Showing posts with label Ballymaloe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ballymaloe. Show all posts

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Electric Breakfast For Taste Cork. Producers, Restaurateurs Pull Together

Electric Breakfast For Taste Cork
Producers, Restaurateurs Pull Together


The local plate!

Taste Cork, set up with supports from the Local Enterprise Offices in Cork, Cork City Council and Cork County Council, and other state agencies, held a Breakfast Seminar at Electric in the South Mall yesterday morning.

The goal of Taste Cork is to help the county nurture its enviable status as an iconic food brand and that was underlined with the produce on the breakfast plate: Jack McCarthy’s bacon, O’Flynn’s Breakfast sausage, Rosscarbery Black pudding, Ballyhoura mushroom, East Ferry Fried eggs and Ballymaloe Relish. Electric’s own brown bread went down well while other highlights were Wilkie's Organic Hot Chocolate and Bean Brownies Banana Bread.

Taste Cork, fronted by Rebecca O’Keeffe, is determined to get Cork produce the exposure it deserves, to help the local producers as much as possible. And one practical way is the opening, in a few days, of the Cork Incubator Kitchen in the Carrigaline Industrial Estate (on the Crosshaven Road).

A breakfast highlight (above) and
another, Wilkie's hot chocolate, below.

Brendan Russell has taken on the management reins here and told the full house of producers and restaurateurs in Electric that the facility will have two kitchens. One is the Bakery Kitchen, fully equipped, with a state of the art triple deck oven the highlight. The other is called the Catering Kitchen. This will be for preparation work in volume and equipment here includes a quick vacuum packer and a sealing machine.

The website will soon be up and running and that will make it easy to register. Brendan, who has spent 16 years as a chef, has a good understanding as to why businesses succeed (and fail) and education will also feature under the following headings:
1 - Theory of Practicality;
2 - Business Understanding;
3- Catering Skills;
4 - Work Relations.

The event was opened by Sean O’Sullivan and he was delighted that funding had been provided for the full-time position in Taste Cork. Both he and Rebecca are looking forward to getting everyone “to start looking locally”. And so say all of us. You can see my motto on the site here: Buy local, fresh and fair. The more we pull together, the further we will go.


Kevin Aherne is one man who has been doing exactly this for the past five years and his innovative 12 Mile Menu was recognised by his peers on Tuesday evening in Killarney when his Sage Restaurant in Midleton won Restaurant of the Year in Cork.

Kevin spoke later at the seminar and we’ll have a post on that tomorrow. Mary Daly (Food Safety Company) also spoke in Electric and she too stressed the importance of local: “Provenance is hugely important. Taste Cork can play a big role.” More too from Mary tomorrow. Part Two is now up and running and you can see what Kevin and Mary said here.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Wines From California. Serious. Cheeky. And Over Here.

Wines From California
Serious. Cheeky. And Over Here.


California Wines – Less is More is the title of a Wine Event in Ballymaloe next month and here, by way of introduction, are three wines from the Golden State. Two are reasonably serious players, the other not serious at all!
Still on the lookout for Californian wines, so let me know if you have a tip!


Joel Gott Chardonnay (California) 2013, 13.8%, €14.99 Bradley’s, Cork.


This has a bright golden colour, micro-bubbles clinging to the sides of the glass. Aromas of white fruits, blossoms too. Fresh and fruity on the palate, tingles as it spreads its lively acidity, all combining in a really long finish. This elegant wine is unoaked and Very Highly Recommended.


The grapes come from three different counties of California; from Monterey (which enhances the acidity) and from Sonoma and Napa (for better concentration). It is all stainless steel after that with some time sur lies to “improve viscosity”.


The Gott family have been making wine in California for five generations and are also well known for Gott’s Roadside where you can get “great burgers and milk shakes” according to Wines of California which itself has Joel's recipe for Fish Tacos (paired with Sauvignon blanc). Watch out too for their Cabernet Sauvignon and Alakai (a red blend).
See the maker’s short video on the Chardonnay here.  
Wilson Vineyard The Crusher Chardonnay (Clarksburg) 2011, €16.90 Karwig Wines

Another with a bright golden colour, tints of green too. Aromas of white fruit, blossoms, even hints of herb. Great mix of fruit on the fresh palate, nicely restrained though, beautiful rounded mouthfeel, enough acidity to balance and a long engaging finish.

This well balanced wine is “a perfect candidate for a bevy of dishes. Try pairing with halibut with lemon butter atop of rice pilaf or a delicious vegetable stir-fry with soy sauce”. There is, by the way, a small percentage of Viognier included.

The Crusher, from Clarksburg (beginning to emerge on the wine scene), captures the freshness of this world-class growing region, and is Very Highly Recommended.
Barefoot Merlot (California), 13.5%, €10.00 O’Donovan’s Off Licence

“Wine tastes better in a tee than in a tux” is the motto, one of them anyway, for Barefoot who pride themselves on making wines “free from the tyranny of all wine snobbery”.  Jennifer Wall, their winemaker since 1995, is best known in-house as Pinky Toe and, with some 2,000 medals to her credit, Pinky is quite a success story. Barefoot is part of E & J Gallo since 2005.

Merlot, of course, is also quite a success story in California. In 1990, 15,205 tons of Merlot were crushed here and that had risen to 282,300 by 2014. In the US overall, consumption figures for the grape are 2.8 million cases in 1990, 18 million in 2014.

This Barefoot is a fun wine with 76% Merlot and 24% other red wines. The Merlot grapes were harvested from select vineyards in The Central Valley, at the mouth of the Sacramento Delta, a location which provides beautiful warm days and cool breezy nights that foster ideal weather conditions for perfect fruit ripeness.

Colour is purple and there are red and dark fruit aromas (mainly plum, cherry). This medium bodied wine is smooth and warming, full of raspberry and blackberry flavours, mild tannins, well balanced too and with a decent finish. It is an easy-drinker, good value and Recommended. One half of the house is more inclined to make that Highly Recommended, so I used my casting vote! It is versatile too and Barefoot say it may be served with beef, poultry, pasta (with tomato sauce), cheese and dessert.
Merlot. And Barefoot friends





Thursday, February 4, 2016

California Wines – Less is More; The Golden State at Ballymaloe

California Wines – Less is More
The Golden State at Ballymaloe
Grainstore at Ballymaloe


California Wines will be visiting East Cork on Wednesday, 9th March for a
tasting of California Wines. Liam Campbell, wine editor of The Irish
Independent, will conduct the seminar. Ballymaloe House will host the
tasting in The Grainstore at Ballymaloe.


The theme of the evening will be: California Wines - Less is More -
reflecting the new evolving style of more subtle flavours and balancing
alcohol. Less is More will focus in particular on Sonoma and Carneros,
because, as the coolest subzones, they are excellent examples of elegant
style, with their Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs - among the most foodfriendly
and versatile of grape varietals.


The California Wines Tasting takes place in The Grainstore at Ballymaloe
House from 7 – 8.30pm on the evening of Wednesday 9th March. Liam
will guide his guests through eight elegant wines and explain why they
work well with suggested food pairings.


Tickets for the event are €10, including tastings and canapes, and available directly from Ballymaloe
House. Please book early to avoid disappointment. Please contact
Ballymaloe Tel 021 4652531 colm@ballymaloe.ie www.ballymaloe.ie

Press release

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Lustau at Ballymaloe

Lustau Dinner at Ballymaloe
Sherry with every course. Of Course!
Paco, Scott and Manolo

Jerez came to Ballymaloe on Wednesday night and Lustau oenologist, Manolo Lozano, who has been named “Best Fortified Winemaker of the Year seven years in a row by the International Wine Challenge of London” brought some delicious wines with him and they were well matched by Ballymaloe chef Scott Walsh.

Manolo, accompanied by friend and translator Paco Lozano (unrelated), was here to visit Irish Distillers in nearby Midleton and the dinner at Ballymaloe celebrated the links between the two companies. The distillery was well represented with Kevin O'Gorman, Master of Maturation; Billy Leighton Master Blender; and Ger Buckley, Master Cooper, among the diners.

The Spanish visitors gave us a brief introduction to their sherries. Manolo: “Jerez is one of the oldest wine regions in Spain… just three varieties are used, Palomino, Moscatel and Pedro Ximenez…. we used the solera system, a dynamic system, to get the characteristics we want… there are no yearly vintages….” To read all about Lustao, including the methods of production, click here.


"A style for every occasion"
There are different types of aging for the dry and for the sweet and the casks used are made from either Spanish or American oak with a capacity of five to six hundred litres. We had Fino Jarana both as aperitif and as a match for the first course: Toasted Almonds, Wild Watercress and Honey Salad.

Manolo explained the flor, the “veil of yeast” that covers the young wine in a biological process (see diagram below). Hence the pale colour, the salty nose with hints of yeast. “It is elegant, with nutty (almond) elements”. Chef Walsh had gathered his watercress and had a good word to say about the recent storm Barney: “It is a great time to gather watercress, the storm increased the water flow and enhanced its peppery flavour. A sprinkle of sea salt clinched it”. A perfect match indeed.

Ballymaloe's Colm McCan (left) with his
guests from near and far.
Then we were on to the Amontillado Los Arcos, a darker sherry. This is raised first under flor and then after the addition of higher alcohol has killed off the flor, the second maturation begins. Colour is amber and while the palate “reminds of Fino, the nutty flavour is no longer that of almond”. The chef had a big challenge here in trying to do it justice. So he used cured farm pork and the fat in the smoked meat “made the match”. The full title: Ballymaloe Kasler, white bean and Parsley tostado.


The first two sherries were dry,  under 5 grams per litre, and so was the third, the mahogany coloured Oloroso Don Nuno, “raised in the same casks that Irish Distillers now have!” Alcohol here is 20 per cent. The wine here has been selected from the start to be Oloroso so there is no flor at all. All three start “very plain. Then we develop what we want. It is a very good wine, a strong wine for red meat, for game. Hard to match!”
Main Course
Scott came up with the answer, even if there are now “no cow tails left in Midleton”. “There’s a lot of meat on a cow, “ he said. “But just one tail!”. The dish was Braised Ox Tail with Romanesco, tomato, lentils. And we believe that both red and white wine, even some brandy were also added. The chef was hoping the sherry would “cut the richness and the fat” and neither he nor we were disappointed. A superb pairing indeed.

Now we were onto the sweet Moscatel sherry (200 g of sugar per liter). “This is not allowed to ferment at all; alcohol is added immediately to allow natural sugar remain in the wine. Grapes are pressed, fermentation is stopped. The Pedro Ximenez grapes (450g), on the other hand, are “transformed” by sun-drying prior to pressing.
Scott and Yours Truly

Before he and Paco sat down to enjoy their desserts, Manolo asked us to consider sherry in a new light. “Don't forget, sherry is a wine. It is very versatile and there is a style for every occasion.” They had indeed demonstrated exactly that.

The chef had come up with a divine Steamed Kumquat Pudding for the Moscatel Emilin while the PX San Emilio was paired with Ballymaloe Vanilla Ice-cream. The PX was supposed to be drizzled over the ice-cream but you know the Irish drizzle!

There was one further liquid treat in store for us, a glass of Redbreast 21 year old Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey. Master Blender at Midleton Distillery is Billy Leighton: “The Redbreast family is all based on whiskey raised in sherry casks. Paco and Manolo have been of tremendous help to us in Jerez. We get the best quality cases and that leads to the best quality whiskey”.


“There is a succulent fruitiness on the nose more so than on the 12 years old, a heavier style. Secret is to match the sherry flavours with the spicy whiskey, get that balance of fruitiness and spices. And that taste is full and silky, smooth and, even at 46% abv, it slips down nicely before the fruitiness slowly fades away and it drys out leaving the barley at the very end. Sláinte!”


And Sláinte indeed to everyone at Ballymaloe. A privilege to be there at Manolo's first ever sherry dinner in Ireland.
Producing sherry.
For more info check Lustau website

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Riedel at the Grainstore. The Glass that Surprises

Riedel at the Grainstore
The Glass that Surprises
A rather special decanter.
Maximilian Riedel, representing the 11th generation of the Austrian glass-making firm, says Riedel are always up for a challenge. He was speaking during last Thursday’s comparative wine tasting event in the Grainstore at Ballymaloe House.

And Maximilian found a new challenge during his brief visit to East Cork. He enjoyed a tour of the local Irish Distillers facility. He was very impressed with the whiskey and told us in Ballymaloe that his new goal is to develop “the perfect glass for Irish whiskey”.

And taking up challenges is not new to the famous glass-makers (founded 1756) who lost almost everything during the war. But not their glass-making skills and not their love of it. They also loved their wine, still do, and eventually they became known as the makers of the varietal wine glass. So far, they have covered the main varietals but only ten per cent of the total!

But did you know they also make a glass for Coca Cola? Max told us how his father took up the challenge when a man from Atlanta came calling. “Why Coca Cola? We like to be challenged!” Working with a company who employ over “one million people worldwide” was just such a challenge. And they came up with a  glass that satisfied both them and Coca Cola and it was included in the Grainstore tasting.
Calm before the Riedel
He also indicated that the glass is very suitable indeed for your Cuba Libre cocktail! Actually, while the wine glasses are varietal specific, they are versatile enough to suit related varieties. For instance, glass #1 in the tasting was New World Pinot Noir (6449/67). But Max said it was “..the best champagne glass, full stop! Try it, you’ll be surprised”. Maybe not so surprising when you think that Pinot Noir is one of the champagne grapes. It is also suitable for Nebbiolo.

And it was with #1 that we started. Like #3, it holds a full bottle. But we weren't that greedy! The Pinot Noir glass has a “flare” at the top and this has helped reduce the acidity and so improve the whole experience. Beautiful aromas from the dedicated glass, reduced in #2 (for Old World Syrah) and further reduced in #3 (Cabernet).

“It is below room temperature, because I like it that way! Very well balanced, fresh, fruit, long, sweet and smooth… in #2 we are losing the fruit…. if we drink it from #3, people won't like Pinot Noir, it is heavier, drier, bitter…. the wrong glass could turn people off..” A further demo, using Lindt white chocolate, again showed a big contrast between #1 (good) and #3 (bad).

The Pinot Noir by the way was from Oregon. Wine #2 for glass #2 was a French Syrah (St Joseph 2013). In the proper glass, the Syrah showed a beautiful nose and then fruit, minerality, acidity, pepper, a beautiful structure and great aftertaste”. In #3, the message was diluted “aromas not bad, but not as intense….extreme spice and tannins on the palate..and where did the fruit go?” With Number 1 glass, he remarked: “a perfectly made wine in the wrong glass”.

 Max, and Riedel generally, do have a sense of humour and it showed again with his next demo, again with the Syrah but now in a plastic cup. “The nose is gone, lost….but not as bad as the wrong Riedel glass!”

“Bourdeau, toujour Bordeaux,” he remarked as he poured the third wine, a special treat: St Estephe 2009, into #3 glass. “... depth, structure, enough acidity, very elegant, dark berries, all in the right glass. In Number 1, it was no way close, fruit down...bitter and dry..green! Number 2 was worse again, “less fruit, more alcohol and bone dry”. And he showed the engineered pattern of the flow from the various glasses and it is this pattern that causes some of the variations.

Riedel didn't have any at Thursday’s demo but they also have a range of stemless glasses, the range invented by none other than Max himself. “The stem has no influence on the wine.” And then we were into the Coca Cola demo. That glass was developed with the help of the American company's Twenty Noses, their travelling tasters.

And again, the Riedel glass came up trumps: “You can almost see the secret Coca Cola formula here, the various fruits, a little cinnamon.... In the plastic cup, it goes flat faster, gets warmer faster, no aromas, more acidity.” The glass itself is very thin. “The thinner the glass, the longer it stays cool,” said Max.

The wines
By the way, he got no arguments all evening, all around me seemed to be agreeing, both during and after. And I have been a Riedel convert for a while now.

The wines, from Mitchell & Son:
1 - Dundee Hills Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir 2012
2 - Yves Cuilleron Les Pierres Séches Saint Joseph 2013
3- Chateau Ormes de Pez Saint Estèphe 2009

The wine glasses, all from the Riedel Veritas range:
1 - New World Pinot Noir, 6449/67
2- Old World Syrah, 6449/41
3 - Cabernet, 6449/0
The reference for the Coca Cola glass is 0414/21. Check them all out here. Mitchell’s are also the Irish agents for Riedel and you may see their glass selection here.

The next wine event in Ballymaloe is also a gem and features a dinner this Wednesday (18th) with Manuel Lozano of the famous Sherry producer, Bodegas Lustau. Full details here.
Max with plastic!
Strictly for demonstration purposes!

Friday, October 23, 2015

Happy 60th Cork Film Festival!

Happy 60th Cork Film Festival!
Celebrate with Film. And Food!

Chocolat is one of my favourite films and it is featured as part of the "culinary strand" in this year's Cork Film Festival, the 60th edition. This rather special showing will be in the Farmgate and other culinary highlight venues include Ballymaloe and Christchurch.



November 7th:
An (Red Bean Paste)

The opening element of the culinary strand this year will be the Fab Food Trail and will see twelve guests treated to some of the best produce Cork has to offer. An experienced and engaging guide will lead the way on this walking tour as the lucky few sample the finest foods from cheese mongers, fish mongers, butchers, bakers and more.

The event will culminate with a screening in the beautiful Triskel Christchurch of the Japanese film An (Red Bean Paste). An (2015) is directed by Naomi Kawase, and tells the story of a 76 year old woman, Tokue, who responds to an advert for a pastry kiosk. Initially reluctant to hire Tokue, the owner quickly realises he has struck gold when he tastes her beautiful red bean paste (An). Tokue strikes up a bond with a shy school girl, Wakana, who is a regular customer and the three prove to be a unique unit until they are suddenly split apart.


More info here.


November 9th:
Following on from last year’s festival we will see the return of the hugely successful event in the Farmgate Café in Cork’s English Market. This year, the screening is the French classic Chocolat (2000) directed by Lasse Hallstrom. The film sees you drawn into the world of Vianne Rocher and her daughter Anouk as they open an artisan chocolate shop in a conservative French village.  Starring some of the best known names in the industry including Johnny Depp, Dame Judy Dench, Alfred Molina and Hugh O’Connor (who also has a film in the Festival this year). 
This event is sure to be a treat. The menu will be a Chocolat inspired menu.
More info here.


November 13th:

 An exciting addition to the culinary strand this year will be the inclusion of the Ballymaloe Grainstore event. This unique evening will see guests enjoy a fabulous meal in the classic Ballymaloe House followed by a screening of Some Like It Hot (1959) in the beautifully converted Grainstore. Some Like it Hot is a multi award winning comedy featuring performances from stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. 

Set in 1929, we follow the exploits of Joe (Curtis) and Jerry (Lemon) as they create female identities to evade the Mob, skip town with a travelling band and vie for the affection of Sugar Kane (Monroe). Lose yourself in Wilder’s hilarious masterpiece in the truly exceptional setting of Ballymaloe Grainstore.


Enjoy a meal at Ballymaloe and the film for €65.00
or
Just the film for €10.00
More details here.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Potatoes in Sea-water. The Gender of Crabs. All at SeaFest in Ringaskiddy!

Potatoes in Sea-water!
The Gender of Crabs.
All at SeaFest in Ringaskiddy!
Sally Barnes of Woodcock Smokery.

Good for soup. Gerard Collier and a Conger eel
Chef and author Rory O’Connell urged his audience to cook their new potatoes in sea-water “for at least once in your life” while BIM’s Young Fishmonger of the Year Gerard Collier told us how to distinguish a female crab from a male, all that and so much more at the very interesting SeaFest at Ringaskiddy over the weekend. I called there Saturday morning and enjoyed the demos (missed Martin Shanahan as he was on in the afternoon) and visited the fish stalls along with quite a few of the other sea related exhibits.

Gerard Collier, a former trawlerman,  of Fisherman's Catch, Clogherhead, Co. Louth, was first up on the splendidly outfitted demo unit in Ringaskiddy and took us through the handling of fish: how to open the various shellfish, how to clean, debone and fillet everything from Grey Mullet to Thornback Ray.
This is one strong creature!
“There are sixty six bones in a salmon,” he said “and getting them out is tedious!” If you come across a Conger Eel by the way, they are “great for soup”. He had a grey mullet to show as well and, referring to its diet, called it “the vegetarian fish”.

He worked his way through the oysters and prawns, a cod and pollock and more and then sent them down, one by one, so the audience could see them close up.

The crabs and lobsters were quite an attraction but he had a warning: “Be careful. Both are very strong!” And how to recognize Lady Crab. Simple - she has a pouch (to carry her young!).
Dublin Bay Prawn, all ready for you!
Ballymaloe's Rory O’Connell was next on-stage and he did two dishes. One was Roast Haddock with Roasted Pepper, Basil and Olive Salsa and the other was Pan-fried Hake with a Bretonne Sauce.

By the way, that Salsa is terrific and will keep for three weeks or more in the fridge. The Bretonne sauce “is easier to make” than Hollandaise.
Cook it well with Rory O'Connell
We all got recipe sheets and loads of tips as well. Rory, as you’ll know from his reputation as a teacher in Ballymaloe and from his TV shows, is a brilliant person to learn from. He has the cooking down to such a fine art (though he has to keep an eye on what’s happening on the pan as much as anyone else) that he always seems to have time to dispense great hints and tips.

  • As he roasted some vine-ripened Heritage tomatoes, he urged us to use Extra Virgin Olive Oil all the time, “even frying or grilling”.
  • Red and yellow peppers are best for roasting. Roast them until they collapse (then remove the seeds and skin).
  • Use boiling water for new potatoes, cold water for old. And try potatoes in seawater, at least once in your life!
  • Egg whites freeze perfectly.
  • Chervil is great with fish and is surprisingly hardy. Fish love herbs.
  • French tarragon is superior to Russian.

    Fish sausages, by Kilmore Quay Seafood

Soon he was finished and the two dishes looked gorgeous on the big screen. Time then to head to the fish stalls outside where we bought all kinds of fish from all kinds of folks including Sally Barnes of Woodcock Smokery, Mag Kirwan from Goatsbridge Trout Farm, Anthony Creswell of Ummera (actually bought smoked rashers there!), Kilmore Quay Seafood (where we got fish sausages and more).


There was much more than fish in Ringaskiddy and in linked events around the harbour including Captain Your Own Ship in the Simulator of the National Maritime College, the base for the event. There were SeaFest Science Talks, the BIM Beaufort Scale Hurricane Experience, Marine Recreation and Tourism and more and more.. This festival will “tour” Ireland annually and plans are in hand to bring it to Galway in 2016.

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