Metropole Hotel’s annual pancake race held this morning! Not just a race - check out the recipes too!

FLIPPING FUN FOR CORK TRADERS AS METROPOLE HOTEL HOSTS ANNUAL PANCAKE RACE

The race is on. (Pic: Brian Lougheed)

Not just a race - recipes too!

Traders from the VQ area of Cork City put on a flipping good performance this morning for the Metropole Hotel’s annual pancake race.

James Healy of the Shelbourne Bar beat off stiff competition to claim the winning title, which he had taken two years ago.

The pancake race was a Shrove Tuesday tradition when Thompsons Bakery was open on the street dating back to 1826.

Team members from the Metropole Hotel joined representatives from businesses including Nathan Trust, Acet Active Centre for English Training and the Shelbourne Bar as they ran along MacCurtain St while flipping pancakes.  The Metropole Hotel has been organising the event since 2018 and it brings lots of fun and laughter to the area every year.

Roger Russell, General Manager at the Metropole Hotel said: “The pancake race is a very old tradition that we resurrected and it’s been going from strength to strength.  It means an awful lot to the local community as it brings us all together for a bit of banter and a bit of fun.  We’re all friends on the street but ultimately we’re all very competitive and the bragging rights are fantastic. The VQ is a very close knit community and we are more than happy to organise anything that can help to support and promote the area.”

Speaking about his win James Healy said; “I was really looking forward to today as I won the race two years ago so I wanted to reclaim the title.  It was all down to luck on the day though and I’m delighted to have the crown back.”

Alex Petit is Group Executive Chef of Trigon Hotels, which include the Metropole Hotel and Cork International Hotel.  He’s created a delicious sweet and a savoury pancake recipe for people to try at home.

THE CINNAMON ROLL  

American style cinnamon pancake, mixed berry compote, whipped vanilla cream, toasted seeds.

 

Ingredients 

 

American style pancake recipe:

 

250 g self raising flour

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

50g caster sugar

2 large free range eggs

150 ml Buttermilk

 

For the garnish:

150g frozen berries

50g sugar

100 ml fresh cream

25g icing sugar

Vanilla essence

Mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame……)

 

Method

 

For the pancake:

Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl

Add the wet ingredients and mix vigorously until smooth

Rest the batter for 45 minutes prior to cooking

Heat up a large frying pan with vegetable oil to medium/high heat

Cook your pancakes until golden brown on both sides

Those should rise and bubble as you cook them

 

For the garnish:

 

In a medium saucepan, add the mixed berries and caster sugar

Cook over medium heat until the water has mostly evaporated (20 minutes)
The mixture should be syrupy and shiny

 

In a large mixing bowl, pour the fresh cream

Whisk the cream until thick, add the icing sugar and few drops of vanilla essence

Reserve in the fridge until needed

 

In a preheated oven at 170 degrees, toast the mixed seeds until golden

Remove from the oven and Cool down at room temperature

 

To plate, stack 3 pancakes on top of each other

Add a generous amount of berry compote

Top with a large dollop of fresh cream and finish with toasted seeds.

 

 

THE CRÊPE MADAME 

French style thin crêpes garnished with home cooked gammon and Carrigaline cheddar topped with a fried egg.

 

Ingredients

 

French Style crêpe

 

250g plain flour

500ml whole milk

4 eggs

1 pinch alt

50g melted butter

2 tablespoon caster sugar

 

Garnish:

4 eggs

8 slices cooked gammon

200g Carrigaline cheddar

1 bunch fresh chives

 

Optional

 

Mix leaves

Elderflower & extra virgin olive oil dressing

1 red onions finely sliced

 

Method

 

For the crêpe:

Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl

Add the wet ingredients except the butter and mix vigorously until smooth

While whisking, add the melted butter gradually

Rest the batter for 45 minutes prior to cooking

Cook the crêpes one by one and rest onto a plate

 

For the garnish:

 

In a non stick pan, fry the egg sunny side up with little oil

Season with salt and pepper and place the cooked eggs onto a side dish

In a large frying pan on medium heat, add a knob of butter and place a crêpe on it

Place 2 slices of gammon side by side and sprinkle with a generous amount of grated cheddar

Place a fried egg on top and fold the 4 sides of the crepe to form a square

Keep cooking the crêpe until the cheese has fully melted

Plate the crêpe and sprinkle with freshly chopped chives

This can be served with a fresh salad dressed with an elderflower vinaigrette and finely shaved red onions

 

Taste of the Week. Homemade Rosewater Marshmallows by Ballymaloe Cookery School

Taste of the Week

Homemade Rosewater Marshmallows 

by Ballymaloe Cookery School

Got to visit Midleton Farmers Market last Saturday morning to do a little shopping there and in the town. And it was at the Ballymaloe Cookery School stand that I found my taste of the week, these absolutely delicious Rosewater Marshmallows. The delicate flavour, well-known to fans of Hadji Beys Turkish Delight, is irresistible and makes for a gorgeous treat!

Rosewater is used to flavour many foods, including drinks, around the world, especially in Asian countries. Did you know that 90% of it comes from Iran where they hold a major Rosewater festival every spring? It is a by-product of the production of rose oil for use in perfume. 

So, it is used to enhance aromas and flavours.  Look out for this excellent example at Midleton Farmers Market every Saturday where it is well priced at four euro. 

Irish teams win double bronze at Culinary Olympics

Irish teams win double bronze at Culinary Olympics

The Seniors

 

Both Senior and Junior Irish national culinary teams scored bronze medals at the Culinary Olympics 2024 held in Stuttgart Germany from 3-7 February. The demanding international contest took place over four days featuring more than 1,200 participants from 55 nations and over 7,000 menus. The teams cooked under challenging conditions in glass-walled kitchens so visitors and judges could see every move.

 

“We are extremely proud of all our chefs on both senior and junior teams. Our teams put in a massive effort over many months travelling the country to train together and I am thrilled at the standards they achieved”, said Alan Fitzmaurice, head chef at the Glasshouse Hotel in Sligo, President of the Panel of Chefs of Ireland, and Senior Team Captain for the Culinary Olympics, “It’s an honour to represent our country and to participate at this level under such intense scrutiny”.

 

The Culinary Olympics was held alongside Intergastra which is Germany's premier trade fair for the hospitality and gastronomy industry and took place at the prestigious Messe Stuttgart. With 1,500 exhibitors, the trade fair is Germany's largest event for the industry, attracting nearly 100,000 trade visitors.

Junior team members

 

“The IKA/Culinary Olympics is a culinary competition of superlatives and the 26th edition of this event with a long tradition was a great success,” said VKD President Daniel Schade. “The atmosphere was captivating and special from start to finish. “All of the participants put fantastic performances on the plates and showed what true culinary artistry looks like.”

 

The senior team members were: Alan Fitzmaurice (The Glasshouse Hotel & O’Hehirs/OH Bakery), Will King (Limerick & Clare ETB), Gordon Carrberry (Sodexo Ireland), Garret Carberry (Inchydoney Lodge & Spa), Cathy Ruth (The Washer Woman, Dublin), Jason Brean, (Gather&Gather RDS), Carol Dollery (Limerick & Clare ETB), Aaron Ruth (The Legal Eagle, Dublin), Michael Egan (Aramark Ireland), Ahmad Afig Azam (Monart Hotel & Spa) and Sylvester Dolan (Elements of Chocolate, Leitrim).

 

The junior team members were: Az Ostman (Monart Hotel & Spa), Chris Leech (Sodexo Ireland Dublin/Culinary Arts at Technological University Dublin), Callum Priest (The Cliff Café/Culinary Arts at Southeast Technological University Waterford), Jessica Beckley (Whitford House Hotel Wexford/Culinary Arts at Southeast Technological University Waterford), Nayara Borges da Costa (Strand Hotel Limerick/Training Hospitality Campus Limerick (LCETB) ), Anthony Rebote (Armada Hotel Clare/Training Hospitality Campus Limerick (LCETB) ), Freddie Cullen (Dunraven Arms Hotel Limerick/Training Hospitality Campus Limerick (LCETB) ), Liam Martin (Sheen Falls Hotel Kenmare/TUS Athlone) and Evan Duane (Tullamore Court Hotel Offaly/Training Hospitality Campus Limerick (LCETB) ).

 

https://www.olympiade-der-koeche.com/en/

 

press release

BEER OF THE WEEK: 9 White Deer Stag Stout

BEER OF THE WEEK

9 White Deer Stag Stout, 4.2% ABV, 500 ml bottle, O’Donovan’s

This gluten-free Stag Stout, from Ballyvourney’s 9 White Deer, weighs in at 4.2% ABV. It is a glossy black colour with a soft tan head. 

Aromas are rich and rammed with chocolate promise, which is fully delivered in the mouth. Here the chocolate and Madagascan vanilla play quite the most pleasing duet as the rich and smooth beer finds its way around. The chocolate is never over the top though and the stout is distinctive and delicious. Smooth and creamy, all without any nitro! And it is also gluten-free.

Very Highly Recommended. Beer of the Week

They say: Stag Stout is a medium-bodied traditional dry Irish stout at 4.2 % ABV. It is designed to appeal primarily to traditional stout drinkers, who remember how creamy the pints used to be. The complex recipe we developed brings back to life characteristics that are long forgotten. However this stout is like no other, Stag Stout also happens to be gluten-free, the first of its kind anywhere in the world.

I first came across this black beauty in Blairs Inn (near Blarney) in the winter of 2017. Richard Blair, one of two brothers then running the gastro pub, told me of a satisfied customer of a few days earlier. A coeliac, the man hadn’t drunk stout, his favourite tipple, for twenty years but, having sampled the Stag, left Blair's Inn with tears of gratitude.

Then Richard’s mother Anne guideed us to our fireside table. We began with some stout-infused brown bread! Delicious stuff and, of course, the Stag is one of the ingredients. Then I got to enjoy a pint with my Venison Casserole and it proved a great match for the rich dish of Wicklow venison. That ritual would be repeated in some form or other almost every winter thereafter.

The combination of the medium body, low carbonation and low hop bitterness makes Stag Stout a dangerously drinkable stout that tastes every bit as gorgeous as it looks. The promise from 9 White Deer is that as you enjoy a pint of Stag Stout you will agree with them in their assertion that it is the “Smoothest Stout in Ireland”.  It certainly is a good one!

This is a double chocolate and Madagascan vanilla stout, with cocoa and vanilla in the ingredients list, as well as green barley and oats. 

DRINK OF THE WEEK. Vermut de Robles in a class of its own!

DRINK OF THE WEEK

A vermouth in a class of its own

Bodegas Robles VRMT Vermut de Robles NV 15%

RRP: €32.00  (1 litre). Manning’s , Ballylickey// Toon’s Bridge Dairy// Good Food Store, Dublin//Wunderkaffee Farran and Connemara Hamper, Clifden. Mary Pawle Wines 

Bodegas Robles and Michelin-starred chef Paco Morales have certainly crafted a vermouth that is as complex and enticing as it is delicious. Combining the aromas and flavours of times past and present. And it is imported to Ireland by Mary Pawles wines. The base is Robles’ 8-year-old Oloroso, and then later a light touch of the PX is added.. 

Amazing aromas with strong hints of the Oloroso sherry base and a “top-up” of Pedro Ximenez, an appealing blend of freshness and maturity. The ten aromatic plants foraged in the locality have their say. An amazing liquid with a superb balance of sweetness and bitterness with the acidity playing a key role as the symphony of flavour plays on and on to the heavenly finalé.

Negroni. Image by eKokki from Pixabay

The aromatic plants add a sense of terroir, and also a burst of freshness and herbal complexity while other Paco additions such as clove and cinnamon echo the ancient cuisine of the Moorish Al-Andalus period (8th -15th century), all adding to the sense that this is indeed a special one. Step into the time capsule and take off!

The producers say it is “A good pairing for nuts, fruits such as orange or lemon, a cheese and raspberry cake., Any seafood and all kinds of fish: tuna, cod, salmon, anchovies., It's perfect with sweet flavors, especially those with more sweet and dark flavour., Olives, cheeses, ham, sausages, smoked meats, mussels, clams.”

It is certainly versatile. Enjoy on its own or with fresh orange juice and ice as an apéritif (try the same with Campari). It can also be used as a base for cocktails, such as the Negroni or the Manhattan. 

Manhattan.
Image by Gerhard Bögner via Pixabay

Cocktails are one of the first things you think about when you have a vermouth on hand. But I have found that some don't do justice to the Robles creation. I felt I had to change the forever formula for the Negroni. And, after a few experiments, determined that VRMT (40ml), Campari (30ml) and Gin (20ml) worked best for me! 

The Manhattan, this based on the Rye and Malt (raised in Bourbon barrels) at Method and Madness, Irish Distillers' micro in Midleton, worked well with the regular recipe (though I did throw in a cap full of Campari as there were no bitters in the house!)

Get a bottle of the VRMT for yourself and enjoy the experimenting!

Cool Cube for the Craft Curious. The White Hag Mixed 4-Pack.

 The White Hag Mixed 4-Pack. 

Cool Cube for the Craft Curious.

A cool cube that is easy to solve. Just open and enjoy!

Craft curious? Then this White Hag Mixed 4-Pack may be just the job. “These beers best represent our style of brewing, and are almost always available in most great beer outlets.” The neat and very portable ( as well as being very potable) pack contains their wildly popular Little Fawn IPA. All four beers are in 330ml cans.

White Hag Little Fawn Session IPA, 4.2% ABV

White Hag Magic Mist Juicy Pale Ale, 5.0% ABV 

White Hag Ninth Wave New World Pale Ale, 5.4% 

White Hag Atlantean New England IPA, 5.4% ABV

The Little Fawn, known to wander well outside its native Sligo area, may be found on draught home and away. Its ABV is a sessionable 4.2% and it features grapefruit aromas balanced with 100% Irish malt. Clean and fruity (from the Mosaic hops); not too hoppy though as you see from the mild lingering finish. As they say themselves, “an easy-to-drink American-style session IPA” and a good one to start with anytime.

Next up is the Magic Mist Juicy Pale Ale and it comes with lots of juicy tropical fruits and a hazy body. No doubt about it being fruity and juicy, more so than the Little Fawn,  but the White Hag brewers have this burst of fruit pretty well balanced and there’s enough bitterness there and so any tendency towards sweetness is kept in check. Another very made beer indeed that may be included in your session.

Where do they get those names? You may well be asking. The Magic Mist goes back to the Tuath de Dannan who had the knack of enshrouding themselves in a mystical fog that rendered them invisible to the enemy. You can get more on the names of the beers on the website here or on the cans.  

On now to the New England IPA called Atlantean. New England IPAs are beers that are purposely made hazy or cloudy, which can give these brews a smooth, creamy mouthfeel with little to no hop bitterness at the end utilizing hops that impart a tropical, juicy sweetness rather than the classic bitter. 

It is indeed creamy and cloudy. White Hag has used “copious amounts of American hops to add a big, juicy, fruity punch. Oats and lactose ( a sugar present in milk) add a rich creaminess that subdues the bitterness, making this beer similar to a hop shake”. 

White Hag advise drinking this beer as fresh as possible when all the Alpha and Beta oils from the hops are the most powerful.” With a best-before date towards the end of the year, this was probably as fresh as it gets in can and very enjoyable for sure. Yet, if you are starting in craft beers, I would recommend the first two. But don't worry - you can graduate quite quickly!

Finally, we have the Ninth Wave, a New World Pale Ale. It boasts a beautiful tropical character with a light toast finish. It is darker, close to amber, but clearer than the Atlantean (which is the fruitier of the pair). It is “stuffed with American hops, added in different stages of the fermentation” and you can smell that in the aromas and taste it on the palate. It is not devoid of fruit flavour (citrus mostly) and is refreshing and quite a thirst-quencher.