Richard's Little Farm Delivers

Richard's Little Farm Delivers

Richard’s Little Farm deliver their organic vegetables to top restaurants such as Greene’s and Elbow Lane. But you too can become a regular customer by signing up for the regular vegetable box scheme!

Richard Hooton has been growing his own food for many years and decided to set up Richard’s Little Farm after completing a Masters degree in Organic Horticulture at UCC.

The farm, established in 2015, is situated in Hazelwood, Mallow, Co. Cork where he produces over 20 different varieties of vegetables, salads, herbs and fruit. Everything produced on the farm is grown only as nature intended, without the use of artificial pesticides, herbicides or fertilisers. 

All the crops are grown and harvested by hand and sold locally at the Mallow Farmers Market (Friday 9am- 1pm) and the Nano Nagle Centre in Killavullen (every second Saturday 10:30am- 1pm) and also in local shops and restaurants. And, as we all know, vegetables are always so much better when harvested fresh and used in season.

That Vegetable Box scheme is seasonal of course so will vary from time to time. You may receive updates each week via text, Facebook, email or Twitter. Then you pick what you want and, freshly harvested, it is delivered to your doorstep free of charge! You can sign up via the Facebook Page or by contacting Richard at 087 281 2054.

With just an acre to work from, this farmer sometimes has to think outside the box. Caught for space? Do what Richard did and start planting your salads in a length of gutter!

Richard is one of quite a few North Cork producers that I saw at The Taste Cork tent in the Mallow Home and Garden Festival at the weekend. One visitor asked him how he started, what did he need. “Oh, just a patch of land and a broad back,” he joked. A bit of get up (early) and go too, I reckon.

Other local producers at the show included Ballyhoura Apples (above)
and Longueville House cider and brandy.

The Old Butter Roads Food Trail Launch. Great Weekend of food and fun in Blarney.

The Old Butter Roads Food Trail Launch

Great Weekend of food and fun in Blarney

We are nothing without the producers - Chef Martina Cronin
Here are five of the best speaking in Blairs on Monday.
Clockwise from top left: Tim McCarthy, Justin Greene, Don O'Leary,
Rubert Atkinson and Pat Mulcahy.

The Old Butter Roads Food Trail is up and running following a sunny (mainly!) weekend launch in the Blarney area. The event was officially opened on Saturday in the Church of Ireland by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed.

Wild Boar at Square Table

There were butter making demos at the Butter Museum, talks at the Hydro Farm Allotments, a pony and trap delivery of churns (the symbol of the food trail) to participating businesses, an ecology walk and talk (by Tom O’Byrne) at Clogheen Milken, the Gab story-telling competition, a smoked produce demo in the Old Blarney Post Office Café, a showcase multi-course dinner in the Square Table, an open weekend at The Farm in Grenagh and a Monday demo, with food and cocktails, at Blairs Inn.

And it wasn’t just Blarney members that were involved. There were producers plus restaurant and café operators from all over the area involved, Duhallow, Muskerry and Avondhu, a serious (if fun-filled) statement of intent for the many events ahead over the rest of the year. Expect a gathering (with food for sure) at the Kerryman’s Table in Aubane, a Tapas style event in Mitchelstown, a Long Table feast by the Killavullen Farmers Market, and more.

Wagyu beef (left) and Angus rib-eye at Square Table

Current members:

Ballinwillin House www.ballinwillinhouse.com , 

Blair’s Inn www.blairsinn.com , 

Peppers at The White Deer www.peppersmallow.com , 

Blarney Castle Hotel www.blarneycastlehotel.com , 

Nibbles Millstreet www.nibbles.ie , 

The Square Table www.thesquaretable.ie , 

Castle Hotel Macroom www.castlehotel.ie , 

The Old Blarney Post Office Café www.blarneycafe.com , 

Thatch & Thyme www.thatchandthyme.com , 

Praline Mitchelstown www.praline.ie , 

O’Callaghan’s Restaurant www.ocallaghans.ie , 

Longueville House www.longuevillehouse.ie , 

O’Brien’s Free Range Eggs, 

Hydro Farm Allotments www.hydrofarmallotments.com , 

Osbourne Butchers www.blarneybutchers.com , 

9 White Deer Brewery www.9whitedeer.ie , 

Longueville House Beverages www.longuevillahouse.ie/artisan.html , 

Folláin www.follain.ie, 

Annabella Farm, 

Twomey’s Butchers www.mtwomeybutchers.ie , 

Killavullen Farmers Market www.killavullenfarmersmarket.weebly.com , McCarthy’s Butchers Kanturk www.jackmccarthy.ie , 

Hegarty’s Cheese, 

Toonsbridge Dairy www.therealoliveco.com , 

Ballyvolane House www.ballyvolanespirits.ie www.ballyvolanehouse.ie , 

St Anne’s Shandon www.shandonbells.ie, 

Activity Days www.activitydays.ie, 

The Farm Grenagh www.visitthefarm.ie , 

Cork Butter Museum www.corkbutter.museum

List subject to change as new members join.

The Blairs, Duncan (left) and Richard trying one of his cocktails

Sunday night’s multi-course dinner in the Square Table perfectly illustrated the depth and range of produce available in the general North Cork area.

The opening selection of canapés: 

Lamb Tartare;

Toonsbridge ricotta, apple, hazelnut, beetroot;

Old MillBank smoked salmon rice paper roll, avocado, pickled ginger;

Macroom Buffalo mozzarella, basil pesto, tomato tapenade;

Carrigcleena Farm cured duck, beetroot chutney, confit ginger.

Then, from McCarthy’s Butchers in Kanturk, we had a Black Pudding Roll with house piccalilli and also Crispy Bacon with apple purée.

Next it was the turn of Michael Twomey's Butchers in Macroom: Wagyu beef burger with Hegarty’s Cheddar and house tomato chutney and also enjoyed their Agnus rib-eye with duck fat chip and O’Brien’s free range egg béarnaise.

Hake at the Square Table

Fish then had its turn and the Pan-fried hake (from K O’Connell’s), with Annabelle Farm spinach and mussel velouté was a splendid combination, another tasty testament to the produce and to the skill of Martina in the kitchen, as indeed was the whole meal.

Now we were on  to the Ballinwillin Wild Boar, braised and cured and served with caramelised potato gnocchi, aged Coolea cheese, Ballyhoura Mushrooms and wild garlic. Great stuff.

Dessert was McCarthy’s Natural Dairy’s Buttermilk, foamed, with rhubarb, confit ginger and speculous crumble. Hegarty’s Cheddar  and Toonsbridge smoked Scamorza featured on the cheese plate and the highlight here, as part of the week long tribute in Cork to Veronica Steel, was Milleens Cheese with fig jam. All washed down with a drop of apple brandy from Longueville House who earlier supplied a glass of their excellent cider.

Dessert at the Square Table

And the top class food and drink continued on Monday in the garden at Blair’s Inn where the brothers Richard and Duncan were the hosts, Richard coming up with some inventive cocktails (using everything from stout to apple brandy to gin) while Duncan did the cooking demos.

Longueville's Apple Brandy
went down well at Square Table

Highlight here were the passionate speeches from the producers. Don O’Leary of 9 White Deer Brewery, Justin Greene of Bertha’s Revenge Gin and Ballyvolane House, Timmy McCarthy of McCarthy’s Kanturk, Pat Mulcahy of Ballinwillin House, and Rupert Atkinson of Longueville House all spoke well of their own products, and of the other products of the area.

But there was no trumpet blowing at the expense of other areas. This was underlined, simply and with some wisdom, by Tim McCarthy. If you enjoy the brown bread in Mayo than that's the best in Ireland; if you enjoy the brown bread in Cork, then that's the best in Ireland. 

So enjoy the best of local, wherever you are. And if you are anywhere near the Old Butter Roads Food Trail these coming months, you will be eating, and drinking, very well indeed.

Cheese for two at Square Table

Get the latest on their Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/OldButterRoads/

on Twitter at @oldbutterroads

and on web at http://oldbutterroads.ie/

The Old Butter Road platter at Blairs

BLAIRS INN OLD BUTTER ROADS FOOD TRAIL FESTIVAL

BLAIRS INN OLD BUTTER ROADS FOOD TRAIL LAUNCH

Duncan Blair has been on to tell us all about their plans for the launch:

> We'll have special Old Butter Road Trail dishes on our menus throughout the launch weekend (28th April to May 1st). We'll be serving artisanal Butter Road cocktails and craft beers throughout all weekend. On Bank Holiday Monday at 4pm we'll be putting on a cooking, craft cocktail and beer Demo in our garden. We be cooking up dishes and breads featuring the produce of the Butter Road.
>
> Hake on Waterfall Farm Kale with a caper Beurre blanc
> Confit of McCarthy's pork belly with a Gubbeen chorizo cassoulet
> Nine White Deer Stout glazed Macroom short rib of beef
> Stag Bán beer & lime sorbet with a Longueville Cider foam
> 60 second beer bread
> Cotton Ball Stout brownies
>
> Richie will be showing off his cocktail skills using our range of artisanal gins, vodkas & whiskeys.
>
> We'll be giving out samples of food and drink. We'll also be serving a special three course dinner featuring the dishes from the demo.

Old Butter Roads Food Trail Festival. Launch April 29-30 in Blarney

Media release

Old Butter Roads Food Trail Festival

Launch April 29-30 in Blarney

A Food Festival to launch the Old Butter Roads Food Trails will take place in Blarney from 29/4 to 1/5 2017. The initiative is being developed by the producers, eateries and visitor attractions to celebrate the range of foods grown and produced in the Muskerry, Duhallow and Avondhu areas of County Cork. The idea started in Blarney through which the Old Butter Road used to bring produce from Kerry via Millstreet into the Butter Market in Shandon to serve the great maritime trade.  

The Old Butter Roads Food Trail escorts visitors through the fertile valleys—the breadbasket of Co Cork—where the rich pasture lands provide the most wholesome and delicious dairy, meats, grains, fruit and vegetables in the country.

The Festival will start on Saturday 29/4 with butter making demonstrations at 12pm and 2pm at the Butter Museum. In Blarney there will be talks between 2pm of 4pm at the Hydro Farm Allotments near Tower on the importance of growing food. A pony and trap will leave the Hydro Farm Allotments to deliver milk churns, the symbols of the Old Butter Roads, to businesses involved in Blarney on the Saturday afternoon about 4pm and be displayed by businesses involved in the Food Trail throughout the year.

Butter and Iron-age bread (by Declan Ryan)

Michael Creed the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine will formally launch the Food Trail at the Church of Ireland, Blarney at 6pm on the Saturday, followed by food tasting from the producers and eateries of the trail.

On Sunday 30/4 there will be a ‘walk & talk’ with Tom O’Byrne at 2pm at the Clogheen Milken on the importance of the ecology. The Gab storytelling competition will take place at 3.30 in the Church of Ireland, followed by Smokin’ Good Time event at 6pm at the Old Blarney Post Office Café showcasing smoked produce of the area. Guest speakers include Tim McCarthy of Kanturk, Patrick Mulcahy of Ballinwillin House and Longueville Cider makers.     

The Square Table restaurant Blarney will be hosting a food event at 8pm. It is a tasting menu which will showcase all the producers on the Old Butter Road Food Trail.  The Farm in Grenagh is holding an open weekend with butter making demonstrations on Monday 1/5 – International Butter Day.

Local food

The Old Butter Roads Food Trail will host events in Kanturk, Macroom, Mallow and Mitchelstown in the following few months to celebrate the food and drink produce of the area.

For Further information Contact      OldButterRoads@gmail.com

Maire ni Mhurchu      Tricia Cronin Rupert Atkinson     

Chairperson Secretary                     Mallow    

Activity Days                             The Square Table                    Longueville House Beverages

Tim McCarthy             Patrick Mulcahy                     Lenka Forrest

Kanturk            Mitchelstown                         Treasurer  

McCarthy’s Butchers  Ballinwillin House           The Old Blarney Post Office Cafe

Sat 29/4	12.00 & 2.30pm 2- 4pm      5pm 6pm                               8pm	Butter Making demonstration at Butter Museum, 1 O Connell Square Cork (beside Shandon Bells)at 12am and 2.30 pm (€4 entry) Talks on growing foods at Hydro Allotments Blarney Pony & Trap deliver butter churns to Blarney businesses, start at the Hydro Allotments and arrive in Blarney Cobh Animations Ladies in the Square 5-7pm Michael Creed the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine will formally launch the Food Trail at the Church of Ireland, Blarney at 6pm on the Saturday, followed by food tasting from the trail. Film The Old Butter Roads by Jasper Wynn in garden of Old Post Office & food from members ( or Church of Ireland if raining)
Sun 30/4	all day 2pm    3.30 6-9pm 8-10pm	Farm Grenagh Open day Walk at Clogheen Milken Fenn with Tom o Byrne Ecologist on the importance of Balance of the Environment Gab storytelling competition final on topic of ‘Old Butter Roads’ at the Church of Ireland Blarney organized by Toasmasters and the Gab. Free Event/donations Smokin’ Good Time an event at the Old Blarney Post Office Café showcasing smoked produce from the Food Trail Area. Guest speakers amongst others include Tim McCasthy of Kanturk and master of the art of butchery and Patrick Mulcahy of Ballinwillin House. Delicious  Longueville Cider will keep all refreshed.      Taste of the Old Butter Roads at the Square Table, Blarney  (tasting menu showcasing all producers from the trail; pre booked  €55)
Mon 1/5	all Day	Butter Day - Demonstration of Butter making at The Farm Grenagh all day
Week 1 May		Blarney Library - display of books on Cookery, Farming, Dairy Science and  Old Ireland and Cookery Meeting to discuss cookery books on Wednesday am. Thurs 4th Historical Society   Magic, Faries and Stories at Secondary School

Irish Craft Cider. A Litfest16 Event

Irish Craft Cider

A Litfest16 Event

Pete Brown, author of the World’s Best Cider, said the Irish craft cider scene is one of the most exciting right now. The ciders have “high juice content” and the makers “love their apples”. One of the most exciting yes, despite rankling under a very unfair tax regime that would seem to be designed to stifle innovation rather than encourage it.

Take Longueville House Cider Mór as an example. Because producer William O’Callaghan has added a wee spoon of brandy to his basic cider, the tax on Mór is five times the normal. Leslie Williams has raised the general issue many times, saying the current rebate system, which is very good for craft beer makes, is unfair on cider makers. The producers of an excellent wholly Irish product are being punished.

Leslie

So that's the sour notes out of the way. The rest of this panel discussion, the opening one in the Drinks Theatre at this year’s Ballymaloe Litfest, was focussed on five delicious ciders, five quite different examples, none of which would have been available just a few short years ago.

Pete Brown was joined on the panel by Leslie and by Caroline Hennessy, author of Slainte. 

They and the audience were welcomed to the “tractor shed” by Ballymaloe’s Colm McCan as we gathered to hail cider, the drink of the common people for perhaps 2,000 years, according to Pete.

Pete

Producer Simon Tyrrell introduced his Craigies 2013 Dalliance. Simon, well known for his wine background, says with Dalliance “we try to express the vinous side of cider”. He mentioned the terroir (Cappoquin Estate, sandstone). The apple blend is fifty fifty between Ekstar and Falstaff, both eating apples, and it spends 15 months on its lees.

Bright fresh fruit with extra creaminess here and you’ll note some cloudiness from the yeasts. Pete Brown said Dalliance proves you can make cider out of eating apples. And this is a good one.

“We use no chemicals at any point” said Rod Calder-Potts as he introduced his organic Highbank Proper Cider 2014. “We encourage microbial activity to counter any malign organisms...Cider makes itself..no sulphites...we put it in a barrell..local yeasts do the rest.”

This was bottled just last week by Con Traas, is 100 per cent apple and naturally dry. Pete loved the contrast between the first two ciders and confessed to being obsessed by yeast, at least with how the yeast converts sugar to alcohol! Leslie reminded us that, compared to beer makers, cider makers get just one chance per year.

And now Leslie introduced yet another type of Irish cider, Cockagee from County Meath. He did mention that there was “devilment” in the name but didn't go into the details. It is keeved, a process common in Brittany and Normandy and explained here on the Cockagee website.

Caroline

Pete 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”. Caroline agreed but their hints for crepes went unheeded!

William O’Callaghan, as he introduced his Longueville Mór, disclosed that the first apples in their orchard, planted 25 years ago, were intended for apple brandy rather than cider and that their micro-distillery was the first such in ireland. William, a chef who trained in Normandy, started the move to cider there about two years ago.

The Mór is their regular cider with a drop of apple brandy that “gives it a nice little kick”. It fermented naturally with local yeasts and produced with no sulphite. It went down very well indeed and William is proud of it, quite rightly, “but that tax is a pain!”.  Caroline asked him what food would pair with it. On its own or maybe with cheese was the answer. I had it a week or two ago at a cider evening in Electric with fish and chips. Caroline herself was thinking Lemon tart!

The Ballymaloe five. Dead men.

We finished with the limited edition (6,000 bottles) Stonewell Tawny 2014. Daniel Emerson told us all about it: “it is a chapitalised dry hop cider..the natural sugar is supplemented with additional sugar and this raises the ABV… minimum aging is 12 months and there is an extraordinary range of flavours over the 12 months”. Lots of tasting, no doubt!

At the end of the process, the cider is “very sweet, like an apple ice-cider”. They decided to counteract this by passing it through Eldorado dry hops. The result was very good and the Tawny has “proved remarkably successful.” And we could all see why. Pete was delighted with it saying it reminded him of a Canadian Ice Cider, “beautiful’.

Overall, it was a great reminder of how far Irish Cider has come in a few years. Perhaps next a tasting of these five might be arranged for the Dail bar and a few home truths delivered at the same time, in the nicest possible way of course!

See also: Hops and Glory. Seven IPAs before breakfast. Only at LITFEST16
Irish Atmospherics at John Wilson Tasting. Mediterranean Island Wines in Spotlight. LITFEST16

Longueville Cider And Apple Brandy At Electric

Longueville House Cider 

And Apple Brandy At Electric

Sangria, Cider, Apple Brandy

The dishes at Sunday evening’s supper in Electric South Mall had unusual pairings: the ciders and apple brandy from Longueville House, presented by Rupert Atkinson who surprised many with his declaration against ice in your cider!

“No ice! It waters down the flavours and kills the carbon. Enjoy this like a wine, in a wine glass.” So we sipped this naturally cloudy cider and we did enjoy it very much indeed with our starter: Butternut Squash Salad (with Roast Red Peppers, Crumbled Feta, and Spiced Peanuts).

There was a big welcome from Rupert as we arrived and he soon had us seated with a tall glass of Cider Sangria in our hands. Outside, summer hadn't quite broken through as forecast but inside we enjoyed this very refreshing drink.

As the mains were being served, the Longueville House man introduced us to their Cider Mór, aptly named as the ABV here is 8%. He explained that a little apple brandy has been added to this limited edition. Again no ice but you may serve it straight from the fridge. It should do well with the fish and chips and it did.

Harvest time at Longueville

Many of you will know that the Electric version of Fish and chips is an excellent example; the fish is not smothered in batter. Oh yes, they do use a batter and Sunday's was featherly light and the delicious fish was immediately apparent, not hard to find in a large pocket. The full description: Cider & Dill Battered Hake, Leek and Pea Purée, Chips and Tartare Sauce.

We would finish with a flourish. Hegarty’s Cheddar was paired with the Longueville House Apple Brandy. “This is made in Whitechurch and is one of Ireland's best cheeses”, said Rupert; it was served with apple, relish and crostini.

Like all the ciders, the brandy comes from apples grown in the orchards of Longueville. We enjoyed the 2009 vintage and it was quite a while in the making. Its story started with the 2006 apple crop. Three years later, the cider is doubled distilled and then the brandy spends a minimum of four years in French red wine casks.

“No mixer needed,” Rupert emphasised. “It is very smooth, no burning and good for digestion, best after a good meal. If it feels a little cool, just warm it in the palm of the hand.” So lots of good advice, good food and good drink all added up to a very enjoyable evening at Electric.

Click here to read all about my visit to Longueville House and its orchards last autumn.