Twelve Great Food Days 2015

Twelve Great Food Days 2015

One Day’s Eating or Drinking or Both each Month!

Charcuterie by Krawczyk

January: Elbow Lane Brew & Smoke House. Nano.  But with a mega tasty punch!.

February: Midleton Distillery Tour. Happy Angels Hover Over 1.2m Casks

Deep in Midleton distillery

March: Kinsale's Latest Bastion of Culinary Excellence

April: From Power With Love. A Persian Dinner. Gorgeous. Generous

Highbank blossoms

May: Highbank Organic Orchards. Hundreds of Apple Trees. Billions of Microbes

June: All White on the Night. Al Fresco Dining in Cork City

Diamond in Dublin

July: Summer Days in Dublin. Capital Food and Fun

August: Ballymaloe Garden Festival. 22-23 August 2015

Ballymaloe. Plants for sale.

September: My place of belonging is West Cork. Frank Krawczyk

October: Italian Night at Farmgate. Umbria & Valtellina Combine

Hoping for lunch at Longueville

November: Longueville House Lunch. Award Winning Cider and Apple Brandy

December: Square Table Excellent2

Salmon at Bastion (Kinsale)

Square Table Excellent(x2)

Square Table Excellent2

 Got back to Blarney’s Square Table last week, after a too-long absence, and found chef Martina and front-of-house Tricia in top form at a superb lunch with not a turkey in sight.

The lunch menu, as you might expect, is short. But very long in quality. Serving Irish and French cuisine, their reputation has been reinforced over the 18 months or so since they opened in the centre of the village.

The sun was shining but it was cold enough when we landed on Friday and so we picked the soup to start with. And the Celeriac was just the job, a big bowl of warm soup, topped with some nuts, adding flavour and a little crunch (4.75). Warmed up now and running.

We picked our two mains from the little specials board that is brought to your table. I went for the O’Connell’s fresh pan-fried hake with mustard sauce, York cabbage and smoked bacon (13.95). Fresh it surely was, white and milky and just perfect, a lovely matching sauce and every now and then a tasty touch from a bit of bacon.

And that wasn't all. We shared a side dish of vegetables, carrot and kale, all nicely cooked, not too hard, not too soft, and also a bowl of perfectly executed mashed potato.

The Cronin sisters get their beef from Macroom’s Michael Twomey, their mother’s butcher. And one could see why when CL’s Beef and Mushroom Pie (12.50) arrived in its own special pot, a nice touch on the presentation.

But no good having the classy presentation if what’s inside isn't up to scratch. The beef was just perfect, so much so you just had to stop every now and then and savour the superb flavour and texture. The overall combination was top notch.

We had been tempted earlier when we heard the list of desserts being called out but after the soup and a mega main course each, we reluctantly left the sweet stuff behind. Next time!

The Square Table

5 The Square

Blarney

County Cork

0214382825

info@thesquaretable.ie

http://thesquaretable.ie

Opening hours

Wed 6.00pm-9.00pm

Thu-Sat 12.00pm-3.30pm and 6.00pm-10.00pm

Sun 12.30pm-4.30pm.

Early bird served Wednesday 6pm to 9pm, Thursday 6pm to 10pm, Friday and Saturday 6pm to 7pm.

The Square Table Launched

The Square Table Launched
Big Night for Coolea Sisters

Top left: Graham Neville (l) with Lucy and Mark of Ballyhoura Mushrooms.
Top right: Cheers! Martina and Yours Truly.

“I wish the two sisters all the best. They have shown great courage,” said Michelin Star chef Ross Lewis as he helped officially launch The Square Table restaurant in Blarney last night. The two sisters are Patricia and Martina Cronin, both originally from Coolea and now well experienced in the restaurant world. Patricia is front of house while Martina (who has worked with Ross) is the head chef.

Martina has also worked with Graham Neville, Head Chef at Restaurant Forty One, who also spoke at the opening. Graham is rather modest and it took Ross to step in and remind us all that Neville is the reigning Food and Wine Magazine Chef of the Year.

The two girls also spoke and their first priority was to say a big thank you to the people of Blarney for their support over the past few months. Martina said they simply wanted to present good well sourced Irish food and had big thanks for three mentors in particular: Kieran Scully (Bayview Hotel), Ross Lewis (Chapter One) and, of course Graham Neville.

Their suppliers too came in for praise as did their local staff (“absolutely fantastic”), all their friends, family, especially Mum and Dad.

Ross Lewis, from Cork himself, said he knows the Cronins well! “The heroes of today are those who employ people. I started in 1993 and I know that success will come.” But he warned that staying power was needed to deal with the special demands of being an employer, including PAYE, PRSI, banks, teaching employees.

“The complexities are enormous. It is a very daunting task. But I know the Cronins are determined. Martina has the doggedness of a lion. It is amazing and great to see people that we’ve worked with get out on their own”.

The sisters were hardly on their own last evening. There was a terrific turnout. Suppliers present included River Wines, Ballyhoura Mushrooms and Pat O'Connell. The media and blogger world was well represented by Joe McNamee, Jack Power, Caroline Hennessy, among others. And no shortage either of fellow restaurateurs, including Nash 19 and Jacques.

The family were naturally up in force from Coolea and customers were also among the attendance. And, after the speech, Matina was back in the kitchen sending out a stream of gorgeous little bites including Durcan’s Spiced Beef, Ardsallagh Goat Cheese, Liscannor Crab, Michael Twomey’s Wagyu Rib-eye, Ballyhoura Mushrooms, and Old Millbank Smoked Salmon.

On the sweet side there were Macaroons, Poached Blackberries, Chocolate Brownies and a Lemon Cream and Blueberry meringue, all gorgeous. And no shortage of wine to wash it all down.

Thanks for the invite ladies and the best of luck in Blarney!

The Square Table - Great Addition to Blarney

The Square Table - Great Addition to Blarney

The menu at The Square Table, the recently opened restaurant in the centre of Blarney, is a source of immediate encouragement. Trusted producers such as Ballyhoura Mushrooms, Tom Durcan Meats and Ardsallagh Cheese are among those listed. Anyone using that kind of produce knows what they are about, I thought to myself, and soon enough I have delightful confirmation on my table, a square one!

Indeed, they are all square and by quarter-past one last Friday they were all full, not that that was the case earlier in the week. But, as the season starts in earnest, you might well want to book ahead for either dinner or lunch in this highly recommended spot, just opposite the village butcher Osborne.

We start with a Mushroom Soup (€4.75). But a mushroom soup with a difference: mushroom and wild garlic. This is a terrific combination, with the garlic adding a lovely flavour without overwhelming that of the mushrooms. We were off to a great start and quite a substantial one

There are a few tempting sandwiches on the menu, including Ardsallagh Goats Cheese with olive and sundried tomato chutney (€7.00), and I pick the Tom Durcan Spiced Beef with Coolea Aged Cheese and Beetroot. I am well fed for €7.50, happily crunching my way through a well balanced mix of textures and flavours.

Other tempting items on the menu included: Crispy egg, bacon, and Ballyhoura Mushrooms with bearnaise (€7.50) and a Ham Hock Pie with Spring Cabbage (€11.95). CL’s choice is Pan-fried Hake with Pea Puree and Smoked Bacon (€13.00), another delightful dish, well cooked and well presented.

Service is prompt and friendly here and prices are quite good. Our two course lunch cost a total of 30 euro. A great addition to Blarney and we wish Tricia and Martina all the best on their new venture at 5 The Square.