Monday, May 20, 2013

Little Beauty Comes Home

Little Beauty Comes Home
Bringing Gold
Maurice O'Mahony of Wine Alliance introduces
Little Beauty's Fleur McCree.
Little Beauty’s Fleur McCree says demand is high for her 600 cases of limited edition Riesling. She even sells it into Germany and has had a recent query from Japan where the grape is "all the rage with the young affluent Japanese woman”. It will be all the rage in other places too with yesterday’s news that her 2010 from Marlborough has won the New Zealand Regional Award (for Riesling selling at under fifteen pounds sterling) in the Decanter World Wine Awards!

The wine, made from less than 2 hectares of vines, is a “refreshing lemon lime” and “deliberately made dry”. It is the drink anytime wine, the “lager of wine” according to Fleur who loves it with roast pork.

The second wine at last week’s tasting in L’Atitude 51, who supplied some really tasty bites for each wine, was the Pinot Gris, again from less than two hectares of vines. “Pinot Gris loves the stones, the water, and the sun.” It just takes off in these conditions and that can, in the wrong hands, lead to quantity over quality.

So it has to be reined in. Bunches are removed. Must be done by hand as machines can’t decide which bunches to discard. “Concentration in Pinot Gris means quality” and it is “the most pampered variety in the vineyard”. Here you have lip smacking flavour, oily, yet drier than the Riesling. Don’t over chill it and use with nuts, pork crab and so on.

Sauvignon Blanc is perhaps the typical Marlborough wine. Little Beauty’s 2010 is, I think, a little bit more restrained than the usual Marlborough and the better for it. The different blocks around the vineyard ripen at different times yet the intense fruit is preserved and there is “a build-up of layers of flavour to enhance the experience. Mango, Passion fruit at the start followed by Citrusy flavours mid-palate and then basil at the back of the tongue”. Really top notch.

The Gold medal news was the first surprise at the well attended tasting. You can’t taste gold medals but we could taste the second surprise: the Black Beauty Edition of Sauvignon Blanc. Only 200 cases were produced from a few selected rows and this was a world first for Ireland. “...quick harvested...and then put into small old barriques (French), barriques that are ten to twenty years old...no stainless steel is used..fermentation is in the barrel...no cultured yeast...just the local wild yeast”.

And that intensive management pays off. “It is a beautiful fruit wine..lots of texture..creamier...richer...use with pork chops and garlic.”

“Hello, you exotic Little Beauty”, was Fleur’s greeting to the next wine, the Gewurztraminer, as she sniffed the Turkish Delight on the nose. This comes from two different one hectare plots, from two different clones of a variety that is “lazy in the vineyard”.

Its sweet fruitiness is balanced by “a clear acidity”. “It is a food wine, very versatile.” She advised us to try it with Cheeses, Foie Gras, Terrines, spicy crab and fragrant curries.

Now it was time for the final wine, Pinot Noir, the only red in the Little Beauty team. The Marlborough sun will not ripen the likes of Cabernet Sauvignon or Shiraz and so Pinot Noir is the most common red variety in the area.

This, hand harvested from between six and seven hectares, has a short spell in stainless steel before aging for 12 months in oak. It is a terrific example of the variety. “Complex but in a friendly way! Soft silky and a hint of tannins. Enjoy, definitely, with Pan-fried duck breasts.”

Just another Little Beauty in a beautiful wine tasting in L’Atitude’s superbly appointed upstairs room, made for just such an occasion. May there be many more of them. 

Little Beauty wines are imported by Wine Alliance. It is widely available around the country so check out the stockists here.

Wine Geese events

Tuesday May 28th, Cafe Paradiso: Presentation & Tasting with winemaker Emma Cullen of Cullen Wines, Margaret River, Australia in Café Paradiso in association with Liberty Wines.

July 11th, Crawford Art Gallery: “A Bordeaux Evening in Cork” with Pierre Lawton, Bordeaux and Ted Murphy, author of “A Kingdom of Wine – a Celebration of Ireland’s Wine Geese”.

 (Part Two)


Little Beauty Comes Home

 (Part One)

In 1825, thirty year old John Cox welcomed his new son William into the world in Passage West, Co. Cork. William, who married in 1846, was one of the first Europeans to settle in New Zealand and died there in 1899.

William was the great, great great grandfather of Fleur McCree, co-owner of Marlborough winery Little Beauty, who was back in town last Thursday evening, her tutored wine-tasting, in Union Quay’s L’Atitude 51, part of the current Wine Geese Series.

“Marlborough is the home of Little Beauty and a very important place for me,” she said. “There we have 2,500 hours of sunshine annually and clear skies. If you go to New Zealand be sure to have your sunglasses with you when you land in Auckland, it is so bright.”

Marlborough is into farming both on land and on sea and has “a huge reputation for such a little place”. But its grape history is a very short one. The first were planted in 1972 and the hopeful farmer was told he “was bonkers”.

Fleur, who had always had a terrific affinity with nature (sleeping as a child on her trampoline under those bright bright stars),decided in the late 90s to get into wine – for keeps!

The apprenticeship took quite a while. Scouting trips to Alsace, Burgundy, the Douro, Napa Valley and Mendoza (among other places) yielded valuable knowledge before she and her partner decided to settle back home. But then they spent years in London, working to raise capital before eventually starting up in Marlborough where they now farm 41 hectares of vines, which is a tiny area, considering that there are 33,000 hectares under production in New Zealand.

They first planted in 2002/3 and then of course they had to wait for their first harvest. But two years later they were in for a big shock when a severe frost wiped out blocks of their Sauvignon Blanc. And two years later again, a once in a sixty year flood caused major damage again. Tears then but only for a brief period. “Then I realised we were essentially farmers. This was what we had to deal with.” And deal with it they did. It is not an easy life ”but rewarding”.

Labour is scare here and machines are necessary (though not used in all areas, Pinot Gris and Noir are hand harvested for example). The versatile tractor is put to good use. To preserve the freshness and flavours, they have to use the machines to make the harvest “really quick”.

Perhaps one of the most ingenious machines is what looks like a windmill and nine of these are scattered around the vineyard and used to prevent the blanket of frost settling. While New Zealand enjoys long hours of sunshine, the day’s highs (maybe late twenties) can be followed by very cold nights. But the blades on these machines oscillate and rotate and succeed in fighting off the frost.

A state of the art technology network across the site captures real time data variables from Mother Nature and, among other things, helps dictate when the wind machines (and which wind machine) comes into play. The use of stainless steel, copied from the thriving local dairy industry, is widespread, though oak barriques are also used in Little Beauty.

The fledging Little Beauty earned its early keep by selling its Sauvignon grapes to Cloudy Bay. The cash helped them develop the vineyard and then they got a huge boost when Eveline Fraser, then head wine-maker with Cloudy Bay, decided to join the rookies!

You’ve often heard of the passionate vineyard owner. Last Thursday night we saw one in action in L’Atitude. “I’m very fussy over where Little Beauty goes. Come hell or high water, you’ll never find Little Beauty in a supermarket. It goes only to good homes. Integrity is very important nowadays. A wine made with integrity or an accountant’s wine. Which would you prefer?”

I reckon William Cox would have been proud of his great great great grand daughter!

Fleur also had a couple of real surprises for us during the tasting and I’ll have that and more on the Little Beauty wines themselves in Part Two tomorrow.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Amuse Bouche


Wenger used all the tools. Previously the pre-match meal at Arsenal had consisted of baked beans with Coca-Cola. “Some players went on to the pitch burping,” Dennis Bergkamp reminisced. Not under Wenger.

From The Football Men by Simon Kuper.

Friday, May 17, 2013

The Award-winning House Cafe


The House Cafe



For just €8.50, I enjoyed a sublime lunch dish in Cork last week. Ballyhoura Wild Mushrooms were the main element here, the light touch of the House Cafe culinary team  combining them with Free Range Egg, spring onion and parmesan to construct a delicious omelette. They added some pickles cucumber and healthy organic leaves to vary the taste, the flavours and the textures. A simple creation. But a superb one.

House Cafe is the relatively new award winning cafe set up in the foyer of the Cork Opera House. Just like  managers Victor Murphy and Steve McGlynn and Chef Eoin O'Reilly, I’m always looking to support local producers and isn’t it just great to see these fresh ingredients used in such an imaginative way. The menu here is very attractive and it looks as if I’ll have to return again, and again.

CL went for the Mezze Slate (8.50) and what a variety she got. Colours and flavours galore in the Aubergine compote, roasted parsnip hummus, bean salad, roasted peppers, Tomato Tapenade, and marinated olives.

We had each started off with a soup (4.50). One was Cauliflower and Parsnip, the other Carrot and Sweet Potato. Both very tasty and quite substantial. If you had time only for soup, this would keep you going for quite a while.

Finished off with coffees and by the way this too is excellent and comes from the Golden Bean, based at Ballymaloe and regulars at Mahon Point Farmers Market. Not much room for dessert but did try a Macaron. Sweet!

Opening times are  all day Monday to Saturday, from 10 to 5.30, and shownights until 9.

Victor proudly gave me this list of the growers and producers that they use:
Leaf / Salad / Veg - Caroline Robinson, Coal Quay Market
and Derek Hannon - Greenfield Farm, Leamlara.
Other seasonal fruit/veg' from various stallholders at the Saturday Coal Quay market.
Wild mushrooms from Mark and Lucy of Ballyhoura Mushrooms.
Eggs and Apple juice from Colin Wolfe, Coal Quay market.
Fish from O'Driscolls market stall, Ballycotton seafood, Rene Cusack & Frank Hedermans.
Sausage, rashers, bacon, puddings from Avril Allshire -  Caherbeg/Roscarberry
Free range chicken - Jack McCarthy
Sourdough and pide bread - Arbutus Bread
Cheeses :- Knocklara
              - Gubeen
               - Hegartys
              - Mozzarella, ricotta, Parmesan, olives and olive oil from Real olive company/Toonsbridge.
Beef - O'Mahony's, the market
Game - Ivin Ellis.
Coffee - Mark Kingston of Golden Bean


"For Drinks,  we collect seasonal foraged flowers and herbs, to make cordials. We make everything from scratch on site in House Cafe (save the white bread)."

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Food and Drink Spotting


Food and Drink Spotting



Taste of the Week.



Did you know that the Cornstore are now dry aging their own beef with Himalayan salt and that means their steaks are extra special at the moment. "Imported Himalayan salt  is used to absorb humidity in the aging unit over a period of up to 35 days resulting in the most tender, flavoursome beef one is ever likely to taste."






Real Wine - Celebrating the Artisan Grower
 Wine talk and wine tasting with Eric Narioo, of Les Caves des Pyrène, and Pascal Rossignol, of Le Caveau,  in The Grain Store at Ballymaloe
Sunday 26th May, 6.30pm

This is a great opportunity to listen to two passionate and experienced wine experts in this area, over a very pleasant, informal, yet educational talk, and a tasting of different artisan wines
Eric from Les Caves de Pyrène and Pascal from Le Caveau both specialise in artisan wines sourced from individual growers, that are 'true to where they come from, which are made by hand with minimal interventions in the vineyard and winery, and which show maximum respect for nature and the environment'.
Sunday 26th May, 6.30pm  €15 (includes wine tasting of eight different wines)
Further information & to reserve places
colm@ballymaloe.ie
Tel: 086 0859034

Sage Expands!
Midleton’s award winning Sage Restaurant will be closed for renovation from June10th to 15th. Kevin Aherne explains: “We will be re opening with a new Cafe/Wine & craft beer hub AKA The Greenroom next to the restaurant. The Greenroom will be open Tue-Sat from 9 am till late . We will have all your morning needs from coffee to scones to light bites. Lunch will be from 12-4 with Sandwiches, wraps, organic salads, soups,cakes, tarts & more. With a large emphasis on local as always . From 4 o’clock on, the craft beers and wine will be flowing with local cheese and producer platters. We will be running our mug club where you can personalize your own mug with Susan from Crafty Hands. We will also be running a take away service at lunch time if you don’t have time to sit down and join us.”

Irish???. Maybe. Maybe Not!

Thanks to Mary Daly on Facebook for this piece.....

Did you know that we import over €5 billion worth of food and drink every year? Many of our well knows brands that we presume to be Irish, in fact are not!! 

Siucra, Lyons Tea, Kimberley Biscuits, HB Ice-Cream and many of our meats, fruits and vegetables are all imported. 

Imagine the affect on our economy if we were to actively seek out Irish alternatives? Supporting Irish food producers means we enhance local economies, create jobs and reduce's our carbon footprint.

Shorts
Roz Crowley visits the Firehouse Bakery http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgLDZAYUXno&feature=youtu.be

EXTENDED SUMMER HOURS AT CAFÉ PARADISO! · 13 MAY 2013
“Here’s some good news for a Monday, and for every Monday in this coming summer. To better use the long balmy evenings and the expected harvest bounty from Gortnanain Farm, we’re extending our dinner service to six days all summer long, including Mondays.
From Monday 3rd June and until 24th August, our summer hours are:
Dinner – Monday to Saturday from 5.30pm;
Lunch – Saturday noon to 2.30pm.

Don’t know if many of you saw this bit of fun with Julia Childs on twitter during the week. Like sharing a laugh or two so here goes again:
@JeffreyMerrihue: Julia Childs Mash Up: bit.ly/10vGmbX yes really.

Kate Lawlor of Fenn’s Quay has her first book coming out next month:
Exciting times here @fennsquay we’ve just got the first proof of @fqchefess book which will be launched next month pic.twitter.com/L9M6eAaxsR


The earliest use of the term India pale ale was … in Australia? http://wp.me/p3uv9-U5  via @wordpressdotcom

Electric
“we are crying out for staff - especially experienced wait staff, good money and plenty of hours if youre not afraid of a bit of work - cvs by email only to ernest@electriccork.com

Good Food Ireland
***Recipe*** 
Delicious Seasonal Rhubarb & Ginger Crumble 
by 
Renvyle House Hotel
http://bit.ly/10OLUE7

Another Rhubarb Tip:
Boil 1L orange juice + 2tbsp brandy + star anise. Use to poach new season rhubarb until barely soft. Good with vanilla ice cream #roztips



Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Well fed at the Pavilion


Well fed at the Pavilion
Chicken wrap
Many of you will, when travelling in the Carrigaline area and on the Kinsale Road, have seen the signs for the Pavilion in Ballygarvan and will know it is a large garden centre. But did you know that they have a very busy cafe there and also a well stocked food shop?
Smoked salmon sandwich
Called there for lunch recently. In plenty of time, I thought. But, having taken a browse amongst the plants and garden furniture, got quite a surprise when I returned to the cafe area about 12.30 to find a big queue for the goodies.

Olives, pesto and tapenade for sale in the food shop
Took time to study the menu, printed over the serving area on a large blackboard. Decided to go for the Delicious Dill sandwich: Open smoked salmon on homemade bread, with cream cheese, cucumber and dill and a choice of two salads.
Plants and water feature in garden centre
Quite a feed, as was that chosen by CL: Tasty Tarragon, a wrap of Chicken, bacon, tarragon, mayo, lettuce and tomato, not forgetting your choice of two salads. Each cost €8.50. Great value. And value obviously appreciated as many of those in the café came from nearby factories and offices – it’s just about two miles or so from Cork Airport. Service is friendly and efficient – that queue moved quickly.

Also had a look at the food shop. Couldn’t leave without a loaf of Arbutus bread and a pack of those fantastic smoked rashers by Ummera but there is much more there, a lot of it by local producers.

They also have a country store where you may buy unusual items for the house. One display that caught my eye was the unusually shaped soaps crafted by Mianra from Carrigaline.

The garden centre is a big one and much of it is undercover. Hard to resist making a purchase here. In truth, there was no resistance and more was spent on the garden than on the food!




Tuesday, May 14, 2013

World's Strongest Beer

The world's strongest beer will damage your wallet!


Loire Lesson #4


Loire Lesson #4
Harvest time at Gitton

Gitton Peer & Fils, Pouilly-Fumé 2008, Clos Joanne D’Orion, 12.5%, €23.75, Karwig Wines

The grape here is Sauvignon Blanc and 2008 is regarded as one of the better years. I’ve read, though where I can’t recall, that a good Pouilly-Fumé has a pungent smell often likened to gun flint, the extra smokiness coming from the local flinty soil known as silex.

Colour is straw with tints of green while the nose is aromatic, reminiscent of white fruits. It is quite a mouthful, quite a mouthfeel, smoothly viscous and full of intense flavour with good acidity; it is long lasting on the palate with a terrific long finish.

Class in a glass. No gun smoke, by the way. Very Highly Recommended.

Domaine du Haut Perron, Guy Allion, Touraine Sauvignon Vielle Vignes 2011, 12.5%, €17.40, Bubble Bros.

Touraine, around the city of Tours, is the largest AOC in the Loire area. Though not as well known as the smaller AOCs of Sancerre and Vouvray, it produces some excellent wines and can rival Sancerre for the quality of its Sauvignon.

This dry white, from the vineyard of Guy and Cédric Allion on the slopes of the Cher River, has a couple of extras going for it. It is made from the fruits of old vines and is left on its lees for a few months. The wine makers too are committed: “We do our best to respect nature every day”.

This one has intense flavours with a fresh tingly mouthfeel, excellent acidity and a lasting finish. This aromatic (white fruits) wine is well made and Highly Recommended.

* I am heading to the Loire later in the summer. Any tips on what to see, do, (even drink!) appreciated.

The Woodford. Excellent Lunch.


The Woodford


Perhaps it is not overly surprising that we have many good black (and white) pudding makers in the region. The surprise is more in the robust resurgence of this old food of the poor and its emergence on the tables of the local restaurants, including the Woodford Pub  in Paul Street where I enjoyed a recent lunch.

Clonakilty black pudding salad - €11
Caramelised apples crispy potato skins, bacon, honey & mustard dressing
Clonakilty Black Pudding was the first to make a widespread breakthrough and I got a pleasing reminder of why in this salad. Here it combined very well with the segments of sweet apple atop each mini cylinder of the rich black pudding with a loose and crumbly texture, its full flavour tinged with salt.
The flavour of the bacon cubes was a lingering sweet ambush, so pleasantly potent on the palate and certainly a worthy addition to the salad. Not so long ago, patrons would have passed on this. Now, the pudding is back in foodie fashion.

Bluebell Falls goats cheese crostini -   €10
With beetroot relish, walnuts, tomato chilli jam & honey dressing 
The warmed Bluebell Falls Goat Cheese was served on crostini. Beetroot has become a standard companion of the chèvre and, shredded here, one could easily taste why. Tomatoes and sweet crunchy caramelised walnuts also played their part in making it a very satisfactory salad indeed.

These two salads were well put together, not just casual collections on the plates.

We were initially somewhat disappointed to see the Specials Boards make an appearance about six or seven minutes after we had ordered (and some 35 minutes after lunch serving time had commenced). But that was wiped out by the two splendid salads that we enjoyed before finishing off with some decent Illy coffee. The friendly staff were on the ball here and the service was excellent.

Monday, May 13, 2013

On The Tapas Trail. Cork and Dublin.


On The Tapas Trail
Hit the Cork Tapas Trail with Rioja wine-maker Campo Viejo last Sunday and it was a good one. Four restaurants were visited over the course of a leisurely two and half hours, tapas galore were consumed and no shortage of their 2007 Reserva either!


This is the first year that the trails are being held in Cork. The Cornstore, Arthur Mayne, Oysters and Electric are the participating restaurants. Wednesday evenings and Sunday afternoons are the days and it is great value at twenty euro. The Cork trails run from now until June 5th (with June 2nd excluded) while the Dublin dates, again Wednesdays and Sundays, are from June 9th until July 17th.  More info here.

Paul
There were four groups on last Sunday's Cork trail. Ours started in the Cornstore with a glass of Campo Viejo Cava and a selection of gorgeous tapas with the Jack McCarthy Pudding and Queen Scallop my favourite though I got through them all including that luxurious flourless chocolate cake at the end. By the way, did you know that the Cornstore are now dry aging their own beef with Himalayan salt and that means their steaks are extra special at the moment.

Cornstore: Baby Octopus (nearest)
and Black Pudding & Queen Scallop.
Our guide was Paul and he told us a few yarns about the city as we strolled between the various restaurants. Next call was to Arthur Mayne Chemist in Pembroke Street. Not now a chemist, though many interesting artefacts remain on view, but a wine bar cum cafe. 

Got some tasty stuff here too, including a meat and cheese platter and a lovely treat on the way out, a sinful mouthful of their Mint Aero Chocolate Mousse. Didn't realise they had such an extensive menu here. Must call again.



Then we got a big welcome from Donal and his crew in Oysters and a lovely selection of their food on a board. Highlight? Hard to pick one. The swordfish was superb but then so too was the Butternut, Squash and Sage Risotto, the Duck Parfait and the....  Much of this board also features on their €35.00 table de hote menu, available nightly until 7.00pm. And one that I can highly recommend!
 


Then it was up the Mall to Electric, our final stop on the trail. Here Jason filled us in on their short hectic history and on their most recent development, the lovely fish bar upstairs. Treats here included a Crab Mousse and a very special Polenta and Wild Garlic Mini-muffin (below). No shortage of the Campo Viejo red either as an interesting afternoon came to a pleasant end by the banks of the Lee.





Nash 19 goes French. With style!


Nash 19 goes French
Didn’t realise until almost too late that so many of the city’s restaurants were joining in the fun of the second Cork French Food and Wine Festival. Among them were Les Gourmandises who had a Roasted Duck Leg Confit from the Landes area; Cronin’s of Crosshaven were doing a Bouillabaisse; The Farmgate presented Blanquette de Veau while Star Anise might have had the inside track with Saddle of Rabbit from Lyons.

We ended our festival weekend on Saturday in Nash 19 who had also entered into the spirit and were indeed offering some good French wines at an attractive price (€4.50 per glass of a Sauvignon from Bordeaux).

By then, the Very Classic French Onion Soup had sold out but they did have a gorgeous Soupe de Poisson avec Croutons, a really flavoursome bowlful (a large one!), the fishy flavours mild, the texture smooth.

On then to the piece de résistance, the Salade Nicoise au Seared Tuna, dish of the Cotes d’Azur. I believe though that the citizens of Nice can hardly agree among themselves on the exact recipe for this traditional dish with some of the traditionalists saying you can’t have anchovies and tuna together. In England, the preference seems to be for canned tuna while here (and in the USA) we seem to relish the seared tuna.

All the arguments though, which probably apply in some shape or form to all traditional dishes, were far from our minds as we tucked into this splendid Nash 19 version which also featured the traditional hardboiled egg and one of the freshest and crispest salads you are likely to find. The tuna, by the way, was perfectly cooked, tender and moist, and polished off with some relish.


The French theme continued right to the end and dessert, a luscious Apple Tarte Tatin, was a superb example of the type. Apparently it was invented by a lady called Tatin by mistake. Jamie Oliver tells how: it was invented quite near where I was staying by the Tatin sisters. The story goes that one of them was making an apple tart but, for whatever reason, made a mistake and left it too long in the oven. However, she thought she could salvage it, so she ended up turning it upside down and her guests went mad for it.

Actually Jamie has a recipe for it here.  Don’t think that Nash 19’s Donna will need to look it up though. Her Tarte Tatin is perfect!

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Master the art of Bread Baking


Master the art of Bread Baking with the Fabulous Master Baker, Fabrice Hergaux, of The Butler’s Pantry.

A Bread for Every Occasion with The Butler’s Pantry!

Master the art of bread baking with Fabrice Hergaux, Master Baker at The Butler's Pantry.  Fabrice will be letting guests in on some of his secrets that he has learned over a long and successful career. You will learn how to make brioche and how to transform it into different shapes such as mice and tortoises!  Fabrice will also be showing guests at the Miele Gallery how to make traditional flat bread with special attention on the French classic the ‘Savoyard’!  This is the very famous French bread that hails from the Mont Blanc region and uses unusual ingredients including potatoes, bacon lardons, Reblcohon cheese and cream. Lastly the demonstration will focus on Viennois bread - the 'plait', 'pain au lait' and 'plaisir au chocolat' a favourite for every breakfast table!
The night will commence at 6.30pm with refreshments from The Butler’s Pantry on arrival followed by a night of learning the secrets of making the best bread and of course tasting all that Fabrice bakes!
Now just think of the next brunch you are planning at home and how impressed your guests will be!

Event Details

Event :            Bread Making with the Fabulous Fabrice, Master Baker at The Butler’s
            Pantry

Date :              Tuesday 14th May 2013

Time :             6.30pm – 8.30 pm

Venue :           Miele Gallery, 2024 Bianconi Avenue, Citywest Business Campus,
Dublin 24
Miele in conjunction with The Butler’s Pantry run an amazing array of demonstrations throughout the year at their Miele Gallery in Citywest for full details visit https://www.miele.ie/domestic/miele-experience-2883.htm
Tickets : €25 for 1 person and €40 for 2 persons, spaces are limited, to purchase tickets tel : 01 461 0710 or email gallery@miele.ie




Saturday, May 11, 2013

Amuse Bouche.Matthew Fort on Pizza.


The most basic pizza of all is pizza Bianca, which may be lubricated with olive oil and flavoured with garlic. Slightly more sophisticated and no less ancient, is pizza marinara, so called because sailors – marinai – could take the ingredients with them to sea. The ingredients for the topping were just tomato puree, garlic, olive oil and oregano. Had pizzaioli stuck to such inspired simplicity, all might have been fine, but they didn’t. In 1889 Queen Margherita of Savoy paid a visit to the city**, and the pizza  Margherita,  which combines tomato, mozzarella and basil leaves in imitation of the Italian flag, was invented in her honour and that has become the archetypal pizza, and the standard by which pizzas may be judged – and that is the problem.
** Naples
From Eating Up Italy by Matthew Fort

Douglas Tea Rooms


Douglas Tea Rooms

Pushing the envelope. It is one thing to push one envelope. But to push two is quite monumental. And it felt just like that as I worked my way through massive crêpes, filled with sweet banana and even further sweetened with caramel sauce. All this at the end of an excellent three course French style meal at the lovely Douglas Tea Rooms, part of their contribution to the Cork French Food and Wine Festival.

I was in the suburb to check out the festival goings on in and around the On the Pig’s Back. Five o’clock had been listed as the start time but not much was happening even by five thirty. Did manage to source a Loire wine from O’Donovan’s, bought some sardines from a French lady and had a chat with Timmy McCarthy (of Jack McCarthy’s in Kanturk) and also with Denis Cronin of Crosshaven.

So the Irish were there in some force but the French (who may of course have adopted our notorious time-keeping) weren’t. So we decided on a visit to the Tea Rooms and then a return to the Marché. But the retour never happened. Blame it on the crepes!

Serious credit though to the Douglas Tea Rooms forgetting into the spirit of the festival and added affordabilité to the liberté, egalité and fraternité. Their excellent three course meal cost under twenty two euro.

Coq au Vin

 Three starters were offered. CL enjoyed an onion packed French Onion Soup. I had to be a little more physical, cracking my way through some large tasty prawns with a delicious garlic and herb sauce.

Three mains also and I picked the delicious Sole Veronique, two fillets of exquisite freshness and delicacy and white as ivory. CL this time had the more robust dish, her Coq au Vin featured almost half a juicy succulent chicken enlivened by some spicy chorizo. Hardly classical but pretty damn good. Juts googled Coq au Vin and got some 432,000 references, so there’s bound to be some differences in the recipes!

Just a nod to EU solidarity with the wine, a new one to the Team Rooms. And a good one. Recently lauded in the Independent, the unoaked organic Spanish Chardonnay by Senorio de Ayud was fresh and vibrant.
Sole Veronique
Should have known the crêpes were going to be special when our friendly continental waitress rubbed her stomach enthusiastically and smiled broadly when we gave her the order.

Later, we rose, in slo-mo, and barely made it to the car. No thought then of the goodies over in the Woollen Mills. Je suis desole, Isabelle. C’est triste mais c’est le jeu. L’an prochaine,peut-etre?

Keep in touch with the Douglas Tea Rooms, who support local producers (including Jack McCarthy), here. By the way, that menu is on today!

Meanwhile, back at the market.....