As proof that the food-minded things I’ve written and photographed have been noticed with hunger, I was generously invited to attend Sunday evening’s Good Food Ireland showcase to kick-off Cork Week. The cheery yet understated invitations arrived via post and were just perfect paper thickness and size to make me feel like Charlie Bucket as I stood waiting to be let through the gates of Cork’s English Market after hours. Our turn approached and we entered, leaving the chilling wind of Prince’s Street behind us and entering an extremely crowded wonderland of food.
Upon entering, we walked around the ground level once, enjoying bites from trays that passed. We enjoyed glasses of the sparkling apple juice from County Tipperary then made our way to the upstairs area (Farmgate) to sample the fare more studiously. While mingling our way to the stairs, we enjoyed squares of fresh-baked bread dipped in olive oil thanks to the Alternative Bread Company, goats cheese with beets, chicken on endive, and smoked salmon from West Cork on brown bread.
Try to imagine a fabulously catered cocktail party held in the fountain hall of the Market. Mingling, passed nibbles, bottomless glasses of wine, sparkling water, and juice, and everyone talking about their work. The best part of the work discussion at this gathering was that foodies from around County Cork (and beyond) were in attendance. The event was formally recognized with words from Margaret Jeffares, leader of Good Food Ireland, and the presence of Lord Mayor of Cork Dara Murphy and his wife Tanya. Pre-written name tags were offered to most guests upon arrival so all the names you see over some of the well established and delicious doors in Cork seemed to be there. So instead of overhearing something about the stock market you’d be hearing about the farmers’ market. One of the few social occasions when it is acceptable to introduce someone and use the word ‘rashers’ in the same breath. For instance, “Have you had her gorgeous rashers?” was uttered in reference to Caherbee Free Range Pork. The word ‘diet’ was not uttered once. Though the crowd of over 200 people made us feel like sardines, it wasn’t long before we were upstairs being stuffed to the gills.
I tried to take notes on (and video of) who was serving what from which farms, but it was next to impossible to keep track. A partial list with links is at the end of this post as well as a couple photos from the event (more photos are in my Cork Cuisine Flickr set). We divided and conquered in terms of tasting so neither of us would get full. I taste all fish, Conor tastes all pig, and we both covered everything else. Conor’s favorite was a poached quail egg on toast with hollandaise from Liberty Grill. My favorite was a seafood medley from Fishy Fishy though a close second was the smoked chicken from Ballycotton Farm Poultry that Ballymaloe House served. We both agreed that the most decadent dessert was Hayfield Manor’s cheesecake, but maybe that is because I selfishly didn’t share my Seymour’s of Cork shortbread biscuits with him. The selection of food and enthusiasm of the guests really set a tone for Cork Week and for local cuisine in general.
Even if you did not attend the showcase event, you can still enjoy the quality ingredients with thoughtful menu compilation offered by local restaurants and culinary artisans during Cork Week, 8th through 12th of February, 2010. This means you can feast on a Good Food Ireland local cuisine plate with a glass of wine for €15.00 or whisk yourself off for a three-night getaway for the price of two nights at a Good Food Ireland accommodation in Cork! Oh yes, Ballymaloe House and Hayfield Manor are both participating in this so pack your bags! For a full list of participants, visit the Good Food Ireland Cork Week page. And if you’re on the go Good Food Ireland will help you by giving you more details over the phone, just call 053-9158693. Keep this in mind not just during Cork Week, but all year because Ireland is fast becoming a foodie destination, particularly the sweetest and most savory spots in Rebel Country.
A few of the local favorites enjoyed at the Good Food Ireland Cork Week showcase:
• Alternative Bread Company
• Ardsallagh Goat Farm
• Baldwin’s Ice Cream
• Ballymaloe House
• Ballyvolane House
• Cafe Paradiso
• Cronin’s Pub
• Fishy Fishy
• Glebe Café
• Gubbeen Smokehouse
• Hayfield Manor
• Liberty Grill
• Lorge Chocolatier
• McCarthy’s Family Butchers
• Nash 19
• O’Brien Chop House
• O’Flynn’s Gourmet Sausages
• On the Pig’s Back
• The Poachers Inn
• Seymour’s of Cork
as a gift for said friend. I was so shocked at the idea of parting with my corks and even more so at the idea of creating something with them then not even getting to enjoy it first-hand. Though that shock also made me realize that if it appeals to more than one person, it must be a good idea. And why not allow Corks a second life, whether in my own home or someone else’s. It just makes good sense to consider existing things as not-so-raw materials. Of course, my big bowl of corks became packing peanuts for wedding gifts stored while we live in Ireland and a whole new cork collection was started in Cork.
The intimidation of a blank canvas is something almost every artist and writer knows intimately. Of course, technology now offers us the chance to battle the blank with blog posts, emails, and web design too! Twitter and microblogging offer the chance to limit characters to 140 and therefore only have to sputter out a sentence or two at a time. Why is that more approachable? I don’t know, but maybe it comes down to the same thing when combatting a blank canvas, sheet of paper, or computer screen – start with one line, one word, one thought…then keep going.
This post was originally shared on my other blog, Billville.
Photo by Bedolaga
Inspired by a recent post in The Scrappy Knitter, I am making my own list of things I have started that need to be finished. The ‘deadline’ is in parentheses after each project. You can see by the number of question marks, I have issues finishing things I make for myself. Strikethrough means it is done and I will update the list as I add to the projects!
- Scarf for Mom-in-law (December 13)
- Scarf for Sis-in-law (December 13)
- Scarf for Mom (December 13)
- Pullover for Nephew (December 13)
- Baby Hat (March 11)
- Lap blanket (?)
- Typewriter scarf for me (?)
- Audrey Pullover for me (?)
- Baby Gift for Nemo (April 1)
- Baby Gift for Squid (April 1)
- Baby Gift for Sprout (April 1)
Last week, my friend Keely and I decided it was time to back up our hard drives onto DVDs and set about devising a plan to make it somewhat fun. Hmm, what about if we make cake or cookies too? Baking and Burning Day was born! The rules were now to be set.
Rule One: The cookies had to be easy so baking wouldn’t distract from burning the backup DVDs.
Rule Two: We had to use ingredients we already had in our kitchens and we both had to agree on the combinations.
We rummaged through the cabinets and found the ingredients for Keely’s family’s chocolate cake recipe so she set about making that while I started backing up. Due to the secret nature of some of the ingredients, I kept a discrete distance. I could discern that not one bit of clove, all-spice, or ginger is used, since those were ingredients we didn’t have on-hand. That narrows it down a little.
So, while the cake was baking and the DVDs were burning, we gazed at the ingredients spread out on the counter and tried to decide on appealing combinations for our cookies. I won’t keep you in suspense any longer, two recipes came from our day and they will be shared in two posts in my blog, Cooking Peas & Qs.
