Taste of the Week. Seagull Bakery Seaweed Sourdough

Taste of the Week

Seagull Bakery Seaweed Sourdough

While dining in the Copper Hen in Tramore, I overheard the server praising one of their suppliers, the nearby Seagull Bakery and mentioning that the premises were new. I had come across the Seagull breads before in Dungarvan and Kilkenny and the backstory was good.

The Seagull Bakery is a small artisan bakery which specialise in naturally fermented sourdough breads. Sarah Richards, who trained in Ballymaloe and later with Declan Ryan (Arbutus), is the owner and sole baker. All breads are handcrafted using unbleached additive free flours, and quality local ingredients.

You may also sit and enjoy a cup of coffee and a pastry here

Sarah makes a limited range of sourdough and one that caught my eye when I eventually strolled up from the Copper Hen was the Seaweed Sourdough. A little bit more expensive, I thought to myself when I handed over four euro.

But it was worth it. There are quite a few sourdoughs around these days, coming from many sources, and I’m not sure they all deserve the sourdough title. But this Seagull loaf was extra special, that slight sourness in the crust delightfully confirming it as the genuine article; certainly, with its super taste and texture, one of the very best sourdoughs I’ve come across and, to borrow a phrase from the nearby racecourse, a shoo-in for Taste of the Week.

Seagull Bakery  

4 Broad Street

(The Cross on Main Street)

Tramore

Co. Waterford.

Taste of the Week. St Tola Hard Goat Cheese

Taste of the Week

St Tola Hard Goat Cheese

You’d better get a move on if you’d like to enjoy out superb Taste of the Week: St Tola Hard Goat Cheese.

This is only made when there is a surplus, as there was last year - there was no hard cheese for a few years before that. It is tasting very well at present but stocks at the Inagh farm are beginning to run down! And running down even faster now that it is available in SuperValu.

This rare and delicious cheese is made in a Gouda style, pale, fine and smooth, boasting a distinctive tangy flavour. As there is no overpowering goat taste many people are amazed that it is made with goat milk. This makes a super addition to any cheeseboard; try pairing it with the Killahora ice wine or apple port. And take it easy - a small wedge goes a long way such is its outstanding flavour and texture!

More on recent visit to St Tola here. 

Also in Clare recently:
Bunratty Castle & Folk Park
Hazel Mountain Chocolate
The Burren Brewery
A Tour of Clare
St Tola Goats Cheese visit
Burren Gold Cheese
Henry's Bistro & Wine Bar Ennis
Red Cliff Lodge Restaurant Spanish Point
Oar Doolin
Noel's Restaurant at Bunratty Manor
Naughton's Kilkee
Coast of Clare

Taste of the Week. Clogherhead Sea Salt & White Wine Vinegar Crisps

Taste of the Week

Clogherhead Sea Salt & White Wine Vinegar Crisps

This Taste of the Week comes from Glens of Antrim Potatoes with no little help from Oriel Sea Salt in County Louth. I got a tip off on this one from a friend in Clogherhead and he was spot-on.

The Antrim company have been making crisps since 2015, cooking the thickly cut, skin-on slices in small batches for maximum flavour. And that Louth salt is seen to great effect here, its hit pure and precise. Add in the lasting tang of the White Wine Vinegar and you have a melange of texture and flavours from first bite until last.

Our Taste of the Week is one of four flavours available in the series, exclusive to Simply Better at Dunnes Stores. Also available are Clogherhead Sea Salt and Sweet Potato; Spiracha Chili; and Vintage Irish Cheddar and Red Onion, all available in 125 gram bags.

Taste of the Week. Izz Café Labneh

Taste of the Week

Izz Café Labneh

Labneh, with zaatar and olive oil

Labneh is a cheese made from salted strained yoghurt. Then Cafe Izz get to work on it, roll it in a spice mix and pack it into a container with olive oil. The spice used in my jar (it comes in a proper Kilner jar) was zaatar (tarty, herby, citrusy).   The zaatar certainly livens up the Labneh and our Taste of the Week was a refreshing addition to a salad, indeed the main player. Do try and get some flatbread as well.

Izz Cafe is a project that aims to provide genuine Palestinian foods and drinks in Ireland. “We have a unique approach of serving and satisfying our customers. At this stage, we are selling a selection of our foods in Douglas and Mahon Point farmers markets… ” They have lots of other interesting foods on their stalls; don’t be afraid to try. And, since last week, they have a café on George's Quay - will visit soon.

Izz Cafe Facebook Page 

Tel: 0851495625

Taste of the Week. Amazing no-hops beer from the Burren

Taste of the Week
Euphoria. No-Hops Beer by Burren Brewery

All you beer-heads out there, get on down to Lisdoonvarna this weekend and try out this amazing hop-less beer by Peter Curtin of the Burren Brewery. Read all about it on the poster.

I got a wee taste earlier in the week when Birgitta Curtin squeezed a few centilitres from the bottom of the barrel. This tastes close to a sour. I felt good. Reckon another few centilitres and I'd be euphoric.

That barrel may well be refilled by Friday, though it may be delayed until Saturday. Check before you go to the Roadside Tavern. And do let me know how you enjoyed our amazing Taste of the Week.

Also in Clare recently:
Bunratty Castle & Folk Park
Hazel Mountain Chocolate
The Burren Brewery
A Tour of Clare
St Tola Goats Cheese visit
Burren Gold Cheese
Henry's Bistro & Wine Bar Ennis
Oar Doolin
Noel's at Bunratty Manor
Coast of Clare

Taste of the Week. Burren Gold Cheese

Taste of the Week

Burren Gold Cheese

Dave, our host at Burren Gold

There’s a bunch of Holstein Friesians grazing on the tough fields around the Caherconnell Stone Fort in the heart of the Burren in County Clare. Not easy to get a decent biteful here; grass is not plentiful, far from it, but the cows also eat some of the famous herbs and exotic plants that grow in the crevices in the great pavement of the Burren rock. And that hard-earned mix of flavours goes to make Burren Gold, a Gouda style cheese and our Taste of the Week.

We have visited the famous Ailwee Caves in the area on a few occasions and head there again. But this time, instead of the caves, we are going to the Farm Shop, in the same complex. Here they sell lots of good things from the area, including honey, and indeed other cheeses and we also get a taste of the fantastic Cratloe Hills, a sheep milk cheese from the south of the county (and a previous Taste of the Week).

The milk from the Holstein Friesians of Caherconnell is brought here and you can see the cheese being made. Today though, the cheesemaker has a day off. Just by pure chance, we get talking to manager Dave and he talks us through the process.

They have been making the cheese here since 1985. So why haven’t we heard about it? The main reason is that over 90 per cent of it is sold right here in the Farm Shop and the rest locally. We actually found it on the breakfast menu at our B&B, the Fergus View near Corofin where the Kellehers, Mary and Declan, support all things local.

Burren Gold is a firm textured Gouda style cheese with a rich creamy taste. It comes in a variety of flavours:- Plain, Smoked, Cumin, Garlic & Nettle, Black Pepper and for something a little more exotic—Piri Piri. 

You can taste all the variations here - we did - and Dave was particularly proud of the Piri Piri and even more so of the Black Pepper which won a Gold Medal Award at the prestigious Bath and West Show in 2018.

They also age some of the cheese. You can see the racks of wheels in a glassed off section of the shop, one for 12 months, another for 24.  Those mature cheeses are splendid and we bought ourselves a piece that was just over 12 months. It is disappearing rapidly.

Actually, there is quite a lot to do here. You may of course visit the famous caves, all part of the Burren Geo-Park; you may buy a combined ticket that will enable you see the Birds of Prey.  And if you want to interact with one of nature's top predators, then sign up for the Hawk Walk (you’ll need to do this in advance). This walk also includes admission to the cave and the Birds of Prey.

Other attractions not too far away are the Burren Perfumery and the Poulnabrone dolmen, both amazing.

Ailwee Caves https://www.aillweecave.ie/ 

Ballyvaughan

Co. Clare

Tel: +353 (0)657077036

Also on this trip:
St Tola Goats Cheese

Taste of the Week. “Windvane” Irish Cider

Taste of the Week

The Cider Mill “Windvane” Irish Cider Farmhouse Draught

Another revival (and celebration) of the Irish cider heritage by Mark Jenkinson, the man who brought us the outstanding Cockagee. This Windvane, named after a wind indicator once seen working on many Irish farmhouses, is smooth and rounded, crisp with “the right balance of tannins”. 

The pleasing mid-gold colour draws you in. The rich juiciness of the ripe fruit keeps you sipping and the luscious mellow finish tastes like more. A definite Taste of the Week as was his Cockagee  three years back.

ABV is  5% and, like most Irish craft drinks, is available in Bradley’s of Cork. It comes in a 500ml bottle and costs €4.50. Bradley’s also have the Cockagee.

The Cider Mill

Cornanstown House

Stackallan

Slane

Co.Meath

The web address on the bottle is given as www.thecidermill.ie but it was broken when I tried it at the time of writing.

Taste of the Week. Killenure Castle Dexter Beef Salami

Taste of the Week

Killenure Castle Dexter Beef Salami

Taste of the Week is a gem: Killenure Castle Dexter Beef Single Estate Salami, to give it its full title. The cattle are raised in Dundrum, Co. Tipperary.

It is salami and you may eat it in much the same way as you’d enjoy any other salami. But this is not just another salami as it has got its own amazing texture and flavour thanks to the heritage beef and “a heritage curing process”.

Killenure have returned the native Irish breed to its “original birthplace in Dundrum”. The salami is not the only product. Watch out for their “Boutique Beef” and “Dexter Dripping”. Nothing is wasted: they also do leather and bone crafts. Must see if I can visit!

Glad I recently ordered the #IrishFood hamper to raise awareness & funds for #RearingtoGo @TeacTom via @gingerbreadmiss , as that’s where I came across the salami. Not too sure about stockists but you may purchase direct from the castle.

Killenure Castle 

Knockavilla,

Dundrum,

County Tipperary.

• E: info@killenure.com
• T: + 353 (0) 62 71498
• M: + 353 (0) 87 640 2664

Taste of the Week. Rosscarbery Irish Biltong

Taste of the Week

Rosscarbery Irish Biltong

You’re a person on the go. Playing stamina sapping games. Surfing. Climbing. Hill Climbing. Farming. Maybe you’re just hovering the stairs carpet. And you need a quick snack to boost those energy levels. Well, our latest Taste of the Week might interest you. The Irish Biltong by Rosscarbery Recipes is naturally high in protein, a great on the go snack made from 100% Angus beef. Just sea salt, organic raw cane sugar, toasted coriander, ground black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and dried Irish seaweed have been added to the beef.

The Allshires, the family behind Rosscarbery and Caherbeg Pork, are well known in West Cork and beyond and it was one of the younger members, son Maurice, who developed this product. Initially is was for himself. 

An active young man, he was unimpressed with the snacks available, certainly with those long lists of strange ingredients. “I needed something tasty, something that I could rely on with an ingredient list that a toddler could read.” And so he developed Rosscarbery Biltong around his own lifestyle. It took a while though but now it is widely available.

The beef has been cured and air dried and cut into small strips and the product comes ready to eat in a pocketable pack. Just put a piece on your tongue and allow the juices in your mouth to work their magic. The beef softens and you can chew away to your heart’s content. Another  strip or two and you’re ready to move that mountain, well climb that hill!

Rosscarbery Recipes 

Caherbeg

Rosscarbery

Co. Cork

Taste of the Week. Cohiba “Atmosphere” Cuban Coffee

Taste of the Week

Cohiba “Atmosphere” Cuban Coffee

I keep an eye on the offerings at Dublin’s FIXX coffee and glad that I do when I can get my hands on a coffee as good as this Cohiba “Atmosphere”.

The beans are sourced from The Isabelica Plantation of Gran Piedra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (one of only two coffee plantations in the world to receive this accolade).

At over 1,000 meters above sea level and surrounded by hardwood trees, the coffee plants develop under the shade of the leafy trees. A natural refuge for rare birds making the almost inaccessible region into a Biosphere Reserve. The exceptional conditions found in this small area ensure that we are getting something very rare with these bird-friendly gourmet coffees.

This is a superb coffee, intense rather than strong, excellent body with the hint of cocoa undertones. A knockout premium coffee, something of a fist in a velvet glove. It is 100% Arabica and is expensive but quite a treat.

Fixx 

Unit 9, Naas Road Business Park, Muirfield Drive, Naas Road , Dublin, D12 X3H7

Taste of the Week. Ballinrostig Gold Cheese

Taste of the Week

Ballinrostig Gold Cheese

Pic from Ballinrostig Facebook

Just finished a piece of Ballinrostig Organic Gold cheese, a Gouda style cheese mainly made from Jersey Milk, and it’s a beauty! Hand-crafted and packed full of flavour, this high-quality creamy cheese with a rich colour from the Jersey milk is a gem from East Cork and is our Taste of the Week.

Ballinrostig Cheese is owned and run by husband and wife team, Stephen Bender and Michele Cashman, in the small village of the same name.

They’ve been making cheese since 2015. Last year they converted their entire range to organic.  Their basic product is a Gouda style cheese.  The signature cheese is the Gold and our Taste of the Week is a beauty! The Gouda style herb cheese range includes Nettle, Cumin and Red Pepper and Garlic.  In addition they produce an Organic Cream Cheese with Nettle and Garlic, and a Halloumi and a Bán (Feta) cheese.  

I got my Jersey gold in Bradley’s Cork (€4.95 for a good sized wedge) and other outlets are listed here.  

Ballinrostig Cheese

Ballinrostig

Whitegate

Co. Cork

Tel: 087 2773141

Web: www.ballinrostighomestead.com 

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

Taste of the Week. Silver Spear Gin

Taste of the Week

Silver Spear Gin

So many gins on the market nowadays. Some are very good. But others have little to distinguish themselves from the crowd. Not so with Silver Spear from Ballydarton House in Carlow. Came across this at a recent function, enjoyed the fragrant aromas and the classic characteristics in the glass and thought to myself that I had a Taste of the Week in my hands. 

So I did some further research, that is to say, I had another glass of their perfect serve.

The ingredients are: 

Silver Spear Gin 35ml

Premium tonic 150ml.

Stir and serve on ice, garnished with strawberry (sliced and slight muddled) and one wedge of lime (with a slight squeeze.

That research worked out quite well and the Silver Spear is our current Taste of the Week. Lots of other ways of serving it also. Check out a list of cocktails here. 

Perfect!

Silver Spear gin is an award winning contemporary Irish Gin produced in small batches by Smyth & O’Reilly. Taking over 14 months to develop and produced with absolute consistency, it’s is a marriage of 13 different ingredients, including fresh juniper berries, spices, herbs and citrus.

The name was inspired by an iconic piece of Irish and British military history. The ‘Silver Spear’ was awarded to John Henry Watson of Ballydarton House in 1876 for his ‘skill and horsemanship’ whilst he was in service in Colonial India, the home of Gin and Tonic.

The company is owned and managed by husband and wife team, Dawn and Charles Smyth. Dawn, well experienced in the food and drink business, is the only person who knows the secret recipe and blends. They were  awarded “Best Irish Contemporary Gin” in Ireland during blind taste tests at the World Gin Awards 2018. More info here. 

Taste of the Week from The Proper Chocolate Co.

Taste of the Week

from The Proper Chocolate Co.

Glad I recently ordered the #IrishFood hamper to raise awareness & funds for #RearingtoGo @TeacTom via @gingerbreadmiss recently. There were some very tasty bits and pieces there including a Dark Chocolate with Toasted Coconut, now our Taste of the Week. I’ll undoubtedly have another TofW out of that hamper as well as the weeks go by.

The Proper Chocolate Company is a bean to bar producer based in Dublin and they get their beans in many countries and so have quite a variety of flavours. They also do drinking chocolate.

My bar is made from organic cocoa beans and is a delight. They sum it up pretty well themselves: “a delicate fragrance of coconut followed by a gentle dark chocolate marked with fruitiness”.  The coconut also adds a nice bit of texture and the whole effect is excellent. Quite a treat!

The Proper Chocolate Company H2G

136a Slaney Close, Dublin 11

Tel: 01 555 4490

Web: https://properchocolatecompany.com/ 

Facebook: Properchocolate

Twitter: @proper_choc

Insta: proper chocolate

Taste of the Week. Dundon Lemon Curd

Taste of theWeek

Dundon Lemon Curd

Called into Dunbrody House while we were in the area in December and found the Christmas Market in full swing, with chef Kevin Dundon chatting with the visitors. 

He had quite a few jars, including Apple Jelly, Irish Whiskey Marmalade, and Mincemeat on offer and told us he was very happy with his Brandy Butter. We bought a bunch. All good but the one that really stood for us was his Lemon Curd (Limited Edition).

Lots of lemon curds on sale these days, some of them not too good. But this is superbly balanced and our Taste of the Week.

Dunbrody Country House Hotel & Restaurant,

Arthurstown,

New Ross,

Co. Wexford

Y34 R597

Taste of the Week. Milk Chocolate Apple Crisp Thins by The Lismore Food Company

Taste of the Week

Milk Chocolate Apple Crisp Thins

The Lismore Food Company

Came across the Dark Chocolate Apple Crisp Thins by the Lismore Food Company about a year ago and immediately made it Taste of the Week. Now they have a Milk Chocolate version and, yes, it is the current Taste of the Week. 

Divine apple thins (air dried) are wrapped in the finest milk chocolate and are hard to resist. I just don’t bother. Best enjoyed alone – or for sharing if one must!

The three people driving Lismore Foods are Beth-Ann Smith and the Madden brothers Owen and Ken. Beth-Ann Smith’s family history in food stretches back to Smith’s Stores, a fine food delicatessen and bakery on Cork’s Patrick Street. Having trained at Ballymaloe Cookery School she is now the head chef at Lismore Castle. 

The Madden’s family opened a bakery and public house on Lismore’s Main Street in the early 1800’s. Now called ‘The Summerhouse’ and home to The Lismore Food Company, they continue this rich tradition of baking in the same historic location.

The three came together in 2014 and their distinctively packed goodies are now seen on all the best shelves. Their sweet biscuits are perfect with tea, coffee or with dessert while the savoury are ideal with cheese and a glass of wine.

Lismore Food Company 

The Summerhouse

Main Street

Lismore

Co. Waterford.

+353 86 171 2813

Taste of the Week. Rascals New England IPA Nine.

Taste of the Week

Rascals New England IPA Nine, 9% abv, 440cl can Bradley’s Cork €4.95

Rascals of Dublin are big fans of the New England IPA style and have three variations, each named based on the abv. The series is called 759 (why not 579, I wonder). The Limited Editions are unfiltered, unpasteurised. Cryo Amarillo and Cryo Mosaic are the hops used.

Exotic, juicy and Banger is how they describe this. Loads of hops and, just to be sure, no less than three separate dry hop additions. You, like me, might be wondering about the Cryo hops. Cryo is a relatively new concentrated hop powder. Fairly technical stuff but the end result means your beer has everything you like about hops but not the bitterness.

Rascals have a West Coast IPA called Good Vibrations. Vibrations from this New England libation are also pretty good. Our cool Taste of the Week.

If in Dublin why not visit the source, the Rascals Taproom.  I had hoped to call there on a recent Tuesday but no joy as it is not open on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Taste of the Week. Flahavan’s Flapjacks

Taste of the Week

Flahavan’s Flapjacks

Did you know that the Ardkeen Quality Food store has, very recently, opened an outlet in the Dove Hill Design centre near Carrick-on-Suir? I called there recently and, among other goodies, picked up these Flahavan’s Flapjacks, our current Taste of the Week.

I really enjoyed the crunch and flavours from my six pack of Cranberry and Orange; delicious and wholesome they are made with wholegrain oats and are a source of fibre. And, importantly. the oats is grown and milled locally, and the flapjacks themselves are baked in Kilmacthomas. 

I fully intend to make these a regular here and glad to see variety in the selection. They also produce the flapjacks in other versions: Multiseed, Fruit and Nut, Choc Chip, and Original.

E. Flahavan & Sons Ltd 

Kilnagrange Mills,

Kilmacthomas,

Co. Waterford,

Ireland

+353 51 294107

Taste of the Week. Big Red Kitchen’s Spiced Plum & Port Jam

Taste of the Week

Big Red Kitchen’s Spiced Plum & Port Jam

“We combine ripe plums with a hint of warming cinnamon and port in this wonderful seasonal preserve. Wonderful on bread and scones, but why not try serving it with pate or cheese?”

A big thanks to Margo Ann of the Roughty Foodie in the English Market for introducing me to this lovely jam. We had been thinking of trying it with seasonal items, such as the Christmas pudding but that wasn’t really an item!

In the meantime, Nicola (from Big Red Kitchen) had tweeted that it was a match with paté, cheese and duck. Plenty of opportunities over the Christmas to try it, although funnily enough no paté (though there is a small tin of Ostrich hanging around). Excellent with most cheeses, though I preferred a sweeter preserve (such as Fig Jam) with the blue cheeses.

But the outstanding match came when we had it with Skeaghanore Smoked Duck. Their richly flavoured smoked duck breast is a favourite here, even more so now that we have this delicious Big Red Kitchen jam - our Taste of the Week - to go with it. I’ll be in for more, Margo!

The Big Red Kitchen 

Tel: 01-6978092 

Mob: 086-1508462 

Email: nicola@bigredkitchen.ie 

Address: Simonstown Lane, Navan, Co. Meath, Ireland 

Taste of the Week. Mella’s All Butter Rum & Raisin Fudge

Taste of the Week

Mella’s All Butter Rum & Raisin Fudge

No fudging about: I love Mella. I also love Miena but that’s a-nougat story. They can’t get away from me. They always hangout at the Simply Better section in Dunnes Stores.

And that’s exactly where I bought my little “bag” of All Butter Rum & Raisin Fudge, handmade with loads of Irish butter and tons of Mella magic in her kitchen in West Cork.

That potent amalgam of texture and flavour remains intact until you place a piece on your tongue. Then the melt-down begins. Everything else stops as the deliciousness spreads across the palate and spreads to other regions. A moment of paradise.

Sure it dissolves all too soon but the good news is that there is no less than one hundred and sixty grams of this superb mix of butter, raisins and Jamaican rum in the Simply Better pack. Put it on your resolution list for 2019!

Taste of the Season. Barnabrow Christmas Pudding

Taste of the Season

Barnabrow Christmas Pudding

Beautiful texture, amazing flavours

This year, Aberdeen born Chef Stuart Bowes gave the famous Barnabrow Christmas Pudding some added punch, packing it “with the locally distilled Jameson Whiskey and soaked with a double potion of Guinness”.

The pudding was dark, laden with fruit, bound with butter, laced with fresh spices, sprinkled with fairy dust, sweetened with local honey and carrot from their Victorian walled garden. The whisky and stout also helped moisten it.

For all that, there was a certain textural lightness about it, nothing like the heavy unappealing almost indigestible dark slabs served up in some establishments. It was a delight to dispatch and was our Taste of the Season.

Roughy Fruity had them on sale in the English Market. Perhaps they have some left! I suspect there may still be some on offer at Sunday lunch in Barnabrow! And I see that they have a Little Christmas event next Saturday afternoon.

Barnabrow House 

Barnabrow

Cloyne, Co. Cork

021 - 465 2534