The Dublin Gourmet Trail with Chef Matt Fuller

THE DUBLIN GOURMET STROLL WITH MATT FULLER…

June 2012: This summer treat yourself to something special with a city break at the Five Star Fitzwilliam Hotel Dublin. Dublin’s premier boutique hotel has created four luxurious packages, perfect for a stylish Summer city break in the heart of Dublin.

Foodies love to touch, they love to smell and most of all they love to taste! This tactile bunch will meet their match with Fitzwilliam Hotel Dublin Head Chef, Matt Fuller. The Dublin Gourmet Stroll gives guests at the hotel the chance to walk through the city, under the close eye of Matt, who will ‘dish’ the dirt on the hidden tricks of the trade, ever wondered where Ireland’s top chefs go seeking inspiration? Matt is ready to lift the proverbial lid!

Once you have sampled the delights of Dublin’s burgeoning food scene, and learned of the best cheesemongers, sommeliers, & baristas in the area, the gastronomic adventure continues in Citron Restaurant at The Fitzwilliam Hotel, where Matt will talk you through a delicious three course meal with culinary highlights including;  Hand Dived Scallops with vanilla potatoes, passion fruit air & carrot saffron purée,  and a Pigeon & Foie Gras with creamy cep rice, apple, blackberry purée & artichoke.

Before you are enveloped in the cool crisp Egyptian cotton sheets of your Deluxe Executive Suite, enjoy a well- deserved Digestif in the hotel’s Inn on the Green bar.

The Dublin Gourmet Stroll package also includes a hearty breakfast on the day of departure,  car parking facilities, wireless internet access and all rates and service charges and costs €275 pps. Price available on request. 

www.fitzwilliamhoteldublin.com
www.facebook.com/fitzwilliamdublin
www.twitter.com/fitzwilliamdub

If cutting-edge designed interiors, impeccable service, and mouth-watering food sounds appealing, then The Fitzwilliam Dublin is for you.

Well Visit – This Blog’s May 2012 Stats

I haven’t talked about the every so exciting world of this blog’s visitor statistics in a while and it’s a rainy day here so I thought… why not? Yes, there are many reasons why not to delve into this but I’m going to anyway and am doing it for my other blogs too! Cooking Peas & Qs and Spring Stitches, if you’re trying to remember their names. So, here we go…

Views in May 2012:
4,326 (an average of 140 per day)
For comparison, the blog had 34 views in October 2008 when I moved this blog to WordPress. As you know, the blog started in when I moved to Ireland.

Views by country for May 2012 and part of June 2012:
5,788 in Ireland;
1,044 in America;
   389 in United Kingdom.
I’ve only listed those countries whose visitor counts are over 100 for this time period.

Most popular blog post (and second-most) for May 2012 and part of June 2012:
How to Get a Provisional Driving Licence, aka Learner’s Permit, in Ireland (1,786 views)
Vintage & Second-hand Shopping in Cork City (916 views)

Popular search terms that brought people to my blog for May 2012 and part of June 2012:
“Ireland provisional driving licence” or some combination of that interest = 681 views 

Tasting Summer at Fresco Bistro

You’d think I’d still be full after the last time I went to Fresco Bistro for a tasting of potential dishes for their menu! But with summer coming it was time for more taste testing. This time with Rachael (@glassofwin) who was visiting from Los Angeles, California (whom I was lucky enough to meet through Twitter). We managed to devour about nine courses a couple of weeks ago with LB cheering us on from his stroller. Here’s the bite-by-bite detail on the late lunch that had my full until breakfast the next day!

We started with a seafood cappuccino. It is a cream with a hint of salmon. The frothy topping felt luxurious, especially for a soup. Smoked salmon and mushrooms with chives and a bit of dried red pepper flake for a gentle heat and earthy flavor. Perfection in a cup.

Spicy crab on French toast combined spice and subtle sweetness. The crab itself had a great texture like dried coconut slivers.

Rye pancake with eggs and smoked mackerel. I’m not usually a fan of scrambled eggs but this tasteful and tasty jumble of eggs and smoked fish was delightful.

Thin rye pancake with gravlax, chives, and sour cream. Mmmm.

A spicy fried calamari with light raspberry dip. The calamari was PERFECT and not at all over or undercooked. No garden hose here, folks!

Spicy chicken with pineapple alongside a braised cabbage salsa, rice, and papodom.

Pan-seared sea bass with Absolut citrus salsa. I LOVED THIS! Which is why there are SO many photos of it.

Spicy mackerel in a curry tamarind with ochre and served with bratta.

We finished with prawn ravioli with shiitake mushrooms and a generous drizzle of prawn bisque.

Lucky LB got to be wheeled home but we enjoyed the walk after that feast. Lucky girls we were! You can see Rachael’s photos of the courses in her Flickr photostream.

Disclosure: In accordance with the FTC guidelines for bloggers, I disclose that the taster plates were provided to me free of charge so I could be informed about their menu. This was in no way payment or compensation. The words written and photographs taken are completely my own and true to my opinions and beliefs.

Jamie Oliver launches Taste of Dublin 2012

Taste of Dublin has kicked off with much enthusiasm and success. A few friends are attending this year and I’ve seen their Tweets and am enjoying it vicariously through them. I was grateful when I received this full account from Clodagh Hogan! She’s a sweetheart to keep me in the loop, knowing it’s tough for me to get up to Dublin with seven-month-old LB demanding my attention (though I did get up there two weeks ago for a cooking class, but that’s another blog post).

Yesterday, Taste of Dublin sponsored by Electrolux, Ireland’s most prominent and prestigious food and drink event, kicked off in style at the stunning Iveagh Gardens with the arrival of world-renowned chef Jamie Oliver, who officially launched the four day festival.

Taking to the stage, Jamie wowed the audience as he showcased his culinary talents with a 45 minute live cooking demonstration which also happened to be his first on Irish soil.

Today, Jean Christophe Novelli will perform a cooking demonstration at the Electrolux Taste Theatre. Jean Christophe is a 5 out of 5 AA Rosette and Michelin award-winning chef, who is also dubbed “the nation’s favourite French Chef”.  Celebrity chef Valentine Warner will also perform a cooking demonstration today and both chefs will participate at the Chef’s Table, where visitors will have a chance to get up close and personal with the chefs, asking these culinary experts everything from how to ‘grow your own’, how to ‘host the perfect dinner party’, and also discuss new business ideas in the foodie world.

Food fanatics will be blown away from the moment they step into the food and drink haven over the weekend.  Visitors can look forward to delightful dining opportunities from some of Ireland’s leading restaurants, enjoy high calibre wine and beer tastings, learn from the best home grown and international talents at live chef demonstrations, take part in interactive masterclasses and meet with over 100 industry experts and Taste exhibitors. Each attraction will showcase the stars of the Irish food industry who will be championing the very best of locally sourced Irish produce and building on Ireland’s strong reputation amongst the international culinary scene.

It’s not too late to attend! Tickets are available through the box office at the front entrance throughout the weekend. You can also arrange tickets through advance booking online: WWW.TASTE OF DUBLIN.IE or via ticket line 0818 30 00 30 until 5pm the day prior.

Catherine Fulvio, Derry Clarke, Kevin Dundon and Jamie Oliver. Sponsored by Electrolux, Taste of Dublin is Irelands most prominent and prestigious food and drink event, and kicked off in style at the Iveagh Gardens with the arrival of world renowned chef Jamie Oliver who officially launched the four day festival.

Blog Awards Ireland Welcomes Nominations

We all remember that last year Damien Mulley stepped down from the helm of Irish Blog Awards leaving a nation wondering what was in store for the blogging community in 2012. To be fair, it was his hard work and the success of the Irish Blog Awards that made this shift so disappointing. But then Blog Awards Ireland hatched this Spring and has opened nominations. Some of the same categories exist as in Irish Blog Awards but some things are different. 

The most important thing to remember is that Irish Blog Awards and Blog Awards Ireland are two separate and unrelated entities. Don’t worry, Irish Blog Awards and Blog Awards Ireland are not rival entities. @IrishBlogAwards Tweeted, “Note: Irish Blog Awards are not restarting or continuing under another name and we have not handed over the running of the event to anyone.” and in a later Tweet encouraged, “Have a look at @blogawardsie who are running Blog Awards Ireland in October. Not affiliated with us but we’re glad to see a replacement.”  Irish Blog Awards was Damien Mulley and it is not taking place in 2012. Blog Awards Ireland is new in 2012 and run by Amanda Webb, Beatrice Whelan and Lorna Sixsmith. 

It is completely free to nominate a blog, even your own. The Blog Awards Ireland nomination page states, “Nominations open on 1st June 2012 and close on 16th July 2012. Just fill in the form to enter your blog, you can enter your blog in more than one category.”

Oh, and while I’m talking about it, I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you how to nominate one of my blogs. Shameless, I know. I write five blogs but these three are the ones that have been going for four years and are looking presentable (the other two are being renovated). The related category information is in bold as I describe each blog below. Click on the related banner/header or blog name below to access that blog. Of course, if you like how it looks on your mobile phone or handheld device, feel free to nominate it in the Best Mobile Design category. All can be nominated in the Best Personal Blog category.

 

40 Shades of Life is a personal blog about being an American in Cork, Ireland. It’s all about Food/Drink and the Lifestyle here.

 

Cooking Peas & Qs is a personal blog with recipes. It’s all about Food/Drink.

 

Spring Stitches is a personal blog about knitting and sewing. It’s all about Crafts and making things.

You can nominate any of my blogs for Blog Awards Ireland 2012 (or another favorite Irish blog such as these food blogs or these craft/knitting blogs). Just click the image below to access the nomination form. Don’t delay. Nominations are open for a limited time only.

To make it super easy to nominate one of my blogs, here is a screen shot of the entry form already filled out with blogger (that’s me) contact email, so you know:

Blog Awards Ireland Nomination Form Sample

No matter who is nominated and who wins, it comes down to the fact that we’re all out here writing posts and sharing our experiences with others [and not even caring that we're making no money from it]. That’s what matters at the end of the day.

The Blog Awards Ireland event will take place on Saturday, 13 October, 2012 at Osprey Hotel in Naas, County Kildare.

TweetMeetTues – 5 June 2012

Today, #TweetMeetTues was lively at Electric on South Mall.
We had food blogger and restaurant reviewer @GlassOfWin visiting from Los Angeles as well as locals:
@Beautiful_Data
@donal_cahalane
@volumeagency
@spiller2
@kencurtin
Of course, I was there with @weeog.
Thanks to Rachael @GlassOfWin and Stephen @spiller2 for helping with the list of topics discussed.

This week, we discussed:

• Blog Awards Ireland
• Politics
• Where to hold the evening World Social Media Day Cork event on 30 June
• What we each did over the bank holiday
• West Cork
• Time – and how it seemed like 9:45-11:15 didn’t exist this morning
• Best restaurants ever (what was the one you recommended, Ken?)
• Pharmacists vs doctors
• Over the counter allergy meds
• Good eats in Cork
• Haircuts and Cork Barbers
• Princess Leia hair
• Food
• The small fella (aka LB or @weeog)
• The Muppets
• R2-D2 and how the movie would have been different if 3CPO translated for him properly
• Knitting (particularly Fair Isle like this R2D2 one and this whale one)
• Start-ups
• Singing gigs

Knitting Groups in Cork City, Ireland

With several yarn shops, Cork City is a wool lovers paradise. At least, it is for me. For those new to Cork or just visiting, yarn can be a fun souvenir and going to a knit night can be a non-touristy way to enjoy your time here. But what about the experience of knitting with others? Fun for a tourist or student here for a short time but essential for any newcomer looking to be part of a community. This is how I came to be a knitter because when I moved here four years ago, I knew no one and friends are important. I’m unathletic so I set out to join a crafty or knitting group. Thankfully, my group taught me to knit and welcomed be with open arms and now I am one of the leaders.

In addition to these regular weekly knitting groups (check in case of summer breaks or such), there are special events such as Worldwide Knit In Public Day and Worldwide Social Media Day Cork, both of which take place in June this year.

City Centre:
Tuesday evenings from 6pm to 8pm.
Vibes & Scribes, Bridge Street.
The V&S group does not meet year-round, please ring the store directly to confirm it is taking place during on a specific day: 021-450-5370.

City Centre:
Wednesday mornings from 10:30am.
Vibes & Scribes, Bridge Street.
The V&S group does not meet year-round, please ring the store directly to confirm it is taking place during on a specific day: 021-450-5370.

City Centre:
Wednesday evenings from 7pm to 9pm.
Cork Stitch N Bitch
Comment on this post or visit our Ravelry group for current location.

Douglas:
Thursday evenings from 7.30pm.
Costa Coffee in Douglas Court Shopping Centre

City Centre:
Most Saturday mornings from 10:30am to 1:00pm.
KnitUp in the KnitPit
Comment on this post for current location.

FOR MORE THINGS KNITTING AND CRAFT-RELATED, VISIT MY OTHER BLOG: Spring Stitches.