ST PATRICK'S DAY STREET FOOD MARKET IN CORK

press release 

ST PATRICK'S DAY STREET FOOD MARKET IN CORK 

Live Music, Tacos and Espresso Martinis on offer at Harley’s Street St Patrick’s Day Food Market

Harley StrEAT Food Market has launched its St Patrick’s Day menu which is packed with delights. The food trucks, which are located next to the Metropole Hotel will be open on St Patrick’s Day from 12pm to 7pm. There will also be live music for St Patrick’s Day on Thursday from 3pm to 5pm and again on Saturday from 3pm to 5pm. 

Bevs & Brews will be bringing back Espresso Martinis and will also have non alcoholic cocktails available. Taco Rebel will also be launching a new Fish Taco.

 

Harley's StrEAT Food Market will be operating on a walk in basis, as normal.

The vibrant new street food offering opened last year in the heart of Cork’s Victorian Quarter. Harley’s StrEAT Market is located next to The Metropole Hotel and features food and drinks made with locally sourced ingredients.

Outdoor seating is available on Harley's Street which has views of the Lee and is home to one of the Ardú Street Art Project murals. 

Managing Director of Trigon Hotels, Aaron Mansworth says: “We are very excited to see St Patrick’s Day is coming to Harley’s StrEAT Market with so much on offer. This is a wonderful addition to the Victorian Quarter in Cork and there is plenty of space on Harley's Street to savour local produce by the Lee. So if you want to experience some of the most delicious food and drink on offer in Cork do pop down to check out the market and the live music.”

CORK INTERNATIONAL HOTEL RECOGNISED WITH SUSTAINABILITY AWARD

CORK HOTEL RECOGNISED WITH SUSTAINABILITY AWARD

Jeremy Murray, Cork Convention Bureau, with Carmel Lonergan, General Manager of the Cork International Hotel.

The Cork International Hotel has been chosen as the winner of the Visit Cork Green Award for 2021. The four-star hotel received the award from the Cork Convention Bureau (CCB) for its overall sustainability performance. 

 

The hotel set ambitious goals to lower its carbon footprint, reduce energy consumption and waste. It also created a ‘Greening Team’ and a ‘Greening Manifesto’ to encourage a more environmentally aware culture within the hotel. The Green team members completed a 6 month training programme with “50 Shades Greener”. A new rooftop garden was constructed and is providing fresh herbs and vegetables for use in the restaurant and bar. A rainwater harvesting system provides water for the garden. 

The Cork Convention Bureau praised the Cork International Hotel and Trigon Hotels for its ongoing projects with Cope Foundation and Ability@Work to promote diversity and inclusion in the workforce. Teams from the hotel are helping to develop a Sensory Garden at Cope Foundation’s headquarters in Montenotte as part of the partnership with the Cork disabilities organisation. The judges also commended the Cork International Hotel Community Spirit Awards. 

General Manager of the Cork International Hotel, Carmel Lonergan said: “We are thrilled to receive the Visit Cork Green Award for 2021 from the Cork Convention Bureau. We are committed to ensuring that our activities have the least possible detrimental effect on the environment. We’re already seeing the results and it is thanks to the hard work of the entire team. It is also really important for us to have a positive impact on our local community. The Cork International Hotel Community Spirit Award was set up in 2021 to honour the unsung heroes in Cork and it was so inspiring to see the calibre of entries and winners throughout the year. We look forward to continuing our sustainability journey into 2022.”

 

Other successful initiatives include building a Bee Hotel and signing up to the Irish Pollinator Plan. 

 

This is the second year of the Visit Cork Green Award, it was set up to encourage and reward Cork Convention Bureau members who make a commitment to operating sustainably. 

The winner!

TRIGON HOTELS AND COPE FOUNDATION GROW RELATIONSHIP WITH NEW SENSORY GARDEN

TRIGON HOTELS AND COPE FOUNDATION GROW RELATIONSHIP WITH NEW SENSORY GARDEN

Planting at the new garden, pictured are Lauren Healy and Shane O'Sullivan. Pic: Brian Lougheed

A new sensory garden is being created at Cope Foundation in Montenotte, Cork. The project is a collaboration between the charity and Trigon Hotels. Cope Foundation is the hotel group’s charity partner for 2021. 

The garden, which is located on previously unused ground next to Beech Hill Garden Centre, will include features and plants that stimulate the senses through touch, sight, scent, taste and hearing. Volunteers from both Trigon Hotels and Cope Foundation have agreed to tend to the garden.

Raised beds have been constructed and have already been filled with herbs, plants and flowers. There are plans to further develop the garden during 2022 by adding water features and more vegetables and herbs.  

Kathleen Linehan is the Strategic Director of HR Trigon Hotels, she says the garden is a really exciting project, “It is important to us that we develop long-lasting relationships with our charity partners. We want to raise much needed funds for Cope Foundation and Ability@Work but we also want to support them in other ways as well as learning new skills together. The idea for the garden came from our shared interest in growing our own food and gardening. We were delighted to be invited to visit Beech Hill Garden Centre and Roots cafe in Montenotte and during our walkabout we spotted a patch of ground that looked perfect for a sensory garden. It was wonderful to spend a day outside planting with volunteers from both organisations.”

Shane O’Sullivan is a student at Cope Foundation and took part in the planting day, he says, “I really enjoyed the planting and meeting the people from Trigon Hotel. I hope the plants and seeds we planted will grow well and I will look after them”

Jo-Anne Higgins is the Communications and Fundraising Manager with Cope Foundation, she added, “Various lockdowns curtailed our progress but we were able to finally put our plan into action during the autumn. We cleared out the space and replaced the raised beds making them ready for the Trigon Hotels team and horticulture students to fill them with plants to delight the senses. Our expert horticulturists from Beech Hill Garden Centre coordinated the planting day and are kindly overseeing the various initiatives. We have also planted some micro vegetable seeds in the Garden Centre's polytunnel and we are looking forward to watching these grow. We have big plans for spring when we can further develop the sensory garden, plant more vegetables and herbs together and use these to create delicious dishes.”

Denis Mangan is a horticultural tutor with Cope Foundation, he says, “Horticulture is a hugely popular subject in our Further Education and Training Programme and has always played an important role in Cope Foundation's  skills development work. It is great to have the opportunity to grow together with the team in Trigon Hotels - we are learning from each other and having a shared interest in plants, herbs, and vegetables means we are doing something we all enjoy. We all had a very pleasant morning when planting up the new sensory garden at the Beech Hill Garden Centre. Our ongoing activities will be of tremendous benefit, allowing for opportunities to engage in physical activity and social interaction. We at Cope Foundation are looking forward to a busy sustainable spring with the growing of fresh healthy organic produce with the Trigon Hotel team.” 

Press release

Festive Afternoon Tea launched at Cork International Hotel. Plus new appointment at Trigon Group.

Festive Afternoon Tea launched at Cork International Hotel. Plus new appointment at Trigon Group.

Cork International Hotel launches a tempting Festive Afternoon Tea while Trigon Group has a new Sales and Marketing Director.

Peter Loughnane,
the new man at Trigon

Guests at the International can enjoy Christmas classics and seasonal desserts including freshly baked cranberry scones and gingerbread biscuits as well as mouthwatering sandwiches made with the best of local ingredients. The Festive Afternoon Tea will be served from 1pm to 4pm daily from the 1st until the 23rd of December. 

On the menu is: 

 

Savoury: Turkey, honey glazed ham and cranberry ciabatta; Spiced beef and Dijon mayo on mini brioche slider; Prawn cocktail on homemade soda bread; Smoked salmon and pickled cucumber pinwheel

Middle: Home-baked mini cranberry Scones with butter, jam and cream; Mini mince pies; Individual whiskey yule logs; Homemade truffles

Treat: Morella cherry panna cotta; Mini lemon meringue; Festive gingerbread biscuits; Salted caramel profiteroles

 

The Festive Afternoon Tea is €25 per adult and €12.50 per child. Pre-booking is essential as there is limited availability. People can book by calling 021 4549800.

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Trigon Hotel Group, of which Cork International is a vital part, has announced the appointment of Peter Loughnane as Group Sales and Marketing Director. Peter has extensive experience in the hospitality sector in both Ireland and the UK. 

The Offaly native began his career in the industry within the family business, the County Arms in Birr. After his Leaving Certificate, he went to the University of Surrey to study for a BSc in Hotel and Catering Management. During that time he worked in Buckingham Palace, St James’s Palace, Kensington Palace, Clarence House, High Grove and Downing Street. He also worked for the Hyatt Group.

A move home to Ireland to start a family with his wife Sarah saw Peter take over the Sales and Marketing for the family hotel, where he stayed for 10 years. 

In 2014, Peter joined the Cork Airport Hotel as General Manager. He was appointed the first General Manager at Ballymaloe House in 2019 before returning to Trigon Hotels in 2021. The Trigon Hotel Group includes the Metropole Hotel, the Cork International Hotel and the Cork Airport Hotel.

Peter Loughnane said, “Hospitality is in my blood, I was born into a family hotel and lived there for many years. I started at a young age picking up litter in the car park and sorting bottles before making my way up to the restaurant and bar as a teenager. I am delighted to be working with the Trigon Hotel Group once again, the five years I spent as General Manager at the Cork Airport Hotel were invaluable. It really is an exciting challenge to promote Trigon Hotels on a local, national and international stage.”

Managing Director of Trigon Hotels, Aaron Mansworth said, “I am delighted to announce Peter Loughnane as Group Sales and Marketing Director. He brings with him a wealth of experience and is the ideal person for this role. Peter’s passion for the industry and his desire to promote tourism and hospitality shines through in everything he does.”

The Cork International Hotel has launched a fabulously festive Christmas themed Afternoon Tea. 

press release

press release

CorkBilly Latest Food & Drink

CorkBilly Latest Food & Drink

Week 210820. Update #1

Plan to issue this mid-week with updates towards weekend. If you have any food or drink news, DM me a line or two, plus a link and a photo if available. Of course, if you have "big" news, let me know also and we can do a full standalone post.

Escape to Celtic Ross for this three day lazy summer break

The team at Celtic Ross have created this three day lazy summer break in West Cork to maximise the benefits of a visit to Rosscarbery and experience the variety of culinary offerings at Celtic Ross and the local food producers featured on our menus. This three day escape is a definite opportunity to explore, eat sleep and enjoy!

Inclusions in this package are:

•Bed and breakfast for three nights in a double or twin room

•Clonakilty gin cocktail to enjoy at your leisure

•Dinner in the Kingfisher Restaurant on an evening of your choice

•West Cork style street food from CRAFT

•Afternoon tea for two with a selection of home baked sweet and savoury treats

•Complimentary Rosscarbery walking guidebook

•Complimentary use of the leisure centre.

More details and booking here

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Hederman Smoked Salmon

Coming Fridays & Saturdays to the

@EnglishMarket

- freshly made Hederman smoked salmon wraps to go. Have a healthy & delicious picnic lunch.

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Creamy Chocolate Eclairs from Hassett's

Did you know that Hassett's Bakery make their Eclairs with Fresh Irish Cream and rich Belgian chocolate? "Pop into our stores in Douglas, Carrigaline or The English Market to taste how great they are." Check out their video here on Twitter.

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Vienna Woods Hotel

Cork's Vienna Woods Hotel is a country house hotel steeped in history. A ten minute drive from Cork's City Centre, perched among the leafy woodlands of Glanmire, Cork's Vienna Woods Hotel is the perfect getaway for every occasion.

 
Vienna Woods is open for residents and indoor and outdoor dining for non-residents. 
*To comply with government guidelines, indoor dining is only facilitated for fully vaccinated, please have your covid cert/ proof of vaccination and a valid ID. 
Please ring 021 455 6800 or email info@viennawoodshotel.com

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The perfect subscription for you - The Wine Lover!

from Cork based Wines Of The World

Their wine experts select 6 delicious wines from around the world and send to your door each month.

Includes:

• A mix of 6 different wines each month

• Free Delivery Nationwide

• Tasting Notes for each wine

• Details here

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BILLY LYONS
corkbilly.com (from Irish Times 18th Nov 2013)

Dublin gets the column inches, but Cork has a renowned food scene, and there is good value to be found, says Lyons, who has blogged about food in Cork since he retired six years ago. He had a few local favourites (in 2013).

Cicchetti at Gusto Nov '13

“At Cafe Gusto, Washington Street, six Cicchetti (Italian tapas), two main courses (from a large choice) and two glasses of good wine costs €30 for two, Thursday to Saturday. At the House Cafe in the Opera House, typical fare includes Ballyhoura wild mushrooms with free range egg in a delicious omelette for €8.50. Small-plate menus are increasingly popular. Jacques, in the city, and the Greenroom at Sage in Midleton are also worth a call.”

More on the Gusto Cicchetti here

The Coffee House

Coffee House - Fermoy Café

Vine leaves from Kilworth!

A friend of mine in the Fermoy area  is very enthusiastic about the newish Coffee House in the town. It is run by Tom and located where the French restaurant  (La Bigoudenne) used to be many years ago.

"Tom has his own coffee roastery in Poland so has a very unique selection of coffees. His wife, Kasha, bakes all their cakes and breads and they do a roaring trade on a Friday night for interesting takeaway at very good value, from 12e per person, a feast! 

He is a real character who is not very good at self promotion! He does a great lunch during the week that is well worth checking out if you are in the area!"

More details on the Coffee House Facebook here.

Priory Coffee Arrive In The Victorian Quarter

The brand new Priory Coffee Co. on MacCurtain Street, Cork City, opened on Monday! "We can't wait to welcome you! You can come in or use our handy Priory Hatch for Coffee & food on the go! "

Priory are already well established in North Main St Cork (next to Gate Cinema), in Youghal (Main St), Mallow (106 Main St), Fermoy (Brian Boru Sq), and Riverstick.www.priorycoffee.com

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CORK HOTEL STAFF JOIN LORD MAYOR IN CYCLING TO DUBLIN AND BACK IN AID OF COPE FOUNDATION

 

Lord Mayor, Cllr. Colm Kelleher with Aaron Mansworth and Sandra Murphy of the Trigon Hotels clocking up the kilometres.

Trigon Hotels cycled the distance from Cork to Dublin and back during a six-hour spinathon in Cork City Centre last Friday. The event raised over €1,000 for Cope Foundation.

Hotel team members took to static bikes on Harley Street which were kindly given by UCC’s Mardyke Arena. They travelled 576km and burned a combined total of more than 14,000 calories. 

A team of 40 people were involved in the event including cyclists and bucket collectors. The Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr. Colm Kelleher was among the supporters to cheer on the participants. 

Lord Mayor, Cllr. Colm Kelleher said “It is wonderful to see this collaboration with Trigon Hotels and Cope Foundation and Ability@work. Inclusivity is imperative in the workplace and it is great to see Trigon Hotels foster such a close relationship with the Cope Foundation. It has been challenging for charities to have fundraising events since the pandemic began due to not being able to organise and host their usual events and so it is really important to support charities and companies when they do organise events.”

The Watergrasshill Vineyard
Did you know there's a vineyard in Watergrasshill? It is small, experimental and in its infancy. See more on its Twitter account: @Ireland_Wines


Design POP Info

Quite a lot of food interest in this month's Design Pop.

For instance, you can see creative studio Play Nice team up with food obsessives Currabinny at Wandesford Quay.

Play nice studio

Play Nice are a creative studio based in Dublin that designs, builds and styles eye-catching immersive spaces for people and products. Our aim is to create playful digital or physical worlds of colour for people to engage in and enjoy. That can range from providing creativity for photoshoots, temporary pop-ups or permanent work in public or commercial spaces.

Currabinny

William Murray & James Kavanagh gave birth to Currabinny after a discussion on how they could turn their unwavering obsession (food) into a career. William studied & grew his love of food at Ballymaloe Cookery School in Co. Cork - which is headed up Darina Allen & Rory O’Connell. In Ballymaloe, William nurtured his love of dishes that are unashamedly created with lots of real butter, Maldon Salt & seasonal, fresh vegetables. James comes from the other side of the food world; marketing. Having worked for two of his favourite Irish brands; Kerrygold & Barry’s Tea, he has learned what goes into making a beautiful product. Witnessing the passion & quality that goes into making a Barry’s teabag, and how the perfect grass has to exist in order for Kerrygold Butter to be as delicious as it is, has strongly influenced his food ethos.  

All the info on this and many other events here

TRIGON FIRST HOTEL GROUP IN REPUBLIC OF IRELAND TO ADOPT JAM CARDS

FIRST HOTEL GROUP IN REPUBLIC OF IRELAND TO ADOPT JAM CARDS

From l to r: Aaron Mansworth, Managing Director, Trigon Hotels; Kathleen Linehan,

Strategic Director of HR at Trigon Hotels; Maeve Monaghan, CEO NOW Group

and Minister Anne Rabbitte, Minister of State with responsibility for Disability. Pic: Brian Lougheed

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Trigon Hotels hopes to make everyday interactions a little easier for customers with hidden disabilities. The Cork based company is the first hotel group in the Republic of Ireland to become Just A Minute (JAM) Card friendly.  

The small plastic card allows people with a learning difficulty, autism, hidden disability or communication barrier to tell others they need ‘Just A Minute’ discreetly and easily. The JAM Card is also available as an app on your smartphone. It was developed by Belfast based social enterprise Now Group and is used by 75,000 people across the UK and the island of Ireland. 

Team members at Trigon Hotels are being trained to identify and support customers and fellow team members carrying JAM Cards. Trigon Hotels operates The Metropole Hotel Cork, The Cork International Hotel and the Cork Airport Hotel. Across the three hotels there are 334 guest rooms in Cork. 

Kathleen Linehan, Strategic Director of HR at Trigon Hotels said: “We want our hotels to be friendly, welcoming and accessible to all and we are excited to collaborate with Now Group on the Just A Minute Cards. People with memory problems or difficulty with communication are often reluctant or unable to tell others about their condition. JAM Card allows this to happen in a simple, effective non-verbal manner. We hope that it will take the stress away from customers and team members, and make their experience with us even more enjoyable.” 

Minister Anne Rabbitte, Minister of State with responsibility for Disability launched the initiative at Trigon Hotels. She said: “I’m delighted to be part of the launch of the JAM Card at Trigon Hotels in Cork. This is such a positive initiative and ensures the Hotels are even more accessible. To me, a business being JAM Card friendly indicates that its staff and wider business has accessibility at its core and does what it needs to to support its customers. This ensures people have the time they need and don’t feel under pressure, and I would hope other businesses will follow suit.” 

Maeve Monaghan, Chief Executive of NOW Group said: “We are so pleased that Trigon Hotels has partnered with us to become JAM Card friendly and recognise the value of investing in training their staff to provide great customer service for people with both visible and hidden disabilities. It may be ‘Just A Minute’ but that extra time and understanding can really support and comfort those with communications barriers, helping to give them equal access to the services they need.” 

press release