Showing posts with label Dede. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dede. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 4, 2022

Irish Food & Drink Month Launches with 140 Venues Around The Country

 Irish Food & Drink Month Launches

 with 140 Venues Around The Country



Great Irish Beverages is very proud to share details of their first Irish Food & Drink Month festival - a nationwide celebration of pairing Irish foods with Irish drinks running in October.


Pride in Irish food has never been stronger in Ireland’s hospitality sector. All across Ireland, you’ll find Irish produce taking front and centre of most menus. Few would argue that local food tastes best when enjoyed with local drinks and Ireland is no exception. Our native drinks pair wonderfully well with Irish meats, fish, farmed produce and cheeses. We want to see those drinks as well loved as the foods they share the same land with. That’s why we’re rolling out a brand new nationwide festival for all of October 2022 –  Irish Food & Drink Month.


We are working with 18 different Irish drinks brands across many sectors for this project. Throughout September, any licensed bar, restaurant or hotel was able to register for free and in order to get involved, they had to create and sell a signature Irish food & drink pairing for the month of October. They are all now live and can be seen here. Each registered venue is divided by the county and then alphabetically. The public vote for which participating venue has the best Irish food & drink pairing is now live too. People can vote by tagging the venue in a post on Instagram and using the hashtag #EatDrinkIrish. Or they can vote by posting on the Great Irish Beverages Facebook page, tagging the venue and using the #EatDrinkIrish hashtag there. Voting closes on October 31st and it’s one vote per person. The winning venue will be able to nominate a registered charity of their choice and we will give them €1,000.

Apple Tart by Dede

140 venues in 16 different counties are on board. Each venue has their own page on the Great Irish Beverages site where you can see each of their Irish food & drink pairings. They range dramatically both in venue style, choice of food, choice of drink and include:
 - Irish lobster paired with Irish Pilsner from The Seafood CafĂ© in Temple Bar to Irish lobster cooked and served with Irish whiskey from King Sitric in Howth.
- Pizzas made with Irish cured meats & cheeses and served with Dublin beers in Rascal's HQ and The Circular in Rialto
- Irish scallops paired with local lager from Mimosa Bar de Tapas in Carlow and Irish scallops paired with an Irish Whiskey Sour cocktail from Sole in Dublin.
- Cork ciders paired with Cork mussels in Casey's of Baltimore.
- Irish Apple Ice Wine served alongside Irish cheese in the 2 Michelin Star Aimsir in Kildare.
- Wild Irish venison paired with Irish Mead from Rare 1784 in Kinsale
- Irish Espresso Martinis paired with desserts from venues such as Camden Bites & Brews
- Burgers and steaks paired with pale ales and porters from Dash Burger and Bull & Castle 


Lots and lots of delicious Irish food & drink combos to be had! So why not treat yourself to something Irish in the month of October. Check out your nearest participating venue and enjoy what's best in Irish cuisine and beverages! By doing so you're bringing some much needed help to Irish businesses and producers.




Tuesday, August 9, 2022

A Quart of Ale± #116. On the craft journey but off piste with two Ciders, Ginger Beer and a Belgian Framboise

 A Quart of Ale± #116

On the craft journey but off piste with two Ciders, Ginger Beer and a Belgian Framboise

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Cockagee Irish Keeved Cider 5%, 375ml bottle Le Caveau via Neighbourfood 



In 2016, I wrote that this was “one of the best ciders I have ever tasted”. Glad to report, after a recent tasting, there’s been no change in that opinion of the Cockagee Irish Keeved Cider…



Made in County Meath by Mark Jenkinson, it has a rich amber\gold colour, micro-bubbles constantly rising in the glass. The aromas are impressive too, redolent of the orchard. And on the palate there is a very pleasing concentration of real flavour, layers of the most beautiful flavours, a gentle and complete experience, and then a lovely dry finish as well. This is in a class of its own.



Mark makes it in small batches in his Cider Press in the heart of the Boyne Valley from 100% fresh pressed Irish apples. Each 1000 litre batch is unique and may vary slightly. Serve chilled in a stemmed glass.



Keeving is not the easiest to explain as “it is more intuitive than an exact science”. But Mark gives a good run-down here. Crucially, it preserves the “lovely apple aromas and the rich flavours of the fruit and results in a robust yet smooth cider, complex and full-bodied with a bittersweet twist and a long dry finish.” 



Briefly, Keeving means it is not filtered, not pasteurised, and not sweetened. The fruit sugars are naturally retained as are the intense apple flavours and aromas from the original must. 


Hope that doesn’t sound too complicated. To put it simply, the result is a terrific drink with an ABV of 5% and is very highly recommended.


At one of the Ballymaloe Lit-Fests a few years back, highly respected Food and Drink writer Pete Brown said you can only shake your head with wonder that a process from the 14th or 15th century can still produce a “beautiful natural cider. In a blind tasting, I would class this as Breton and it would be a perfect match with crepes”.


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Armagh Craft Dry Cider 4.5%, 500ml bottle Aldi (Mayfield)



Just poured my golden Armagh cider from Aldi and am watching the many bubbles playfully make their way to the top. Orchard smells abound as you sniff and you notice a certain tartiness there too. It is certainly dry on the palate but there’s no shortage of flavours nor of refreshment. 


This refreshing Armagh dry cider is exclusive to Aldi, is vegan and vegetarian friendly, and the label recommends you serve it chilled. They also make a sweet and medium in this series.



For five generations, the Armagh Cider Company have been growing apples on the Troughton family farm in the orchard county of Armagh. “Our apples are carefully hand-picked and matured before they are pressed and fermented in only the smallest of batches. Our apples don’t leave the farm until they are bottled to complete perfection and we take great pride in bringing delicious authentic cider from blossom to bottle to you!”

They farm in Ballinteggart where the ‘From Blossom to Bottle’ culture has been nurtured for five generations. And to where quite a few awards have made their way.

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Black Castle Fiery Ginger Beer, 330ml bottle, The Granary Midleton.


It has a murky ginger colour, aromas of ginger too. Spicy enough to take your breath away as it gently burns the mouth. But no harm done at all, just a lively and refreshingly spicy drink that is not too sweet. If you are on BBQ duty, have one of these Irish craft sodas at hand!


In general, fiery ginger beer uses fresh ginger for a kick and cinnamon for added sweetness and spice. And it looks as if Dublin based Black Castle have hit on the correct formula with this spicy wake-up call for your taste buds! Note: if you don’t like ginger, you will not like this!


Black Castle: “Our Ginger Beer is packed full of flavour and just the right amount of heat! Made with rich Muscovado sugar, Ginger Root Extract and infused with a blend of warm Cinnamon and Cardamom spices. Lightly carbonated making it the perfect alternative to alcohol on a night out!”


It is “Hand-made in Co. Wicklow, is Non-Alcoholic and Allergen Free Best served over ice with a wedge of lime! Add it to cocktails such as a Moscow Mule or a Dark n Stormy.”

Their other soda is Berry Bramble Sting. We had that in County Clare previously and you can read about it here .

  • It is touted as an adult drink and indeed it may be best to keep it away from the kids (and from adults who dislike ginger). It is certainly on the fiery side.

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Lindeman’s Framboise Lambic Beer 2.5%, Dede at The Custom House Baltimore



Pours a raspberry red, with a pink foamy head, and smells like the fruit. Also tastes like raspberry, probably more on the swallow than on the palate. 


Superb as an aperitif as is often recommended. I didn’t have any raspberries but a handful of early loganberries were at hand and the pairing was fine. The brewers recommended pairing with endive salad. 


I picked this beer up at the deli in the Michelin starred Baltimore restaurant Dede at The Custom House where I’d seen it used as part of the wine pairing for the Tasting Menu where it was paired with the various desserts. Think I may get a few more in Bradley's for the garden for the sunny (oh ye of little faith!) weeks ahead.


Must admit I had been expecting something on the sweet side, after all it is flavoured with raspberry concentrate (20%), sugar and natural sweeteners. But I was more than pleasantly surprised to find it is quite tart.

Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Long May Dede Reign In Baltimore

 Long May Dede Reign In Baltimore

Ottoman Spiced Firik Risotto

When I was growing up (in the middle of the last century), I was aware of three grain crops: barley, oats and wheat. I knew them well, from the time they broke ground to the time they were threshed (the workers enjoyed a bottle or two of the black stuff!). 


Later on, much later on, I became aware of other grains (rye, spelt) and, last weekend in Baltimore, Dede introduced us to another one or at least to another variation: Firik, an ancient grain from his Turkey.

Aged Striploin (Wagyu Dexter cross)


And there was much more from Ahmet Dede’s native country including mulberries, his spice mix, Turkish cold pressed olive oil. Indeed, he has some 50 different spices, oils, molasses, nuts, grains and more from Turkey.

Sourdough and glimpses of Stonewell Cider.

The restaurant in the local Customs House elaborates:  “Our spiced based Turkish fusion cuisine is created by using raw and fresh ingredients from West Cork… An emphasis on beautiful local produce married with Chef Ahmet Dede’s Turkish heritage…”. 

Turkish Delight


And then, to the premium inputs from Turkey and Ireland,  he and his team add amazing technical skills, precision and attention to detail.


We start our culinary trek, no cutlery required for this first step, with a couple of amazing snacks. One is based on a biscuit made from mushrooms, a toothsome squeeze of mature Coolea, then a sliver of onion, all crowned with a spicy crisp. The other was the dolma,  a top to bottom segment of poached onion stuffed with rice, topped with smoked yogurt and caviar, and decorated with chive flowers. 

Red Mulberry Vacherin


What a beginning! And it just got better. As we made our delightful way through the many courses, we said “that was the best” and repeated the phrase again when the next one came along.


But this next one was truly amazing, an illustration that this Irish-Turkish fusion was giving us the most amazing food. It was the Spiced Lobster Bisque, Brown Crab Manti and Caviar. The fish of course came from the waters around the nearby islands and the cape.

Langoustine


Around this point, he introduced us to his beautiful sourdough bread along with the Turkish olive oil and the Irish butter from Gloun Dairy. 


Now time for another gem: Langoustine, radish, pea, smoked Crème Fraiche, and spiced consommé. And it just got better with the Cod, Chicken, Butter, Grapefruit, Lobster, and Fermented Chili Oil. The cod is not a rare fish on Irish menus but rarely do you get it so pristine and beautiful as this, singing on the plate. Of course it had a classy chorus to accompany it.


Rice pudding tartlet


Course six was soon in front of us, the only meat of the day, a Wagyu and Dexter cross Aged Striploin, Ottoman Spiced Firik, Mint, Carrot, Kumquat and Isot. The meat, from Macroom, was excellent and yet it was that Firik that stole my taste buds, quite an amazing “risotto” with the grain looking like pearl barley but so much more flavoursome. In fairness, the grain and the meat together were quite the main course.


It was to be cheese and sweet all the way after that and so we switched from Stonewell Cider to Killahora Ice Wine, just as the Red Mulberry Vacherin (a soft cow’s cheese), pomegranate, wood sorrel, young meadowsweet, arrived on the table. It looked beautiful but, we were “ordered” to smash it with the spoon. And, having taken the photo of course, we did the vandal bit and then tucked in and enjoyed every large and little fragment.

Hazelnut Bon Bon


Next a trio of small sweets were introduced: Hazelnut Bon Bon, Blood Orange & Cardamom along with the best Turkish Delight I’ve ever tasted.


And yet one more treat before we made a leisurely farewell. As with all the previous courses, our friendly and efficient servers (and there were quite a few) gave us the details and, on this occasion, the chef showed amazing precision as he made the most flawless quinnelles to top the SĂĽtlaç ‘Rice Pudding’ Tartlet.  

Killahora Ice Wine. Delicious


And that topped our memorable 10 course lunch at the Michelin Star restaurant. Thanks to Dede and Maria and to their lovely staff. Long may they reign in Baltimore.


Baltimore Video (short)