Compiled by MARIE-CLAIRE DIGBY
Excellence in Irish food celebrated
Castlemine Farm Free Range Pork, Derrycamma Farm Rapeseed Oil and Glebe Brethan Cheese were singled out by members of the Irish Food Writers' Guild for their annual awards, recognising excellence in food production. In addition, awards were presented to McCarthy's butchers of Kanturk, Co Cork, for notable contribution to the Irish food scene, and to Con Traas, who received the lifetime achievement award for his work with the Apple Farm. For the awards presentation lunch, Derry Clarke of L'Ecrivain restaurant devised a four-course menu using the winning products, including this gorgeous Castlemine Farm pork plate of honey-glazed belly confit, ballotine and filet of pork, with purple potato crisps and bouchons of potato. Glebe Brethan Cheese was used in a terrine with potato, served with cream of onion soup. McCarthy's black pudding and Derrycamma Farm Rapeseed Oil joined forces in a warm salad, and Apple Farm apple crumble tart with spicy gingerbread creme Anglaise and Connemara Whiskey ice-cream was the dessert course. There is more information on the winners and their products at irishfoodwritersguild.ie
The buzz
Edd Kimber @TheBoyWhoBakes: Nice to hear that 4 European countries are making their own versions of Bake Off (they are Ireland, Belgium, Sweden and Denmark)
Silvestro Silvestori @ssilvestori: Not a week of lessons pass at the school without a student asking if we are going to cook the pasta al Dante. Never Boccaccio or Petrarca
Black Pig Donnybrook @BlackPigWine: Padron Peppers just flown in from Galacia. They are really fresh. On sale in the shop now
Tea at the Duke of Devonshire's
Denis Nevin, butler to the Duke of Devonshire at Lismore Castle in Co Waterford, will be serving afternoon tea in the Pugin room at the castle on Mother’s Day, next Sunday, March 18th. The traditional Devonshire tea of scones, clotted cream and jam will be served at five sittings throughout the day, beginning at 11.30am and ending at 4.10pm, and will be followed by a guided tour of the castle’s seven-acre garden. The annual event is a fundraiser for the Immrama travel writing festival. Tickets cost €20 and can be booked at Lismore Heritage Centre, or by phoning 058-53803.
Could this be just the job you've been looking for? The Canadian city of Richmond in British Columbia is offering a salary of C$50,000 (€38,000), plus accommodation, to a food blogger. The successful applicant will be required to eat 365 consecutive restaurant meals and write about them, as well as generate video and photographic content, for a blog. Dining expenses are included, as is membership of a fitness centre. Tourism Richmond launched the initiative after research revealed visitors were attracted to the city by its culinary reputation, especially its Asian cuisine, which accounts for more than half of the city's 800 restaurants. Applications are being accepted until March 31st; see facebook.com/RichmondBC.
Black magic
If your last Spanish holiday is a distant memory, and you barely remember the exquisite taste of the nutty jamón, the pimentón-spiced chorizo and the tangy manchego, a visit to the new Black Pig specialist wine and food shop in Donnybrook will take you right back to the Iberian peninsula. Owner Paul Walsh (right), a former Oddbins wine adviser, spent two years tracking down Spain’s best food and wine products, including 15 olive oils, free-range hams and sausages, aged manchego and top-quality tinned fish. The calasparra or bomba rice that you may have hauled back in your luggage can now be picked up nearer to home, along with saffron, pimentón and all the makings of a great paella. There will also be regular deliveries of specialist products (see the buzz, below). Black Pig is at 95b Morehampton Road, Dublin 4, tel: 01-6674828.
