This neat gadget is a cookbook display holder which pops out from underneath an eye-level kitchen cupboard, when you want to refer to a recipe as you cook it. When not in use, it slides back underneath the cupboard, out of sight. It also has a magnetic front panel which can be used to pin-up notes, menus or shopping lists. According to pressieport.ie, the Irish online gift company which is distributing it, the cookbook holder is easy to install and comes with the required screws, writes Marie-Claire Digby
It costs €20.99, plus €6 for delivery in Ireland. See www. pressieport.ie.
Pinny pleasures
Clodagh McKenna, food writer and TV presenter, designed and made the apron she's wearing in this photograph, taken in her flat in Italy. Donning an apron isn't for everyone - but if they're your thing, and you'd like something a bit different from the ubiquitous butchers' stripes, a full range of McKenna's designs goes on sale nationwide on November 10th. There is a perky 1950s daytime apron in red or green polka dot, and a fancy black-and-cream floral version which McKenna (left) suggests would be suitable for a glamorous hostess.
The aprons come in attractive handbag-style carrier boxes and cost €35. Stockists include Nash 19, Brown Thomas and Interior Living in Cork and Urru in Bandon. They can also be bought online at www.clodaghmckenna.com.
McKenna will be in Dublin on Saturday, November 15th, for a one-day course at the Dublin Cookery School, where she will cook some of her favourite recipes picked up since moving to Italy two years ago. See www.dublincookeryschool.ie.
Ross Golden-Bannon, editor of Food & Winemagazine, and Domini Kemp, restaurateur and food writer, will share their entertaining secrets at a "Champagne Party on a Buck's Fizz Budget" demo on Thursday, November 20th, from 7pm to 9pm, at 56/59 St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2. Tickets €35, tel: 01-6629212. Proceeds will go to the charity One Family.