The Castle Cafe. An excellent and friendly neighbourhood restaurant in the bailey of Cork's iconic Blackrock Castle.

The Castle Cafe. An excellent and friendly neighbourhood restaurant in the bailey of Cork's iconic Blackrock Castle.

Cauliflower

You won't be dining in the castle's grand hall at Blackrock’s Castle Cafe – but that's not a bad thing. The cafe itself is a bright, airy separate building just metres from the castle steps, with glass walls letting the light pour in. You may not have your regal robes on but you will get food fit for royals, the only difference is that you pay for it!

The Cas­tle is a fam­ily friendly neigh­bour­hood restau­rant. Old and very young were enjoying lunch when we called there last week. The food, which features the best of local produce, was excellent as was the welcome and the service was friendly and efficient throughout.

You can combine your visit to the café with a stroll through the nearby village, maybe drop into the castle itself  and see the Observatory and there are kilometres of walks in the immediate area. The Cas­tle restaurant is a pop­u­lar venue, just out­side the city centre. It is open Tuesday to Sunday.

We had quite a choice of starters including Rosscarbery pork belly, miso maple glaze, spring onion, sesame seeds, Ballycotton smoked fish gratin with toasted sourdough ,  and Glenbeigh mussels in a white wine cream sauce, with toasted sourdough. Our pick- we shared - was the Cauliflower bravas with tahini ketchup, tumeric aioli and coriander. Absolutely enjoyed this slightly spiced dish, an ideal starter. Very Highly Recommended.

Chicken and cabbage......

Sandwiches and Platters also feature here at this time of day and the one that caught my eye was the Turkish platter of grilled Toonsbridge halloumi, white bean hummus, beetroot egg, sweet onion pickle, cous-cous, house flatbread and harissa aioli.

But we went straight to the Mains. Again, there were quite a few, including a Seared fillet steak on  flatbread, Seared Hake fillet, a Slow-cooked Crowe’s bacon collar with a honey and mustard glaze, Fish and Chips, and more. 

There a couple of chicken options including CL’s choice of Roast marinated chicken, maple and thyme root vegetable, white cabbage with caraway butter, mashed potato and gravy, pretty much a Castle classic and served here for quite a few years. We could taste why, even the cabbage was a star. You can bet on this one!

One of a selection
of local soft drinks.
Wines, beers,
cocktails too.

Mine wasn't as traditional, at least not in these parts.  I took a punt on the Balinese Nasi Goreng of shredded Skeaghanore confit duck, chilli, soy and ginger rice, pickled fennel, cucumber and scallions topped with a fried egg.  With the high quality Skeaghanore duck at its centre, this Indonesian Fried Rice dish was an intriguing melange of textures, flavours and well-judged spice. It was polished off, down to the last grain of rice! And not a scrap of that pickled veg was left.

No room for dessert, though. Hard to leave their famous Marmalade and Vanilla Bread & Butter Pudding behind. Next time! 

The Castle is one of the five restaurants in the Market Lane group, the others being Market Lane itself, ORSO, Elbow Lane (with its micro-brewery) and Goldie. The group is a huge supporter of local produce and suppliers and you may see the full list here. 

Balinese Nasi Goreng

Sustainability is very much on the agenda. All five restaurants are Food Waste Charter Members. Market Lane, in conjunction with others, are creating a native tree forest. Their honey comes from urban bee hives. Coffee grounds go their vegetable growers to be turned into compost. Their fleet consists of electric or pedal powered vehicles. Their takeaway containers are biodegradable. They have solar panels on the roof of the city centre restaurant, with more to follow. The list goes on. They practice what they preach.

More on the Castle Café here. Check out the menus and opening times and order gift vouchers.

Blackrock Castle

Food Waste online training for hospitality staff available at savourfood.ie.

New food waste online training 

for hospitality staff available at savourfood.ie.

Today is National Stop Food Waste Day. Join the growing number of hospitality businesses who are taking action to reduce food waste while making a positive impact on their profits and the planet with the new online food waste reduction training for staff at Savour Food e-Training.

The course takes approximately 30 minutes to complete and can be undertaken independently at the user’s own pace on a PC or mobile device.

The e-Training is suitable for a broad set of workers within hospitality (including kitchen porters, front of house staff, chefs, management) and can be delivered at induction or as part of continuing professional development.

It will support the environmental programme of a business by giving crucial members of the team an introduction to waste management. It includes short videos and quiz questions, awarding workers who complete the e-Training with a personalised certificate.

Topics covered include:
The issue of food waste and food waste management best practices,
The importance of food waste measurement,
Taking action and keeping up that momentum for lasting change

Though the foodservice industry generates a significant amount of food waste, it is an area with considerable scope for improvement. Some simple steps food businesses can take include better stock inventory, reducing portion sizes, offering doggy bags for leftovers, improving the layout of bins and bin signage.

This online training has been created in consultation with industry partners and tested with culinary students at Munster Technological University Cork.

This training is available free of charge. The Savour Food Programme is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Take the Stop Food Waste Online Challenge with Catherine Fulvio

Take the Stop Food Waste Online Challenge 

with Catherine Fulvio 

Funded by: 

Take the Stop Food Waste Online Challenge at home with Catherine Fulvio 

This summer, you are invited to join Catherine Fulvio and take the Stop Food Waste Summer Challenge at home. Local Authorities in Laois, Meath, Westmeath and Wicklow are joining forces with Catherine Fulvio and Stop Food Waste to offer everyone throughout the country a chance to get involved in this online version of the popular Stop Food Waste Challenge. Participants are supported to find out how much food they are actually wasting and some delicious ways they can prevent it. The challenge will run online for four weeks, beginning with the first video from Catherine Sunday July 19th at 8:30pm.

Each video will be followed up by a live Q&A session with Catherine via the Stop Food Waste Facebook page (@StopFoodWaste) each Wednesday at 2pm. Tune in to ask questions about recipes and ways to minimise food waste at home. 

Globally, over one quarter of the food produced in the world for human consumption is wasted and every year people in Ireland throw out over one million tonnes of food. The average Irish household is binning between €700 worth of food each year. Reducing food waste has been identified as one of the most effective things we can do to prevent climate change. With so many people interested in taking action around climate, managing food waste effectively is something that can be done from at home. Any action taken, big or small, can have a positive impact on the bigger picture. 

Participants of this online training will be in with a chance to win fantastic prizes, including passes to Ballyknocken Cookery School and signed copies of Catherine Fulvio’s cookbook ‘A Taste of Home’. 

Suzanne Dempsey, Environmental Awareness Officer at Laois County Council: 

“Laois County Council are actively promoting climate action and food waste is one of the most effective ways that an individual can reduce their carbon footprint. It not only helps that environment but can save you money too. Food waste has a significant impact on the environment given all the energy and resources consumed in producing, transport, packaging of that food which are all wasted when that food is thrown out. We are really excited to have Catherine Fulvio as the spokesperson for this Stop Food Waste Challenge. As one of Ireland's most well known TV chefs she has a huge amount of knowledge that she can impart to followers on how to reduce their food waste at home.” 

Catherine Fulvio: “Awareness is key to reducing food waste and as a long-time advocate for the reduction of food waste I am delighted to be working with four County Councils, Laois, Westmeath, Meath and Wicklow, on the reduction of food waste, especially at this time when we are all cooking and eating more at home. Each week a new video will be posted with a recipe from me and lots of tips and tricks to help you to reduce food waste in your home.” 

About Stop Food Waste 

Stop Food Waste is an EPA programme funded under the EPA National Waste Prevention Programme (NWPP). The NWPP has identified food waste as a priority waste stream to be addressed in the coming decade in line with our national commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals. Stop Food Waste works with householders, helping them to make the most of their food. The programme provides information and supports on all aspects of preventing food waste, from good planning and shopping practices through to correct storage and reuse options. 

The four key steps people can take to Stop Food Waste are: 

1. Know your food waste: Make a list of what you throw out over the next week, this will give you a better understanding where your habits produce waste so you know what to target for improvement. 

2. Planning and Shopping: Smarter shopping ensures that you don’t waste hard-earned money on food that goes in the bin. Plan your meals (including lunches at work), check the cupboards and fridge before you go, and use a shopping list. 

3. Cooking and Storing: Store food properly to make the most of what you have bought to keep food fresher for longer. The Stop Food Waste ‘A-Z of food’ 

contains tips and advice on how to store and cook various food types. Using leftovers for lunch not only helps reduce food waste, it will also save you money. 

4. Bin it better: Use the brown bin (or try home-composting) for the unavoidable food waste you do generate. A recent national study showed that almost 50% of household organic waste is still being disposed of in the “wrong bins”, i.e. recycling or black bin. 

Website: www.stopfoodwaste.ie 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stopfoodwaste.ie/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Stop_Food_Waste 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StopFoodWaste/ 

About LAPN 

The Local Authority Prevention Network, LAPN, is a cooperative programme between the Environmental Protection Agency’s led National Waste Prevention Programme and local authorities in Ireland. LAPN aims to build capacity in local authorities for promoting waste prevention at a local and grassroots level for the benefit of their regions. https://localprevention.ie/ 

press release

COMPOSTABLE TAKE-AWAY BOXES TO CUT FOOD WASTE FOR IRISH BUSINESSES

Media release

From left: Tanya Fitzgerald, SECAD; James Hogan Savour Food Programme Manager, Clean Technology Centre, CIT; and Gillian Kearney, Bramley Lodge. Photo by Adrian
Connolly.

COMPOSTABLE TAKE-AWAY BOXES TO CUT FOOD WASTE FOR IRISH BUSINESSES
Businesses across Munster commit to reduce food waste

100 compostable boxes to be provided free of charge to participating
food businesses

Irish food businesses waste 150,000 tonnes of food every year.


A new initiative is encouraging businesses in Munster to reduce food
waste.


The Savour Food initiative supports food businesses to reduce their
waste and their latest project sees restaurants provide take-away food
boxes to consumers who would like to bring their leftovers home with
them.


In a further move to promote sustainability, the food boxes are 100%
compostable.


This initiative will allow participating businesses to reduce food waste
while raising awareness around food waste amongst staff and customers.
It is estimated that Irish food businesses waste 150,000 tonnes of food
every year.


Businesses involved in the initiative so far include The Bramley Lodge
in Carrigtwohill, Co Cork and The Yarn Café at Carebright in Bruff, Co.
Limerick. Additional Savour Food businesses can be viewed on
https://savourfood.ie/members/


James Hogan, Programme Manager said: “In Ireland we waste a million
tonnes of food waste every year, which is a huge shame. For the food
service sector, accurate portion control is a key part of reducing waste
and reducing costs. However there will be times when the customer will
not eat all that's on their plate. We want to see this food going to a
good home rather than being wasted.”


Five facts about food waste in Ireland


It is estimated that every year the Irish food sector wastes 150,000
tonnes of food.

The main sources of food waste in the Irish food service sector are
plate waste (38%), preparation waste (35%) and unserved food waste
(27%).

A proportion of ‘unavoidable’ food waste comes from peelings and
off-cuts. On average, this waste accounts for just 25% of food waste
thrown away.

Food waste has been calculated to cost €2.73 - €3.50 per kilogram.

If food waste cannot be prevented, donating or distributing to people is
the next best option. More information is available from the Food Safety
Authority of Ireland.


Information from the Less Food Waste More Profit publication by the
Clean Technology Centre at:
https://ctc-cork.ie/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/LFWMP-Web.pdf


About Savour Food


Savour Food is a food waste reduction initiative for business. The Clean
Technology Centre (CIT), SECAD and Ballyhoura Development CLG have
joined forces to assist businesses to cut food waste costs.


Savour Food supports food processors, food retailers and those in the
food service industry based in East Cork, Clonakilty and Ballyhoura
regions.


The pilot programme is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and
the Marine from the Department’s Rural Innovation and Development Fund
and available to businesses free of charge.


https://savourfood.ie

Foodcloud targets 50,000 signatures in pledge to reduce Ireland’s food waste

Press release from the Foodcloud

Bid to Reduce Food Waste

Pictured at the launch of the Foodcloud Fest are founders Iseult Ward and Aoibheann O'Brien
 with food expert Sophie Morris

Foodcloud, Ireland’s not-for-profit organisation that matches surplus food with those that need it most, today announced that it is targeting 50,000 signatures in a national pledge to reduce Ireland’s food waste. The organisation estimates that if 50,000 people in Ireland reduce food waste by just 1 kilogram per week, just over €1m will be saved, the equivalent of over 5.7 million meals. 

The Foodcloud pledge can be signed at the event or following the event at www.foodcloud.ie where individuals and businesses also find out more about reducing their food waste.  

Announcing the pledge, Iseult Ward, co-Founder of Foodcloud said, “At least one million tonnes of food in Ireland and almost 1.3 billion tonnes worldwide are wasted per year. To put that in context, one in every four calories produced from food in the world, is wasted. We want Irish people to think about how they can reduce this waste - with such a rich food and agricultural heritage, it makes sense that as a nation, we commit to this.”

To raise awareness of the pledge, Foodcloud will host The Foodcloud Feast on 2^nd April next, at Smock Alley Theatre in Temple Bar, Dublin. A lavish three course banquet of fresh, quality Irish ingredients that are ignored or forgotten by supermarkets, restaurants and the modern food system will be prepared by Sophie Morris, Chef and author of Sophie Kooks. 

RTE broadcaster and food waste campaigner, Philip Boucher Hayes will MC the Feast, and chair a discussion entitled Food Waste – the Challenge and the Opportunity. Participants in the discussion include: Oisín Quinn, The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Emer Costello, Labour Party’s MEP, Eoin MacCuirc, Bia FoodBank, Odile LeBolloch, EPA, Iseult Ward and Aoibheann O’Brien, FoodCloud and Conor O’Malley, Meade Potato Company.

Aoibheann O’Brien, co-Founder Foodcloud said, ‘The Foodcloud Feast will bring together policy-makers, chefs, retailers and foodies, to discuss how we can tackle the food waste challenge, but also identify the opportunities this provides for the food sector. The aim of the evening is to inspire guests by a vision for an Ireland where no good food goes to waste when there are people who are going hungry”

Tickets for The Foodcloud Feast are available through www.tickets.ie at €37 per person which includes a 3 course meal with wine or beer and lively debate, in the atmospheric surroundings of Smock Alley Theatre.

Foodcloud:

Established in Trinity College Dublin, in 2013, Foodcloud is a community-based social enterprise that brings food businesses and charities together with an easy-to –use and reliable technology platform, matching those with too much food with those who have too little. To date Foodcloud has redistributed over 5 tonnes of food, the equivalent of 13,000 meals to its network of 35 charities in Dublin City Centre, and Drogheda. FoodCloud holds a Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Minnovation Award, has graduated from TCD’s Launchbox, NDRC’s start-up accelerator programme, Launchpad and are recent winners of the Arthur Guinness Projects. Supporters include the Environmental Protection Agency, Diageo, Starbucks and Tesco Ireland. To find out more see www.foodcloud.ie