Food file

Compiled by MARIE-CLAIRE DIGBY

Have menu, will travel

Frank O’Connell and Paul Lewis, of An Crúibín in Cork have established a reputation as roving ambassadors for Irish artisan foods. They’re just back from Shanghai, where they cooked at the Irish embassy during the Feile Shanghai festival. Last night they served a tasting menu of contemporary Irish cuisine to 250 people at Paco Guzmán’s Barcelona restaurant, Santa, and they have further plans to take their gastro-roadshow to San Francisco, Paris and Rome. As well as flying the flag for Irish food in the restaurants they partner with, they welcome many of the chefs they work with into their kitchen in Cork. “These exchanges are a sort of grass-roots culinary exchange. We wanted to set up a network where like-minded restaurant owners could share ideas about food, work, life,” O’Connell says.

Last night’s nine-course banquet in Barcelona included oysters with a chupito – or shot – of Beamish; Irish rabbit stew; O’Mahony’s Irish hanger steak; Cork-grown purple-sprouting broccoli with Knockalara sheep’s cheese; organic Tipperary mountain lamb, and a Knickerbocker Glory “Irlandese” – which O’Connell describes as “Irish strawberries, ice cream made with Irish dairy products, Ó Conaill chocolate, nuts, and cherries soaked, sozzled and soused in Irish hooch”.

Sweet treats from Paris

Nicolas Benfodda, a former restaurant manager, chef, and model, has opened a very stylish shop called Nicholas Chocolatier Paris in Dundrum Town Centre. Arriving in Ireland from France without a word of English, Benfodda took a job in Zara while he worked on his language skills, and spotted the potential for an upmarket chocolate shop in the busy shopping centre. His shop is on level 2, near Brambles Café, and he has a second outlet due to open in the Stephen’s Green shopping centre next month.

Benfodda imports his chocolates, macarons and cakes from Paris. The chocolates are made by a chocolatier who sources his raw materials direct from cocoa plantations, and the fillings are both traditional – salted butter caramel, coffee ganache, hazelnut gianduja – and more exotic, such as ganaches made with raspberry pulp, Earl Grey tea, and liquorice. The macarons also come in unusual flavours, including rock candy and poppy, as well as old favourites such as pistachio, raspberry and praline. mcdigby@irishtimes.com

Asparagus with everything

La Mere Zou restaurant at 22 St Stephen’s Green is offering a six-course asparagus tasting menu nightly until next Saturday. As well as green and white versions of the vegetable in various guises, the menu also features pan-fried John Dory, and magret of salt marsh duck. Happily, the dessert course is asparagus-free, and will consist of a tasting plate of apple. It costs €50 and bookings can be made on 01-6616669. La Mere Zou has been nominated for the best service award at the upcoming Irish Restaurant Awards on May 25th.

New look for an old favourite

Cooleeney, one of the original Irish farmhouse cheeses, has been given a face-lift, with new packaging that includes wine-pairing suggestions for each of the seven cheeses in the range. Breda Maher makes the cheese with her husband Jim and son Pat on their family farm near Thurles, using milk from the herd of 200 pedigree Friesians they have raised over four generations. Cooleeney is widely available, from €3.75.