Cork on a fork - an epicurean journey through Ireland food capital

Room with a view

When the September sun shines, is there anywhere else better to be than in the foodie capital of Ireland - Cork?

And by Cork I mean the city and the county. This trip though, was just the city.  Possibly one of the best breakfast selections to be had in Ireland, is here, in the River Lee Hotel.
 
Kicking off with fresh fruit, nuts, seeds, yoghurts, homemade muesli, porridge. Delicious preserves, huge selection of breads, pastries, cold meats and cheeses.  Followed by the full Irish and you are set up for the day.

Farmgate Cafe Menu

After a stroll around the city in the autumn sunshine and a spot of window shopping in this bustling city, we were ready for lunch in the Farmgate Cafe upstairs in the English Market.  The menu showcases many of the artisan ingredients available downstairs.

The English Market is acknowledged as one of the best in the British Isles.  It's buzzing with shoppers and gawkers like me.  It's impossible to resist the temptation to get completely carried away.  I bought Toonsbridge Mozarella having sampled some in the cafe at lunch and a big piece of Cork's finest spiced beef as well as a local Chorizo.

Entrance to the English Market

All this food shopping is thirsty work and the craft beers served in Mutton Lane were calling.  Friar Weisse is brewed by the Franciscan Well brewery in Cork city and is just the job to sooth frazzled nerves.  Mutton Lane is a charming, cozy little pub down a medieval lane just off St. Patrick's Street.  It would be very easy to perch on a high stool for the afternoon and work your way along the taps.

A very special dinner celebration was booked later that evening in Fenn's Quay restaurant - as if we hadn't eaten enough fabulous food already.  And with characteristic Cork charm they pulled out all the stops and turned it into a very memorable evening with some pretty slick cooking to boot.

What more can I say about Cork? Only that it is possibly one of the most charming cities I have visited in Ireland.  The people are friendly, helpful and witty.  The food is amazing.  There are some of the best and most progressive artisan food producers in this region and many are showcased in the English Market and in the restaurants and cafes.  Cork is on the Lee but the best way to sample it, is on a fork.

Honest2Goodness - Dublin's new food market could rival English Market in Cork

The clattery cafe

James Joyce was known to be fond of a trip to Bewley’s Oriental Cafe and referred to it as “the Lofty Clattery Café“.  For some reason this came into my head when I stood on the steps looking down into the cafe in the Honest2Goodness farmers' market in Glasnevin, Dublin.

Up to this Dublin hasn't had a dedicated covered food market which could rival the English Market in Cork; but now it does.

Honest2Goodness is that rare gem of a market where you can do your entire food shop.  Then when you have trawled the stalls and filled your boots, you can sit down in the clattery cafe and eat freshly produced food from the very market stalls you have shopped at.  Or, if you just want to relax and enjoy a coffee and a browse through the Saturday papers that's fine too.  There is an area for the children to amuse themselves on comfy couches with books and toys provided.


There is a terrific atmosphere in the market as stall holders banter with the regulars and amongst themselves.  The stalls include a bakery producing a real "kick ass" sourdough and variations there of and a superb spelt Irish soda loaf.  Arun Bakery is run by an Irishman and a Czech masterbaker duo.

 Breads from Arun Bakery

The Whole Hogg sells their own rare breed, free range pork and bacon from their farm in Slane, Co. Meath.

Ryan's Farm sell beef, lamb and pork from their farm in Co. Meath.

There is a fine selection of Irish cheese in The Pantry and "store cupboard" items and then beside this, to tempt you, are a superb selections of wines, sourced primarily from small European producers and very keenly priced. 

For the sweet-toothed amongst you there is the most eye-watering display of baking at Wild Flour Kate's market stall.  I have tried her raspberry, pistachio and rose cakes and can confirm that they are beyond divine. 

So much temptation here

Lily's Mexican food stall selling everything you need to make authentic Mexican food and from Lily, the help and advice to be successful.  I am hoping she will write the definitive Mexican Irish cookbook as she is a marvelous cook and a passionate foodie.

This is only a flavor of the stalls in the market.  There are much, much more including a lovely selection of dried pastas and other Italian basics; fresh olives, beautifully made jams and chutneys.  A colorful display of fruit and vegetables including very many organic and locally grown.

It is time that there are more options open to people to do their food shopping away from large multi-national supermarkets and to support locally grown and home produced Irish food.  Honest to goodness, it really is!

Color, carnival and crowd mingles with smells of food and farmyard at the Mullagh Fair Day - PHOTOS

Courtesy of Mullagh Fair Day Committee

PHOTOS - Mullagh Fair Day slideshow

A sense of color, carnival and crowd hits you when you crest the hill that rises above the town. Followed closely by the smells of food and farmyard intermingling.  It's that time of year again, when Mullagh showcases it's magnificent self.

Mullagh is a small town in the south-east corner of Co. Cavan on the border with Co. Meath.  Mullagh (An Mullach in Gaelic means The Mound).


The fair day is held annually on the second Sunday in September.  It is an attempt to recreate the traditional fair day that was held here from 1828. In 1837, Mullagh had a market and fair for the sale of cattle and pigs, oats, butter and flax several times a year. By 1870 the fair was held on the last Friday of every month.  The traditional fair was one of the best and biggest in the north east, its proximity to the Virginia Road railway station ensured that cattle purchased in Mullagh could easily be transported to ports in Dublin and Drogheda.

The Mullagh Development Committee re-established the Fair Day in 1997 to ensure that the present population kept in touch with their rich historical past.  And to date they have done a fantastic job, organizing it and working to ensure it is a hugely enjoyable day out for families.  Even in rural Ireland there is a sense of remove from our agricultural tradition and many children from the neighboring towns rarely get so up-close-and-personal with farm yard animals.

The fairground attractions are a huge draw, in an age when childhood is dominated by iPads, wiis and game consoles.  To see a small child laugh with delight as they waltz in a giant Alice in Wonderland teacup reminds you that sometimes - the simple, old fashioned things are still the best.

Food plays a huge part of every festival now in Ireland and Mullagh Fair is no different.  A pig is roasted on a spit and the smell of it draws you in while at the other end of the town a sign advertises kangaroo, crocodile and wild boar burgers.   There are stalls selling cakes, buns and soda bread, and the now ubiquitous cupcakes, chocolate, cheese and vegetables.  Others are selling boxty potato cakes cooked over a turf fire.  

Traditional crafts are represented and this year there were forging, knitting and basket weaving demonstrations.  An old style gypsy wagon was on display complete with fortune teller installed.  Accompanying all this activity were a group of traditional musicians.

Remembering the past while embracing the future makes the annual fair day in Mullagh such an enjoyable event.  And surprisingly almost every year the weather obliges and the rain stays away.  After all it would not be Ireland if there was not at least a nod to the weather.

Special thanks to Liam Daly and Tommy O'Reilly of the Fair Day Committee who gave me the historical information and photo.  All other photos not acknowledged are my own.

PHOTOS - Mullagh Fair Day slideshow 

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The Burgeroff - Food mad friends gather to barbecue, compete and eat some delicious burgers

Old Farm courtesy of Margaret O'Farrell

Is there a better way to have a great day out than to gather a group of food-mad people to cook and compete?

A group of us who only knew each other through Twitter did just this - this weekend past. A gauntlet was thrown down late one night - when talk was cheap. A date was set, the competition decided . There were no set rules as to the type of meat or the added ingredients.

Over 30 adults and children arrived bearing plates of burgers, bowls of salad, cakes, desserts, and bags clinking with bottles.  Our Mexican contingent arrived bearing a Pinata in the form of a pink pig.  Very apt considering we were on an organic pig farm, producing the best free range pork in Ireland.

Pinky the Pinata arriving safely

The entries were all cooked on 3 different size BBQs. (Big Green Egg). 

The entries included:

• Turkey smothered in a melting blue cheese and onion sauce from our American chef Ron
• Beef and blackpudding 
• Beef and three cheese both entries from our craft butcher from Limerick
• Oldfarm organic free range pork with secret ingredients from our hosts
• My entries of lamb and pork and beef combined (recipes below)

Organic salads

Along with the burger entries, were contributions of different salads and the bread rolls were supplied by  artisan bakers who sadly were too tired to come along, having been baking all night for 6 nights.  Incidentally they are also known to most of us through Twitter.  There was also a table groaning under the weight of several and varied magnificent desserts and cakes.

To be honest the food was so amazing, the conversation so animated, the company so great; the competition was forgotten and we decided that all the entries were really delicious and we should run another (this time organising it slightly more efficiently).  With the added bonus that we all get to gather again. 

Afterwards we sat on the veranda into the wee small hours talking food, warmed by a chimenea until fierce winds blew so much smoke in our eyes we had to retreat indoors.  The outcome of this is we have decided to name the group the Oldfarm Foodies and our next adventure is a sourdough masterclass given by the Czech master baker who sadly was not able to make our inaugural gathering.

My lamb entry

Lamb Burger Recipe

500g/1lb lamb shoulder minced (do not be too fastidious trimming fat, you need about 20%)

2 red onions seasoned and softened in oil (I used rape seed)

A good bunch of fresh rosemary finely chopped

1 tablespoon fennel seeds.

When the onions are softened, add in the fennel seed and allow to cool.  Add in the chopped rosemary and mix through the mince. Form into burger patties and chill.

Makes approximately 4 - 6. (depending on size desired)

Beef and Pork Recipe

250g minced beef

250g minced pork belly

2 red onions finely chopped, seasoned, softened and cooled

2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard

A good big handful of fresh oregano chopped.

Add the cooled onions and the  other ingredients and form into patties.  Chill.

Makes approximately 4 - 6.

I don't think there is a more enjoyable way to spend time, than with a group of like-minded foodies in the glorious setting that is Oldfarm Co. Tipperary.

All photos courtesy of Lily Ramirez-Foran apart from the first.

'Every fault is a fashion' - what my grandmother would have thought about modern restaurant serving trends

Serving with kilner jars on a slate
(Photo: Yvonne Carty @heypestoie)

"Every Fault is a Fashion."

I remember my grandmother saying this when I was a child. To be honest I never really understood it then. But recently it has popped into my head a lot.

I follow a lot of foodies on Twitter and many of them tweet photos of food, or of meals they have eaten, or are currently eating out. The most recent was a picture tweeted where a starter was served in a Kilner jar. For those of you who don't know what a Kilner jar is - it is a jar traditionally used for preserving fruit, chutneys, jams et cetera. You know the type with the flip top lid and a rubber seal?

Another photo I saw was of homemade lemonade and iced tea being served in jam jars. The jam jars had a straw popped in them. I really can't get excited about drinking out of a jar but customers love their "retro" feel.

Drinking from jam jars
(Photo: Lily Ramirez-Foran
@MexicancookEire)

The food industry is no different to any other in that fashions come and go. Using slate to serve food is very "in" at the moment. Now slate looks great - it really shows off the color, the texture of food and is the perfect matte backdrop. However, do you remember the teacher scraping her nails on the blackboard in school? Well that's what cutlery sounds like when it is used on these "plates". Imagine a restaurant dining room full of people scraping their cutlery on slate plates? Actually I would rather not.

My grandmother's saying went through my head when I saw all of the images and I wondered what she would have made of it. She wouldn't have gone out to eat very much as in her day as money was not very plentiful. But knowing her as I did - I know that when she did go out, she would have wanted the whole fine dining experience.

To a woman like her, Kilner jars and jam jars were the tools of her trade, as she preserved fruit and vegetables my grandfather had grown for their family to eat in the long cold winters. The idea of being taken out for a treat and being served up her food or drink in a jar. Or even on a slate.....

I can still hear her say "every fault is a fashion". But I think she would have laughed.

Follow Margaret's Twitter feed here.