Small helpings

A WAY WITH: VENISON: Stronger in flavour than beef, but more tender, and with a mildly gamey taste, venison is gaining shelf space in supermarkets and butchers' shops as consumers realise its health benefits - it is lower in fat and cholesterol, and higher in protein and iron, than beef is.

Venison can be substituted for beef in many casserole recipes where long, slow cooking is required, and Darina Allen even uses it to make chilli (Darina's letter, October 1st on www.cookingisfun.ie). You can order venison online from Finnebrogue Oisin Venison in Downpatrick, Co Down (www.finnebrogue.com), and venisonfarmdirect (www.venisonfarmdirect.ie) in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, whose venison burgers are proving to be a big seller. Both companies deliver nationwide. If you need inspiration, there's bound to be a recipe to get you going in The Venison Cookbook: 106 Imaginative Recipes, by Diane and Nicholas Dalton (published by the Crowood Press, €16, and available at a discounted rate of €11.36 from www.shopireland.ie).

SEARED LOIN OF VENISON WITH RED WINE & JUNIPER BERRIES

From Hazel Bourke, chef at Assolas Country House, also published in the Irish Sugar Company publication Sweet and Wholesome.

1 loin of venison, about 1.5 kg, fully trimmed by the butcher

MARINADE

225ml red wine

50ml lemon juice

100ml olive oil

8 juniper berries, crushed

sprig each of fresh rosemary and thyme

bay leaf

2 cloves garlic, crushed

freshly grated nutmeg

30ml light golden brown sugar

5g sea salt

dash of Tabasco

Weigh the venison and take a note of the weight, then lay the meat in a shallow dish. Mix the marinade ingredients together and pour over the venison. Cover and allow to marinate for at least 12 hours. When ready to cook, preheat a hot oven, 220 degrees/gas 7.

Meanwhile, heat a cast iron pan until very hot. Drain the venison and discard the marinade; pat the meat dry and sear it on all sides in the hot pan. Transfer to the oven and cook for approximately 10 minutes per 450g. Allow to rest before carving. The venison should be served pink. Serve with rowan or redcurrant jelly and a selection of seasonal vegetables.

DINNER AND DUVET

D&D is beginning to rival B&B in the hospitality industry, as restaurants around the country respond to drink-driving laws, and the short-break culture, by offering dinner and a duvet (in a smartly designed en-suite room just above the dining room, of course). The latest to offer rooms above the shop, so to speak, is Café Paradiso, Denis Cotter and Bridget Healy's vegetarian restaurant in Cork city. Paradiso Rooms (there are three, each costing €160 per night, including breakfast) reflect the colourful, eclectic design of the restaurant below, and were designed by Healy and her mother, Gretchen, who brought the materials used over from their native New Zealand. Expect the unexpected: just like Cotter's food, these rooms are upfront and striking. Café Paradiso and Paradiso Rooms, 16 Lancaster Quay, Cork, 021-4277939, www.cafeparadiso.ie.

CLARENCE CLASS

Fred Cordonnier, who was head chef at Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud for eight years, has been appointed executive chef at the Tea Room at the Clarence hotel in Dublin. The Frenchman, who has been in Ireland for 10 years, worked at Longueville House and the K Club before coming to Dublin. Another Guilbaud graduate, Laetitia Tricard, has been promoted to restaurant manager at the Tea Room. The restaurant was one of the first in the capital to offer valet parking, and, even in these traffic-clogged days, it is still possible to hand your keys to the doorman, who, for €5 an hour, will park your car and deliver it back to the front door of the hotel when you're leaving. View sample menus at www.theclarence.ie