Wexford’s Archways. More Than A B & B

Wexford’s Archways. 
More Than a B & B.

Piggies in the wood

About four miles before Rosslare Harbour on the main road (N25), you’ll pass a B&B on your left. It is called the Archways and it is much more than your normal B&B. Certainly they get many customers from the ferries, some coming, some going, some both ways (people come back). But it is well worth a call even if you’re not heading to a ferry.

Okay, let us start with the usual B&B. The welcome from Eileen and Chris Hadlington is warm, the place is comfortable, the rooms are spacious, the bathrooms excellent, you have TV in your room and satellite TV in the lounge. And the breakfast is something else and was awarded the Best B&B Breakfast in the 2013 Georgina Campbell Awards.

It is a smallish B&B, six bedrooms, but the breakfast choice is huge and the quality is even more impressive. Where else would you get their own sausages, made from their own pigs? Add in Pat O’Neil’s dry cure bacon, Jimmy Meyler’s smoked fish and you get the idea. Of course, there is orange juice and a choice of cereals, lots of egg dishes too. You’ll be well fed here.

And even better fed if you book dinner. It is, of course, a Table d'Hote dinner, and you eat with the other guests, sharing travel experiences as you enjoy the fabulous food. Chris had been a chef for over forty years and just can't stop cooking.

Take our dinner last week. Starter was Meyler's smoked haddock with linguini and a watercress pesto. And where did that watercress come from? From their own garden, of course, where they have installed a aquaponic system.

Main course was loin of bacon (O’Neil’s of course) with a pineapple salsa and an excellent selection of vegetables including black kale, kohlrabi, parsnips, beetroot and potatoes, all grown locally by neighbour Karl.

Dessert was a Blackcurrant soufflé, the blackcurrants from Jeffares up the road. And the cream? Well Chris doesn't rate the cream sold these days and so he separates his own. Good stuff too. You may bring your own wine (no corkage) or purchase a glass or two from Eileen’s selection.

In the morning, we couldn’t leave without visiting the small herd of pigs in a nearby wood. The pigs, Saddleback Large White Cross, are usually kept from early Spring until late Autumn. In conjunction with two local farmers, they have a Hereford and Limousin in calf to a Wagyu and future customers can look forward to “some really fine beef”.

As I say, not your normal B&B.

See also: Johnstown Castle. Agricultural Museum and so much more!
Mr Jeffares Blackcurrants

Amuse Bouche

There were two grocery stores here. From what Decker had seen, the two most popular food items purchased there were Hamburger Helper by the kilo and sugary orange pop by the barrel. And the fast-food places also did brisk business, fattening both the young and old to impossible degrees and foretelling diabetes, cancer, stroke, and heart disease stats blowing right through the roof.

And didn’t he know that first hand?

from Memory Man by David Baldacci (2015)

Rolf’s in Baltimore. Local Produce. Continental Touch.

Rolf’s in Baltimore

Local Produce. Continental Touch.

Quail and apricots

Lots of eating places in Baltimore. I’ve been to a few but last month’s visit was my first to Rolf’s Country House and it was an excellent meal in a lovely room with a friendly and efficient service all through.

Some rich fare on offer here, cream sauces feature in many dishes, and there is quite a middle European touch to the desserts. Here you can find (not necessarily all together) a Flemish Apple Tart, a Black Forest Gateau, Frederike’s Chocolate orange cake and do watch out for the Swiss Chocolate Tart.

Not all heavy though! My starter was the Fresh Brown Crab, served with salad and Marie Rose sauce (10.50). An excellent dish, flavour from the waters from the nearby ocean well matched with the classic sauce. CL too got off to a tasty start: West Cork Black Pudding, on a bed of caramelised apple and served with pan-fried quail eggs (9.50).

Starters and sunset

Quite a good wine choice at Rolf’s. Indeed, they have a wine-bar as well. But would we have red or white? In the end, we settled on the Vier Jahreszeiten Spatburgunder (31.00). This velvety Pinot Noir with its excellent aromas and flavour was a decent match for the various dishes.

Mains for me was the arresting 2 Quails Deboned, flambéed with cognac, and served with apricots and a cream sauce (24.00). This was dispatched, with delight. The sides of potatoes and vegetables were also cooked to perfection and CL got rice with her classic Beef Stroganoff, flambéd with vodka and served with onions and mushrooms and, yes, enriched with a cream sauce (24.50).

Stroganoff

Desserts (6.50) were not going to be ignored on this occasion! If you are giving into temptation, you might as well go all the way. More cream with CL’s delicious strawberries, vanilla ice cream and shortbread biscuits. And mine? Well that was Gertrud’s Dark Swiss Chocolate Tart, a sumptuous treat (including cream!). For the finalé, I did very much enjoy a glass of superb Warre’s Otima 10 year old tawny.

After all that, I had to “race” the mile down to the seafront to get a few photos of the spectacular sunset. Just about made it!

Aside from the restaurant and all day cafe, Rolf's also have The Private Dining Room, now available for parties of 10-14 people.

Rolf’s Country House

Baltimore Hill, Baltimore, Co. Cork

Phone: +353 (0)28 20289

email : info@Rolfsholidays.eu

website: www.rolfsHolidays.eu

Desserts

In Argentina. Malbec Reigns In The High Vineyards.

In Argentina. Malbec Reigns

In The High Vineyards.

Argentina, the world’s fifth biggest wine producer (World Atlas of Wine) and well known for its high altitude vineyards (the highest in Salta at over 2,700m), took its time before making its mark on the world stage. Quality, as it is so often, was the key to the breakthrough in recent decades and their Malbec gained a huge reputation in the USA. Not too hard though to find Argentine wine here and I came across quite a good selection locally.

Argentinians are very proud of their Bonarda and, with close to 45,000 acres of it, it is second only to Malbec (76,000). In the whites, Torrontes is their signature grape with some 26,000 acres. Chardonnay, on 16,000 acres, is the most popular of the European whites grown here.

As a matter of interest, there is also a La Rioja in Argentina. It is in the foothills of the Andes located at 1,700m above sea level and is the oldest wine region in the country.

Bodegas Salentein, Portillo Malbec 2013, Mendoza, 14%, €11.99 Bradley’s Off-Licence

Fruit and freshness in a delightful bottle from Mendoza’s Uco valley. Open the screw cap and, as you pour, you’’ll notice a purplelish colour. Aromas are of dark fruit, especially plum. Its impressive flavour and rich softness on the palate make this a welcome addition to the table (especially if you have grilled meats) and, at this price, it will also find a welcome in your wallet.

The Uco valley is named on the label but the estates are high up, located between 1050 and 1700 metres, the winery itself is in the foothills of the Andes. Dutch owned Salentein is noted for its Malbec and this well balanced effort is Highly Recommended.

Bodegas Salentein, Portillo Sauvignon Blanc 2014, Mendoza, 12.5%, €11.99 Bradley’s Off Licence

This excellent Sauvignon blanc is also called Portillo, after a pass in the Andes that is a gateway into the high altitude Salentein vineyards. It is a 5,000 acre estate with 1124 acres of vines. While Torrontes is by far the most widely grown white grape in the country, the Uco Valley is highly rated for Sauvignon blanc and producers Fournier and Salentein are noted as two to check in Evan Goldstein’s Wines of South America.

Colour is a light gold with tints of green. White fruits abound in the aromas and on the palate. It is fresh and crisp, very approachable with a decent finish and Recommended.

Las Moras Reserva Malbec 2013 (San Juan, Argentina), 14%, €13.50 Karwig Wines

Speaking of their reservas, Las Moras say: “This is where we get serious.” The wine has been aged in French and American oak for 12 months. Big aromas of ripe fruit greet you as you sniff this. Smooth and fruity, with very good aftertaste, illustrates why Malbec, from Argentina mainly, has taken the US by storm. This is an excellent one to get us into the game and not a very expensive one either. It has an elegant balance between fruit and wood and is Very Highly Recommended.

San Juan, La Rioja and Mendoza are all areas in the the wine region of Cuyo, a region that produces ninety per cent of Argentinian wine. Here, Las Moras are highly regarded producers. This Malbec is a gem but their Black Label Syrah is stellar according to The Wines of South America. They also produce the well oaked Dadá that was quite a hit at the Our Table event in Cork a few weeks back.

La Puerta Reserva Malbec 2010 (Famatina Valley, Argentina), 14%, €17.99 Bubble Brothers

The Famatina Valley is in La Rioja, the vineyard at a height of about 1,000m. Thirty per cent is aged in oak for 6 months and then blended with the 70% that has been raised in stainless steel “achieving greater balance between the oak and the fruit”.

This intense red coloured wine has aromas of ripe fruit, hints too of smoke. It is another excellent Malbec, smooth with rich plum flavours and a long lingering finish. Very Highly Recommended.

Valla de la Puerta, an estate of some 750 acres, produces premium grape varieties and, according to the Wines of South America, is also well known for turning out some of Argentina's finest olives, peaches and plums.

Taste of the Week. Santa Isabel Coffee

Taste of the Week

Santa Isabel Coffee

via the Golden Bean

I recently bought a pack of new crop Santa Isabel Coffee beans from Golden Bean at the Mahon Point Farmers Market and have been enjoying cup after delicious cup. It is nearly finished now, unfortunately.

The beans come from the region of Coban (around the city of the same name) in Guatemala and are grown at a height of 1400 to 1600 metres. The Valdes family have put the emphasis on quality in recent decades and the result has been two placings in Guatemala’s Cup of Excellence.

This current coffee is full of flavour with a bright acidity and is our Taste of the Week.

For tips on making the perfect cup of coffee, check out the Robert Roberts website. For me, the best way to enjoy the full flavour is to take the Espresso route. In addition, I always stir the cup as I think the flavours concentrate in the bottom otherwise - probably no scientific basis for this, but it works for me!

Cork City Tourism. The more we pull together, the further we will go.

Cork City Tourism Briefing.

Music, Dance, Butter and Beer.

Franciscan Well's Noel. Chieftain Pale Ale On Tap.

Last week’s Cork City Tourism Event in the Atrium of the City Hall Offices was well attended, hotels and other stakeholders well represented. Also present were representatives of city attractions such as Blackrock Castle, Lifetime Labs and Elizabeth Fort. Speakers at the event, opened by Lord Mayor Chris O’Leary, outlined what had been done in the recent past and what is now being done and planned.

I was interested in the food and drink aspect, not just the tasty canapés. The Butter Museum had a stand here, butter was made and soon we tasted it on a well made brown bread. Washed that down with a glass or two of Chieftain Pale from the Franciscan Well.

The Coca Cola BikeShare a big success

The attendance was given an overview of city backed tourism related ventures which have been spearheaded by City Hall’s Tourism, Events, Arts and Marketing department (T.E.A.M).

Lord Mayor
Chris O'Leary

Recent success for T.E.A.M. include the Lee Sessions, the Pulses of Tradition Show and the Coca Cola BikeShare Scheme. Indeed, we had members of Pulses playing, singing and dancing in the atrium. Also there were enactors from Elizabeth Fort and Blackrock Castle, including a wandering sea captain looking for his ship. Check out the Castle and Gunnery Tours that run until the end of August.

T.E.A.M. were keen to get the word out about the new city website www.cork.ie - it has a dedicated tourism section. Providers BitBuzz are extending the availability of free wi-fi around the city and their partnership with City Hall seems to be going very well indeed. The partnership with CIT in Blackrock Castle has been a successful one and could now lead to a breakthrough at Cork City Gaol. Cork Airport’s Kevin Cullinane was upbeat, promising more connections and more collaboration.

The Cork Convention Bureau outlined their recent successes in bringing conferences, small and big, to the city and are looking for ambassadors to help expand that success. So if you have contacts abroad, either through your work, hobby or sport, do contact them. Check the site and see what other ambassadors have already done for the city.

Pulses of Tradition

• A brilliant video about Cork, made for the Tourism section, was given to those attending. I shared it on Facebook and it is already passed the 500,000 reach and heading for 200,000 views. Check it out here and don't forget to share it. The more we pull together, the further we will go.

Butter Museum

Scratch My Pork. A First in Ireland.

Scratch My Pork 

Story Of The First Pork Scratchings In Ireland

It’s been a year since I first met the Kiwi Chef Matthew Brownie who lives down in Skibbereen. He was telling me about his new business which is called the No Nonsense Food Company. The company, with the energetic Matthew at the helm, is the engine behind the innovative product range of Pork Scratchings called Scratch My Pork.

I met with him again recently to find out how the new and unique savoury snack for the Irish market was going, as it seems to be everywhere around Cork at the moment.

Matthew explains. “After 5 years of hard work we have got great coverage around Munster with the Dublin market just starting slowly but surely. Sales are increasing and we have a lot of new customers ringing about stocking Scratch My Pork around the country every week”.

“As a lot of people already know, it started back at CIT in 2011. It was Product Development that I fell in love with, along with the combination of studying the Gastronomy of Irish and English food, going back into the history of pork scratchings and bringing something natural to the Irish market and having the ability to bring it into today’s world by modernising it with the latest trends the consumer was looking for.”

“I owe a lot of the success of Scratch My Pork to the amount of research that I did at CIT which gave me the platform to move on. I carried on with more research, including a lot of consumer research which determined for me that there was a market for this type of product in Ireland”.

“Scratch My Pork is Gluten, Dairy and MSG Free with no E Numbers, with low carbohydrates and High in Protein, and is one of the first meat savoury snacks produced for the Irish market.”  

“With an experienced business partner and a team in place now we a driving Scratch My Pork forward every day with a new product range coming out soon. Apart from retail and  convenience stores, I’m delighted to announce that Scratch My Pork will be stocked at Shannon Airport very shortly.  With 1.9 million people passing through the airport each year, this  will give Scratch My Pork massive exposure.”

If you would like to get in touch with Matthew you can contact him on the below Links.

www.facebook.com/tlcletsgetcooking

www.facebook.com/matthew.brownie.77

www.scratchmypork.com

Amuse Bouche

This morning our gun dropped about 270 pounds of ICM (Improved Conventional Munition) on a smuggler’s checkpoint ten kliks south of us. We took out a group of insurgents and then went to the Fallujah chow hall for lunch. I got fish and lima beans. I try to eat healthy.

At the table all nine of are smiling and laughing……. Voorstadt’s got a big plate of ravioli and Pop-Tarts…. and says, “I can’t believe we finally had an arty mission.”

Sanchez says, “It’s about time we killed someone”, and Sergeant Deetz laughs. Even I chuckle, a little.

from Redeployment by Phil Klay.

Mr Jeffares Talks Blackcurrants. And Des Walks The Walk!

Mr Jeffares Talks Blackcurrants.

And Des Walks The Walk!

The harvesting machine moves slowly through the rows, a crew of five in attendance. It towers above the plants. But it is a gentle giant.

We were in the blackcurrant fields of the Jeffares in County Wexford watching this amazing mechanical harvest, amazing to those of us who, many moons ago, picked the crop by hand, accompanied by mothers and siblings and neighbours. The younger kids often got the worst job, going through the bushes for the paltry remains after the main picks had been done a few days earlier.

Des Jeffares reckons the machine is kinder to the bushes than the humans! Of course, back then the bushes were separate entities with their own space, so the pickers could access the fruit from all sides. Nowadays they are planted in “drills”, the only space is between the drills, none between the mature plants. But when the machine is finished with a row, you notice hardly the difference between it and one that has yet to be harvested, expect of course the absence of fruit.

The big machine handles the plants very gently as it pushes through the row and picks, any leaves and debris gathered are directed off to the side and the fruit comes out the back where the crew watch it loading onto the boxes. Mechanised or not, it is still quite a slow process and they are lucky to get two to three acres picked in a good day.

Des Jeffares

Des has seen it all. The family have been growing blackcurrants here since 1955 but it is only now that they have taken full control of the process after the harvest. The first product was on show at Ballykelly Farm last Tuesday. And that Mr Jeffares Blackcurrant Cordial is fabulous.

I had tasted a couple of the currants in the field and the cordial is a true expression of the fruit, a great purple colour with fresh and vibrant flavours, a refreshing thirst quencher at any time. The fruit is respected and they do not add any artificial colour, flavour or preservative.

Cut it with water and it is fine, mix in some sparkling water and you'll have a thirst quencher supreme. But don't rush, at least not always. Sit back and enjoy it mixed with apple juice, perhaps something stronger such as gin or even stout. Check out all the amazing drinks on their website.

Many of the drinks were available in the marquee at Ballykelly and we were well fed too and blackcurrants featured there as well. It was added to a salad dressing, featured on some roasts, and was especially attractive in the desserts, just take a look at the pics! Amazing stuff! I’ve often said that producers should add recipes to their site and the Jeffares have done that and more. Please check it out and make the best possible use of their amazing product which is widely available at these stockists.

Des and Margaret Jeffares have put a lot of thought and work into this. In the same way that craft brewers are opening new doors to flavoursome drinks, so the Jeffares are at the cutting edge of what could be a new wave of Irish fruit based drinks. A fruit drink for adults, someone said. No denying that but the kids in the marquee were enjoying it too.

Let us get behind Ballykelly, and make it a success that can be emulated by others around the country. Make the best use of the fruits that grow here: apples, strawberries and blackberries to gooseberries, loganberries and raspberries.

It is not an easy route, patience and capital are required. You won't get a decent crop from your blackcurrant bushes until they are four years old and they'll have to be replaced every fifteen years (or earlier if disease strikes). Pruning is a major annual task. And then, like the wine and cider maker, you get just the one chance per annum to get it right.

But, it can be a very sustainable way of farming. Des: “We try and work as best we can with nature. We allow for the birds to take a share. Indeed, these sheltering trees around the fields help the birds and we also have many nesting boxes, 70 or 80 per cent used, placed around the farm. We also have some bird scarers in place!”

Big attendance

 He explained that they encourage the local hawk population, to keep a natural balance. And they also have hedgehog habitats scattered around the 100 acres farm. Lots of grass cover in the fruit fields and under it their biggest pest, the vine weevil, can flourish. But so too does a certain predatory beetle that feeds on the weevil. Birds and hedgehogs also fancy the weevil. Nature at work!

Not all the one hundred acres is under fruit. There has to be crop rotation and we saw quite a bit of barley. Des says that Mustard is a great crop to plant in the rotation and is very excited about it.

The Blackcurrant fruit is hard won. And immediately after the picking, the priority is to “ice it and juice it”. It takes three quarters of a kilo to produce your 50 cl bottle of cordial.

It all seemed worth it in the sunshine at Ballykelly this week. Great to see people from all over the country there to support the pioneering Jeffares on these early steps of the journey. Best of luck to Des and Margaret and all the family.

See also: Wexford's Archways, so much more than a B&B
Johnstown Castle. Agricultural Museum and so much more!

At the rear of the harvester.

Hyde No. 1 President's Whiskey. Reaches Maturity In The Mild West

Hyde No. 1 President's Whiskey
Reaches Maturity In The Mild West

“Casks have to be treated with care, almost like plants,” said Conor Hyde MD of Skibbereen based Hyde Whiskey.

The Hydes (Conor, his brother Alan and nephew Peter) have been getting used to handling used Oloroso casks over the past few years. “There is still some sherry inside when we get them. And then we have to water the empty casks every few days, so that they won't dry out and fall apart. You don't want that happening as they are expensive.”

And he told me that the casks can be dangerous too. You need to be careful extracting the bung, especially on hot days as it could shoot out and do damage! 

Their first whiskey, the double distilled President’s No. 1 Cask Single Malt, is based on a ten year old Cooney whiskey (aged in Bourbon casks), and is aged further by Hyde. “The ten year old is a very good base and our intervention improves it and gives it an extra twist”.

The Hydes had no previous whiskey experience when they formed the company three years back. Following a pattern of other start-up whiskey producers, they are buying in in the early days with the aim of establishing their own distillery in the near future.

In the meantime, they are concentrating on building a brand and reputation through adding their own touch. Plans at present include a Rum cask finished whiskey in September, a gin in January and a six year old Single Grain Whiskey is planned for 2016.

They have got off to a terrific start with the President’s, finished in the Oloroso casks in their facility in Skibbereen and distributed by Classic Drinks. “There has been a big thumbs-up from those who have tasted it over the last two months or so. We try to be innovative and we do not use chill filtering.”

He explained that chill filtering can degrade the whiskey. The barley has oils and these oils tend to be lost, to be taken out, by chill filtering. But that is not the case with Hyde and it is appreciated by the connoisseurs. ”You are tasting the true whiskey.”

The President's Men (l to r): Alan, Peter, Conor

Whiskey from the cask can be very strong in alcohol and to get it down to acceptable levels (46% in the case of the President’s) water is added. This is known as “cutting” and Hyde’s cut with West Cork spring water, “no messing, no additives”.

He is delighted with the way sales are going at the moment. “The Germans love it for a combination of factors, including the non-use of chill filtering. They are our best market.” The number of countries taking it is rapidly rising towards the twenty mark and includes New Zealand, USA, UK, Australia and Belgium.

It is available in quite a few places locally, including The Oliver Plunkett, Soho Bar and Bradley’s Off Licence. And Cork Airport spontaneously quadrupled the size of their initial order when placing the second. Quite a vote of confidence for the President’s.

So what is all the excitement about? Take a look at it in the glass and you’ll see some additional colour, from its extra time in the sherry casks. The aromas are complex, vanilla, some fruit, spice too. As you'd expect, after all the ageing, it is smooth and well rounded on the palate, creamy almost, the long finish rich and spicy. Overall, it compares very well indeed with other Premium Irish whiskeys. One of this limited edition of 5,000 bottles would sit very well in any Presidential drinks cabinet.