Showing posts with label Frank Hederman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frank Hederman. Show all posts

Monday, September 30, 2019

Perryville House - Guesthouse of the Year Winner

Kinsale's Perryville House is Guesthouse of the Year
Honey in the morning

Beer at night
Congratulations to Perryville House in Kinsale. The splendidly situated house, with excellent views over the harbour, was named Guesthouse of the Year in the recently announced and highly coveted Georgina Campbell Ireland Guide Awards 2020.

By coincidence, I had stayed there a few days before the awards were announced. Most of the guests had travelled much further; this lovely waterside venue is very popular with American and European visitors.

Must say I was very happy indeed to see Perryville win, if only for their support of Irish produce. When we checked in, the first thing I noticed in my room, alongside the Espresso coffee machine, was a pack of shortbread biscuits. No, not those anonymous packs you get elsewhere but the delicious Seymour Biscuits that are made by Philip O'Connor in the neighbouring town of Bandon.

Later that night, much later, I called to the amazing comfortable in-house bar here. I knew they hadn’t draught beer so I enquired about bottles and again they came up trumps with the local Black's Brewery 1601 lager.

Before heading out to dinner that first evening, we were strongly advised not to miss the breakfast. "It would be foolish to do so!" Good advice indeed, not that we had any intention of skipping it in any case.

We weren't disappointed. The breakfast is indeed unmissable and served in a room to match. And the menu is based on local produce and includes Gubbeen cheese, Glenilen yogurt, Barrett butchers sausages and bacon, and Hederman smoked salmon.

The hot menu includes their creamy organic porridge served with cinnamon-infused soft brown sugar. Of course, they have the Full Irish and shorter versions. And they also do a Pan-fried fish of the day. French toast with poached berry compote is a favourite. Pancakes are a favourite of ours recently and theirs, packed with berries, come with maple syrup and few more berries for good measure, nicely presented too.

If you read the reviews, you’ll note nothing but praise for their Eggs Benedict. I tried it and gave it the thumbs up. Two fresh eggs (just delivered by Siobhan from her nearby farm) on toasted sourdough, crispy bacon too and all smothered in sauce. Delicious

The cold buffet is eye-catching and includes fresh orange juice, iced water, granola, boxes of other cereals, a mini-fridge with yogurts, home-made preserves (Lemon Curd, Raspberry, Marmalade), honeycomb from the owners’ bees, their own pastries (include pear/almond scones) and bites sized slice of cakes (eg blueberry).

A big bowl of mixed fruits and other tempting fruit dishes such as poached plums and poached rhubarb in honey. And then there’s all that well-known West Cork Cheese with grapes and chutney. No shortage of anything and great service as well in this friendly place. And lovely too to meet up with Emily at check-out. We used meet her regularly over Karwig Wines. She was helpful there and is just as helpful here, as was everyone one we met in Perryville. 

This is the full citation for the award:
More country house than townhouse, Andrew and Laura Corcoran’s Georgian harbour-front home is the prettiest in Kinsale. Renovated and furnished with style, it is immaculately maintained and offers plenty of relaxing space, including a handsome bar and garden room, as well as outstanding accommodation in generous and extremely comfortable rooms (with luxurious bathrooms). Ten new rooms were added this year - so seamlessly executed that the casual observer would never guess at any recent changes. And, masters of detail as always, they even created a stunning new garden to the side of the building so that rooms without a seaview would have an equally pleasing outlook. All this plus great service and, reflecting the Corcorans’ Slow Food philosophy, carefully considered food. An outstanding destination.

for a full list of the winners and citations please click here http://www.ireland-guide.com/award/full-awards-list-and-citations.2451.html


Thursday, March 14, 2019

Seasalt’s Good Start in Cobh


Seasalt’s Good Start in Cobh
Tart with two salads

If a good start is half the battle, then Cobh’s new café Seasalt is already winning. Jacqui O’Dea’s Casement Square daytime restaurant (9.00 to 5.00) has hit the ground running. And you’d better get a move on too as they are popular and busy. We were there on a bitterly cold and showery midweek day and it was packed at lunchtime, with some potential customers turned away.

So what’s it all about? It’s about good fresh food, sourced locally and cooked well by the Ballymaloe trained chef Jacqui. Amazingly, for the first time ever, a Cobh chef is offering the smoked salmon of Frank Hederman even though he is just out the road and has been supplying some of the world’s best outlets for 38 years! You may have the salmon in the morning and at midday, as Seasalt offer tempting Brunch and Lunch menus.
Hederman

And while Seasalt have lots of salads and veg on the menus, they have the Full Irish too, well at least the Rosscarbery Irish: two sausages, rashers, black pudding, sautéed spuds, roast tomato, two organic fried eggs and sourdough toast! Impressive.

And Frank Hederman’s salmon features on their Eggs Royale with two poached organic eggs and Hollandaise sauce on toasted Pana sourdough.
Window view

Having just escaped a heavy shower, we settled in for lunch and thought we’d warm up with their Mushroom Soup. It came in a colourful pot but I didn’t bother with a photo as the soup was so dark, not at all photogenic! But don’t judge a book by its cover! This was a splendid thick soup, a power-packed shot across the bows of the cold weather and probably the very best mushroom soup that we’ve ever tasted.

Orange Polenta
The menu changes weekly here, partly so regulars won’t get bored! I had been looking at the Cork Reuben as my main course. This consists of McCarthy’s Pastrami, house sauerkraut, pickles, with Edam cheese on Pana sourdough. 

In the end though I picked the Hederman Smoked Salmon that came with a salad, plus a helping of apple and fennel, all on a base of their own very tasty brown bread. Very happy with that, the crunch of the bread, the apple and the smoothness and precision of the smoked fish, just perfect.

CL meanwhile was enjoying her Tart of the Day with two salads, a puff pastry base loaded with roasted vegetables (aubergine and courgette) and much the same salads that I had. Another good mix of textures and flavours, not to mention the attractive colours. These were both specials. Aside from the Pastrami, they also had Croque Madame, a Cauliflower Dahl, and a Macroom Halloumi Salad to choose from.

Would we have dessert? Hummed and hawed a bit but once we took a closer look at the counter, all resistance faded. And, along with a couple of cups of the Badger and Dodo coffee, we enjoyed an Orange and Polenta Cake and also a Lemon Slice. 

The sun has been shining while we ate and for a few minutes after we left. But soon we had to pick up “speed” as another shower coming from the city threatened. Just made it back to the Five Foot Walk car park.

17 Casement Square
Cobh.
Call: 086 085 1650

Thursday, February 7, 2019

Frank Hederman: “Great talker. Great smoker”


Hederman: “Great talker. Great smoker”

How do you know when it’s ready? That’s a question often asked by visitors to the Hederman Smokehouse in Belvelly as they see the salmon hanging in the old smokehouse. Not an easy one to answer, lots of variables including the time of year, the weather (including the wind).
Fishing for wild salmon, close to the city, by the Lower Glanmire Road. July 2018

And you can’t put a timer on it. “You know when it’s done by feel,” says ace smoker Frank Hederman, speaking at the launch of this year’s Munster Wine and Dine programme in L’Atitude 51. And that feel can only come from experience. 

So the balance between the fish flavour, the salt (for the cure) and the smoke is achieved with some delicate handling and determined by the experienced touch of the smoker. Time, timing and touch. It’s a simple process and, when well handled, the results are simply superb, as has been the case for decades and as would be confirmed later in the evening. Thirty five to thirty six hours is the rough guideline for organic farmed fish while wild fish are done quicker.

Did you know that there are now just seven permits for wild fishing in Cork harbour and that’s where Frank gets his small supply of wild. “In some cases, it’s the third generation that are supplying us. They get just 12 weeks a year to make an income. We get our organic from Clare Island off Mayo”
Smoked mackerel on the Hederman stall at a local market 

It wasn’t easy for Frank when he started up in the mid 80’s. “Then it was only wild fish, lots of them. Drift netting though was very indiscriminate and was banned in 2006. When I started no one would tell you anything and there was also a recession to contend with.”

He doesn’t use any fancy salts, certainly not of the Himalayan variety. (Salt must be consistent, not exotic, just consistent). Once salted, the fish are then put on hooks in the smoker and left hang there until it’s ready. "We use beechwood. Salt, smoke and time are all that’s needed. A bit old-fashioned but it works rather well and people like it”.
Hot smoked salmon

And soon that last phrase was confirmed as we tucked into Smoked salmon and mushroom soup, with a touch of chilli and also Smoked sun-dried tomato on Brioche, both paired with a Pena del Aguila Fino En Rama Sherry from St Lucar. By the way, if you open a bottle of this,  don’t let it hang around for more than a month.

Next came the smoked Mackerel Paté followed by Hot Smoked Salmon with horseradish, lemon juice and creme fraiche. The matching drink here, and a good match too, was the Basque wine Ameztoi Txacoli de Getaria
Mackerel smoked on the bone by Hederman. Find out more about this amazing smoker here

And there was more including a generous tasting of the fantastic smoked organic salmon and a final flourish of delicious Smoked Salmon and Spinach cakes with garlic, the wine here Cantina Tollo Trebbiano d’Abruzzo
Trebbiano

Big thanks to Beverley and the L’Atitude kitchen for their contribution, to Jaques Restaurant for the brown bread and to Le Caveau for the wines.  Beverley had introduced Frank and his wife Caroline at the start of the evening, saying he was a great talker and a great smoker. Spot on, Bev.
Txacoli

Then Munster Wine and Dine announced details of the 2019 programme with at least four major events on the cards including an April multi-stop tour of producers and a restaurant in the Clon area, the next one in June will concentrate on Macroom and neighbouring parishes for more food and drink, September sees the bus going east to the new Blackwater Distillery, a cheesemaker and a top notch restaurant, before ending in November with a call to the Bertha’s Revenge micro distillery and a macro lunch at Ballyvolane House. Munster Win & Dine: mwdcircle@gmail.com
A vineyard in Getaria, where the dry Txacoli wine (made from local grapes) comes from.





Thursday, February 8, 2018

Good Day Deli. Good Food Daily

Good Day Deli

Good Food Daily
Pic by Good Day Deli

Kai Moana is one of the exotic names that pops up on the menu at Good Day Deli in the gardens of Nano Nagle Place in Cork City. Those of you who have visited the South Pacific, especially New Zealand and the “neighbouring” islands, will not find them strange at all and know that Kai Moana is the Maori for seafood.

Perhaps the most important two words you’ll read are Mana Tiaki. It is the motto for this lovely new daytime restaurant. “In the Cook Islands, the core value of Mana Tiaki is guardianship of heritage and the environment for future generations. Mana Tiaki is a beautiful value to live by and is at the core of Good Day Deli.”

So sustainability is the guideline for the crew here, fronted by owners Clare Condon and New Zealander Kristin Makirere and Head Chef Charlotte Murphy, from the food sourcing right down to the paper napkins. 


Importantly that food is delicious; the word has already spread and the place was packed when we visited about 12.30pm last Friday. Don't just look in through the glass and say “we’ll never get a table”. Open the door and soon enough you’ll be seated. You may reserve a table earlier in the week (Tuesday to Thursday).

The afternoon menu kicks in at 12.30. After a few minutes delay we were seated and studying the list. There was a hot seasonal soup (chilli and coriander in this case), a Tart of the Day, a Vibrant Vegan dish, and a Halloumi Citrus Salad. Sides galore: honey, nut dukkah, tapenade, hummus, paprika fries and more.

We had spotted a hake dish on their facebook page and were hoping it was still on. It was and CL picked that one: Kai Moana Fish Tacos, lightly battered Irish Hake on Blanco Nino Corn Tortillas with raw slaw, pickle plus lemon coriander mayo and fries. That fish was fresh and delicious, a lovely dish for €15.00.

I also hit the jackpot with the GDD Curry Bowl (€14.00). Crown Prince Squash + Chickpea Coconut Curry Bowl, with Basmati rice, yogurt and toasted coconut is the full description. Probably the best curry I've ever tasted is mine. Just perfect.

Service here, even with the small queue at the door, is excellent. No pressure, just smiles and all the info you want.

One of their aims is to “elevate local producers”. They feature quite a list on the menu including (it will change seasonally) well-known cheesemakers such as Ardsallagh, Hegarty’s and Toonsbridge, farms like Kilbrack, Horizon and Richard’s, also Green Space, Frank Hederman, Ballycotton Seafood, and Organic for Us (milk). Quite an impressive list and that’s only half of it. Oh yes, the Blanco Nino Corn Tortillas with the hake are made in Clonmel.

The café, bright and airy with some outside tables, has one of the best situations on the city, in the middle of the peaceful well-kept gardens of the Nano Nagle Place, fast becoming one of the city centre’s top attractions. While at the café, I took the opportunity to visit the buildings and you may read about it here. No doubt as the season goes on, both Nano Nagle and Good Day Deli will get busier.

Nano Nagle Place
Douglas Street
Cork
(021) 432 2107
clare@gooddaydeli.ie

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Wagner and Strauss. An impressive duet in red and white.

Wagner and Strauss. 
An impressive duet in red and white.
Wagner Stempel Riesling Rheinhessen (DQ) 2015, 12%, €19.95 Bradley’s Cork.
Nine generations of the Wagner family have been involved in wine-making here since 1845. Daniel Wagner has been the wine-maker since the early 90s and under him they have converted to organic production methods. 

According to the Finest Wines of Germany, he has proved that “forgotten or previously unconsidered terroirs can be of exceptional quality when they are interpreted properly”.  

Harvest is late (October/November) and the wines are kept on their lees until the end of May.This one, labelled trocken, is imported by the Wine Mason.

Colour is light straw, tints of green, micro-bubbles cling to the glass. Quite a bunch of aromas, fruit, herbs, even a hint of smoke. A fresh and fruity vibrancy emerges as soon as it meets the palate - notes of melon, spice and yellow apple - all balanced by a keen acidity; the long flavourful finish is lip smackingly dry. Very Highly Recommended.

A superb uncomplicated wine to be enjoyed with or without food. I enjoyed it with Hederman’s smoked mackerel, freshly boiled beetroot from the garden, and salad leaves with some roasted pepper.


Johann Strauss Zweigelt Reserve Austria (QaO) 2011, 13.5%, €20.50 Karwig Wines

Zweigelt is the grape and Kremstal is the area in Austria where this fragrant and elegant wine comes from. The blue/black Zweigelt is the most widespread red wine grape in Austria. A cross between St Laurent and Blaufränkisch, it was developed in 1922 and is said to deliver full bodied wines with tones of morello cherries. The morello is black and a sour kind of cherry.


Our Zweigelt has a mid-ruby robe and a fragrant nose of dark red fruits, hints too of pepper. Rather elegant introduction with soft tannins. Restrained waves of those cherry flavours follow, a touch of spice too and then a lingering finish. A pleasure to drink this one and Highly Recommended.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Taste of the Week. Hederman’s Hot Smoked Salmon

Taste of the Week
Hederman’s Hot Smoked Salmon

Just one look and I was hooked. Frank Hederman’s side of smoked salmon lay temptingly on the bare boards of his market table in Midleton. The gorgeous rich shades of red/orange, from the smoke and the added Kashmiri chillies, were enhanced by the autumn sun. There was no need to even taste a sample. Knowing that it had come from an old authentic smokehouse a few miles away and knowing how carefully Frank sources and handles his fish, I bought a piece.

And there was no putting it in the fridge when I got home. No, this was to be used within hours. It can, of course, be refrigerated and later served at room temperature or gently re-heated. If you want to slice, that is best done straight from the fridge. It is flakier than cold smoked and indeed is easy to flake for your plate.

You’ll find while flaking that every second piece is going into your mouth. Maybe I should have bought more? In any event it is absolutely delicious and succulent and our Taste of the Week. Aside from Midleton, you may also buy it in his shop in the English Market and of course he has it for sale online as well.

The salmon is farmed organically on the west coast of Ireland. It is Kiln-smoked by the master smoker over a live beech wood fire in Cobh and sprinkled with mildly hot Kashmiri Chillies. The chillies are more a condiment than a spice in this case. Enjoy

Frank Hederman
Belvelly Smoke House
Belvelly
Great Island
Cobh
Co Cork
Ireland
Phone: +353 (0) 21 481 1089

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Culture Night. Paintings and Plates

Culture Night

Paintings and Plates
Silvia of La Cocina
The Crawford Gallery was the first stop on Culture Night (18.09.15) with particular attention paid to two paintings. The first encountered featured Hugh Lawton, a direct ancestor of current Bordeaux negociant Pierre Lawton, who was Mayor of Cork City in 1776, and his enormous portrait hangs above the main staircase in the Crawford. Hugh would have quite a few more visitors later on as the L’Atitude 51 Wine Walk had the painting marked as one of their stopping points.

My second painting of interest was another large one, the Men of the South by Sean Keating. This features a group of rather good looking IRA men who, but for the rifles and pistols, could be on their way to a match or a dance even. But you can see the tension as they patiently wait to carry out an ambush. Perhaps I gave this painting more attention than usual because of the state funeral, earlier that day, for executed 1916 rebel Thomas Kent.
Hugh Lawton

For me, there is always a food call or two during Culture Night, usually to the English Market. But the Crawford Gallery Cafe were offering an intriguing menu, with a touch of Swiss and Spanish, and here we stayed for a pleasant while.

My fondue was based on a humble cheddar from East Cork but, enhanced by the kitchen, it proved a gem. Meanwhile CL tucked into a plate of Tapas that featured Rosscarbery Black Pudding and Gubbeen chorizo among other interesting flavours.

And La Cocina proved a very sweet ending indeed, “not too much sugar” though. From quite a selection we picked and shared a wedge of No Flour Almond and Lemon and a luscious custard cake (almost like a profiterole). Believe it or not, each went well with the last of the Biohof Pratsch Riesling.


Tapas
More art and food next at Nash 19. Indeed, both are always on the menu since Claire Nash opened the Sternview Gallery about a year ago. Rebecca Bradley’s Provisional View is the current show (until October 15th). The Irish Times critic Aidan Dunne summed it up as “Outstanding textural paintings based on landscape”. It is just that the landscape - suburbs, coastlines, fields and bogs - is never quite the same, “our sense of place not certain” as the handout says.

Time then for more food and with a goodly group of her producers on hand, there was no shortage. Got some lovely tastes of Hederman’s pate and Ardsallagh cheese from Claire. More cheese from Tipperary with Cashel Blue and Crozier Blue (my slight favourite) on hand.

Restaurant manager Mairead was handing out samples of the outstanding Longueville House cider and nearby the O'Connell’s were generous with their spiced beef, now in demand all year round.

All smiles: Champion pudding and spiced beef

 Kanturk’s Timmy McCarthy, not for the first time, had mixed booze and blood to great effect.This time the Premium drop was Teeling Single Malt and the result was top class. We also tasted the Jack McCarthy Smoked Air Dried Beef that last week won the Supreme Champion Award (and a lovely trophy) in the Speciality Foods Competition and the McCarthy’s were similarly awarded for the White Pudding in these Associated Craft Butchers of Ireland awards.

Timmy is rarely puzzled but he did have a quizzical look on his face as he spoke to three Danish visitors. They didn't know what black pudding was, saying they don't have blood puddings on Denmark, once the leading producer of bacon. Different cultures on culture night!


  • If truth be told, our first stop of the evening was at a No. 208 bus stop. It turned out to be a long wait. Two scheduled bus times came and went, without a bus in sight, before we finally set out some forty minutes later, very poor service for around four o'clock on a Friday. It was no much better coming home, with two arriving together after another forty minute wait.


Thursday, August 20, 2015

New Stalls at Midleton Farmers Market. Getting Better all the time

New Stalls at Midleton Farmers Market
Getting Better all the time
Gorgeous Chanterelles from Ballyhoura Mushrooms at last Saturday's Market

Midleton Farmers Market, the original farmers market, was founded fifteen ago by Darina Allen and local farmers and has gone from strength to strength. Hard to get a stall there now but there were some newcomers last Saturday when I visited.

Space is limited but vacancies occur from time to time, particularly when a successful producer (Cobh’s Just Food, for example) outgrows the stall.

So now you may buy BBQ Jerk Chicken from Le Kiosk, vegetarian from Buddha Bites, coffee from Doppio, also doughnuts and ice cream from another stall. Check out the list of stallholders here, even if it is a little out of date!
Loving Salads, just one corner of their huge selection
Originals such as Woodside Farm, Frank Hedderman, and Ballymaloe are still very active here, side by side with more recent arrivals such as Jason Carroll’s Loving Salads and the Lobster Man. The Lobster Man has live lobsters and crabs, and sometimes brings a giant example. Do watch out for him. And watch out too for Jason who is due to open a cafe in Academy Street.

By the way, Hederman and Arbutus Breads are in the running for the Irish Times Best Market Stall. Best of luck folks.
Like all farmers markets, the atmosphere here is relaxed. Do your shopping, have a chat with stall-holders such as Barry Tyner (he sells fantastic patés) and Deirdre (she'll tell you all about the Arbutus range). Jane from Ardsallagh Goat Cheese always has something interesting to chat about, especially in the food line. Indeed, what you find is all the producers have time to talk to their customers and are very enthusiastic about the market in general and keen to spread the word.

Then take a break, have a cup of coffee and listen to the music. It is a terrific way to spend a Saturday morning and you’ll have excellent produce in your bags and enough of it to keep you going over the weekend.

Other local markets on Saturday include Douglas, Coal Quay, Skibbereen, Bandon and Crosshaven. See countrywide list, compiled by Bord Bia, here .
Newcomers (above and below)


Midleton celebrated its 15th anniversary last May and here’s what stall holder Ballymaloe Cookery School wrote then:  It has been an outlet not only for the many artisan producers of the area, but also for high profile food producers that have had stalls at Midleton Farmers Market, including Clodagh McKenna, Darina Allen, Arun Kapil of Green Saffron Masaalchi and Frank Hederman of Belvelly Smokehouse. The market has also been featured in many TV shows, including the Ear to the Ground, Nationwide (Irish TV series), Rick Stein's Ireland and @Clodagh's Food Trails which has seen by viewers across the States and Australia as well as the UK and mainland Europe, helping position Ireland, and indeed Cork, as a major food destination.


Monday, June 29, 2015

Irish Fish - Two Ways. Hederman and Goatsbridge

Irish Fish - Two Ways
Hederman and Goatsbridge
Enjoyed an Irish fish dinner at the weekend, starting with smoked mackerel from Hederman’s and then a main course of fresh trout from Goatsbridge in Kilkenny.

If you want to buy Irish, you have to keep your eyes open and read the labels. That, surprisingly enough, applies to fish as well, not that too many of them will have labels!

Take Sea-bass as an example, a species that is protected here.  According to the fishmonger.ie website, we import wild Sea-bass from France and farmed version from Greece and Turkey. In all, in 2012, we imported (according to BIM figures) some €203 million worth of fish, a staggering 75,000 tonnes (mainly from Norway).
No problem buying Irish fish at your local market stalls but be careful in the supermarket, especially at the fresh fish counter. The Goatsbridge trout is not always sold under that name but the tag on the counter does say Irish farmed trout.

Cobh’s Frank Hederman is renowned for smoking fish. Not just mackerel but also salmon and do watch out as well for his mussels. If using mackerel in your main course, go for the whole fish but as a starter, the fillets (which come plain or coated with chives or chili) are fine. We used the chive one and bought it at the English Market. By the way, the salad and the baby beets both came from Derek’s Green Field Farm stall at the Mahon Point Farmers Market.

Over then to the local Dunne’s Stores for the trout and that was eventually served with seasonal vegetables and new potatoes. The potatoes and carrots were also bought at Mahon, from the Burns farm stall. And if you do call to Sandra and Joe, be sure and get some of their fabulous Vegetable Crisps.
The vegetables, for the trout, were done using Edward Hayden's Prepare-Ahead Vegetable method, detailed in his book Food to Love (pub. 2011). Basically, the veg are cooked separately, then cooled off, and kept in the fridge; take them out close to dinner-time and cook them all together, not forgetting to blanch and refresh! Got that book in the library the other day and it is proving very handy indeed.

Speaking of local, the raspberries for the delicious soufflé came from the back wall. Thankfully, the considerate blackbirds left just enough for us! Very satisfactory meal overall, especially suited to this time of year. Both the trout and mackerel are top notch products and I'd urge you to try them. Each is highly recommended.

Find out all about Frank Hederman and his smokehouse here.
All the details on Kilkenny's Goatsbridge Trout available here.
Both have online shopping.