Compiled by MARIE-CLAIRE DIGBY
Derry Clarke, chef patron of L'Ecrivain restaurant in Dublin, who recently launched his APPetiser on the App Store, will be the next Tale of Two Chefs collaborator with Kevin Dundon at Dunbrody House in Co Wexford on Thursday, April 5th. Pre-dinner drinks and canapés, and a kitchen visit to see the chefs hard at work, will be followed by a seven-course tasting menu of signature dishes from both chefs. Post-dinner live jazz in the Champagne bar is also included in the price of €80 per person. An overnight package including dinner, bed and breakfast costs from €195 per person. See Dunbrodyhouse.com, tel: 051-389600.
Web watch: saveur.com
It shouldn't be possible, but it is. To see Saveur magazine's Todd Coleman peel an entire head of garlic in less than 10 seconds, without a knife, log on to saveur.com/videosand scroll down to this one. It's a simple but devastatingly effective technique.
Top food tweets . . .
Gwyneth Paltrow@GwynethPaltrow: Love @nytimes dining section but this weeks facts need checking. No ghost writer on my cookbook, I wrote every word myself
MaggieG@foodie_4_u: John Ed Sheanon butcher in Bailieboro sells huge ham hocks for 70 cent each! And his steaks arent half bad either
Adam PerryLang @AdamPerryLang: @pitmastermick @pat_whelan Ireland is in my heart. Trip visiting Pat was epic. Also Restaurant Campagne in Kilkenny, incredible, chef a star
Make your own Easter eggs
Working with chocolate can be tricky, but you’ll pick up all sorts of good tips at a series of free demonstrations on making Easter eggs and filled chocolates in Kitchen Complements today and next Friday and Saturday (noon-3pm). The kitchen supply shop on Chatham Street in Dublin 2 stocks moulds for making eggs, bunnies and chocolates, as well as decorations and nice packaging to present your masterpieces in.
Next week, Food File will be entirely devoted to all things chocolate, and we’d love to hear from amateurs and professionals making and selling really good cocoa products and Easter eggs. Please email mcdigby@irishtimes.com.
Dress for dinner in the age of elegance
Glorious Bantry House in west Cork (above) is the first Irish property to feature on the Channel 4 TV series, Country House Rescue. Food features significantly in the revitalisation plans for Bantry House. Presenter Simon Davis has already made two visits to the property, which is the family home of Egerton and Brigitte Shelswell-White and their daughter Sophie, who manages the house and business. For Davis’s final visit, Richard Corrigan and staff from his London restaurants will be running a pop-up restaurant, using only locally sourced food, and showcasing the wonderful products that west Cork has to offer. The dinner takes place on Tuesday, April 3rd, and will be filmed for the TV show. The evening is being billed as a return to “the Age of Elegance”, and will begin with a Champagne reception and a tour of the house and gardens, before a three-course menu, with wine, is served in the converted stables. Tickets cost €100 each, and can be booked by telephoning 027-50047, or by emailing info@bantryhouse.com.
DINE IN DUBLIN Restaurant week is back, March 26th-April 1st. See participating restaurants and menus at dineindublin.ie
