MONSOON MALABAR

MONSOON MALABAR

Last summer, I saw some old tobacco sheds in the Dordogne, sheds where they can open the sides to allow in the sun and the drying wind. But, on the south west coast of India, they have sheds that are opened during the monsoon to allow the moist winds circulate around the coffee beans laid out on the floor.

The process, which includes raking and turning, goes on for 3 or 4 months and ,at the end ,the beans have swollen to twice their original size and have turned a pale golden colour. This is the coffee that Gareth Scully, Master Blender at long standing award winning Irish company Robert Roberts, has chosen for us, the members of their Coffee Connoisseur Club, for the month of February.

“To achieve the strong strength we felt would best suit the Monsoon Malabar, the beans were roasted for 11 minutes at 205 degrees, and  released one minute after the second crack is heard.”

As a result, the coffee is strong with a full body, a good deal stronger than the Bruzzi (the January choice). It is full of flavour, not really sweet but not too acidic either.

Important here, and indeed with most coffees, is to use water that has just gone off the boil. If you use boiling water, you’ll end up with a bitter taste. Patience, like that used by the Indian producers and the Dublin roasters, is required! To find out more, click here 

THE WEEKEND CATCH

A bumper Weekend Catch, fresh from the Net.

THE WEEKEND CATCH

Restaurant Wine & Food Scene

via Twitter & Facebook

Control and click to follow the links and find out more.

market1788 Paul @CorkBilly St. Lukes Choir in English Market @ 5.30 Saturday Spiced beef tastings for punters - proceeds Marymount Hospice

Nash19Cork Nash19 Back in

Hazel Mountain Chocolate Flourishes on a Bare Burren Hill

Hazel Mountain Chocolate Flourishes on a Bare Burren Hill 

On a sparsely populated Burren hill overlooking Galway Bay, you’ll find a tropical fruit being turned into one of Europe’s finest chocolates. Here in John Connolly’s grandparents place, he and wife Kasha (a trained chocolate maker) produce the chocolate and run a café and are guiding their customers towards a cashless future.

But first to the chocolate. It is bean to bar, a rare operation in Ireland. I know of three others: Alison Roberts  of Clonakilty, Shauna Wilkies of Midleton and Proper Chocolate in Dublin. Perhaps there are a few others?

The Connollys import their beans from Madagascar, Venezuela, Mexico and Costa Rica while the cacao for their milk chocolate comes from Cuba (single estate). Their milk (in powder form) is supplied by Dairygold in Mallow.

You can visit and do a tour here. But even the casual visitor can view most of the process via a large glass window. Just stroll around the shop and check the huge range. Dark chocolates, milk chocolates, cake mixes, chocolate spreads, Cacao powder, hot chocolate powder (single estate), a Burren truffle collection, seasonal collections, and so much more.

And you do get a few samples as you enter the shop. And then there’s the café. We called there, of course! And naturally, I ordered a mug of their Salted Honey Hot Chocolate(4.70). Absolutely gorgeous, nicely judged too, not too sweet, just perfect and a terrific match with my fruity tart of the day (5.90).

Carrot Cake

While paying for our purchases in the shop (lots of bars) and for our lunchtime snack, you hear about their drive towards cashless. And we were only too happy to go along with that, including the tip. Now if you have no card, then cash is acceptable and they do have a tip jar. You may well expect a cashless drive by a modern outlet in your local main street but hardly up a bare hill in the Burren. But the Connollys are creatives, leaders. We could do with many more of them around this country.

Oh, by the way, you could get locked in here (also in their shop in Galway). All voluntarily! And I'd say no shortage of volunteers either. They hold regular lock-in events (tours and sampling and a look behind the scenes) at Christmas and Easter.

Hazel Mountain Chocolate 

Oughtmama

Bellharbour

County Clare

Galway shop

at 9 Middle Street

Galway City

You may also shop online

The factory is easily found: just follow the large chocolate coloured signs on the Kinvara to Ballyvaughan road (N67). Hazel Mountain is about halfway between the two.

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
Noel's Restaurant at Bunratty Manor
Oar Doolin
Naughton's Kilkee
Coast of Clare

Food and Drink Spotting

Taste of the Week:
Glenisk Natural Yoghurt with fresh Raspberries.

Food and Drink Spotting
Coffee tasting session

They tell me it’s not all about wine at L’Atitude 51.



“We also love and serve great coffee. So, in association with Badger & Dodo, our gourmet coffee roaster, we are offering a coffee tasting, or ‘cupping’, session – the first of its kind to be held in Cork. The session will take place in our Wine Workshop where you’ll be able to sip and sniff your way across a number of beans and blends.

Cupping is similar to wine tasting where comparisons can be made between varieties, coffee sampled at different stages of the brewing process, and aromas and after-tastes analysed. This session will be a fun approach to cupping – an introductory lesson to let you know what happens to the coffee from crop to cup, how roasters assess their coffees ... and we’ll even let you have a go at tasting and assessing for yourself - you’ll taste some very real differences in coffees from different origins!

The event takes place on Wednesday 15th August @ 7.00pm in our Wine Workshop on the 1st Floor. Admission costs €8 - this includes a 250g bag of gourmet coffee to take away. As numbers are limited, booking is essential - so if you’re interested, email us info@latitude51.ie or call us on 021 2390219.
More Coffee
Congratulations to Gareth Scully, the Master Coffee Roaster, at long established Irish company Robert Roberts whose Java Beans were one of only 120 products out of 8,800 to win 3 stars in the Great Taste Awards in London.

Ard Bia Cookbook
A unique family-friendly cookbook, a source of inspiration for modern healthy living, a keepsake for the loyal fans of the restaurant, a memento for visitors to Galway, a celebration of the enduring energy of Ard Bia and all involved  in it. That is how the Ard Bia Cookbook, published by Cork University Print, is being described.

“Ard Bia is about expecting great local food with an unusual twist, the best of Irish produce served with a little exotic magic: seasoning Atlantic scallops with tangy sumac, indulging pomegranate cake with freshly whipped Irish cream, pairing produce from local artisan heroes such as butcher-turned-charcutier James McGeough with eclectic influences from the Middle East and beyond.

The book represents a day in the life of Ard Bia, with the first five chapters taking the reader through the various times of day, from morning through lunchtime, mid-afternoon snacks through evening supper or dinner, finishing with something extra, sweet or cheesey. The final chapter is an important element of the book. This pantry section can contain much of the overflow of information from other chapters, and will be a go-to for further explanation for novices.
More info on the €39.00 book here

Drinks
Over 300 specialist beers from across the globe will be showcased at the third annual ‘Deveney’s of Dundrum Lughnasa Beer Festival’ on Friday, 19th August, at the POD Complex on Dublin’s Harcourt Street. beerfestival.ie

In you’re in Dublin today, why not check out Ely where the wines of Germany & Austria, two of the most underappreciated wine making countries in Europe, are featured. Details here

Matt Kane of Curious Wines has been increasing his experience recently: In Argentina Jesus juice is the name given to red wine mixed with cola. In Spain it is known as calimocho, where the cocktail is said to have originated. I am ashamed to say, even as a reasonably well experienced wine drinker (although I know I’ll never stop learning), I have never mixed red wine and cola. Nor lemonade and white wine, which I believe is another popular mix. Read more 


 Shorts

Rozanne Stevens gets her teeth into Clonakilty Black Pudding.

For he who has everything! Boxer Gifts Stand Clear Man Cooking Apron

Bord Bia’s Fish Cakes with Chilli and Coriander sauce

GREAT TASTE WINNER

The competition for the Great Taste hamper drew loads of entries from all over the country and the winner is:

Gerry McCarthy

from Co. Offaly

A hamper of teas and coffees from Robert Roberts, a long standing Irish company who, as all of you indicated in your answers, won 12 stars at the recent Great Taste Awards in London, is on its way to Gerry.

Clonakilty Chocolate. All my changes were there

Clonakilty Chocolate

All my changes were there

In Neil Young’s song “Helpless” you hear this line: All my changes were there. He was referring to his hometown in Ontario, Canada. Allison Roberts is also from Ontario and naturally enough had some moulding there.

One that would last came as a result of her following up an ad in a local shop window for a chocolate making course. That skill didn't bring her to Clonakilty but it was a major factor in her staying in West Cork where she now makes delicious Fairtrade chocolate in a room at the back of her house on a hill overlooking the town.

That early course saw the 12 year old invest in a set of moulds, including a turtle. And for “years and years, at Easter and at Christmas, I made mypocket money by making and selling chocolate”.

Growing up and attending university, she began to realise the negative impact of globalisation and was “always inclined” to Fairtrade. Years later, after traveling and stints living in Taiwan and Australia, she arrived in West Cork for “a six months stay”.

And, of course, one of the first things she saw were the signs on the way in to Clon declaring it to be Ireland's first Fairtrade town. It was a sign in more ways than one. And then there was another, more practical, sign that would lead to that six months going on and on. A local shop was looking for local chocolate. Allison sent home for the moulds, including that turtle, and went to work.

And there was yet another hook to the local community. An older lady recruited the Canadian to the Fairtrade Committee and now Allison is the group's treasurer. “There are lots of ways of doing Fairtrade,” she says. “Start by buying from the local farmers.”

“I like local but cocoa is faraway. Be aware of where your stuff comes from. All mine comes from Africa.” Indeed, it all comes from a group of farmers in Ghana, the Kuapa Kokoo Fairtrade Farming Co-operative. Allison visited there in 2013 as a representative of Fairtrade Ireland and you can read and see all about it here.

During our recent visit, we were nibbling away at all kinds of bits and pieces of chocolate as we spoke. “West Cork and the people in it have a magnetic energy, I soon realized I had found my home and in 2010, after seeking out local blessings, my traveling chocolate business was named Clonakilty Chocolate.”

The chocolate is made in a large back room in the house that Allison and Justin share and where baby Ari is the most recent chocolate loving addition. He was very quiet during our visit and Allison said it's great to be able to work at home and keep an an eye on her son.

She has two employees now. Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays are production days. Thursdays are spent bagging and labelling while Fridays see her at the local market. If you visit Clon on a Friday, be sure and check out the market and you’ll see Allison and her bike which she uses both for transport and display.

You can buy the chocolates at the markets, in many shops in the town, in Cork city and in quite a few places around the country. See the full range of stockists here.

Allison would love to get her bars and treats into other markets but obviously can’t cover them all herself. So if you have a suitable established stall, perhaps selling other similar products, why not get in touch via the website contacts. If you’d like to buy and there is no stockist near you, then check out the online shop - it includes a Choco-Lovers Club!

As well as the beans from Ghana, she also uses milk. She can get powdered cows milk in Ireland but has to import the goats milk equivalent from Holland.

The Goats Milk bar (So Milky Milk) is one of my favourites and I was surprised to hear her say that it is “controversial”, in the sense that people are either for it or against it. Luckily though, the majority love it! She is also “super delighted that the 100% bar pure Cocoa Bar is going really well, even if it's not the best seller”.

What is her own favorite? “That varies from time to time. At the moment it is the Chai.” She could well be selling a lot of these bars in the months ahead as “it is the Christmas one”.

And there was a Christmas feel as we left the chocolate house - we finished off with some of her fresh truffles. Gorgeous!

• And before we said goodbye, Allison had a word for a fellow local producer. She told us the Clonakilty Brewing Company was about to hit the market after Christmas.
  
  
  Watch out too for Allison herself as she features in a Christmas edition of Rachel Allen's Coastal Cooking. Musician Justin featured in the first!

BEETROOT. GOOD FOR YOU?

DRINKING BEETROOT MAY HAVE HEALTH BENEFITS

The humble beetroot has come a long way in Ireland in recent years, now appearing in all the best places.

Take this weekend for example. On Friday, I was at the five star Hayfield Manor Hotel here in Cork. And here the red root took a starring role in one of the starters billed as “a salad with Roasted Beetroot and Carrot, Feta cheese, cucumber and caramelized walnuts” and very nice it was too.

Of course, the beetroot isn’t just in red. On Saturday, I was a guest at the exciting new Electric Bar and Restaurant in the South Mall. I saw that they had Home Smoked Duck, served with rainbow (red and yellow) beetroots and leaves. Couldn't resist it and it was gorgeous.

Hardly expected it to appear on my breakfast table this morning but there it was: Pomegranate with beetroot. It is one of a series of relatively new Pomegreat drinks from award winning Irish firm, Robert Roberts. And it is perhaps the favourite of the trio of samples that I tried over the past few days although I must say I also liked the one with Blueberry added.

The drinks are being marketed under the Pomegreat name and, aside from tasting well, could well have health benefits.

SAMBA ON A COLD MONDAY MORNING

COFFEE: BRAZILIAN BRUZZI 

Now it’s official: I am a

Taste of the Week. So Milky Milk Chocolate

Taste of the Week

So Milky Milk Chocolate

One of the bonuses of visiting Clonakilty recently for A Taste of West Cork was the chance to meet chocolatier Allison Roberts at the tasting event in Spiller’s Lane. She was one of the local producers showing their wares and I stocked up on her chocolate bars, including the So Milky Milk bar, our Taste of the Week.

This has no “artificial anything” and is “Gluten free”. Aside from Cocoa, the other main ingredient is Coconut Blossom Syrup. And the milk is not from the cow but from the goat!

Clonakilty Chocolate is a Fairtrade operation, the beans coming to Clon from the farmers of Kokoo (Ghana). Even the wrapper is bio-degradeable. Eating it, the chocolate that is, will make you feel good in more ways than one!

Other bars include: Chai Chilli, 100% Cocoa, Decadent Dark, Wild West Salty, and Seriously Minted. The Salty and the Minted are also among my favourites but do sample and take your pick from a great choice.

Free family fun at Waterford Harvest Festival

press release

Free family fun at Waterford Harvest Festival

Young foodies and aspiring chefs will flock to the Waterford Harvest Festival this weekend, with an abundance of FREE events for families taking place from 6 – 8 September. Having just been named Foodie Destinations 2019 winner by the Restaurants Association of Ireland, Waterford will showcase its gourmet status at the annual festival, with free cooking demonstrations, markets and workshops for all the family. Full details are available at www.waterfordharvestfestival.ie.

Festival Director, Tommie Ryan said: “We are delighted to kick off another exciting Harvest Festival this weekend. Waterford has just been announced winner of Foodie Destinations 2019 because of its sense of local awareness, pride and passion for food tourism… and Harvest epitomises just that. This weekend is for all the family to enjoy, with over 70 free and ticketed events.

“We urge everyone to don their walking shoes or grab their bikes, as the Greenway Grazing food market opens the festival with food stalls dotted along the Waterford Greenway to celebrate the launch of Fáilte Ireland’s new #TasteTheIsland campaign. There will also be fantastic cooking demos throughout the weekend by celebrity chefs Edward Hayden and the GastroGays, as well as well-known local chefs at the Dawn Meats Demo Tent. From drama workshops to cake making; drum circles to science fairs, there is a huge mix on offer to keep kids entertained.”

Further free highlights include the Festival Market, located at Arundel Sq./Michael Street, showcasing Irish products across the weekend. The Copper Coast Market will feature local artists and food producers at the Applemarket on Saturday. Experience the handmade produce of exciting start-ups at the South East Makers Market, located on Broad Street, Friday to Sunday; and the Food the Waterford Way Market and Demos at the Applemarket on Sunday, featuring some of Waterford’s finest producers.

Paddy Casey performs a free concert in the Churchyard, Bailey’s New Street on Saturday; the SE2 Music Stage at Arundel Square puts on three days of live music, while the festival favourite Blaa Eating Competition is on the Sunday. Expect music and fun at the Cultural Quarter Block Party at Tully’s on O’Connell Street on Friday.

LiveWell Day takes place on Friday, offering young children the chance to experience yoga, pilates, massages and dance workshops. The event is free however pre-booking is essential. Children can enjoy Drum Dance Ireland’s interactive drum show at Ballybricken Green and the Calmast Maths, Science and Technology Fair on Broad Street, both on Saturday and Sunday. A free chocolate biscuit cake-making workshop takes place at Carter’s Chocolate Café on Sunday.

The Team Ireland Butchery Demonstration takes place on Sunday, with the team representing Ireland at the World Butchery Challenge in California in 2020 displaying their world-class butchery skills in the Dawn Meats Demo Tent, John Roberts Sq.

Ballybricken Fair will put on woodcarving demos, an educational and interactive mobile farm, a fairground, and falconry at Ballybricken Green on both Saturday and Sunday.

There are pay-as-you-go events at Harvest 2019 such as a Mexican Day at No. 9 and the Meat Lovers Feast at the Bodega, both Saturday. Ticketed highlights this weekend include Celebrating Seaweed at Momo with the seaweed expert, Marie Power aka The Sea Gardener; and the Thai and Vietnamese Street Food Feast at Sabai.

For all details visit www.waterfordharvestfestival.ie or follow:

•      Facebook: @waterfordharvest

•      Twitter: @harvest_fest

•      Instagram: @harvest_fest

Food and Drink Spotting Digest

My Food and Drink Spotting Digest

Getting great use here from Gimme the Recipe, the newly published book by Cork food blogger Sheila Kiely. The latest success was her Chicken Provencal (right) and that proved a treat at a dinner over the weekend. The book, a very practical one, especially for the busy mum (Sheila has six kids), is available at Eason’s and Waterstone’s.

Two great coffees going in the house at the moment. Badger and Dodo have come up trumps with their Tanzania Ngorongoro Blue. I got my pack at Bradley’s in North Main Street but I understand supplies are running out so you’ll have to hurry to get this well balanced coffee from the small farms under Mount Kilimanjaro.

Don’t believe I ever tasted a coffee from Thailand until the Thai Doit Chaang came in the post via the Connoisseur Coffee club of Robert Roberts. Another cracking cupful, smooth with excellent flavour.

While I was in Bradley’s for the coffee, I noticed another breakfast cereal: Superior Spelt Muesli from Tipperary’s Ballybrado Farm. I’m hooked, a terrific balance of tastes and flavours and organic to boot. Now to try their other products.

Many of us foodies are often inclined to run down supermarkets but not all of us, Gimme the Recipe author Sheila Kiely had praise galore for her local Supervalu (Ballincollig) at last week’s book launch.

And I have seen, at first hand, some very good local inputs at various Supervalu’s, the latest at Scally’s in Blackrock. Been sampling some of their in-house products recently and was delighted with the excellence. Two that really impressed were their sea-food chowder and the Shepherd’s Pie, really tasty and at a very good price.

Called in to see Paul Kieran at Bubble Brothers, just back from his packed Australia trip. Of course he sold me, a willing accomplice, a bottle of wine from Oz, a smashing Chardonnay from the Irish founded Xanadu winery in the Margaret River.


But I also ended up with a Japanese plum liqueur in a 5ml jar. It was 15% but I didn’t really become aware of the alcohol until I bit into the whole plum that had been in the jar for years. Like brandy! Phew. Think he’s still got some of them if you’d like to experiment!



Shorts:

Pot Roast with a difference: http://www.fastcompany.com/1685223/cannabis-catering-offers-marijuana-infused-haute-cuisine

Recipe for Provencal Tomato Sauce: http://www.blogsuculento.co.uk/?p=2333

On a light note, thanks to Eoin Lettice ‏ @blogscience http://www.communicatescience.eu/2012/03/on-lighter-note.html