Isaac’s stunning Chocolate Saint Emilion. Rich, creamy and boozy

Isaac’s stunning Chocolate Saint Emilion.

 Rich, creamy and boozy. 

A boozy Chocolate Saint Emilion dessert was a highlight of a recent lunchtime visit to Isaac’s, a pioneer and consistent standard bearer in Cork’s MacCurtain Street.

And the booze wasn't wine. The dessert is named after the famous wine region near Bordeaux, not the wine!

After our excellent main dishes, we had been thinking of skipping dessert but when I saw this chocolate on the menu, I had second thoughts. I had pleasant memories of it but it was some time later before I realised I first came across it here no less than ten years ago.

That 2015 version Chocolate Saint Emilion was packed with rum soaked macaroon, with cream on the side. Enjoyed the rich and creamy taste of luxury, absolutely superb and enhanced no end by the whiff and flavour of the alcohol. Glad to report the 2025 iteration is every bit as good, every bit as decadent and a great one to share if you are feeling full-ish after earlier courses! 

Isaac's tell me the dessert has been on the menu, between Arbutus and Isaac's, for no less than 36 years! They use a dark rum to soak the macaroon, which rises to the top when the chocolate mouse is setting. Yum Rum!

Sometimes, chefs use cognac instead of rum. I’ve even seen a suggestion from English chef Jeremy Lee “thinking to make use of amontillado, a sherry that delights with chocolate. The result is most pleasing.” In any event, I find it rather puzzling that the dessert is rarely offered in Irish restaurants.

It's green for go at Isaac's.

Isaac’s has been a leader for good food in Cork since 1992. Established by Michael and Catherine Ryan and Canice Sharkey, it has developed into a very popular restaurant receiving great acclaim. If visiting, be sure and make a reservation here.

The Chocolate Emilion is not the only item to appear regulary on the Isaac’s menu. But, don’t worry, they have a good list of specials every day to ensure variety in your choices. For instance Grilled Halloumi with roast red onion, basil, Kalamata olives and harissa oil was one of four starters on offer while Spaghetti with meat balls and fresh basil was one of the mains. Tiramisu was on special but, luckily, that dessert was off the menu by the time we got to choose, otherwise I might have missed the chocolate!.

Penne

My mains were from the regular menu: Penne with wild mushroom cream sauce, house smoked chicken, scallions and parmesan. This was faultless and totally enjoyable, every ingredient playing a part in a thoroughly satisfactory ensemble.

CL choose one of the day’s specials: Pan fried medallions of Monkfish with sautéed potatoes, peas and samphire and chive sauce. Quite enjoyable even if the fish could have done with a tad more time in the pan.

Service was, as always, friendly and efficient, and all in all, we enjoyed the visit, all the more because of that decadent dessert!

For more on Isaac's, check here, more on MacCurtain Street here.

GRAHAM NORTON AND BALLYMALOE SERVE UP A CORK-ER OF A CHRISTMAS CREATION

GRAHAM NORTON AND BALLYMALOE SERVE UP

A CORK-ER OF A CHRISTMAS CREATION 

Ballymaloe Mulled Wine Cranberry Sauce with Graham Norton Shiraz launches in December

Ballymaloe Foods has teamed up with fellow Cork legend and wine aficionado Graham Norton to launch a festive treat: Mulled Wine Cranberry Sauce infused with his award-winning Graham Norton (GN) Shiraz. Landing in supermarkets across Ireland this Christmas, the limited-edition sauce combines Ballymaloe’s much loved cranberry recipe with a warming splash of GN Shiraz, creating the ultimate seasonal pairing for food lovers.

Developed over four months, the sauce features juicy cranberries, festive spices and GN Shiraz, gently mulled by the Ballymaloe team. The result is a vibrant, juicy and flavour-packed condiment with subtle notes of black cherry and chocolate from the GN Shiraz – perfect with cheese boards, roast turkey and those all important post-Christmas sandwiches.  

20,000 jars of the sauce will be distributed nationwide to Ireland’s three main supermarkets; Supervalu, Dunnes Stores and Tesco, and will be on shelves by early December, just in time for early seasonal food shopping.

Graham Norton said: “I couldn’t resist teaming up with Ballymaloe Foods - they’re Cork royalty and I’m thrilled we’ve created something so delicious and festive together. I’m very proud of my wines, especially the Shiraz, so enjoying it mulled into a cranberry sauce was a wonderful surprise… and yes, of course I’ve done the taste test! It has the full GN stamp of approval!”

Commenting on this latest collaboration, General Manager of Ballymaloe Foods Maxine Hyde said: “We love to team up with other quality brands to roll out Christmas products, so it was especially exciting this year to partner with Graham’s wine producer Invivo Wines and align Ballymaloe Foods with the delicious and multi-award-winning Graham Norton Shiraz. Given Graham’s global stardom and proud Cork roots, and our own standing as a proud Cork company, we saw this as a perfect fit. The Mulled Wine Cranberry Sauce with Graham Norton Shiraz goes particularly well with a festive cheese board and, of course, a glass of Graham Norton Shiraz.”

Ballymaloe Mulled Wine Cranberry Sauce with Graham Norton Shiraz, which launches in Irish supermarkets in December. Photo: Monika Coghlan

Founded in 1990 in County Cork, Ballymaloe Foods remains a family-run business committed to producing its range of products in Ireland and creating quality products in the most sustainable way they can. The company is no stranger to Christmas collaborations; in recent years it teamed up with i-Stil38 craft Irish vodka to create Ballymaloe Vodka Cranberry Sauce for the 2023 festive season. 

#pressrelease

LUCKY STUDENT SECURES APPRENTICESHIP AT CORK’S MARKET LANE GROUP

LUCKY STUDENT SECURES APPRENTICESHIP AT CORK’S MARKET LANE  GROUP

Market Lane nominated for 2025 Generation Apprenticeship Employer of the Year Awards

Market Lane Restaurant has announced that Misha (20), one of the very few graduates nationally to secure a place on the 2025/26 Commis Chef Apprenticeship Programme*, has joined the team at Market Lane Restaurant in Cork City Centre. 

Misha’s appointment comes hot on the heels of the restaurant’s nomination as Best Apprenticeship Employer 2025, the overall winner of which will be announced in early December.

Misha will begin his studies at the Westside Hospitality Centre at the Cork College of Further Education, Bishopstown Campus, early next year. 

“Offering this opportunity to new staff members like Misha at the time of recruitment involves a leap of faith on our part and a big financial investment”, says Conrad Howard, head of the Market Lane Group. “Many restaurants cannot afford to take on Commis Chef apprentices, but we believe that this is a great way forward to attract new blood into the industry and we are absolutely delighted that Misha has started his new career path with us.”

Misha, who lives in Cobh, Co Cork, said: “From everything I had seen and heard about Market Lane, it seemed like a great place to work. It is a very busy operation with plenty of opportunities for career development, which is exactly what I was looking for.  The frequent menu changes and scratch cooking shows that this is a restaurant that really cares about the quality of the food it serves.  I am so excited to be working here and feel very lucky to be one of the very few students to gain the backing of such a great restaurant to do a Commis Chef Apprenticeship this year.” 

The group has a dedicated Kitchen Training Co-ordinator, Lee Scahill, who oversees all aspects of the Apprenticeship programme and guides the students throughout.  This is a unique role within the restaurant industry and it has been key to the success of the programme within the group.

* Market Lane estimates the cost per year to the employer to take on a Commis Chef Apprentice is in excess of €10,000. The Market Lane Group comprises 5 award-winning restaurants including Market Lane, Goldie, Elbow Lane, ORSO and The Castle Blackrock

** Clare Keogh's pics feature Lee Scahill and Misha, at Market Lane Restaurant.

CHRISTMAS BEERS FROM EIGHT DEGREES BREWING

CHRISTMAS BEERS FROM EIGHT DEGREES BREWING

 

Christmas is a special time at the brewery. A time to look forward to a new year and new beers, a time to look back at what we’ve achieved. For 2025, we decided to release a pair of beers that sum up both parts of this equation.

 

First up is the new: Hōne's Red IPA takes an Irish red ale and adds deliciously dank hops from New Zealand for a richly aromatic take on traditional. It’s NZ meets Ireland - we’re celebrating nineteenth-century solidarity between Māori and Irish vs English colonisers - and bringing these very NZ hops to the party.

 

Building on our strengths (forgetfulness and barrel ageing), V3 of our Black Ball Metric Stout features the strong stout that was a hit when first released in 2019, then again in 2020. When we rediscovered a small batch of this beauty and brought it to the 2025 Dublin Beer Festival, it got such a welcome that we decided to put what was left into cans.

  

Hōne's Red IPA
5.2% ABV

Hōne Mohi Tāwhai was a Māori member of the New Zealand parliament in the nineteenth century. He felt a deep bond of solidarity between Māori and Irish people who, at the time, were all fighting to reclaim land rights from English colonisers. Expressing his solidarity in 1879, Hōne declared: “I am an Irishman” in the NZ Parliament. To celebrate these links, we have enhanced a traditional Irish red ale with the aromatic splendour of some New Zealand's finest dank and resinous hops, Rakau and Wakatu. The flavour reminds us of Christmas pudding, a deep toffee and caramel body overlaid with mild tropical and orchard fruit aromas. Kia ora!

 

Black Ball Metric Stout
11.4% ABV

V3: You know that feeling when you find something you thought was gone forever? In our case, it was a small batch of barrel-aged Black Ball from five years ago with a flavour that was even more intense and smooth.

Still the same modern stout that shuns imperialistic, old school vernacular, the mash for our Black Ball was rammed full of dark, complex malts before being poured into those Irish whiskey barrels. It's always been a big, bold stout, but, after five years, it has completely rounded out. This rediscovered stout is deep, dark, rich and rewarding. 

 

More information: www.eightdegrees.ie

Get social: Facebook: eightdegreesbrewing  ¦ Instagram: eightdegreesbrewing

#pressrelease

 

ORSO. Deliciously different in the heart of the City.

ORSO. Deliciously different in the heart of the City.

Aubergine

Orso may be in the city centre and part of the Market Lane group but is truly a place apart. Their roots could not be more local, see suppliers below, but their reach in the kitchen and on your plate is very much the Mediterranean region.

Just check out the menu and you’ll note spices such as harissa, Dukka, Bombay Aloo, Tzatziki, Feta , Dahl, Cous Cous, Nduja, Sumac and more. And quite a few dishes are served on, or with, their own house-baked stone-bread. 

Their beers, from sister Elbow Lane, are made just around the corner and the wines are mostly from Southwest Europe. Their cocktails are highly regarded and can contain anything from Jameson to Jalapeño tequila (though not together!).

Cod

The menus, lunch and dinner, are largely based on very local produce indeed but, with spices and seasonings from near and far, are quite distinctive, often colourful and always made for you, including their flatbread which is baked as you order it.

We absolutely enjoyed dinner here a few months back and thought it was time for a return last week. We called just after the lunchtome peak and took our time over the menu. 

I noticed a lunch version of the Slow Cooked Lamb Shank that I so enjoyed last May and was tempted again before we both decided on something from the flatbread section of the menu.

Lamb Shank (from a previous visit)

I do like my aubergines but this time it was CL who picked the Spiced Aubergine Fritters, with hummus, mixed leaves, and a tomato & cucumber salsa. Colour and flavour in abundance in an appetising dish skilfully cooked and assembled and presented. 

Actually the service here in this small place was also of a high standard, no fuss, just a smiling efficient that enhanced the visit.

My choice was Cod Fillet Pieces with creamy red harissa, corn fritters, fennel and dill salad, another colourful gem. By the way, no need to worry about the harissa. Here, it, and all their other spices (mostly from Mr Bells), are judiciously handled and used to enhance the flavours rather than add heat. 

Other dishes under the Flatbread heading were Lamb Kofta Skewers (roasted

veg, red harissa, tzatziki, pickled red onion, and Chicken Schawarma (hummus, apricot & coriander relish, red cabbage slaw, turmeric aioli). We also shared a serving of their classy fries; other sides available include Garlic Stone-bread and Sweet Pea Hummus.

The menus, both lunch and dinner, are very highly recommended. The infectious enthusiasm and friendly service draw you in. Very comfortable seating, including some at the counter, is available. The Pembroke Street restaurant is in the dead centre of the city and is so easy to get to. Also, the website is up to date, and at https://www.orso.ie/, you can check out the menus and opening times.

As I mentioned earlier, ORSO (and indeed the whole Market Lane group), are terrific supporters of local. Current producers and suppliers include: Caherbeg Meats, Chicken Inn and Tom Durcan for meats; Ballycotton Seafood and K. O’Connell for fish; Churchfield Community Gardens and Singing Frog Gardens (salad and veg), Toonsbridge (Cheese), and Mr Bells for spices and seasonings.

* Dozens of current restaurant reviews here.

Spacefest. Marina Market to host spectacular Cork show as Macnas debut in the city!

SpaceFest. Marina Market to host spectacular show!

As Macnas debut in Cork.

Includes a cocktail of Astronomy, Art and Alcohol in Blackrock Castle

A SpaceFest comes travelling. Pic: C. Noonan

Out-of-this-world festival blends art, science and space at venues across Cork City and County

A week-long celebration of art and science, SpaceFest begins this weekend on Saturday 8th November with a stellar line up of events, experiments, tours and workshops across Cork city and county including the Marina Market, Blackrock Castle Observatory, The Liberty, Greywood Arts, UCC and more. 

As part of Science Week and Spacefest, spectacle performers Macnas will make their Cork premiere at Marina Market on Sunday 9th November. A vibrant troupe of drummers, stilt walkers and giant puppets will tell a powerful story about biodiversity and the gradual disappearance of the corncrake across Ireland. Known for its distinctive and recognisable call, the corncrake’s decline serves as a poignant reminder of the urgent need to protect habitats and biodiversity. 

A Macnas moon installation inspired by the performance will remain at Marina Market as part of Lunar Distance, an exhibition featuring a galactic array of art and science which runs until 12th November. Visitors can learn what cows have to do with satellites, listen to voice notes from space and record their own message for the stars, and see a tiny sculpture that orbited Earth on board the International Space Station!

Beyond the Visible is an Evening of Astronomy, Art and Alcohol taking place at Blackrock Castle Observatory on Sunday, 9th November. Astrophysicist and mixologist Dr Alfredo Carpineti will dive into a colourful exploration of galactic phenomena, turning Venus into a disco ball, painting the audience in blacklight, and serving up Sagittarius B2 cocktails inspired by the taste of a nebula. Artist Helen O’Keefe will respond in real time, sketching visual interpretations and inviting the audience to join in with hands-on materials provided. 

Join a lively trio of queer artists and scientists on Wednesday, 12th November at Taking Up Space, a night of discussion, drag performance, Equality BINGO, and a Family Fortunes-style quiz using data gathered live from the audience. The evening blends performance, conversation, and playful participation to confront and celebrate queer commonalities and community in science and the arts. Held in the relaxed lounge at Cork County Cricket Club on Mardyke Walk in the city, the event will be MC’d by Drag Queen Jeanie Mac, diva by night and scientist with an MSc in Synthetic Chemistry by day. Dr Alfredo Carpineti, astrophysicist and founder of Pride in STEM, will lead the discussion alongside Maitiú Mac Cárthaigh, an artist and researcher from ‘the arse back of nowhere’ whose work explores rural queer existence in Ireland.

On 14th November from 8 until late, the starship crew at music collective Audio Research Corporation (ARC) will bring together DJs, producers, and visual artists for a cosmic mix of music, dance, cocktails, and the chance to Adopt-An-Alien for Space Twist at The Liberty Bar, Cork (FREE).

For these and several more diverse, fun-filled STEAM events for every age, see https://spacefest.net   Funded by Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland and run by Greywood Arts, SpaceFest encourages more than 6,500 visitors each year to explore space through science, technology, engineering, art, and maths.

Cork And Kerry Food Festival Highlights Local Producers. New momentum in Mitchelstown’s food offerings.

Cork And Kerry Food Festival Highlights Local Producers.

New momentum in Mitchelstown’s food offerings

Praline treats!

Mitchelstown has long been a key town in Ireland’s fertile Golden Vale. Its natural association with food has been gaining new momentum in recent years, thanks to enterprise like Eight Degrees Brewing, Praline Chocolate, Galtee Honey Farm and Barnahown House.

All four were together under the Mitchelstown Food Community banner at the weekend’s Cork and Kerry Food Festival in the City Hall. Praline’s Norma makes some irresistible chocolates and is keen to spread the knowledge via a series of classes next Spring, a great variety for young and old. Subjects include everything from Back to Basics to Easter Desserts and Eggs and even include a Parent and Child class. Vouchers (very acceptable as a Christmas gifts) are available for the classes. More info at www.praline.ie

Lots of Christmas gift ideas in the City Hall for the foodie in your life or just for yourself. Sage have a festive gift-box of their already famous dips. Not just food! Try one of the marvellous whiskeys from Maurice of Killarney's Wayward Irish.  Whiskey too from the Clonakilty Distillery. There’s beer from Eight Degrees and Kinsale Mead have quite a few options as well. If you are an early buyer or a last minute purchaser, please do think local as everyone benefits!

 

These amazing spice sachets from Green Saffron recall their early days at Mahon Point Farmers Market when you got the spices in a little brown bag along with a photocopied recipe and super advice from Arun himself. He told me last Saturday he he misses the give and take of the markets. The East Cork company has grown a lot since 2007 and do watch out for some amazing expansion plans in the near future.

Anthony may have retired but its great to see Ummera in good hands. All the products were
available to sample at the festival and we tried a few before settling on the legendary chicken and duck.

Maurice has a variety of spirits available under the Wayward Irish, Lakeview and Liberator labels and now there's a new gin, an unusual smoked version to enjoy.

Kevin of Shellfish Ireland had a busy time of it with punters eager to
sample their seafood products, especially that Prawn Cocktail

With the hardworking Réidín and Kevin at the helm, Sage products have really taken off.
Look out for their festive box (not in photo), an ideal Christmas present!

Amazing mushrooms, all grown (not foraged), from Garryhinch Mushrooms.

You don't often get the chance to buy Gooseberry Jam, "a forgotten flavour" these days,
but we took the opportunity at Andrea's stall in the City Hall. The jams
are made in East Cork.