Articles

Who better to kick off 2016 - the NI Year of Food and Drink - than Northern Ireland's best loved food writer, Paula McIntyre, disseminator of good sense on John Toal's Saturday Magazine programme on BBC Radio Ulster and much else besides. Through her timely and aptly-named Down To Earth Cookbook (Colourpoint, £9.99), a curious newcomer would get a very good feeling for the distinctive flavour of the region's food - and the nature of its cooks.
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Aoife Carrigy polishes up her crystal ball to see what’s coming to the restaurant scene in Ireland - especially Dublin - and elsewhere this year (with a little help from some insider tipsters…)
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Georgina reviews Lyons Café Cookbook Two by Gary Stafford, This Is The Burren, by the acclaimed photographer Carsten Krieger and the new series of food and drink guides for Northern Ireland's Year of Food and Drink 2016
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Okay, lentils are dried, so they don't have a specific season of use, but they're especially relevant this month as pulses are set to be one of the top food trends of 2016 - and not just for their wholesome goodness, but because the UN General Assembly, no less, has declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses (IYP).
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Abernethy Butter is one of the great recent success stories of Northern Ireland's artisan food revival. Since turning their hand-churned butter making hobby into a business in 2005, and initially selling at markets, Will and Allison Abernethy's delicious and handsomely presented products are now on sale at some very prestigious shops indeed...
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KRISTIN JENSEN - co-author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders - introduces us to O Brother Brewing Joe Coffee Porter
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This month Darina talks about one of the hottest 'new' trends in food for the past few years - fermenting. And - as it is also one of the healthiest trends, and can help us all to take back power over our food choices - it's a great topic for the New Year
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This month, Martin shares some of the changes for the better that he found in Ireland's food and drink sector when back visiting family this Christmas - and dares to suggest that we may even be ahead of France in some ways at the moment...
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I reckon we could do worse then to make our 2016 resolution all about paying more attention to soil. If that sounds odd, bear in mind that healthy soils are the cornerstone of life on earth - not only the foundation for food, fuel and medical products, but also essential to our ecosystems, playing a key role in the carbon cycle, storing and filtering water, and improving resilience to floods and droughts.
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The famous foodie who's flying the tricolour for us in Texas explains how she's expanding the travel side of her business and bringing more discerning US clients on culinary and cultural visits to Ireland
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