Naturally Nourished settling in well at North Point

 Naturally Nourished settling in well at North Point

Called out to North Point on the Mallow Road for lunch last week. This is the third outlet for Naturally Nourished who are already well-established in Mahon at City Gate and also in Penrose Dock. They were open for about a week when I dropped in and there was a steady stream of customers coming and going. Aside from sit-down meals, they also offer a takeout service and I managed to draw from both before the day was out.

Like their other premises, this one is bright and airy (after a ten-day revamp), lots of white paint used inside, to complement the light already coming through the existing "walls" of glass here. The menu boards (also white) are large and easily seen above the counters though the menu is not (yet) as expansive as that in Penrose Dock. If you know the place, you'll know that Lemon Pepper were the most recent occupiers and that Perry Street were also based here.

A blackboard on the ground just inside the door was dedicated to the specials and the main feature was a Katsu Curry; free-range breaded chicken, house Katsu Sauce, white basmati rice, Spring onion, sesame seeds, pickled onion, pickled Carrot (veggie option also available). The Soup of the Day was Leek and Potato with their own (excellent) stout bread.

Naturally Nourished are noted for their Warm Bowls and they were also tempting but we went for two dishes from the salad selection, each at €10.50. CL had missed out on their Goats Cheese in Penrose recently so she made up for it here with slightly "flamed" Chevre, mixed leaves, chopped beetroot, chopped dates, pink lady apple, lemon and bulgar wheat, roasted hazelnuts, honey and balsamic dressing. It was top-class!

My pick in North Point was the Buffalo Chicken Salad. This is made with free-range crispy breaded chicken, cos lettuce, spiced chickpeas, red onion, hot sauce and Cashel Blue cheese ranch. Another superb salad, every element playing a tasty part and I loved every bit from the crispy lettuce to the delicious chicken, not to mention the hot bits! I'm not surprised that it is the most popular salad on the menu! See more (a short in-house video) on it here.

Depending on your branch, you may get slightly different versions of a particular dish. Besides, since variety is the spice of life, they regularly make little or big changes.

I was looking at the display of sandwiches as we made our way out and said to myself that one would come in handy later in the day! I must have been inspired as it was one of the best sandwiches ever. My baguette (well, a half) was rammed with amazing spiced beef, mature cheddar, a delicious crunchy coleslaw, fresh leaves and a marvellous mustard mayo. What a flavoursome feed for €7.50 approximately (can't remember the exact price!).

The North Point café is open Monday to Friday 8am-3:30pm, serving breakfast till 11am and lunch till 2.30pm. Free on-site parking. Service here is excellent, friendly and helpful, just as we found it in Penrose a few weeks back.

Recommended Craft Ales from Killarney Brewing, Hopfully and Wicklow Wolf

Recommended Craft Ales from Killarney Brewing, Hopfully and Wicklow Wolf 

Killarney Full Circle IPA, 5% ABV, 500 ml bottle, O’Donovan’s

The colour is close to amber, a little darker than you might expect. All American hops are used here and the aromas make that clear from the moment you flip the cap. 

The soft head collapses soon enough onto the slightly hazy body. The hops are not identified on the label but the ensemble brings quite a current of deep flavour with dry bitterness (IBU is 42) clearly displayed at the finalé. Easy to see why it is now part of their core range. No pairings seen but I found it very compatible with a mature cheddar.

Highly Recommended.

Full Circle? “Emigration has forever been at the heart of Irish history.  From the mid 1800’s onwards, generations left these shores destined for the land of opportunity.  Over a century on, life’s journey has come full circle and their progeny are returning home.  This is a story illustrated by our Head Brewer Mike, who with his wife and daughter, have brought back to Kerry this USA branch of their family tree.”

The big news though is that tours are now possible at the impressive new facility (brewery and distillery) out in Fossa. “The team are working hard .… As Tim O’D, one of our founders, would say, we haven’t been drinking a lot of beer, just a lot of coffee!’

The new building includes salvaged red brick imported directly from the Windy City of Chicago. If they could talk, no doubt an Irish accent could be heard in the original laying. They now take pride of place in the main stairwell of the new visitor centre.

Plan your visit and tour to Killarney Brewing & Distilling Co in Fossa, Ireland’s largest co-located and independently owned Brewery, Distillery and Visitor Centre. Visit the new brewery, learn how the beers are made, see the brewing team making the magic happen, enjoy the aromas of the day’s brew and finally visit the tasting room to sample the product. 

For groups of 10 or more please contact muireann@killarneybrewing.com. Otherwise, book here.  

The original and very popular Taproom on Muckross Road, quite close to the town centre, operates on a walk-in basis, Wednesday through Sunday, 4:00 pm to 11:00 pm.

Wicklow Wolf Sugarloaf Juicy IPA, 4.3% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

Wicklow Wolf commandeered a heavy-hitting quartet of tropical hops for their Sugarloaf (you’ll know where the name comes from). The tropical notes and flavours dominate though you’ll also notice citrus and pine in there. 

The colour of their new core beer is a hazy yellow and there’s a creamy mouthfeel, with a barely noticeable bitterness. But it is well-balanced and the tropical fruits are nicely rounded. Still, this is one for you if you’re a fruit head! Another well-made beer from the Wicklow aces and definitely one for your shortlist.

The relatively low ABV of 4.3% certainly puts this it into the Session category where it sits as an outstanding example. Highly Recommended.

Geek Bits

Hops - Idaho 7, Chinook, Sabro and Citra.

Malts - Pale, Wheat Malt, Oats, Cara Ruby

Hopfully Inside Out Pale Ale, 5.0% ABV, 440 ml can Bradley

In its early days, Hopfully was known as a gipsy or contract brewery, making beers wherever they were welcome to borrow an established brewery’s kit. Metalman in Waterford was one such “host” and nowadays, with the Deise brewers retired, you’ll find Hopfully fully at home in that very brewery.

Hopfully has been more than generous with the amounts of Mosaic and Strata hops used in the pale ale and they are very happy with the results: ”lovely notes of bright juicy tangerine, citrus, and pine aromas”.

It is a hazy yellow colour with the expected aromas. Mosaic was used in the whirlpool while the two hops were combined for the dry hopping. For all that, the bitterness level is modest and this smooth fruity beer proves an easy drinker.

It is an honest straightforward Pale Ale deserving of your attention. Highly Recommended.

Geek Bits

Hops - Mosaic & Strata.

Malts - Maris Otter, Flaked Oats, Wheat, Vienna & Dextrin

Art work - by Stasele Jakunskaite’

Entries now open for Blas na hÉireann - the Irish Food Awards

Entries now open for Blas na hÉireann 

- the Irish Food Awards

Take time out to visit Slea Head on the stunning Dingle peninsula.

Entries for Blas na hÉireann 2024, the Irish Food Awards, are now open. Blas na hÉireann is the largest blind-tasted food awards on the island of Ireland, designed to recognise and celebrate the very best Irish food and drink. Entries are open to producers across all categories of food and drink with the early bird discounted rate for entries running until April 3rd. 

Entries will finally close for this year’s awards on May 16th, with judging happening over the summer months and the awards announced on Friday 4th of October. After a wonderfully successful year in Dingle in 2023 celebrating Irish food and drink producers, the excitement for the upcoming awards this October is already building. 

“The Cork City & County Local Enterprise Offices have always been champions of the local food & drinks sector and have been involved in providing a range of business, training, advisory and financial supports to the many food producers in Cork over the last 30 years.” said Deirdre O'Mahon of Cork LEO. “We are delighted to partner with Blas na hÉireann, the Irish food awards, the largest food awards on the island, which celebrates the range and quality of local food, to sponsor the Best in Cork award, and we would encourage all local Cork food & drinks businesses to enter the competition this year.”

“It’s hard to believe we are now in our 17th year running the awards,” says Artie Clifford, Blas na hÉireann Chairman. “Looking back to when we started and had just under 400 applications to where we are now with nearly 3,000 entries last year, it is testament not only to the fantastic food and drink producers of Ireland, but also to the measurable impact these awards have on small artisan businesses. Since creating the Blas village, we have seen even more momentum and opportunities for producers with high engagement between them and key industry buyers. We are very much looking forward to seeing what this year brings and welcoming new producers participating right across the island.”

Together with the Food Science Dept of UCC and the University of Copenhagen, the team at Blas na hÉireann have developed a blind-tasting judging system that is now recognised as an industry gold standard worldwide. 

Winners and finalists are always the best Blas ambassadors — something to which many hundreds of small producers, farmers, growers, bakers and artisan food makers who have won a Blas na hÉireann award and proudly put the winner’s sticker on their product can attest. Research has shown that the Blas na hÉireann accreditation has the highest recognition among Irish consumers and having the award logo on products encourages shoppers to buy – it is a recognised guarantee of a top-quality Irish product.

Entries for Blas na hÉireann 2024 are now open and there is an early bird fee of €70 (ex VAT) until 3rd April. For full rates and further details, please visit www.irishfoodawards.com  

Ballymaloe House celebrates 60th anniversary with inaugural Ballymaloe Festival of Food, May 2024

press release

Inaugural Ballymaloe Festival of Food May 24. 

Will celebrate 60th anniversary of Ballymaloe House

Ballymaloe Festival of Food is a new three-day food festival that this year celebrates 60 years of Ballymaloe — six decades of good food and fine hospitality, renowned in Ireland and beyond — while also showcasing all that the Irish food and drinks community has to offer today. 

At Ballymaloe from Friday May 17th to Sunday May 19th this year, the inaugural Ballymaloe Festival of Food will be three days jam-packed with cooking demos, pop-up dinners, talks, walks, producers’, craft exhibitors and activities celebrating the journey of good food from the soil and sea to your plate. With wine tastings and cocktail making, all day dining opportunities featuring the best local and international talent, this weekend focuses too on everything that is great and innovative about modern Irish food, from apiarists, oyster farmers and cheesemakers to local whiskey distillers, artisan bakers and award-winning jam makers, with chefs from around Ireland and the UK joining for a fantastic weekend of exploration and pleasure.

Among the instigators of the Irish farm to fork movement, Myrtle Allen and her husband Ivan opened The Yeats Room at Ballymaloe back in 1964, initially advertising in the Cork Examiner saying “Come dine in a country house”, becoming one of the first country homes of its kind in Ireland to open their doors to guests. 

Based in and around that original family country house, and the unique complex of outbuildings including The Grainstore, Big Shed and magical grounds and gardens, Ballymaloe Festival of Food is another invitation to guests, this time to an event with a clear message — one of sustainability, and a return to the roots of that original farm to table movement so important to Mr. and Mrs. Allen — with interesting and engaging talks from some key experts, producers and advocates telling the crucially important story of sustainable local food.

With an exciting lineup of Irish and international chefs confirmed, the full programme will be available to download on the website on Friday March 22nd, with the Woodshed Restaurant pop-ups including Lee Tiernan of London’s Black Axe Mangal and Nico Reynolds of Lil’ Portie, and guests on both the cooking demonstration stages including Matt Tebbutt, host of Saturday Kitchen, Aishling Moore of Goldie, Marco Pierre White, Lily Ramirez-Foran of Picado Mexican, Clodagh McKenna, Georgina Hayden  and many more. Speakers on the Big Shed Ballymaloe Festival of Food Stage, with a theme of Change We Must!, will be hosted by Karen O’Donoghue from Grow, Cook, Eat, and include Barrie Quinn of Portnoo Market Garden, Karen O’Donoghue of Happy Tummy Co., Sarah de Brun of Oysome and Chris Fahey of Wildflour, among others. All the details here!

The Ballymaloe Festival of Food with the help of Local Enterprise Office supports small producers by putting them in front of both food lovers and industry professionals, and invited chefs are encouraged to use local, seasonal produce in their cooking demos from some of those producers and exhibitors showing their produce over the weekend. An enjoyable, engaging and, most of all, delicious few days in the heartland of Ireland’s farm to table movement, there will be live music too, and there will definitely be dancing…

Weekend tickets for all three days are €65 per person, individual day tickets on Friday are €20, with Saturday and Sunday tickets for €25 per person, including both Demo stages, Drinks Theatre, Walks and Talks, Food Producers area, and more. Evening-only tickets on Friday or Saturday evening are €12, and the Woodshed lunches and dinners by guest chefs are €75 and €85 per person respectively. Children under 12 go free.

Ballymaloe Festival of Food is proudly sponsored by Local Enterprise Office, Cork County Council, Failte Ireland, Bord Bia and Cully and Sully. 

See www.ballymaloegrainstore.com for more.

The Cove at Fota Island Resort hosts an exclusive evening showcasing the distinguished wines of Château Queyron Pindefleurs

press release 

The Cove at Fota Island Resort hosts an exclusive evening showcasing

the distinguished wines of Château Queyron Pindefleurs

The  Cove 

 

 

The Cove at Fota Island Resort is the resort’s intimate fine dining restaurant, quietly luxurious and elegant, where the food on the plate is a sophisticated bringing together of ancestral flavours, foraged elements and meticulous technique, in the heart of east Cork.

 

On Wednesday 17th April, The Cove hosts a special wine dinner with the charismatic couple responsible for the exceptional wines of Château Queyron Pindefleurs, Chantal and Peter Watts. They will be exquisitely partnering some of their wines with an intriguing seven-course menu designed by Tomasz Pawlak, Executive Head Chef at Fota Island Resort.

 

The vineyards of Château Queyron Pindefleurs are at the foot of the southern hills of the medieval city of Saint-Émilion in Bordeaux. The Fillon family has cultivated this terroir since 1937, producing acclaimed wines that are rich, balanced and harmonious. In 2010 Chantal Fillon and her Australian husband Peter took over the family property of 14 hectares, bringing a fresh approach to both viticulture and winemaking.

An opportunity to hear Chantal and Peter talk through their wine pairings with dinner in The Cove, this will include Château Queyron Pindefleurs Grand Cru 2016, described as “commanding” and “statuesque”, a wine with 97 Decanter points, and the only Bordeaux to make it through to Decanter’s Best In Show that year. The pairings will also include the aromatic and powerful Château Queyron Pindefleurs Grand Cru 2018, and the brilliant 100% Merlot Le Jardin de Queyron Pindefleurs from 2019.

The evening begins with canapés and champagne at 7pm, followed by dinner in The Cove at 7.30pm. Tickets are €120 per person with very limited availability. A luxurious stay on the night at five-star Fota Island Resort is €165 b&b for single occupancy or €185 for double occupancy. Book tickets via https://www.eventbrite.com/e/exclusive-wine-and-dinner-evening-at-fota-island-resort-tickets-859419054527?aff=oddtdtcreator.

For further information visit www.fotaisland.ie.

 

A gorgeous Verdejo from the South. Robles Piedra Luenga Montilla - Moriles (DO)

Robles Piedra Luenga Verdejo Montilla - Moriles (DO), 2022, 13% ABV

Stockists: Mary Pawle Wines

A gorgeous Verdejo from the South.

This gorgeous Verdejo comes from the little-known Denominacion Montilla-Moriles in Andalucia (in the warm south of Spain). Limpid gold in the glass and with a fresh and fruity bouquet, light fennel notes too, rising towards your nose, this is quite a temptation. 

The attraction grows on the palate, intense and complex, a powerful bunch of flavours, raisins and other dried fruits in the melange and a touch of citrus.

Once gross lees are removed, the wine is aged on its fine lees with weekly “bâtonnage”. This provides, among other things, complexity, intensity, and persistence. Mild and juicy and balanced with a small kick of refreshing acidity, it is not easy to let this Verdejo from the South out of your sight.

The Robles family has been dedicated to wine-making in Montilla (Southern Spain) since 1927. In the late 1990s, “the third generation takes over the winery and understands the need to incorporate organic viticulture and work with indigenous yeasts into the tradition of the winery”.

Pairings recommended, mostly from Spanish sources, are:  excellent as an aperitif and as an accompaniment to fresh and complex dishes such as cod and orange salad. It can be served with seafood, trout and fish in general. It can also accompany fresh, lightly aged cheeses, and even slightly smoked ones, making brie-type cheeses especially pleasant. Serve at 7 to 9 degrees.

Very Highly Recommended.

The ecological care that the vineyard receives is vital, so important: “it is a nursery for yeasts and is ultimately responsible for our wines being able to express their identity: the faithful reflection of the soil and the grapes. The Verdejo grape adopts the identity of the Córdoba countryside.” And this example can be truly called a “Verdejo from the South”.

Verdejo is mainly grown in northwest Spain, in Castilla y León and particularly in the Denominación de Origen Rueda, which is just south of Valladolid.

Drink of the Week. A special Riesling from Italy.

Drink of the Week. 

A special Riesling from Italy.

GD Vajra “Petracine” Riesling Langhe (AOC) 2021, 13% ABV

When you think of Riesling around the world, European vineyards such as Alsace and Germany, along with New Zealand and South Australia,  will probably cross your mind.

But surely not Italy - unless you are familiar with this special organic Riesling by GD Vajra from the Langhe (Piedmont). Otherwise, it is a surprise, as it was for me, and a very pleasant one indeed, vibrant and massively appealing. 

The pioneer of Riesling in Piedmont is Aldo Vajra. Aldo got passionate about this variety during his University studies, investigated more and more about it and planted the first clones in Langa in 1985. This is how Pètracine was born, a wine whose name evokes the roots digging into the rock. It is an exercise of biodiversity, born by a massal selection from Alsace, Palatinate and Rhine. “This is a wine that requires patience, much like the great reds of our land.”

Beautifully aromatic (peach and apricot and lemon, no hint at all of petrol or diesel here) greet you and take you on to a bone-dry palate. No shortage of minerality, but it is well-balanced, and that surprisingly fresh acidity is a key part of the equation. The invigorating character of this beauty lingers long at the finish. A great food wine. Enjoy it with the usually recommended Asian cuisines but with many other dishes as well including pork, white fish and seafood.

The wine is imported to Ireland by Liberty Wines and you can find it by checking with your Liberty stockists or by searching online. Price seems to be around 40 euro. Very Highly Recommended.

******

Taste of the Week. Mella's Fudge and Irish Whiskey

Taste of the Week. 

Mella's Fudge and Irish Whiskey

Watch for pyrotechnics. When these two get together, sparks fly.

I got this tip sometime before Christmas but it took until the other day to try it out. Mainly because some regular outlets sold all their Mella's Fudge in the Christmas rush and they took a while to replenish.

Got the two together the other night, a cube of Mella's regular fudge and a wee dram of Clonakilty's Port Cask Finish Whiskey. What a combination! Amazing rapport between the two, each improves as they meld on the palate. Taste of the Week? No doubt about it!

And thanks to our local German baker Angela for the tip; she picked it up from a rustically inclined German podcast! You'll find her marvellous bread in the Coal Quay Market every Saturday and at her stall at St Lukes (by Henchy's) every Wednesday 12.00pm - 2.00pm.

"Why don’t we see more Chardonnays from Beaujolais?" Dominique Morel Beaujolais-Villages Blanc.

Dominique Morel Beaujolais-Villages Blanc (AC) Chardonnay 2022, 12.5% ABV, 

RRP €23.95. Stockists: The Cinnamon Cottage; JJ O’Driscoll Superstore Ballinlough; Higgins Off Licence; wineonline.ie

"Why don’t we see more Chardonnays from Beaujolais?"

The colour of this Beaujolais Chardonnay is a lovely mid-gold, pristine in the glass. The vibrant aromatics feature blossom and citrus. On the palate, it is sprightly and crisp, light and fresh, nicely acidic. 

This fresh unoaked beauty is a wine with much to offer, including an elegant finish. With good fruit and acidity and moderate alcohol, it is quite versatile at the table, well endowed with the potential to feature as a terrific house wine in a restaurant.

One of the best Chardonnays around and Very Highly Recommended.

So why don’t we see more Chardonnays from Beaujolais? Mainly because the growers concentrate on the Gamay grape whose red wines are so much sought after. 

At the same time, there is a fair bit of Chardonnay grown here. Indeed, Jean Bourjade, then MD Inter Beaujolais, told a Cork audience in 2016 that as the Macon overlaps Beaujolais, many white wines made in northern Beaujolais are sold under the better-known Mâcon appellation.” Just to underline the point, Mâcon is less than a 25 minute drive from Émeringes where Morel ia based.

Ten years ago Christine and Dominique started on the adventure of exploring the possibilities of white in a region that is devoted to red. Importers Liberty tell us that the Blanc is made from Chardonnay planted on granitic-clay soil, producing a wine with distinct freshness and excellent fruit concentration. 

The grapes are gently pressed and fermented in stainless-steel tanks, to preserve delicate fruit aromas. All work in the vineyard, including harvesting, is done by hand. The vines are an average of 15 years old. The resulting wine then undergoes lees-ageing for four to five months, lending texture and roundness to balance its vibrant acidity.

Morel’s Recommended pairings: Avocados stuffed with prawns, scallops, fish and chicken vol au vents, fish mousse, frogs’ legs, mixed salads, button mushrooms in cream, andouillette with white wine, veal curry, chicken curry. As an aperitif with appetisers. Serve at 10 degrees.