Farmhouse Cheese and Craft Beer Weekend

Farmhouse Cheese and Craft Beer Weekend, 27th -31st October 2011

During the October Bank Holiday Weekend, Bord Bia aims to raise awareness of the breadth of Irish farmhouse cheeses and craft beers available to consumers by initiating the Irish Farmhouse Cheese and Craft Beer Weekend. At present, there are 50 farmhouse cheese makers in Ireland producing over 140 varieties of cheese and 15 craft brewers producing over 40 beers. Both crafts are not just about the flavour but also the people, personalities, places and stories behind them.

To celebrate this, Bord Bia asked producers and foodies to hold a tasting event, talk or demonstration in an effort to show that craft beer (not just wine!) is an excellent accompaniment to cheese. Events are being held nationwide in cheese-houses/farms, breweries, restaurants, pubs, gastropubs, off-licences, markets and other venues. A full listing of events is below. More events will be added to this in the run up to the October Bank Holiday Weekend. So keep an eye out for an event near you and be sure to pop along to find out all about your local craft brews and farmhouse cheeses.

Click here for event listings. In Cork, Midleton & Mahon Farmer's Markets will hold events as well.

For further information or to organise an event, please contact either Stephanie Moe or Eimear O’Donnell on Tel: 01 6685155 or email Stephanie.Moe@bordbia.ie / Eimear.odonnell@bordbia.ie

Cheese Making in Dingle

Ireland is famous for its Artisan Farmhouse Cheeses and as I love cheese, always wanted to know how to make cheese. I have made cottage cheese, cream cheese and Paneer but the 'proper' cheese was a mystery to me - until yesterday. Dingle had their annual Food & Wine Festival and The Little Cheese Shop in Dingle offered a cheese making workshop. Maya Binder - owner of the cheese shop and cheese maker - invited us to her farmhouse in Ballydavid and showed us how she makes cheese. Maya learned her trade in Germany and Switzerland and brought it to Dingle. Her cheeses are not available anywhere but in her cheese shop and some local farmer's markets. She makes Kilcummin (plain, with peppercorns or fenucreek), Dilliskus, Beenoskee, Mozzarella and Dingle Truffle Cheese. All cheeses are made with raw milk (hopefully the sale of raw milk will not be banned as planned by the current government) and are truly handmade and a labour of love.

She heats the milk and adds culture, the milk is than stirred (only if the has 'kettle' is full does she uses a mechanic stirrer, otherwise it is a manual whisk. The rennet is added at certain temperature and the milk is left to settle. After about 30 mins the rennet started to set the milk and the 'cutting' begins. Depending on the size of the 'nuggets' the texture of the cheese will be decided. Any flavouring will be added at this stage. You have to keep the cheese moving to avoid it 'growing' together. The whey is separated and can be removed. The cheese (that looks very much like cottage cheese at this stage) is then poured into the moulds. The whey can be used for different uses actually (the Swiss make drinks from it) and one of the ladies attending the workshop says you can even add it to soups. So nothing is thrown out.

After a few minutes in the moulds we started to turn the cheese and it has to be done several times. The next day the loaf of cheese is put into a salt bath for about an hour and then put on the shelf. Turned daily and brushed with the brine for the next few weeks.

This is a process that is almost relaxing and the result is your own homemade cheese. Searching the net now for suppliers of rennet and culture and my home kitchen will be transformed into a cheese making empire (ok, I will stick to the self-use quantities LOL).

I had a wonderful day, met great people and tasted amazing cheese. Next year, I will make sure that I stay the entire weekend in Dingle as I missed the Taste Trail (didn't have the time), the Blas na hEireann Food award, Martin Shanahan's cooking demo, the foraging walk and the chocolate making workshop with Benoit Lorge....so hope they are all coming back next year.

Congratulations to the organisers, a great event - just a small note, the farmer's market was wonderful but too squashed into a small space.

Slow Food Event

Slow Food Cork City has a great event coming up. They are visiting Caroline Robinson's organic farm on February 20th at 2pm. You will learn all there is about grow your own vegetables in all type of spaces. If you think you don't have the space - think again.

Caroline Robinson is well known in Cork having established the Farmer's Market in Cork City (currently opposite the Opera House) on Saturdays. It has 'grown' over the years and is now a gathering spot for shoppers on a Saturday morning in Cork City.

Caroline will talk about seeding, planting, composting, polytunnels etc. Cakes, tea and coffee will make this more a social gathering than an educational afternoon. Costs for members are €15, non-members are €20 - all is included.

Directions to Caroline's farm are given at time of booking. Places are limited, so don't wait too long. Email Caz & Deirdre on corkcity@slowfoodireland.com to secure your place.

And some more news

• Cornmarket Farmer's Market has relocated to Emmet Place in front of the Opera House. It's a great location for the market although just temporary. Cornmarket Street gets a makeover....lets see how that works out :-)

• Gary O'Donovan of O'Donovan's Off License is opening a Wine School next month. This comes to close the gap the closure of the Wine Board of Ireland (at least the teaching side) caused. Courses start in February. I am trying to get some more info and write properly about it. Glad that someone stepped up to the task. If you want more info call 021-4296060.
  

A quiet Friday Night

I am sitting in front of the fire and watching the draw for the world cup in South Africa (not sure what Charleze Theron is doing there) and I am not happy.....first of all, Ireland really deserved to be in the world cup this time and second, the draw is getting too complicated (just throw all the balls in one pot and draw then).

Anyhow, just a few foodie things coming up in the next 2 weeks:

• Ballymaloe and Slow Food East Cork are celebrating Terra Madre Day with a 3 course meal in the Grain Store from 7pm this Sunday. Local producers will be introduced and talk about their food. Ballymaloe House is always worth a trip. Call Emer on 021 4646785. Live Music will be provided by The Gardeners. Tickets costs €50 per person. Hope to see you there

• Mallow Race Course will be the location to be on Sunday 13th December. They are hosting in association with Essink a Christmas Food & Craft Fair incl a race. The event kicks off at 12pm with a race taking place at 12:30. Local produce is on offer incl. handmade decorations, Christmas Cakes & Puddings, locally made candles, flowers & wreaths, local cheeses, chutneys, pates, breads and and and.....so don't miss it

• The annual Cork City Christmas Market is taking place again at the weekends up to Christmas in the Grand Parade in front of the Library. Bishop Lucy Park is open from 5pm onwards so take the little ones and have a great time.
  

Market at Elisabeth Fort

I finally made it to the market at Elisabeth Fort yesterday and of course I had to pick the worst weather for the trip. Anyhow, the idea of the market at this place is great - especially since it has been a market place in its beginning. The space is big and the handful stalls got a bit lost in there. The weather might have been the reason why not all stalls were present. We had 3 baking stalls (yeap, as I mentioned before - baking is the rage at the moment), 1 jewellery, something with clay, plants and bicycles. I love the mixture of craft and food - but would have loved more variety.

As this is the first of many markets at Elisabeth Fort - at least I hope they continue it next year - it might develop into a bigger market with lots more on offer.

And hopefully, next summer will be similar to the summer of 2005 - we can still have hope and faith :-)

Market at Elisabeth Fort

Grow - Bake - Cook Award - Do you have what it takes?

The Grow Bake Cook Awards 2009

This inaugural food Awards Ceremony honors and celebrates the skills of amateur cooks, growers, bakers and preservers - in fact anyone with a talent for creating good food! Supporting local communities throughout Cork city and county, these awards aim to give our hidden food heroes the opportunity, tools and encouragement to sell their wares through farmer’s markets, country markets, local supermarkets and food fairs. Award winning and shortlisted produce will be displayed at Cork City’s Midsummer Festival Feasta market on Sunday June 28th, with the Award Ceremony taking place that evening at a city venue tbc. For further information and entrance criteria contact Dianne Curtin 086 067 6249, Elke O’Mahony 087 3168855 or Simone Kelly 086 8100386 or email to grow.bake.cook@gmail.com. Deadline for submission is 23rd June 2009.

Supporters of this event are Failte Ireland, Bubble Brothers and Teagasc. The overall winner will receive a €500 voucher for mentoring from Teagasc, plus help and support from experts in the field of artisan and specialty produce

Requirements are simple. Ingredients have to be sourced locally and have to be organic as much as possible and the producer has to be an amateur (not more than 20% of the main incoming can come from the product). Full exposure of ingredients is required.

The following categories apply:

Baking Please submit the name of the product, an ingredients list (not the recipe) and where they are sourced.

Bread Please submit title of product including a list of ingredients (not the recipe) and where they are sourced

Preserves Please submit title of product and a list of ingredients and where they were sourced. Also an introduction what preserving method had been used.

Homegrown Please submit the name of the fruit/vegetable and where the seeds have been sourced, what growing method was used and what – if any – fertilizer has been used.

Meat Please submit title of product and list of ingredients and where they were sourced. Also, what cooking/preserving method has been used. For livestock, please submit breed and method of upkeeping and feeding and where feeding has been sourced from

Dairy This can include homemade butter, cheese, yogurt etc. Please submit list of ingredients and where they have been sourced. Also, preparation method needs to be explained.

Specialty This can include everything that is not covered above. Please submit name of product and a list of ingredients (no recipe) and where they were sourced. Also an explanation on the preparation method is required.

The winner needs to be available to attend the award ceremony on Sunday 28th June 2009 where the sponsors and the press will be attending.

My Local Food Heroes in Cork

I am quite picky when it comes to where I buy my food. Especially when I am cooking for friends. Although I always praise them when I am there...I think I should 'shout' it to the 'Rest of the World'. Okay, here they are:

• For Meat - O'Flynn's Brothers in Marlboro Street (they even tell you how to cook the meat) just great. Always a smile on their face (Simon and Patrick know their meat).
• For Fish - The Good Fish Shop in Ballincollig (the girls in there might not know what cockles are, but they are friendly and they fillet the fish if you want to). Prices are much lower than O'Connells in the English Market although they would have more choice. For Salmon - the little stall next to Iago - no better salmon. I think his name is Willie Martin.
  
• For Pesto - it has to be Iago in the English Market. It is pricey but worth it - unless you want to make it yourself.
• For spices and ethnic food - Mr Bells in the English Market. Great value, I buy all my rice and dried pulses here
• For cheese - Iago, On the pigs back and the lovely guy at the farmer's markets (keep forgetting his name - but he knows his cheese).
• For wine - It has to be mostly Bubble Brothers. Austin knows his stuff and his food-wine matching skills are second to none. Saying that, Tesco's got some great wines as well. Barry from Wine Buff in Washington Street is a lovely guy who likes to share his knowledge
• For veggies - My dad. I have to admit that I am spoilt here as we store our veggies throughout the year. We freeze our garden produce fresh and we are just finishing our green beans. But otherwise, you can't beat farmer's markets. But again, price matters in times like these, so don't hesitate to go to a supermarket.
• For poultry - again, I normally ask my dad if he can bear a chicken or a goose and if he can, he is slaughtering it for me. Otherwise I go to the English Market (I never ever buy poultry in a supermarket). I only attempted once to buy chicken from the Chicken Inn and although I stopped halfway through - this had nothing to do with the quality of the meat but simply with the attitude of the person behind the counter. I walked away and never came back.... So I buy mostly from Moynihan's and so far haven't been disappointed.
  

That's about it....let me know where you buy your produce and who your local food heroes are. We should celebrate them

Barcelona

I am just back from Barcelona and my mind is still there. It was my first time there and I have to admit that it was an experience. Even the smallest restaurants serve very decent food - sometimes not even special but the quality of the produce is what makes it still great. I spent most of my time in El Mercat de Boqueria - and let me tell you, I almost moved in. This is a cooks paradise. The amount of fruit and vegetables is amazing. The fish stalls are set up in a circle in the middle of the market and seriously guys - O'Connells in Cork has nothing seen yet. The variety of seafood was outstanding and mindblowing. The different types if fish were too many to count. And of course the tapas bars.....don't forget the tapas bars in the market. Wow, I am short of words for the generous portions of tapas you get served for almost pennies.

At the meat stalls you can buy any part of an animal, from head to toe really means from head to toe. Small piglets were on offer as well as sheep heads, noses, tails and feet of pigs etc. etc. etc. Although I don't eat meat....I was eager to take something home with me. Sofie and Linda advised me against smuggling the piglet into my suitcase :-)

What struck me the most???? The friendliness and calmness of the people living there despite the armies of tourists taking photos and standing in their way. Everyone smiled and was very helpful (which I really needed as my Spanish is non-existent).

If you haven't been already, make sure you go....this market is as a market should be. The regulations are actually quite strict we were told. An inspector comes at least once a day and checks on all the stalls regarding their hygiene, freshness of the produce and even the quality of the displays. The stall holders are taking great care of the appearance of their stalls and it works. I felt right at home there.

We spent most of our lunch time at the bar de Boqueria. A very busy tapas bar where the locals eats (always the best indication for quality)....I hope they miss us as much as we miss them (espcially Sofie and Linda as they loved their coffee brandy ;-)

Will I go back......hell yeah...

Next time I will write about the restaurants we have been to. Watch this space

Veg-e-Que

I have met a lovely girl last Sunday in Lavitt's Quay (remember I went to Paul Flynns book signing). Next door was a little market set up where I had a little chat with Simone (the chair person of Slowfood Cork City) and while we were talking away, Simone pointed out another stall across hers.

Deirdre Collins is a brave woman as she is setting up her own business in selling organic wholefood burgers. She has a BSC in Food Science and is proud that she only uses the best ingredients with no added salt or sugar, free from gluten, wheat, dairy, soy, egg and meat (yes, you can have a burger tasting yummy without any meat in it).

Deirdre is currently operating out of the Innishmore Industrial Park in Ballincollig but she will be selling to shops shortly. So keep an eye out for the Veg-e-Que. Read more about her here. You can also contact her via email on vegeque@gmail.com

Skibbereen Food Festival Part 3

Having had a great Friday, I had of course great expectations for Saturday. Mona has asked me what time I wanted breakfast and we agreed on 8:30. When I came down, there was no sign of her (and I even waited a bit)...so I went upstairs again to relaxed a bit more. By 9:45 she came out in a fury as her alarm clock was still showing 7:15.....but that didn't stop her to prepare a lovely breakfast consisting of a fruit plate with melon, mixed berries and yogurt and fruit coulis in a very attractive way presented. The 'main course' was slices of very good bacon (saw it, but didn't eat it - forgot to mention that I am a veggie), Welsh Rarebit, fried egg on toast, grilled tomato and pan fried mushrooms. Brown bread and very good butter completed the morning feast.

I was ready to see the country market which was held at the car park. A great mixture of food producer and car boot. I decided to go onto the boat trip offered (Ten island Tour) so I headed to Baltimore. It was my first time in Baltimore...and as nice as the day was, you can't do anything but sailing....anyway, I had a stroll around the village and waited for the boat to arrive. Met Monica Murphy from Le Febvre with her two 'golden' grandsons and we stayed together on the boat and had a lovely chat - not wine related this time ;-). food offered on the boat were sandwiches and cakes with some lovely red and white wine (didn't get to see the label but the red wine was lovely although cooled).

After the boat trip which lasted 2.5 hours, I headed home to open a lovely bottle of 1998 Produttori del Barbaresco...which went so well with the cheese I still had from the night before. Another day which was spent the way it was intended to be.

Sunday morning saw me heading back to Skibbereen (guess the car finds its way by itself by now) for the open air food and craft market. And I am glad I did as it was the type of market we should have more than just once a year. There were food producer, crafters and gardeners offering their products...and it was hard not to go overboard. You should have seen the cakes, chocolates, chutneys, lemonade, oils, meats etc....Simone from Slowfood Cork City was there to offer some really great olive oil from a small Italian producer. It tasted fresh and summerly...as soon as I have finished the bottle I have still at home, I will head to Interior Living in McCurtain Street in Cork City to get some of this fantastic oil.

The weekend ended with a visit at Lindas who was minding her nephew and niece....learned a new game as well called Hide & Seek...and of course I lost....

Hope you all had a weekend that can match mine ;-)

Skibereen Food Festival Part I

What a great day...wasn't sure if I could make it but luckily for me I was able to come. Arrived Friday late morning and Hotel West Cork was booked out but I found the most amazing B & B in Bridge House....Oh my God...am I lucky that West Cork Hotel was booked out. Bridge House is not like any B & B you have ever seen. Eccentric to say the least....Mona Best is the most lovable and welcoming person you can think off. Entering my room, I felt set back about 150 years and I say that with the most affectionate love. I remember my great grandmothers living room with its big and tall grandfather clock ticking away....I was happy.

Went straight to Cork West Hotel where the 'Story of the soil and sea' took place. What a delight. The day was split into three parts.I missed the morning session due to traffic coming from Cork but I made it in plenty of time for the lunch session. Paul Johnson and Bill Hogan were the guest speakers. If you have ever met Bill Hogan - and I was lucky to have met him about 2 years ago - you will know that he is passionate about his trade and food politics. He is an amazing character, having worked with Martin Luther King and learned his trade from traditional cheese makers in Switzerland and it is always a delight to listen to him.

Paul Johnson is also a great guy to listen to. He is original from England, son to an Irish mother - lovely woman by the way (she attended the event as well) and he is so much into his way of rearing the rare breed of Dexter cows that it is a delight to listen to him. He is playing Lyric FM to his cows.....doesn't that ensure happy cows and tender and wonderful beef (hope you join us for the tour Sunday next).

The evening session was devoted to cakes. Jean Domican from Buns 'n Stuff told us about her beginnings and how Farmers Markets are the right way to go to get direct feedback from customers and see what product goes and which one should be left in the drawer.

Then Diarmuid O Drisceoil made sure that I had some more laughter lines as he gave the most entertaining and informative talk. He spoke about his childhood and summers in Cape Clear with his 2 uncles (you should hear his story about the mackerel and the cat). Everybody in the room was in bits. After we all calmed down again, Diane Curtin launched the West Cork Foodmap. This map was designed to bring food and local produce closer to schools, supermarkets etc.

Ivan McCutcheon (columnist at the Southern Star) gave a presentation about his blog where he talks about people behind the products.

After all that, I was looking forward to the wine tasting in the Food & Wine Market. More about that later....

Midleton Food festival

Saturday morning I went to Midleton to pay the food festival a visit. Sofie to join me for breakfast in Sage.....won't be doing that anytime soon again (not before 12pm anyway ;-)...anyhow....had a stroll around the farmer's market which of course is already an institution in Midleton but in honour of the occasion, Frank Hefferman and Darina Allen attended their stalls this time. A craft market was attached to the farmer's market and I met a lovely lady who makes the most loveliest of quilts....will be paying her a visit soon.
I moved then on to the festival itself. Stalls there included Green Saffron, the usual cake and pies stall - especially to mention Stolen Diamonds. A French Stall sold the biggest tin of duck confit I have ever seen (outside of Paris, I mean). Rasta Pasta was a stall not to be missed. The lovely ladies cooked some Caribbean delights and they brightened up the day.
Sofie finally made it out of bed and we decided to take a walk on the beach...would have been a shame being so close to it and not going. Enjoyed the day but is wasn't the end of it as I was meeting Caz and Anita later in town.

Food Festival Mallow

Just back from the Mallow Food Festival and it was a lovely event. A lot of stalls were there - most of them home baking and breads. Since I am a mad baker myself, I past on them but got some lovely cheese and stocked up on spices from Green Saffron. A company called Nibbles had a stall where they sold lovely food. Mallow restaurants offered some yummy lunch and Urru had some lovely cakes and chorizo boxes for eating on the go. Next to the food stalls there were also a natural skin care and a glass jewellery stall....all in all a very good event.

I also bumped into a girl from RTE who was advertising a new competition called 'Recipe for Success' . You can cook your signature dish and if it wins the final, it could be sold in SuperValue. Check out the details here. 

Mallow Food Festival

Don't forget that the Food Festival in Mallow is on this Sunday. Caroline from Bibliocook told me that it is the second year running and last year it included 30 stalls....so worth a visit....

Mallow Food Festival

Mallow Food Festival - and I believe it is the first one - will take place on Sunday 30th August from 12:30 until 3pm. It is organised by Urru Mallow who is also looking after the bi-weely farmers market. Not sure how big it will be but I will be paying Mallow a visit.

Slow Food event

As most of you know I am a firm supporter of Slow Food and I am excited that Slow Food Ireland is hosting this years Terra Madre in Waterford. This is a 4-day event starting Thursday 4th September with the Organic Food Conference. The main event is on Friday with the Food Conference opened by Minister Martin Cullen and addressed by President Mary McAleese.

Darina Allen, chairperson of Slow Food Ireland, will be attending as well as Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini. Over 30 workshops will be taking place on Friday where you can learn from food producers, government representatives and food buyers.

You can register online at www.terramadreireland.com. Slow Food members can get a discount when registering before the end of August. To become a member, simply register on www.slowfoodireland.com.

I will be attending at least Saturday and Sunday..hopefully also Friday as this seems to be the main feature if you are interested in food politcs.

The program is:

Thursday, Organic Food Conference
Friday, Main Food Conference, also a Gala Banquet prepared by Chef Michael Quinn of Waterford Castle
Saturday, Guided Tours to Artisan Food Producers and a Slow Food Gala Dinner
Sunday, Huge Farmers Market and Eurotoque Event

Hope to see you all there

Irish Farmer's Markets

Sofie suggested recently that I should join a Farmer's Market to sell my preserves (I brought a jar of homemade cheese along) as she thinks they would sell like hot stones. That got me thinking....why not. So I went out to get some information....and do some planning....

The following questions needed to be answered by myself...:

1. What produce shall I sell
2. What do I need in order to make the produce
3. Which market should I choose
4. What are the costs involved
5. How much do I have to charge?
6. Are there regulations I have to consider

To the last question....yeap there are regulations (would have been to easy otherwise). You will need a public liability insurance to cover up to a minimum of €1.4m. And depending on the food you are selling, you will need one or more certificates from the food board. If you are preparing food at home for re-selling you will need a cert from NSAI called I.S 344:2002 etc etc etc...I started to read about it and thought then....that life is too short (I only consider it a past time and not my main means of support).

Then, what are the costs involved? First of all, I only use jam jars I already have (clever brains call it recycling) and there were always enough to make a batch and give it to friends as gifts but suddenly, I tried to buy jam jars....and surprise surprise, I didn't find any. I got 2 jars from Brennans for 3.50 each (considering the costs of the food added....not feasible I think) - and that would answer also the question on what to charge - a fortune at that.

And these information before I actually decided what to produce....I didn't even try to find answers for the rest of the questions. So I will continue to make my chutneys, jams, relishes and the cheeses....just for fun and friends....

But I take a bow to all the great producers out there who went through the bureaucracy to stand at the market in rain, wind and hail (and the odd sunny day) and are always great in sharing their knowledge.....I admire you all and I will keep coming and buying but no selling - for sure :-)

I am back

...I know it has been a while but now I am back. I didn't have access to broadband in the last few weeks and uploading stuff on a dial-up connection is a nightmare.

Didn't do much in the last 2 weeks other than relaxing and relaxing. Done a bit of cooking but not much actually. Invited myself back to Clonakilty....a bit cheeky but worth my while. Marjorie and myself cooked together some Indian dishes from Atul Kochhar's cookbook and it was yummy. We cooked spuds in a melon seed paste which had a nice kick to it as we added a bit of chilli. The chickpea curry was to die for with a real punch of chilli added to it. Forgot my camera and therefore no pics. We then headed out to Inchidony again and had a lovely walk down the beach and watched some brave surfer facing the 'waves'. We had a small bite to eat at the hotel and headed then back to Clon to jump right into the mad nightlife... ;-) Next day we decided that Italian is on the menu and we paid Mio in Clonakilty a visit. Nice food - nothing to rave about but also nothing to give out about. A stroll through Clon emptied my purse a bit but filled my shopping bag nicely :-)

Gordon and Marjory prepared some lovely samosas and I ate again too much but gosh, they were yummy. Gordon made them with puff pastry rather than the pastry the Indians normally use....that way it is a lot easier to re-create the dish.

Sunday, I cooked rabbit (dad had to get rid of some of his rabbits as the baby-rabbits needed some space). Marinated the rabbit with some oil, white wine and brandy, garlic and chilli. After a couple of hours of marinating it was thrown into the oven on a medium heat and the result I heard was tasty and tender....at least it looked the part. A visit in Hosford was a bit disappointing as I hoped that the Farmer's Market a bit bigger was but at least I got a honeysuckle for Sofie.

Monday saw me heading to Midleton to pay Sofie a visit. She loved the plant and we 'celebrated' by going to Shanagarry (Stephen Pearson had a sale on) and after a stroll around the galerie we went to the beach and had a lovely walk - a prefect ending to a lovely weekend.

And I promise that you will get some nice pics from the kitchen garden in the next few days.... so long

Came back Saturday night and enjoyed a lovely glass of rose and called it an early night.