival

 

 

Here is some general information on the festival.

 

Verdi’s Macbeth masterpiece among impressive line-up at Blackwater Valley Opera Festival

 

~ The 2023 festival at Lismore, Youghal, Dungarvan and Fermoy features an inspiring creative team, 103 international and Irish performers, 21 events, 12 venues, 4,500 visitors, 2,500 students, and 98 volunteers ~

 

Blackwater Valley Opera Festival (BVOF), Ireland's Summer Opera, is returning for eight magical days from 29^th May to 5^th June with an impressive programme of 21 events at 12 stunning venues, with everything from big tickets to free tickets.

 

More than 4,500 visitors are expected to attend the world renowned, unique, and inclusive opera and classical music week, which is now in its 13th year.  The festival attracts top talent and will welcome 103 international and Irish artists, present 65+ hours of music, and deliver education outreach to an estimated 2,500 local students.  And it all happens thanks to the support of 98 volunteers, 100 Friends of BVOF, and 25 sponsors, funders, and partners.   

 

Blackwater Valley Opera Festival has announced a ground-breaking new production of Verdi’s Macbeth, conducted by Killian Farrell, directed by Sarah Baxter and in artistic collaboration with the Irish Chamber Orchestra, as the headline event at Lismore Castle Waterford on 31 May, 2, 3 and 4 June.

 

The first genuine masterpiece of Giuseppe Verdi’s career - and first of his three Shakespearean operas - Macbeth is a political thriller full of intrigues, murders, and passion. Verdi created this stunning musical portrait of opera’s most power-hungry couple with wonderful, unforgettable arias. 

It stars the legendary baritones Leonardo Galeazzi and Vittorio Vitelli, alternating as Macbeth; Serenad Burcu Uyar as the fiendish Lady Macbeth, and world-renowned bass Gorán Jurich as Banco. The supporting cast includes BVOF bursary winners John Porter and Rory Dunne; Emily Hogarty, Andrew Gavin and the Blackwater Valley Opera Chorus. 

2023 concert highlights at the architecturally quirky Dromore Yard – a romantic, semi-restored 19^th century farm yard on the banks of the River Blackwater - will feature English tenor Ian Bostridge accompanied by pianist Saskia Giorgini; cellist Nadège Rochat and pianist Judith Jáuregui; and Irish mezzo-soprano Paula Murrihy along with the Irish Baroque Orchestra and Peter Whelan will close out the festival on June Bank Holiday Monday.

from 2022 Festival

 

The festival recital series will feature a variety of beautiful programmes in the magical surrounds of Woodhouse Estate, Salterbridge House, Tourin House St Carthage’s Cathedral, Villierstown Church, St Mary’s Collegiate Church, and Villierstown Church.

 

There will be four free open-air recitals delivering the magic of Ireland’s summer opera festival to Lismore, Youghal, Dungarvan and Fermoy. These popular open air lunchtime recitals are available for local communities and must be booked in advance on the BVOF website to secure a seat.

 

The popular education outreach Discover Singing and Discover Opera programmes return for local national school children, in conjunction with Music Generation Waterford. The Opera Dress Rehearsal for second-level students on Monday 29 May is where hundreds of students and their teachers will get to experience a full scale opera production, completely free of charge.

 

Luxury shopping destination Kildare Village is the Fashion Retail sponsor of Blackwater Valley Opera Festival for 2023, and the award-winning Waterford Whisky distillery has just been announced as the new Hospitality Partner of the festival.  Blackwater Valley Opera Festival is supported by grants from the Arts Council, Waterford City & County Council, and Fáilte Ireland. The festival’s lead sponsors are Kildare Village, Marsh, AIB and the John Pollard Foundation.

Commenting on the festival, Brian O’Flynn, Head of Ireland’s Ancient East said, “This spectacular arts and culture summer opera festival has developed its own distinctive voice within the opera and classical music world, bringing fresh vision and focus to Waterford tourism and Ireland’s Ancient East.”

 

Eamonn Carroll, Festival Director of Blackwater Valley Opera Festival, said, “We’re looking forward to welcoming festival attendees from near and far for what will be a week of stunning performances with incredible talent from Ireland and around the world.  Whether you love opera and classical music or just want a unique live music experience, there’s something for everyone.”

 

“Blackwater Valley Opera Festival was honoured to be nominated in three categories at the Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards 2023 (Best Opera, Best Set, Best Movement) for Orfeo ed Euridice in 2022, and I would like to sincerely congratulate David Bolger for winning Best Movement Direction for the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival production of Orfeo ed Euridice and Go to Blazes with Coiscéim Dance.  We’re hoping for another award-winning year ahead with the stunning Macbeth production.”

 

The Big Tickets (Opera)

Macbeth- 31 May, 2, 3, 4 June

Tickets €75-220. Lismore Castle Waterford

 

The Dromore Yard Concerts

Ian Bostridge and Saskia Giorgini – Thurs 1 June

Nadège Rochat and Judith Jáuregui – Sun 4 June

Paula Murrihy with the Irish Baroque Orchestra &  Peter Whelan – Mon 5 June

Tickets €25-60. Dromore Yard, Aglish, Co. Waterford

 

Recitals for The Classical Music Lovers 

From 29 May – 5 June 2023

Artists include Amy Gillen, Kelli-Ann Masterson, Niall Kinsella, Mairead Hurley, Abigail LaDuke, Ella Nagy, Frasier Hickland, Megan O’Neill, Amy Ní Fhearraigh,  BVOF Chorus.

Venues in Youghal, Fermoy, Lismore, Dungarvan, Cappoquin, Villierstown.

Tickets €25 / €10 Concessions / Limited Free Tickets 

 

The 2023 Free Shows

BVOF Free Open-Air Lunchtime Recitals – Fermoy, Youghal, Lismore, Dungarvan

30 May, 2, 3, 4 June Tickets FREE. Booking essential to secure seating.  

Lismore Castle Waterford

 

For The Foodie Lovers

The Macbeth Menu by Eunice Power - 31 May, 2, 3, 4 June

Tickets €55- €75 Lismore Castle Waterford

 

Gourmet Table Picnics by Eamo & Ró - 31 May, 2, 3, 4 June

Tickets €55 Lismore Castle Waterford

 

Gourmet Table Picnics by Eamo & Ró - 1, 4, 5 June

Tickets €55 Dromore Yard, Aglish, Co. Waterford

 

Lunchtime Recital Packages (2 Course Menu & Recital Ticket)

1 June – The Saucy Hen, Villierstown Tickets €30 

2 June – Barron’s Coffeehouse Cappoquin Tickets €30 

3 June – Fuller’s Bistro Lismore Tickets €30 

 

Blackwater Valley Opera Festival is supported by grants from the Arts Council, Waterford City & County Council, Waterford Leader and Fáilte Ireland. 

To discover more about BVOF’s eight days of opera, classical music recitals and concerts, schools programme, free events, dining experiences and more, visit blackwatervalleyopera.ie.

 

 

Drinking through Portugal wine regions with a Fonte do Ouro Tinto Dão. Part 11.

Drinking through Portugal wine regions 

with a Fonte do Ouro Tinto Dão. 

Part IV (Vinho Verde, Lisboa and Alentejano).

Part III (Alentejo) 

Part 11 (Douro, Dão, Alentejo and Setubal.)  

Part 1 (Minho) 

Foot Trodden (2021), a recent book on Portuguese wine, covers these eight regions: Minho, Douro, Dão, Bairrada, Colares, Ribatejo, Alentejo and Madeira (home of one of the most age-worthy wines). Other regions noted are Algarve, Setubal, Beiras Interior, Tránsmontano, Bucelas, VR Lisbon and Carcavelos. This is the start of an occasional focus on Portugal over the next month or two and I’ll try to get my hands on as many of the wines as I can. Any tips or help will be most welcome!

Fonte do Ouro Tinto Dão (DOC) 2020, 13.5% ABV, €17.25, O'Briens Wine 

Like many Portuguese wines, this is a blend. All three grapes used are popular in the region. The Alfrocheiro adds depth of colour, Touriga Nacional (with its expressive violet scent) is considered to be the country’s finest, while Jaen is the local name for the what the Spanish call Mencía. By the way, Touriga Nacional probably started “life” in the Dão, mostly a granite plateau with the eponymous river running through it.

Importers and distributors O’Brien’s: A delicious red, showcasing the quality of winemaking in the Dão region of Portugal. Aged for 6 months in French oak it is a blend of indigenous grapes: primarily Touriga Nacional. 

Dão is one of the oldest established wine regions of Portugal, located just south of the famous Douro Valley. The mountainous region is home to Touriga Nacional, the principle variety of port wine, and only became a DOC in 1990.

The region’s wine industry, for so long shackled by the dictator Salazar’s imposed cooperative system that rewarded quantity over quality, certainly needed the improvement in quality which has taken place in the last 30 years or so.

Ironically, Salazar himself had vines in the wild and rugged regiona and a string of coops were set up but the emphasis was always on quantity not quality. Even though Salazar departed in 1968 and the Carnation Revolution of six years later finally ended the influence of his policies and those of his like-minded successors, the Däo was in the doldrums until well into the 1990s when EU policy and its monetary help provided the kiss of life and the area began to put its reputation for producing what Jancis Robinson termed “some of the…. most uncharming wines in the world” behind it.

The top Dão wines are now some of the most highly rated in Europe, winning consistent praise on both sides of the Atlantic, says wine-searcher.com. “It is in the north of the country. It takes its name from the Dão river, along which the majority of the region's vineyards are located.” More praise from the World Atlas of Wine saying they are now “..far juicier, friendlier, more elegant wines”.

A government study in 2017 listed no fewer than 230 indigenous varieties in Portugal and, according to the marvellous Foot Trodden, there are many many more yet to be identified. No wonder there are so many blends in the country.

Our blend has a dark ruby colour. Fairly rich aromas of blackberry, dark cherry and plum. There’s a great mix of the fruit flavours on the palate, with a touch of spice, smooth with elegant tannins and a very satisfying and persistent finish. This supple and fresh wine, full of vitality, has spent six months in oak and should be served at 16 to 18 degrees and will go well with red meats. 

Full of Dão character and Very Highly Recommended as is the book Foot Trodden!.

Sociedade Agrícola Boas Quintas, born in 1991, was part of the revival. It all began when Nuno Cancela de Abreu, representative of the 4th generation of a family with farming and winemaking tradition of more than 130 years, decided to devote all of his experience and all of his knowledge in viticulture and oenology, to the service of the project that would allow him to create high quality wines, full of character and personality. See more here.

Boas Quintas also make an excellent Fonte do Ouro white, a blend of Arinto and Encruzado, more details here.