Neven’s Cookery School. Step by Step with the Maestro

Neven’s Cookery School

Step by Step with the Maestro

One Happy Chef!

It might sound strange but Neven Maguire reminds me of Christy Ring. At least in his approach to his cookery school students. He takes it step by step, building confidence from the start and lots of discreet back-up along the way.

I remember “Ringy”, back in the day, teaching a few of us to take a sideline cut. He just didn't throw the sliotar down and order you to strike. No, he found a high sod and placed it there and, if you made a half decent connection, you hit a good sideline ball. “Hey, I can do it!” After that confidence boost, the rest came with practice.

Christy displayed the technique and dispensed good advice as did Neven in MacNean House last Saturday.

Presentation is important but getting the flavours right is even more so.

That was an early nugget from Ireland's favourite chef during our one day Christmas Cookery Course with him, in his own Cookery School in Blacklion (County Cavan). It used to be a hairdressers but there’s a different kind of style now on display here, right next door to Neven's restaurant MacNean House.

Prawn starter

The school has been open for twelve months. “It has been a great year,” said Neven. “A great year for me and a great year for my team. We are booked up every week from now until next June. But the Chef’s Table, a new venture of ours, is not too well known yet and that is not booked up.” The Chef’s Table (for 12 to 20 people) is situated here in the school and you’ll have Neven and his chefs cooking in front of you and serving you as well.

Neven always has great praise for his staff and many of them have been with him for years. His right hand people in the school are Olivia and Clare. “They keep it immaculate.”  Looking back at the year, Neven said it was a great one for him personally as he was voted Best Chef in Ireland and his new book Fast was voted best cookbook in Ireland.

As he took the varied group of students through the course, he was free with advice. He “ordered” everyone to buy a “plastic” wooden spoon, revealed that local Asian markets are “best for spices” and said that “broken walnuts are half the price of whole nuts”.  Looking for vanilla, then try Vanilla Bazaar. For Thai products look up Thai Gold in Wexford.

But Christmas Made Easy was mostly about the cooking. Everything from Mulled Wine to the Turkey was covered. The full title of the turkey lesson was: Buttermilk Brined Roast Butterfly of Turkey with Orange and Rosemary.

Cheese board

We got to make a Citrus Harissa Butter for the Turkey Crown. You can get the Harissa paste in most areas nowadays but if not available try sun-dried tomato paste instead. The Butter can also be used on grilled steak, pork chop, roast chicken and grilled fish (like hake).

We did a Pine Nut, Cranberry and Apricot Stuffing. By the way, dried cranberries are “very good in soda bread”. The other big item during the busy morning was the ham. Neven and his team were taking care of the ham itself but we got to do the Glaze and the Pineapple Salsa. Again, the glaze can also be used with Pork Chops while the Salsa goes well with grilled prawns.

Speaking of prawns, we got to make our own starter for lunch, a Prawn Cocktail with the traditional Marie Rose Sauce. To tell the truth most of it was done for us but we certainly picked up tips and hints galore. Besides, it was quite a nice starter.

But the Turkey and Ham were just fantastic, so full of flavour and the turkey so moist. Lunch was followed by a Wine and Cheese Tasting conducted by Blaithin McCabe who has been here since 2007. 

We started with La Contesse Spumante Prosecco and then a lightly oaked Potel Aviron Macon Villages 2011. The red was a Cotes du Rhone by Domaine Coste Chaude (2011) and then we enjoyed the Quinta do Noval 10 Year Old Tawny Port before sipping a MacNean Mulled Wine.

Perhaps the best match of the tasting for me was the Port and Cashel Blue cheese, made from cows milk. Also on the plate were Corleggy, a hard goats cheese from Cavan, Tipperary’s Cooleeney made from raw cows milk and Coolea (Cork) made from fresh cow milk.

Following an interesting tour of the kitchen, there were more lessons, including Chestnut, Wild Mushroom and Bacon Soup with Smoked Duck, Mulled Fruit Truffle, a Fruit Cocktail and Mulled Wine. Sadly though we had to hit the road earlier than most and missed the final session! Will have to go again in the future.

My Dingle Food Experience

My Dingle Food Experience
Festival and Blas na hEireann Awards

Local starter, all local here, at An Canteen:
 chorizo croquetta and ham hock terrine (supplier Jerry Kennedy)

Trucks, tractors, trains, even tourists, may have delayed our arrival in Dingle last Thursday but nothing was keeping us away from the Blas na hEireann Awards or the fantastic Dingle Food Festival.

Artie Clifford and his hard-working Blas committee had all the products - there are well over two thousand in some ninety categories - lined up for the tables of judges in the Skellig Hotel. The food and drink products would be fully tested and so to would the palates of the judges as there were two sessions lasting a combined total of around five hours.

You have no idea of who makes what. It is not a blind tasting as such (no blindfolds!) but the unpackaged products in front of you are “anonymous” for want of a better word. There are up to five on the shortlist for each category and each judge tastes quite a few groups over the morning and afternoon.  My standout category? I thought the standard in blue cheese (winners: Cashel Blue) was top class, with three of the five outstanding. See the full list of winners here.

Not all food. This piece, from recycled tyres,
 created by Mick Davis, is called Ram's Head.

With the judging completed - we still wouldn't know the winners until Saturday afternoon - it was time to check in at our accommodation. The next event was the press opening of the Dingle Food Festival at the Tom Crean Brewery. More food here but, after all the little bites during the day, I opted for a couple pints of the cool and fresh Tom Crean lager.

Lovely chats then with fellow judges and bloggers and all fell silent as Neven Maguire, presented earlier with a special award by Blas, cut the ribbon and opened the festival. Next port of call was the bar in Benners. Tom  Crean available there too of course and a whole selection of Irish craft beers included on the drinks menu.

Neven Maguire at the opening of the
Dingle Cookery School.

Very impressed with that development (Benner’s also have Dingle vodka and gin from the local distillery). Next stop was An Canteen, another huge supporter of craft beers. Here hosts Brian and Niall greeted us and served up a fantastic meal, made with pride and passion and no little skill, from local produce. Even Neven was highly impressed.

Time then, for me at least, to stroll down the lane and head back to the bed. Friday would be another busy and very enjoyable day.

Blas winners on the double:
East Cork's Sandra and Joe Burns.

The rain came down for a while on Friday morning but that didn't stop the punters from turning up in the farmers market to see Neven Maguire signing his new book Fast. He was in great form, chatting and smiling and standing in for photos as the fans queued up to buy the book.

Thanks to Lisa McGee (@Dingle Spirit on Twitter), we had heard that there was a two o’clock tour at the Dingle Distillery so we strolled out to the west of the town and joined an international group for a very interesting 75 minutes or so. See separate post here on this tour.

Fun times at Tom Crean's

On the way back, we called into the Dingle Cookery School opening. Here again, Neven was doing the honours and, as usual, joining in the fun. It is a tremendous facility. Lots of courses are now available, some short, some long. Check out all the details here. Hope to do a separate story on this also.

And still more to do. Next Blas event was the announcement of the winners in the awards given by the local enterprise offices. Cork, Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Limerick, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Tipperary and Waterford were among those represented at Benner’s. Delighted to see Beara Seafoods and Joe’s Farm, two small family producers that I've met this year, among the winners.

Dessert at Idás

Friday night found a group of us in Idás, an excellent restaurant more on John Street. Lots of conversation and good food, good wine too, as an enjoyable evening unfolded. Great to meet chef and owner Kevin Murphy who had laid on a special tasting menu for us. Check Idás out if you’re in the town or the area - worth a detour!

The rain, aside from a few showers, held off on Saturday and just as well. First stop was the Blas Producers Networking Event. Buyers were here in their dozens and it was great chance for the producers to show and talk about their produce. Lovely to meet up again with Olivia  from An Olivia Chocolates, a winner last year (and gold again this year), with Sam from Cloudberry Bakery (also a gold this year - see her tasty produce in Brown Thomas in Cork) and with so many more.

On the Taste Trail at Out of the Blue.
Their shark bite (front) was a big hit!

And then it was off to the market which covers most of the central streets of the town. This includes the regular farmers market but it is so much more. Producers who have won in the previous year’s awards had the opportunity to have a stand and so the selection of foods and drinks is huge. The Foods of Athenry, Hartnett’s Oils, Wild Irish Foragers and Blurini Blasta were among the many stops we made.

Soon though we were down to business, on the Taste Trail. With over 80 participants, this must be the biggest and best of its kind in the country (if not, let me know!). Everything, from shark to kangaroo, from ling pie to Dingle Fudge, from wine to craft beers and ciders, available. Purchase with your book of tokens or with cash. Separate post here.

Saturday's special menu at Out of the Blue (OOTB)

All the while the awards were being presented in the cinema and again it was a delight to see many hard working producers that I know get their just rewards.

Just as well our booking for Saturday's dinner was on the late side. It was 9.15 when we arrived at Out of the Blue, the fish specialist restaurant on the waterfront in Dingle. The French chefs had a special multi-course menu for the night, even a special wine menu. It was a terrific meal in a small place with a great atmosphere and a great staff. Highly recommended. Post to follow.

Stamina had run out by the time Sunday morning dawned. There was still much to do, including the Taste Trail and market again, but home called and we headed east with lots of lovely memories and a promise to ourselves to call again.

Slán go fóill.

Flavours of Christmas (but may be tried at any time of the year!)

Flavours of Christmas

(but may be tried at any time of the year!)

Bubbles from the Loire

Ummera Smoked Chicken (served with a Cajun Potato Salad). Lovely contrast after days of turkey!

Rwandan Coffee, the Cup of Excellence award winning Maraba Sovu 2012 lot #14,  via Robert Roberts Connoisseur Club.

Organic Pink Bubbles (made from Cabernet Franc) from Chateau Miniere and Domaine du Clos d’Epinay Vouvray Brut. Souvenirs of the summer holidays in the Loire Valley.

Mella’s Rum & Raisin Handmade West Cork Fudge.

Ummera smoked chicken.

Cashel Blue mature and Warre’s LBV Port (2002).

The Cornstore’s Plum infused Whiskey.

Dungarvan Coffee and Oatmeal Stout, by now a Christmas standard.

Eight Degrees Zeus Black IPA, 7%. Looks like a rich dark porter but tastes like a pungent IPA.

Fleming's fantastic Orchard Chutney.

Fleming’s Orchard Chutney (Apples, Pears and Green Tomatoes from their own orchard).

Barrie Tyner’s Pates (from the local Farmers Markets, inc. Mahon).

Pandora Bell’s Honey Nougat with Almonds and Pistachios.

Cashel Blue

Taste of the Week

Taste of the Week

Crozier Blue Cheese

Cashel Blue may be better known, but Crozier Blue (left in picture), that beautiful creamy cheese made from the milk of sheep that graze under the Rock of Cashel, is up there now with its more established cousin (made with cow's milk) and a firm favourite in our house. Enjoyed it most recently at a marvellous tasting in the Food Emporium in Brown Thomas (Cork) where Colm McCan and the Ballymaloe Pop-Up Wine Shop brought the Grubb family, who make both cheeses, and Taylor's Port (represented by Chris Forbes) together. Not just a Taste of the Week. More like the Tasting of the Year. Brilliant. 

Amuse Bouche

Taylor's Late Bottled Vintage was launched in 1970 with the 1965 vintage. Not everyone welcomed this innovation. One unnamed source predicted that 'it will kill the Port trade, but it will kill Taylor's first'. In fact the contrary proved to be the case. LBV was a resounding success and gradually other Port houses launched their own versions. 

From Taylor’s, The Story of a Classic Port House.

(Chris Forbes of Taylor's, who did much work on this book, is in Cork City tomorrow evening. The Port tasting is in Brown Thomas at 6.00pm and Sarah Grubb of Cashel Blue will also be there with both Cashel and Crozier. That should make for an interetesing taste event!)

Taylor's Port and Cashel Blue at BT Friday

Taylor's Port and Cashel Blue at BT Friday

 Friday 15th November, 6pm

Cashel, before the blue.

Ballymaloe's Colm McCan has been in touch about Friday's tempting "match-up" in the Food Emporium (Brown Thomas) between Taylor's Port and Cashel Blue Cheese.

"Established over three centuries ago in 1692, Taylor’s is one of the oldest of the founding Port houses and will be represented by Chris Forbes. We will also be joined by Sarah Furno from Cashel Blue Cheese and Crozier Blue Cheese, in Co. Tipperary, so an evening to look forward to, with Taylor's Port and Cashel Blue.

Here too, we have a selection of wines from our award winning wine list and wine cellar here at Ballymaloe. Open seven days a week, we have a great selection of wines and gift ideas, and we will also be holding wine tastings and welcoming visiting winemakers."

Some well priced good wines

Thought I might share the details on some decent well priced wines that I've come across recently.

In Cafe Gusto last weekend, I was reminded of the merits of Beso de Vino range imported by Wine Alliance and widely available. They are the house wines in Gusto. The white is a Macabeo and the red is a blend of Syrah and Garnacha, and both come from the Carinena region of Spain. Just checked on Bradley's Off Licence website where they are available for €10.99 a bottle.

Earlier, I had picked up an award winning white in Karwig Wines (Carrigaline). The Claude Val Vendages 2012, an IGP by Paul Mas from the Aude Valley in the Languedoc, is a blend of no less than six grapes: Grenache Blanc, Chenin, Mauzac, Chasan, Vermentino and Sauvignon Blanc. Didn't quite know what to expect when I parted with my €11.25 but it is a beauty: fruity, fresh and well balanced and a smooth, almost oily, mouthfeel. Quite a good wine at a decent price.

Hayfield Festive Wine Event

"Join us on December 5th for our Festive Wine Society evening, delight in an evening of superior wines and exceptional cuisine. Our guest speaker is Richard McMahon from Erne Wines and he will be presenting Spanish wines which they supply exclusively from the Baron de Ley winery. 

Begin your evening with a sparkling wine reception,this shall be followed by a 5 course menu, exclusively designed by Executive Head Chef Graeme Campbell, to complement the 5 wines showcased."

Tickets are €79 per person. To Book: Please call us on +353214845941 or email events@hayfieldmanor.ie

Super Saturday. Castlemary Farm. Midleton Farmers Market. The Food Emporium.

Super Saturday

Castlemary Farm. Midleton Farmers Market. The Food Emporium.

Olive and one of her goats.

This super Saturday started with a visit to Castlemary Farm. Great to meet up with the hard-working Olive Hallahan and her goats (who have a very comfortable life, especially Dan the Man!). Olive’s small shop on the farm opens every Saturday morning and today, for the first time, she had her Smoked Goats Cheddar on sale.

Frank Hederman did the smoking here so that cheese was top of our list but we also got a  few other bits and pieces including a Goat Cheese Fruit Yoghurt and a lovely brown loaf made with goat buttermilk! She also sells produce by the neighbours, including honey and eggs. The smoked cheese, by the way, tastes like a success, the smoking very finely judged indeed.

Olive meets another Billy

You may also buy Castlemary products at the regular Friday Country Market in Midleton and at the nearby shop recently opened by Helen Aherne. Olive tells me that Helen is a talented baker and her cakes also feature in the Midleton shop.

From Castlemary, I made my way to Midleton and to the regular Saturday morning Farmers Market. We were still reasonably early but O’Driscoll’s of Schull were rapidly running out of fish. Still we managed to get some fresh cod. Mushrooms from Irish Shiitake, Smoked Mackerel from the aforementioned Mr Hederman, and a lovely sweet Almond Brioche ring from Arbutus Bread were among the other products to find a way into the sturdy shopping bag. Lots of choices for lunch and later!

Gurnard

The sunshine was giving way to rain as I headed downtown in the afternoon to the Food Emporium at Brown Thomas. Lovely to meet Darina Allen who was signing copies of her most recent book, 30 Years at Ballymaloe (with over 100 new recipes), and to renew acquaintance also with Anthony Cresswell of Ummera Smoked Products who had samples of his brilliant produce for tasting.

Ballymaloe have a pop-up wine shop here and some of their wines were open for tasting with Peter Corr of Febvre Wines doing the honours and opening some terrific wines including a Vacheron Sancerre, a lovely pure white wine, mineral rich and zesty, produced by biodynamic farming.

That was good but the star of the show was undoubtedly the 2008 Raveneau Chablis. It was a rare pleasure to sample this Classic Chablis 1er Cru from Reveneau’s Butteaux vineyard.

The tastings here are of a very high standard indeed and that will continue next Friday evening at 6.00pm when Chris Forbes of Taylor's Port, one of the oldest of the founding Port houses, and Sarah Furno, of the magnificent Cashel Blue and Croizier Blue Cheeses, are the distinguished visitors. Should be a lovely evening.

Darina Allen, Ursula Bosman (Brown Thomas) and Yours Truly at the
Food Emporium.

Faceless saint, unknown knight and wrong-way Corrigan

Limerick
Day 1

Faceless saint, unknown knight and wrong-way Corrigan

There is, in the Askeaton Franciscan Friary, a saint whose face is fading away. For generations, visitors with toothache and related problems have been kissing him on the face in the hope of a cure. Not too sure if the aches vanished but the saint’s face, at least the area round the mouth, is vanishing.

In the same abbey, there is a statue of Saint Patrick, high in one of the internal walls, easily missed. I’d not have seen it but for the help of a local man who also told me about the toothache saint and the unknown knight. The story is that this anonymous knight arrived in Askeaton and died there and is buried in a wall in the abbey with the following inscription: Pass me for I am strange.



But the real highlight for me is the cloisters (below), more or less intact in this 14th century building. These, plus the saint, the knight and Patrick are national treasures, open to the elements, including the criminal ones.

No chance that early aviator Douglas Corrigan would remain anonymous. Denied permission to fly from New York to Dublin, he was given the option of NY to San Fran. But the intrepid pilot headed east and landed in Dublin, claiming his compass had mal-functioned!

Heard that yarn and a whole lot more in the fascinating Flying Boat Museum in Foynes earlier in the day. Many stories are about the flying boats in their heyday at Foynes (late 30s, early 40s) and obviously lots are of Irish interest. The highlight though is a full size replica of the Yankee Clipper (built by Boeing and called the B314). This gives a terrific idea of what a flight in this type of machine was like.

Here also you’ll hear how, and why, Irish Coffee was invented. There is a little gift shop and also an impressive little restaurant, the B. O’Regan. ”Mouth-watering home cooking at very reasonable rates” they say. Soup and brown bread for €3.95 sounded reasonable but my plain scone cost €2.95! But it was of decent quality as was the reliable Bewley’s Coffee.

Mustard Seed garden

After that, headed out the Shannon estuary, as far as Tarbert where we saw the impressive car ferries come and go between the Kerry port and Killimer in Clare. Pity the day’s weather wasn’t the best. It was dry and generally dull but we still got a great idea of the impressive estuary,  Ireland's largest.

Mustard Seed garden

Headed back then, via Askeaton, to Ballingarry and the Mustard Seed, set in a former convent. Great welcome here, local cheddar, peaches and Prosecco in the room, and then a walk in the garden, a garden given over mainly to vegetables but with some gorgeous flowers and surprising mini-vistas, even including a little Buddha shrine!

Plate of lamb

All that was needed now was a good meal. And I got it at the Mustard Seed. Superb from start to finish. Briefly, it was Rabbit and Pig Terrine, Lemon Sorbet, Assiette of Lamb (above), and Selection of Irish Farmhouse Cheeses (including Milleens and Cashel Blue).  Five star. And then a comfy finish with the end of the wine and coffee in front of the fire! Happy days.

See Day 2
See Day 3

Cashel Blue in Safe Hands

Cashel Blue in Safe Hands

Cashel Blue, at 3 weeks. See the needle holes made to allow the blue develop

“One sunny summer’s day my daughter Sarah and I were watching my husband, Louis, herd his cows in from pasture. What a deliciously rich and creamy milk they gave! I started to experiment. Eventually, in 1984, I created Cashel Blue, a cheese I believe truly represents the outstanding quality of Tipperary milk. I hope you will agree.”

This is Jane Grubb telling how Cashel Blue cheese came into being and we do agree, as do thousands of customers worldwide, from the US to Australia, from Harrods to IKEA. “All areas of the market are supplied," Sarah told us on a recent visit. Sarah emphasises that this is a deliberate decision, as they want everyone to try their cheese, not just those that shop in elite outlets.

I should of course say cheeses as Cashel Blue has been joined by two other products, the very latest being Cashel Cream Cheese, a convenient cheese in a tub for everyday use, a mix of Cashel Blue, Natural Cream cheese and 5 per cent cream.

The other cheese is Crozier Blue. Jane’s nephew, Henry Clifton Brown, of Ballinamona Farm, overlooked by the Rock of Cashel, set about establishing a flock of milking sheep, then somewhat of a rarity in Ireland. As a result, in 1993, Crozier Blue was developed. To this day Crozier Blue is the only blue cheese made from sheep’s milk in Ireland.

Blue is doing well here on a 6 week Crozier

But back to Jane and those early days. She had decided to make cheese but didn’t know how. So she got herself a library book. Even that wasn't available locally and had to be obtained via the inter-library route. That book, lots of experiments and then the aquisition of a small vat, led to the famous Cashel Blue.

Over twenty years later, the new dairy was established near the original, farmhouse (which had become almost overwhelmed by the success) and opened in 2010 right in “one of the best fields” and locally became known as Louis’ shed. Louis is Jane’s husband and the entire family were glad to get their home back.

Some of the thousands of wheels in the Maturation Room.

 While there is no great visible signs of it in the Tipperary countryside, this is a major operation and a boon to the area. The production team now consists of about twenty members, sometimes joined by their children. And isn’t it great to have such a place to sustain the countryside, keeping the people at home. Sarah told us that some forty children under 10 live between the two local crosssroads and she finds that so encouraging for the future of the area.

The early cheesemakers too needed encouragement as they tried to find their way. And that encouragement came in the shape of an early prize and soon they were on the right path, choosing to make the blue rather than what many others were making.

The Dairy

 Cheesemaking is no easy job. Lots of muscle and hands on work is required. Cheesemaking starts at 6.00am and work goes on everyday, though they do try and keep it that bit less demanding at weekends. Still, someone has to be there 365 days a year!

We saw Geurt van den Dikkenberg, now the main cheesemaker, (by the late 1980s Jane developed a bad back, the infamous cheesemaker’s back, and so taught Geurt how to make Cashel Blue) in action with the cheese harp, drawing it through the curds and whey in large vats time after time. Not easy work at all and yes that Cheese Harp has to be re-strung from time to time.

Main cheesemaker Geurt van den Dikkenberg,
using the cheese harp.

 With all that hard work, some people would be tempted to cut corners and speed up the process. But glad to say, there is no compromise here. The quality of the milk, which is pasteurised but unhomogenised, is all important and the care that it gets from the time it it piped into the vats, through to the final wheels in the Maturation Room, is hands on.

There is of course some mechanical help with placing the mix from the vats into moulds and also with the injection of the wheels to allow the blue to occur and also the turning of the wheels but nothing whatsoever to compromise the integrity of this natural product. Find out more about the Cashel way of cheese making  here. 

Wheels, ready for turning

We recently enjoyed an eye-opening guided tour of the Dairy with Sarah showing the way ( and also met other members of the family who are involved, including Jane’s husband Sergio Furno and her cousin Louis Clifton Brown).  The cheesemaking operation at Beechmount Farm was in good hands from the start with Jane and her husband Louis the pioneers and is in good hands now and for the future with Jane and Sergio and their team.

Wish we had more leaders like them in this country, modest people who get on with it. It is a fascinating story, a slice of history even, and you may read more about it here. 

Some Beechmount facts:

·         Sixty five per cent of the cheese output is sold abroad.

·         25,000 wheels in the Maturation Room

·         Crozier is white while the Cashel as it matures tends to be more of a yellow colour.

·         The sheep milk, used for the Crozier, is heavier and that means more muscle needed especially while it is in the vats.

·         The wheels are salted by soaking in brine, the better to preserve it. Previously the salt was added by hand but soaking in the tanks of brine gives a more consistent result. You will probably notice that the edible rind is that bit more salty than the paste.