Fota Wildlife Park. End-of-March Visit

Fota Wildlife Park. 

End-of-March Visit

Pics: 31.03.2025

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I'd love to be out there!

Hay Rhino

Peacock Gold

Mara

Lemur lunch

Lemur Lift

Baby 'roo

Bye for now, shorty.

The ageless Farmgate Café, Cork City, a destination dining venue for decades

The ageless Farmgate Café, Cork City

THE FACT IS THAT FAR­M­GATE FOOD IS AGE­LESS … GREAT STAFF, GREAT VALUE*

Cod & Peperonata

The Farmgate Café, located on the balcony of the bustling English Market, has become a favourite in Cork over the past 31 years due to several key elements: exceptional local produce on the plate and in the glass, consistently high standards in the kitchen, and friendly, efficient service. 

The Farmgate name was established in 1984 by Maróg O’Brien when she opened her restaurant and country store in Midleton (now relocated to Lismore). A decade later, Maróg’s sister Kay joined her, and together they created the café in the English Market in the heart of Cork city.

Orange cake and juicy cherries

Farmgate, from day one, embraced much of what is unique and tra­di­tional to Cork and still does; anyone for Tripe & Onions, with Drisheen, with Ladysbridge potatoes. Those potatoes (balls of flour) still come from Ladysbridge in East Cork and feature across the menu, including in the superb Lamb Stew.

While Farmgate has its roots in the past, it embraces the new influences present in the dynamic multicultural food market of this port city. For instance, last week, I tried the Pan Roast Cod, which was served with broccoli, mashed potatoes, and peperonata. I doubt that Peperonata made many appearances on Cork menus back in 1994.

By the way, I had a general idea of what Peperonata was, but I looked it up to confirm. It is an Italian vegetable stew made from red bell peppers, tomatoes, and garlic. Peperonata can be used as a sauce for pasta or served as a side dish to meat and fish. It may also be included in a ragù. The key to preparing Peperonata is slow-cooking the ingredients, which allows the flavours to blend, creating a rich, savoury taste with a slightly sweet undertone from the peppers. It certainly complemented the beautifully cooked piece of cod.

The cod was one of the day’s specials; others were Eoin O’Mahony Sausages (from the market) and a Tomato and Basil Soup with goat’s feta. They start serving lunch at 12.15, though some of the more substantial dishes aren't available until 12.30 pm

Across the table, my colleague enjoyed their Free-range Supreme of Chicken, Fennel and Lemon Sauce, Boozy Fig. This is on the regular menu, while the cod was one of the day’s specials. Again, the chicken was very well cooked, full of flavour and ensured that two well-satisfied customers exited the market.

But not before sharing a dessert, the beautiful Orange Cake with poached cherries and Yogurt. A super combination - loved those juicy cherries - and Very Highly Recommended. I’ll have to go back again to try the more traditional Bread and Butter Pudding (with custard) and also the Apple Tart with Cream! Aside from the lunch offering, it’s also a great spot for grabbing a cuppa and a pastry if you want something less substantial.

Chicken

The Farmgate’s drink lists include local craft beer (Eight Degrees and 9 White Deer) and ciders (including specialities by Killahora and Nohoval and also the superb non-alcoholic Stonewell Cider). No Irish wines yet, but they still keep it close to home with carefully chosen European wines.

While dining, you might notice some frames on one wall displaying what looks like handwriting—perhaps poems? Indeed, this unique feature is the “Poetry Wall”. The initiative, created by Gerry Murphy, a poet, and Kay Harte, showcases a distinctive collection of poems from Cork, Irish, and international poets. The Café commissioned these works in 2005 to celebrate Cork's designation as the European Capital of Culture.

Info on menus, opening times and more here

*  Sun­day Times 100 Best Restau­rants 2020

New summer Swords Castle Food Markets, full of flavour and creativity. Where centuries of heritage meet fresh local flavours

press release 

New summer Swords Castle Food Markets full of flavour and creativity

Pictured at the launch of the Swords Castle Food Market were Niamh McNally (McNally Family Farm), Declan Power (Fingal County Council), Jim Scully (Fingal Farmers Group) and Cllr. Brian McDonagh (Mayor of Fingal County Council).    Pic: Shane O’Neill, Coalesce

Where centuries of heritage meet fresh local flavours

 

Each month from April to September 2025 a new food market will take place at Swords Castle Fingal. This bustling, lively market promises a winning combination of artisan food and fresh produce stalls jostling for attention alongside handmade crafts and fun family entertainment. The Swords Castle Food Market is a joint venture of Fingal County Council, Fingal Food Network and Fingal Farmers Group and will take place on the third Saturday of each month from 10am to 3pm.

Killeen Goat Mature named Best Irish Cheese at British & Irish Cheese Awards 2025

P R E S S  R E L E A S E

Killeen Goat Mature named Best Irish Cheese at British & Irish Cheese Awards 2025

Killeen Goat Mature named Best Irish Cheese at British & Irish Cheese Awards 2025

 

Killeen Goat Mature, a 5-month aged gouda-style cheese, has been named Best Irish Cheese at the British & Irish Cheese Awards 2025. Produced by farmer and cheesemaker, Marion Roeleveld at Killeen Farmhouse Cheese in County Galway, Killeen Goat Mature took this coveted prize among hundreds of entries into the 29th edition of these Awards, which were hosted by the Bath & West Food & Drink Festival near Shepton Mallet in Somerset.

Liberty Wines don't stand still. New Names added to the portfolio

Liberty Wines don't stand still. 

New Names added to the portfolio

The Dean, Cork

Domaine Jubare Pouilly-Fuissé was one of my top favourites, showcasing that Liberty Wines continues to evolve. Their latest Portfolio Tasting, which took place at Cork's Dean Hotel last Monday, highlighted several newcomers, listed below.

.

ENGLAND: Langham Wine Estate

FRANCE: Domaine Jubare, Corentin Chavy. 

GERMANY: Gunderloch

AUSTRALIA: House of Arras

SOUTH AFRICA: Paulus Wine Co., Restless River

ITALY: Mura Mura, Tenuta Mazzolino, Mecori, Torre di Terzolan

SPAIN: Viña Mayor

Quite a few new wines as well including the marvellous 2023 Frédéric Berne Beaujolais Lantignié. Others to impress were:

2022 Cantina di Gambellara Pinot Nero Delle Venezie IGT

2023 Tenuta Mazzolino `Terrazze`Pinot Nero

2023 Willunga 100 `Blind Spot Vineyard`Blewitt Springs Grenache

2021 Mecori `Duo` Etna Rosso

2019 Viña Mayor Ribera del Duero Reserva.

Favourite Whites

38 2024 Tinpot Hut Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

39 2024 Montes Zapallar Sauvignon Blanc

53 2023 Domaine Jubare Pouilly-Fuissé

13 2023 Pieropan Soave Classico

20 2024 Terre del Buontalenti Vermentino/Ansonica

26 2023 Domaine Vico `Le Bois du Cerf` Blanc

36 2024 Maison Les Alexandrins `Le Cabanon` Viognier

Favourite Reds

58 2023 Frédéric Berne Beaujolais Lantignié Gamay Noir

59 2022 Cantina di Gambellara Pinot Nero Delle Venezie IGT

60 2023 Heirloom Vineyards Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir

67 2022 Antichi Poderi Jerzu `Bantu` Cannonau di Sardegna 

84 2022 Domaine Vico `Le Bois du Cerf` Rouge

100 2022 Pedro Parra `Vinista` Itata Valley País

108 2022 Trinity Hill Hawkes Bay Syrah 

72 2023 Monterustico Dogliani

Sweet Finalé

116 2022 Château Laville Sauternes 

The tasting was arranged by grape variety. I was drawn to the Gamay and Pinot Noir table. The top three in the list above show that I was very happy with that stop.

I’m pretty sure that Soave was the wine at our wedding. I don't remember anything about it (the wine, that is), but I suspect that Monday’s 2023 Pieropan Soave Classico would be a step or two above. Vinho Verde was also fairly popular back in the day, but that, too, was overproduced and underwhelming. Not so with the 2023 Quinta de Azevedo Vinho Verde Loureiro/Alvarinho. 

And then there was Muscadet, mostly bought as a bottom-shelf wine in Breton supermarkets at eight or nine francs, not euros! But we learned as we drank and soon moved up a shelf or two and picked those bottles with the important words Sur Lie on the labels—just like Monday’s delicious 2023 Château du Coing de St. Fiacre `Confluentia` Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie.

Some impressive wines from the islands, especially Tinpot Hut Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, the red and white of Le Bois du Cerf and also the Grenache from Bantu, both Sardinian. 

Always a sweet finish at a tasting like this, and on this occasion, a sip or two of the gorgeous 2022 Château Laville Sauternes did the business!

Punters pour into the third annual Cork Whiskey Fest

Punters pour into the third annual Cork Whiskey Fest

Cork people are not renowned for punctuality, arriving late to restaurants, doctors, and dentists, not to mention traffic lights.  Perhaps the run of "Cork time” is going to peter out. Last Friday, MacCurtain Street was a lesson in punctuality. At 7:30 PM, it was buzzing with activity and anticipation. 

If you weren't aware of what was happening, you might have wondered about the long, good-humoured queue stretching from the western end of the Metropole to the door of the Wine Cellar. It was for the opening of the Cork Whiskey Fest. And what time did it start? At 7:30, of course! Not only were people on time, but quite a few arrived slightly early! Turns out, whiskey waits for no one. Or should that be the other way around?

Conor Ryan of Pearse Lyons

And then we were in, with hard-working organisers Laurie and Sonya scanning the tickets. The organisers were well prepared, and so too were the exhibitors, some forty of them from all over Ireland, including Croithlí from the Donegal Gaeltacht.

But the first focal I noticed was in Latin: Quercus. I knew that one! Quercus Suber is an oak from which the corks for wine bottles are produced. Croithlí (Crollys) had one of their Gaelic spirits finished in three different oaks: Quercus Petrea, Alba and Robur. Alba is the American white oak, while Robur is the European version. The Irish tree Petrea is also known as Sessile Oak, and that sweet woody oak was prominent on the palate.

Crollys are in northwest Donegal, and nearby towns include Dunfanaghy and Dungloe, while the impressive Errigal Mountain is also a neighbour. If you are in the area, which is a rather beautiful part of the country, why not visit the distillery? Information on tours here.  Indeed, many of Ireland’s distilleries are in picturesque regions.

Kinsale was well represented by Blacks and Kinsale Mead, along with Conor Ryan, the Kinsale-based Conor Ryan, who is production manager at the beautiful Pearse Lyons distillery in Dublin's Liberties. I enjoyed the chat with Conor, who was busy showing their whiskeys. You’ll find the Lyons distillery in a renovated old church, with stained glass windows showing the distilling process. I visited myself a few years back, and you can see some details and pics here.

Blacks are producing both spirits and beers these days, having started out as a brewery. Highlight here was a taste of their First Flight Single Malt, the inaugural and impressive release. They have a fantastic new building on the waterfront where, in a first for Ireland, the brewery and distillery are colocated. They have a range of tours to offer, and you may get details here…. Must do that myself soon!

You might be wondering why Kinsale Mead was here. Well, their new Wildflower Irish Mead is aged in Irish Oak Whiskey Casks from Midleton Distillery, and it is a beauty! Hard-working founders Kate and Denis are very excited about this one and the contribution of the oak: “Wildflower Mead, aged in the Midleton casks, has taken on a lovely extra bright flavour, the floral notes from the Irish honey are really accentuated.”

Portmagee's John Murphy

"It finishes beautifully with balanced hawthorn, apple, and delicate whiskey notes. ..The taste of Ireland." Kinsale Mead also offers guided tours, very interesting ones indeed. Info here.

West Kerry, another beautiful area of the country, was doubly represented by neighbours Portmagee and Skellig Six 18. John Murphy was showing Portmagee's three rum-finished whiskeys, the blended bottle, the single pot still, and the limited edition aged 9 years, all under the general title of Spioraid na Mara (Spirit of the Sea). They have an unusual 360-degree Immersive tour in their unusual venue, a trio of three-storey tall geodesic domes. Info at www.portmageewhiskey.com 

Skellig Six 18 Commercialisation Manager Cathal O’Connor had a range of spirits “from the edge of the world,” and very good they were also, especially the Triple Cask Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey. Matured in ex-Bourbon barrels and finished in PX Sherry and ex-peated Scotch casks, this was voted the best Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey at the 2024 Berlin International Spirits Competition. More info here.

Kate and Denis of Kinsale Mead

It was lovely to meet with the folks from Longford’s Lough Ree distillery and Bart’s Irish Whiskey, their first blended release. There are three versions: Bart’s (sweet, fruity and spicy), Bart’s XS (sweet and fruity) and Bart’s XP (smoky and fruity).

The West Cork Pot Still is a beauty from Bourbon casks. I knew that anyhow. They also had a cask strength version, and it carried the much higher alcohol very well indeed, but I’d still go for the regular strength one. I also enjoyed the Single Malt Irishman, which is produced by Walsh Whiskey, who also does the popular Writer’s Tears series.

So what was my top whiskey overall? Oh, by the way, I didn’t taste every single one! My vote goes to the Glendalough Irish Single Malt Mizunara Finish. Mizunara is a rare and exotic Japanese oak and is also expensive. The seven-year-old retails for about €90. 

Quite an evening in the Metropole, where the 3rd annual festival kicked off its booked-out whiskey weekend. A superb event now firmly in the Cork calendar, and well done again to Laurie and Sonya.