Articles

Time was, before the advent of year-round everything in the food world, that eggs were associated with spring - and especially Easter, of course. Maybe something of that instinctive seasonality remains, as it still seems an ideal time to think about eggs.
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If you haven’t come across a ‘Stitchelton’ before, the Northern Irish cheesemaker Mike Thomson of Newtownards, Co Down, would be happy to perform the introduction.
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Why not push out the boat this year and indulge in some Irish spring lamb for a special Easter meal? Although I generally prefer to wait until the roasting joints are bigger, more flavoursome (and better value) later in the year, a very late Easter brings more choice of local foods as the season is more advanced - and, while very wet, the mild winter and early spring has allowed good growth recently and there may also be more early vegetables than usual to enjoy.
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Chocolate may once have seemed an unlikely speciality for artisan producers in Ireland to adopt in their droves, but it has proved a very successful one. There seems no limit to the Irish passion for chocolate and, fortunately for producers, no seasonal downs either, although there are pleasing peaks at Christmas, Valentines Day - and Easter.
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Irish Food Writers' Guild President, Georgina Campbell, shares some of the stunning recipes created by Derry Clarke for the annual lunch held at L'Ecrivain to celebrate the winning foods and people at the Guild’s Food Awards
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Rory O’Connell has long been one of my favourite chefs, and he was our Chef of the Year in 2002. Although not as well known to the general public as his sister Darina, he co-founded the Ballymaloe Cookery School (where he still teaches as well as giving bespoke classes at his own farmhouse home nearby), and his many achievements include a memorable ten year stint as head chef at Ballymaloe House - where he originally trained, under the guidance of that other great teacher, Myrtle Allen.
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This month Lucy Madden’s ever-questioning eye lands on the thorny subject of Diets…some timely observations, just as we’re all trying to address the perennial problem of the tightening winter waistband...
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'Free-from' foods have never been more in demand than now and the term covers everything from specific exclusion of additives such as the infamous E numbers or just keeping it simple, and cooking with fresh, natural ingredients (a wise policy) to the more complicated issue of dealing with particular health problems.
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Some alternative recipes for Christmas or any other special dinner. Vegetarians can also visit www.veggiechristmas.org for the Vegetarian Society’s range of appealing meat-free dishes from around the world.
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With Christmas just around the corner, preparations are coming into full swing and kitchens everywhere will be a hive of activity in the coming weeks. This miscellany of seasonal dishes is from some of the best new cookbooks - and there are ideas a-plenty among them to make this Christmas a very special food celebration, both on the day itself and throughout the festive season.
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