Articles

The indomitable Margaret 'Mags' Kirwan - who, with her husband, Ger, runs Goatsbridge Trout Farm in Thomastown, Co Kilkenny - has never been short of ideas. The idea of using their rainbow trout to produce Ireland’s only caviar is a recent, and very successful, example of the way she thinks - and she’s been at it again, this time with a charity cookbook, 'Fishwives', that was completed just in time to launch in Kilkenny Castle last month, at the Savour Kilkenny Food Festival.
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Yellowman (aka Yellow Man, or Yellaman) is inextricably linked to the Auld Lammas Fair, which has been held in Ballycastle, Co Antrim on the last Monday and Tuesday of August since the 17th century, and is Ireland’s oldest fair. But, with the NI Year of Food 2016 calendar theme for November being ‘Legacy & Learn to…’, what product could be more appropriate to highlight this month?
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An unusual crop of food and drink books has landed on my desk this autumn - less of the bumper cookbooks from TV shows and celebrity chefs, more of the reflective and genuinely interesting books that are a pleasure to read and add to our knowledge, often by reintroducing us to forgotten foods or lost techniques…Perfect gift material for the discerning food lover in your life, in fact - which may well be yourself.
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A fine regency house set in 40 acres of immaculately maintained gardens and woodland, Marlfield House Hotel was established by Ray and Mary Bowe in 1978 and has long been a byword for luxury, genuine hospitality and fine food - a place where everything is sure to be right for that special occasion.
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"Cooking, Cocktails and Comedy" is the promise at Savour Kilkenny 2016: in celebration of a decade of 'delicious dining and demos' this year's Festival of Food takes place over the October bank holiday weekend (October 28th-31st), and it's the biggest yet.
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As the raw milk debate rumbles on, it is encouraging that producers have the support of so many groups dedicated to safeguarding traditional farming methods, including Euro-Toques Ireland, which lobbies tirelessly on their behalf and supports small producers in many ways, including their annual food awards.
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Home to the Leslie family since 1665 and now run by Sammy Leslie (the great-great granddaughter of the man who built the present castle), Castle Leslie and its fascinating history still intrigue today’s guests - who can stay in the Castle itself, or in The Lodge at Castle Leslie Estate, an attractive mainly modern hotel just inside the castle gates.
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September is synonymous with the beginning of the native oyster season in Ireland and, whether or not they are native, all Irish oysters benefit from the PR boost that the "months with an 'r' in them" bring - and all varieties are at their best in the colder months.
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Traditionally known as ‘the poor man's meat' onions (allium) are perhaps an undervalued item in our shopping baskets, but indispensable in the kitchen and very nutritious. Irish onions are not seen on supermarket shelves as often as they should be, but they’re coming into season now and should be easily available in shops and markets, so pounce on them when you spot them.
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At the 2016 Euro-Toques EirGrid Food Awards, held at Ballymaloe House, Co Cork, in June, it was pointed out that there are currently over 3,500 small to medium sized food businesses operating in Ireland
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