Articles

As the popular West Cork restaurant RICHY’S BAR & BISTRO celebrates a decade in business, Marilyn Bright seeks the secret of its success – how has Richy’s not just survived, but thrived in these challenging times?
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New season Irish Asparagus is in season this month. Apparently the recent mild winter has brought the crop forward, so it has been ready earlier than usual this year. Asparagus is such a special treat and, as well as being a delicacy, it is a nutritional power house full of vitamins and antioxidants. Folklore suggests that asparagus has wonderful aphrodisiac qualities – so eat up your greens!
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Last year I was invited to the Artisan Food School at Welbeck in North Nottinghamshire, to talk to their students about the inspirational Irish artisan food scene. The snows before Christmas meant that my first visit had to be postponed but that is an even a lovelier time of the year to visit this spectacular estate and stunningly beautiful English country house Welbeck Abbey.
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This month I have been very busy planting up the Castlefarm garden and polytunnel. My onions sown last month are now clearly visible in organised green lines. Now that I can see them I can hoe the onion bed before the weeds take hold. As an organic farm we cannot use weed killer or chemicals. I find the best method of keeping down weeds is literally spending 5-10 minutes each day hoeing.
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This month we will be harvesting the first of our new season beetroot - OK, so they will be no bigger than golf balls and will have been grown in the polytunnel, but they will be all the tastier and more tender as a result.
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Lucy Madden reflects on the damage that copy cat operations can cause – and suggests that many events in Ireland (including festivals) may be at saturation point, or beyond... We’ve all seen the photograph, two celebrities arriving at a party and – shock, horror – they are wearing the same outfit.
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There’s been a great shortage of quality cider in Ireland until recently, especially south of the border – but, fortunately, this gaping gap in the market is gradually being closed with the introduction of a number of artisan ciders in the last few years.
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The aubergine (also known as eggplant) is related to the potato and tomato. Native to India, this exotic looking fruit with its beautiful glossy deep purple skin and fleshy texture, is a popular import but it has never been commercially grown in Ireland – until now. This year - in March 2012 to be exact – the north Dublin producers Keelings harvested their first crop of Irish aubergines.
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The therapeutic nature of baking is well known - we all know that it’s a cosy and all-consuming activity that demands concentration, involves all the senses and rewards you with much more than delicious things to eat, as, above all, it gives a wonderful sense of satisfaction in a job well done.
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Happy the food lover visiting Ireland’s western capital who happens on Aoibheann MacNamara’s trio of restaurants at Spanish Arch. A wonderful stone-built medieval customs house overlooking the Claddagh Basin is home to Ard Bia (literally ‘High Food’) and its sister restaurants, Ard Bia Café and Nimmo’s, plus a constantly changing exhibition of modern art.
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