Showing posts with label Rosscarbery Recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rosscarbery Recipes. Show all posts

Monday, July 4, 2016

The Café At Stephen Pearce Pottery.

The Café At Stephen Pearce Pottery
At The End Of The Lane
I was sitting in the Cafe at Stephen Pearce Pottery when I heard them. I looked up at the sloping ceiling, up beyond the many paintings of fruits and vegetables, expecting to see a swallow or two. But, no. The bird sounds were coming from the room next door, from a couple of lovebirds.


There were other happy sounds from that quarter too, from children playing with a lump of clay on a worktop with a wall in front decorated with the prints of lots of little hands. So here the kids are engaged while mum and dad enjoy the food and drink next door.


And if the weather is fine, you will hear the birds and other little creatures as you sit and dine in one of the two quite attractive outdoor areas, each surrounded by wind-stopping trees and bushes.

But all these desirable extras aside, it is the food you come from. Chef Christine Crowley won't let you down, whether you've come for brunch or lunch or just a cup of the Golden Bean coffee and one of her delicious cakes. Actually, if you're going to confine yourself to just one cake, make it the absolutely delicious Carrot and Walnut. Then again…..
We were there for lunch recently, arriving just as they changed the boards. That gave us a chance to see the Brunch Menu and that too is very tempting. Lots of drinks here too, teas and coffees, waters and juices. And a short wine list that includes Cremant d’Alsace to add a little sparkle to your visit.

I had heard good mention of the Steak Sandwich (€10.00) so I picked that. It was one of the best of its type I’ve come across. The ingredients are simply stated: sourdough, steak, caramelised onions, garlic mayonnaise and dressed leaves. Simply delicious, as someone famous down Shanagarry way would say!
Virtually everything on your plate is local. The sourdough is by Pana, the steak from Frank Murphy Butchers. Other names on the list include fish smoker Bill Casey (a next door neighbour), The Village Green Grocer in Castlemartyr, Rosscarbery Recipes, Jack McCarthy Kanturk, Ardsallagh Goats Cheese, East Ferry Farm, Darren’s Eggs Ballymaloe, Wilkie’s Organic Hot Chocolate and Golden Bean Coffee.

CL’s pick was the Bruschetta with roasted red peppers, hummus, grilled gourgette, served with dressed leaves. This eye-catching palate-pleasing plateful cost just €8.50. Excellent eating, excellent value.

Then it was time for coffee and that Carrot and Walnut cake! If a whole flock of swallows had flown in at that moment, I wouldn’t have heard them, such was my concentration on that superb wedge of moist sweetness in the lovely café at the end of a Shanagarry boreen.
The Café at Stephen Pearce Pottery
Shanagarry
County Cork
Tel: 086 199 6934
Email: thecafeatspp@gmail.com
Twitter: Twitter @TheCafe_SPP

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Electric Breakfast For Taste Cork. Producers, Restaurateurs Pull Together

Electric Breakfast For Taste Cork
Producers, Restaurateurs Pull Together


The local plate!

Taste Cork, set up with supports from the Local Enterprise Offices in Cork, Cork City Council and Cork County Council, and other state agencies, held a Breakfast Seminar at Electric in the South Mall yesterday morning.

The goal of Taste Cork is to help the county nurture its enviable status as an iconic food brand and that was underlined with the produce on the breakfast plate: Jack McCarthy’s bacon, O’Flynn’s Breakfast sausage, Rosscarbery Black pudding, Ballyhoura mushroom, East Ferry Fried eggs and Ballymaloe Relish. Electric’s own brown bread went down well while other highlights were Wilkie's Organic Hot Chocolate and Bean Brownies Banana Bread.

Taste Cork, fronted by Rebecca O’Keeffe, is determined to get Cork produce the exposure it deserves, to help the local producers as much as possible. And one practical way is the opening, in a few days, of the Cork Incubator Kitchen in the Carrigaline Industrial Estate (on the Crosshaven Road).

A breakfast highlight (above) and
another, Wilkie's hot chocolate, below.

Brendan Russell has taken on the management reins here and told the full house of producers and restaurateurs in Electric that the facility will have two kitchens. One is the Bakery Kitchen, fully equipped, with a state of the art triple deck oven the highlight. The other is called the Catering Kitchen. This will be for preparation work in volume and equipment here includes a quick vacuum packer and a sealing machine.

The website will soon be up and running and that will make it easy to register. Brendan, who has spent 16 years as a chef, has a good understanding as to why businesses succeed (and fail) and education will also feature under the following headings:
1 - Theory of Practicality;
2 - Business Understanding;
3- Catering Skills;
4 - Work Relations.

The event was opened by Sean O’Sullivan and he was delighted that funding had been provided for the full-time position in Taste Cork. Both he and Rebecca are looking forward to getting everyone “to start looking locally”. And so say all of us. You can see my motto on the site here: Buy local, fresh and fair. The more we pull together, the further we will go.


Kevin Aherne is one man who has been doing exactly this for the past five years and his innovative 12 Mile Menu was recognised by his peers on Tuesday evening in Killarney when his Sage Restaurant in Midleton won Restaurant of the Year in Cork.

Kevin spoke later at the seminar and we’ll have a post on that tomorrow. Mary Daly (Food Safety Company) also spoke in Electric and she too stressed the importance of local: “Provenance is hugely important. Taste Cork can play a big role.” More too from Mary tomorrow. Part Two is now up and running and you can see what Kevin and Mary said here.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Chapel Steps Three Years On. Tempting New Menu.

Chapel Steps Three Years On
Tempting New Menu
Monkfish

Bandon’s Chapel Steps celebrated their 3rd birthday in September and confidently moved into their fourth year with a brilliant new Autumn Menu, full of great choice and sprinkled with innovation too. All well cooked and also well served if our visit last week is anything to go by.

The lovely room, the centrepiece of the O'Reillys’ restaurant, will still see orders for fish and steak. These have been on the menu from day one, the fish from nearby Union Hall, the black Angus beef from even nearer home.

Pork

There were at least three different fish dishes on the menu when we called and, indeed, one of the specials allowed you to taste all three on the one platter. Our choice was the Medallions of curried scented monkfish in a tempura batter with saffron yogurt and tangy couscous. This was delicious, the fish not smothered by the thin veil of batter, and the tangy couscous was a terrific match.

And my choice? Not an easy one. Even after the fish and steak, there was still a Butternut and Feta Gratin, their Beef Burger, Duck 2 Way, Blade of Beef and chicken. The one I did pick was the Celebration of Pork: pan-fried pork belly, Rosscarbery black pudding croquette, smoked pork cheek, celeriac puree, salsify, apple and pear jus. Quite a long description but just a short one to sum it up: excellent. That smoked cheek came in its own mini-pie and was quite a treat. A quality dish indeed.
Mackerel Smokie

Back to the starter now and again the thing that strikes me is the great choice on the list. You can actually see the full menu (aside from specials) here. I don’t think I’ve ever had a mackerel smokie before so I went for it: diced smoked mackerel, tomato concasse, and topped with parmesan herb crust. Full of texture and flavour and a great way to start.

Our other starter was the Chicken liver paté with fig and apricot compote and warm toast. Easy enough to put out a slice of top notch paté but matching it with this particular compote made it a winner.

Tart

And another winner came at the end. We were facing defeat though when the dessert list was presented but made one last joint effort and ordered the Warm Treacle Tart, with praline, honeycomb, quince, caramel sauce and caramel ice-cream. Don't often see this on a menu. More's the pity as it was terrific. Next time though, we might manage two between us, this and perhaps the White Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake!

And the good news is that the Treacle Tart features on the Chapel Step’s Christmas Menus, both lunch and dinner. The menus feature a mix of seasonal dishes (including Christmas Pudding of course) and some of their regular favourites. Prices are good: €22.00 for lunch, €30.00 for dinner.

We had a lovely meal the other night, trying out the new seasonal menu as guests.

Photo courtesy of Chapel Steps
Chapel Steps
(023) 885 2581

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.


Monday, August 24, 2015

Staples Making His Mark at Hayfield Manor

Staples Making His Mark at Hayfield
Superb Lunch at Perrott's
Even on a dull day, Perrott’s Bistro in the Hayfield Manor is an impressive room. And, to further brighten up the place, there is excellent food available here, both day and night. And indeed, the room is perhaps even more impressive after dark.


Scottish chef Mark Staples brought considerable experience to the Hayfield when he was appointed Executive Chef there late last year. Prior to that he had spent 16 years in Dublin's Merrion and noticed the trend towards artisan food and meets that demand at Perrotts by using quite a few local producers including Skeaghanore Duck, Bluebell Falls Goats Cheese, Rosscarbery Black Pudding and Toonsbridge Mozzarella. (To read more on Mark's career, click here).


 It was a pretty dull day when we arrived last week but it brightened up with a warm welcome. Service was superb all through. And we got a super wine tip that saw us both enjoy the excellent te Pā Sauvignon blanc from Marlborough, a fine example of the type, full of flavour and with a long rolling finish.

It's been awhile since I enjoyed a Prawn cocktail as much as my starter: Tiger Prawn and Freshwater Prawn Cocktail with pickled Cucumber. The prawns were delicious and the pickled cucumber (seedless, skinless) was a nice touch, not just visually.

You see goats cheese a lot on local menus. And why not? We’ve got some terrific producers. CL’s starter was Grilled Bluebell Falls Goats Cheese with Oat and Almond Crust, Rocket Leaves and White Balsamic Marinated Strawberries. A few different touches here, that crust and those strawberries included, enhanced the excellent cheese from North Cork.

My mains was the Bertram Salter Free Range Chicken with Rosscarbery Black Pudding, Ham Hock and Chicken Croquette, Champ Mash, Pea Purée and Tarragon jus. I hadn't come across this particular producer before; Bertram is based in County Carlow and the product is top class and was cooked to perfection here. All the other elements played a part, especially that outstanding Croquette.
 CL loves her hake and enjoyed this Pan-seared Union Hall Hake fillet with Celeriac and Thyme Purée, Roasted Baby Onions, Salt Baked Kohlrabi, Caper Beurre Noisette. It was of course that little bit different. She particularly enjoyed the Kohlrabi and the potato crisps were both decorative and tasty!


And the little touches that make all the difference continued into the desserts. Desserts can often be very similar from one restaurant to another and are the one course I'd often happily leave behind. But no danger of that here.

CL’s was the Baked Glenilen Yogurt, Cinnamon Crumble, Strawberry and Mint Salsa with champagne sorbet while I picked the Alunga Milk Chocolate Parfait, Sea Buckthorn, Caramelized cashews, and Brown Bread ice cream. Rene Redzepi of Noma brought the attention of his fellow chefs to Sea Buckthorn and the foraged berries make a lovely syrup (may be used in yogurts and smoothies). As I say, desserts with a difference for the guests at Perrott’s.


Mark and his team. To read more on Mark, click here


Sunday, August 16, 2015

Seafood Cafe at Blue Haven

Seafood Cafe at Blue Haven


It was seafood all the way at the new Seafood Cafe in the Blue Haven last week. And why not? After all we were on the Wild Atlantic Way. Not that there much wild about it on one of the best days of the summer. Naturally enough, by the time we arrived after a noon cruise around the harbour, the sunny outside seats were taken and we were accommodated inside. No hardship there.


Both the starters came from nearby Oysterhaven. Jamie’s Oysterhaven Mussels, a big pot of them for €9.95, were served with a garlic, white wine, parsley and cream (lots of it) sauce and garlic crostini. Very tasty.


For €6.95, I got the oddly titled Quarter Dozen Oysterhaven Oysters, served on crushed ice, with a Guinness shot, lemon, and seaweed soda bread. The Oysters, all three of them,  were top notch, a taste of the Atlantic for sure.


By the way, my server suggested Carlsberg and Heineken when I asked for craft beer but a few friendly words later and I was sipping a delicious local pale ale from Black’s Brewery. Indeed, they have a bunch of craft beers here and also that gorgeous local cider by Stonewell.


On then to the main courses. I thoroughly enjoyed my Char Grilled Swordfish Nicoise Style with Green beans, fondant potatoes, mixed olives, soft boiled egg, sun blushed tomatoes, pea shoots. The fish was perfectly cooked and the rest of the dish added more texture and flavours. (Cost €21.95).


CL was happy too with her Jamie's Claypot King Prawns and Gubbeen Chorizo, with chilli and garlic butter, shallots, parsley and served with garlic crostini. Another good flavoursome mix here for €12.95.


Two Affogatos later and we were back out in the sunshine.

Monday, April 27, 2015

Treat Meat With Respect. Talking to Avril Allshire-Howe

Treat Meat With Respect
Talking to Avril Allshire-Howe


Avril, and books!
“Meat should be treated with respect.”

So said Avril Allshire during our recent visit to the Rosscarbery farm that she runs with husband Willie and their two sons William and Maurice. The small farm is home to two related enterprises: Caherbeg Free Range Pork and Rosscarbery Recipes. It is also the place where the young sons practice on their racing quads!

“Every little mouthful should be savoured,” she continued. “None of us can afford to gorge ourselves, we can't afford to waste meat.”
Pork Fruit Cake. Secret Recipe!
Avril was talking to me in her own home, surrounded by shelves and shelves of books, many of them food related. No surprise either to see that she is a big fan of Joanna Blythman, the English writer who constantly exposes the con-men of the big-food world and who will again appear at the 2015 Ballymaloe Lit-Fest next month.

Avril could well write a recipe book herself. She agreed with me that food producers should provide recipes to customers but only if they have something new to add.

She certainly has and you’ll see quite a few of them on her Rosscarbery Recipes blog. But there is one that she won't be publishing, won't be sharing! As we spoke we were treated to a slice of what looked like a normal fruit cake.

Spots (left) and Timmy
As we began to enjoy it, she revealed that it had “no eggs, no dairy”. She named this delicious creation, an exclusive one, Pork Fruit Cake, as one of the important ingredients is, believe it or not,  sausage meat! “It is an alternative to Christmas Cake, may well have been a forerunner of Christmas cake.”

Later, at lunch, she served us her Black Pudding lasagna, another of her originals, a flavoursome echo perhaps of the time when there were no convenience shops, maybe also a shortage of cash, and people had to use what was close at hand, what was in the cupboard. And indeed there was another echo of those days in her answer to the question What is your own favourite? “Depends on the humour,” she laughed. “But I’ll use whatever is in the house.”

“Has the success of any particular product surprised you?”, I asked.
“Yes, I have been surprised by the success of the black pudding, by the variety of people that like it, the young and the old alike. Eastern European peoples quite like it too. It is quite low in fat and useful for a variety of dishes.”

Awards galore
Husband Willie drove the rest of the family to the brink of frustration during the long 15 months he (and they) spent developing their black pudding, developing it to his and their satisfaction. But the passion paid off in a big way and the pudding has won a string of awards, mostly gold, in Ireland, the UK, Belgium and notably in France. “How do you know you have a good one?”, I queried. “The acid test,” she replied, “is to cut a sliver and eat it at room temperature.”


We discussed trends in the business.”Six or seven years ago, you could not give away belly of pork. Then the recession hit and everybody wanted it. The Caherbeg herd is quite small. We have limited numbers and not that much belly and so the Celtic Ross have exclusivity on our belly.” We had enjoyed that special dish in the local hotel the previous evening and it is worth travelling for!


Then it was time to take a tour of the free range pigs (a mixture of breeds including Gloucester Old Spot, Tamworth and Kune-Kune)  and we met some of the main characters including Spots, the mammy of many of them, and Timmy, the daddy. Pigs are not the only animals here. We met the dog and some of the five cats. And also Maa-aa, the growing lamb that they adopted from a neighbouring farm after its mother had rejected it. Maa-aa has been given a job! She'll be keeping the grass and weeds in control in their orchard! Two legs or four, you have to pull your weight in Caherbeg!


Read more about Caherbeg Free-Range Pork and Rosscarbery Recipes here
Rosscarbery Recipes Website: http://www.rosscarberyrecipes.ie
Rosscarbery Recipes blog: http://rosscarberyrecipes.blogspot.ie
Caherbeg Free Range Pork website: http://www.caherbegfreerangepork.ie


Wednesday, February 11, 2015

The West’s Awake. Find it Fresh in Bradley’s

The  West’s Awake.

Find it Fresh in Bradley’s

Opening day in Bradley's
Fresh from West Cork is back in town and you’ll find it installed in Bradley’s, North Main Street. Walter, familiar to many of you from his stint last year in the English Market, fronts the operation and is as enthusiastic as ever.

And why wouldn't he be? He has some great produce in Bradley's; all the familiar names are there including Irish Atlantic Sea Salt, Rosscarbery Recipes, Gubbeen, Ummera, Glenilen, Sally Barnes (he especially recommends her smoked mackerel, “a big seller”), West Cork Pies, Culture Foods (the Sauerkraut people, who are now exporting) and more.

June Kingston’s Soda Wheaten loaf is a best seller and there are tasty apple tarts from the Walshes of Caheragh (near Drimoleague). And don't forget the Loughbeg Tea Brack and be sure to get some Glenilen clotted cream to go with that! Then you have yogurts and Lemon Labneh from McCarthy’s Dairy not to mention the many fish products from Union Hall including Smoked Mackerel Paté and Smoked Salmon Paté.

No shortage of honey and jam. The honey comes from Noel and Patricia Love of Knockeen (Skibbereen) while jams are supplied by Kathleen McCarthy of Drimoleague and Eithne McCarthy from Skibbereen. And watch out too for the Loughbeg chutneys, quite a few but the star is the Yellow Zucchini Relish which was adored by a bunch of “nine Michelin chefs from London when they sampled it at the English Market last year”.

And the good news is that you can get these six days a week, from 8.00am to 9.30pm! And more good news. If you like your vegetables fresh (and who doesn't?), Colm O’Regan of Horizon Farms will be making three deliveries a week to North Main Street.

And from next Friday, you'll be able to get raw pressed juice here: carrot, beetroot and a vegetable and fruit blend! “And the week after that, we'll have mini-meals,” he said. I looked puzzled! “Especially for toddlers,” he clarified. So there you are. Walter and Fresh from West Cork will feed you all, big and small.