Food File: Refuelling, butcher training and a well-earned sherry

REFUELLING STOPS ON CULTURE NIGHT
A blind food taste test – with prizes – and tours of the very cool Fumbally Stables in Dublin 8; tapas in the wintergarden at the National Gallery; African and Asian food tasting, storytelling and a photo exhibition at ActionAid Ireland at 172 Granby Place, Dublin 1, and a food market and food stalls at Christ Church Cathedral, are among the places to refuel in the capital during Culture Night next Friday, September 16th. Around the country, there's a hands-on bread workshop at Ormston House in Limerick; an international food tasting event in Oranmore in Galway and late opening at the English Market in Cork. For the full programme of events, see culturenight.ie

TRAIN TO BE A BUTCHER
James Whelan Butchers is investing €100,000 in a new, fully-accredited scholarship programme for apprentice butchers. The three-year course will be open to 10 candidates initially, and the training will be undertaken at James Whelan Butcher shops in Clonmel, Monkstown, Rathcoole and Kilmacanogue.

The Butchery Academy is a partnership with Butchery Excellence Ireland, and the first programme begins on October 10th. Founder Pat Whelan says, "The Butcher Academy is an opportunity for us as a company to select and help shape 10 great people as butchers, to share our ethos with them, and equip them with the essential skills to ensure that there is a new generation of butchers in Ireland as committed to their craft as we are to ours."

Students will rotate between the company’s shops, and will be paid as a full-time team member while training. Applications are now being accepted. jameswhelanbutchers.com

SHERRY WELL DONE
Sherry is all the rage at the moment, and Cava restaurant in Galway is running a festival dedicated to the wine, running all this month. Highlights include a sherry wine dinner with John Wilson on Thursday, September 28th (€45, prebooking essential), and sherry and food pairing masterclasses with chef JP McMahon (Friday, September 23rd) and certified sherry educator Paddy Murphy (Friday, September 30th). Every Tuesday, diners at the restaurant will be offered a sherry aperitif, and every Sunday afternoon there will be music from Los Truenos. The third reprint of the Cava cookbook launches in the restaurant on Saturday, September 10th, 3-5pm, all welcome.

LUNCHTIME CULTURE TOUR
Here's something different to do in your lunchbreak if you work in Dublin or you're visiting the city. EPIC Ireland, the museum of the Irish diaspora in the IFSC, has launched a lunchtime experience. For €18 per person you get a "taster tour" of the museum's 20 galleries and a takeaway lunch from the Bakehouse Express in the CHQ Building. Sandwiches, soups, salads and a choice of drink are included in the ticket price. The lunchtime tour is available between noon at 2.30pm, Monday to Friday. It must be prebooked and prepaid, by telephoning 01-5313688. epicirelandchq.com