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  • This Farming Life
    Jenny Young
    This Farming Life
    Beginning her new column about life and work on an organic mixed farm in Co Kildare – and selling its produce – Jenny Young sets the scene by introducing herself and some of the other ...
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    Castlefarm - Cows
    This Farming Life
    At Castlefarm the craziness of spring farming continues this month writes Jenny Young. We have 85 cows to milk twice a day and 32 calves to feed. We are still waiting for our last 16 spring co ...
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    Castlefarm Athy County Kildare Ireland
    This Farming Life
    While April was a busy month planting, watering and calving, May is also a busy month for us at our organic farm. Our allotment holders are enjoying their first salad crops. In the Castlefarm ...
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    Castlefarm Athy County Kildare Ireland - ducks
    This Farming Life
    In June Jenny Young is seeing the fruits of her labours in the Castlefarm garden – but still has to keep predators at bay. I spent a lot of May planting, maintaining and protecting the g ...
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    Castlefarm Athy County Kildare Ireland - pullet & chicken eggs
    This Farming Life
    Jenny Young gives us a glimpse of the summer at Castlefarm With summer well underway Castlefarm is a hive of activity. We have a blooming garden of vegetables and of course too many weeds. We ...
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    Castlefarm Athy County Kildare Ireland - Courgette & Peas
    This Farming Life
    Castlefarm is thriving. In our pastures, the organic grass is growing a little slower than we would like but clover is plentiful. This is good news for our cows, as well as the bees that are busy ...
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    Apples
    This Farming Life
    Autumn has come in so quickly this year, and this has brought us our first autumn calf this week, as well as our first season’s honey. In the orchard our apples will be collected very soon a ...
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    Jenny Young - Pears
    This Farming Life - November
    The Castlefarm orchard looks bare. We spent the last few weeks of October picking quince, apples, pears and hazelnuts. This month I will be busy transforming this fruit into jams and chutneys. We ...
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    Castlefarm Athy County Kildare Ireland - Snow
    This Farming Life - December
    Castlefarm is starting to get very festive looking. We decorated the farm shop last week and nearly all our organic turkeys have been sold. These come from the Colchesters’ organic farm in K ...
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    Castlefarm Athy County Kildare Ireland - Cows
    This Farming Life - January
    January is a quiet time at Castlefarm. Our main work on the farm is tending the cows. They will remain indoors until they calve from February, and they need to be fed silage and bedded with straw ...
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    Castlefarm Athy County Kildare Ireland - Chickens & Allotments
    This Farming Life - February
    Jenny Young and the team at Castlefarm are busy preparing for spring – and watching TV in bed… The arrival of February sees the birth of lots of calves (approx 70) at Castlefar ...
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    Young Calf
    This Farming Life - March
    Jenny Young is very busy at Castlefarm, with new calves and early growth in the gardens At Castlefarm the majority of our dairy herd has calved down, resulting in up to 40 calves to feed twice ...
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    Castlefarm - Piglets
    This Farming Life - April
    At Castlefarm we now have 26 calves out on grass. We feed them with the mobile feeder once a day and are slowly weaning them off milk. Calving is dragging on at this stage and we are still waiting ...
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    Pigs - Castlefarm
    This Farming Life - May
    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 ...
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    CastleFarm Ducks
    This Farming Life - June
    Summer arrives at Castlefarm. Summer seems to be here at last and even our ducks look slightly bleached from the sun. The tomato and cucumber plants in our polytunnel are starting to grow tall. ...
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    CastleFarm - Drilling for Water
    This Farming Life - July
    Jenny Young describes dealing with one of the unwelcome (but essential) hidden costs that challenge all farmers With all this rain readers might find it difficult to believe that Castlefarm ha ...
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    CastleFarm - Pigs
    This Farming Life - September
    Castlefarm looks forward to celebrating National Organic Week and Jenny Young talks about what it is like to be a certified organic farmer. National Organic Week takes place from 9th -16th Sep ...
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    Castlefarm
    This Farming Life - November
    There are a lot of apple trees at Castlefarm and Jenny Young explains what they do with the excess fruit. At Castlefarm we have two orchards beside our house. The old orchard was planted by Pete ...
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    Castlefarm
    This Farming Life - December
    Castlefarm gears up for Christmas – the Farm Shop is open every day from 19th – 24th December, and Jenny Young explains how they then manage the workload to keep time needed on the far ...
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    Jenny Young - Castlefarm Ducks
    This Farming Life - A New Year for Castlefarm
    We are nearly back to normality after the Christmas break at Castlefarm. In preparation for our spring herd of 70 cows to calve down, we have disinfected calf sheds and re-installed calving camera ...
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    Calves
    This Farming Life - New Arrivals
    The year’s new arrivals have begun at Castlefarm We arrived back from our annual holidays on 2nd of February to nine calves that had been born early. Needless to say, Andrew who works with ...
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    This Farming Life
    This Farming Life
    Jenny Young - The spring is beginning to pick up pace at Castlefarm At last the end of spring calving is in sight. Since I last wrote this column over 80 calves were born at Castlefarm. Som ...
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    Ploughed Allotments
    This Farming Life - Spring
    At last our cows are grazing outside full time. This means less time feeding silage and bedding the sheds with straw. The expense of dairy ration has also been cut out of their diet. Now it is AI ...
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    Jenny Young - Castlefarm Cow
    This Farming Life
    The strange weather held things up at Castlefarm this spring and the cows have only just been let out overnight. What strange and worrying weather. It is May and we have only just let our cows ou ...
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    Courgettes
    This Farming Life - Summer
    Plenty to do at Castlefarm this month, with weeding an important job to keep under control - and then foraging in the hedgerows for pleasure This month I will be spending lots of time walking the ...
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    Big Harvest
    This Farming Life - The Farmer, the Kitchen and the Big Harvest Menu
    The Farmer, the Kitchen and the Big Harvest Menu In the spring time, when farmers begin to sow vegetable seeds, they are thinking about the harvest ahead. Throughout the spring the plants are nur ...
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    Rose Hip Syrup
    This Farming Life - Foraging at Castlefarm
    With only four more of Castlefarm’s autumn herd to calve and most of our calves sold I feel like I can take a bit of a breather from the farm. Our cows are now indoors full time. They eat si ...
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    Castle Farm in Snow
    This Farming Life - A Winter Break for Castlefarm
    Today we dried off our spring herd of 81 cows. This will give them a 2 month break before they begin to calve. So no milking on Christmas Day at Castlefarm, yippee. Our hens are still laying well ...
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    Calving
    This Farming Life - Spring Calving at Castlefarm
    JENNY YOUNG After taking a couple of weeks off in January for holidays, I am back on the farm preparing for Spring calving. February 1st marks the official start to calving at Castlefarm. We ...
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    Seedlings
    This Farming Life - Spring at Castlefarm
    At this stage 80 of our cows have calved. We have 26 heifer (female) calves out on grass, although we still feed them milk twice a day. Spring has been difficult. The calves got a bug, which sprea ...
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    Courgette at Castlefarm
    This Farming Life - May at Castlefarm
    It’s May and things are relatively settled at Castlefarm. With calving over, breeding season begins. This means six weeks of intensive AI to ensure suitable calves for easy calving next year ...
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    Jenny Young
    This Farming Life - June at Castlefarm
    Jenny Young The Castlefarm garden is beginning to yield vegetables. Due to an especially busy spring calving this year sowing was delayed. However at last we are enjoying lettuce, courgettes and ...
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    Jenny Young
    This Farming Life - July at Castlefarm
    Jenny Young So far the summer has been good to us dairy farmers at Castlefarm. The warm weather has meant lot of grass growth and we have managed to harvest our second cut of silage. Pulling ra ...
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    Courgette at Castlefarm
    This Farming Life - August at Castlefarm
    Jenny Young We have been walking the farm on a weekly basis to manage our dairy herds grazing. The gorgeous warm July and its lack of rain means our organic grass is sparse. We have had to feed ...
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    Jenny Young
    This Farming Life - September in Castlefarm
    Jenny Young August and September are the months when I supply organic fruit, vegetables and duck eggs to The BrookLodge Hotel for its annual harvest menu in The Strawberry Tree restaurant. It&r ...
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    Castlefarm Cows
    This Farming Life - November in Castlefarm
    Jenny Young Yippee one more month milking, before we dry off for the winter. At the beginning of November we bring our cows indoors for the winter. For the next two months they will sleep indoo ...
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    Christmas Hamper Bag
    This Farming Life - December in Castlefarm
    Jenny Young At the beginning of this month we dried off our herd of 89 organic cows. To slow down their milk production we milked once a day for a couple of days. Then we withdrew their silage f ...
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    Castlefarm Cows
    This Farming Life - January in Castlefarm
    What it means to be an organic farmer in Ireland today … Jenny Young writes about life and work on an organic mixed farm in Co Kildare - and selling its produce Castlefarm in Janu ...
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    Martin Dwyer - Baking
    An Irish Chef in France
    Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, wher ...
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    Seedlings
    This Farming Life - February in Castlefarm
    What it means to be an organic farmer in Ireland today … Jenny Young writes about life and work on an organic mixed farm in Co Kildare - and selling its produce Castlefarm in Febr ...
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    Castlefarm Calves
    This Farming Life - March in Castlefarm
    What it means to be an organic farmer in Ireland today … Jenny Young writes about life and work on an organic mixed farm in Co Kildare - and selling its produce Castlefarm in Marc ...
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    Prepared Soil on Castlefarm
    This Farming Life - April in Castlefarm
    What it means to be an organic farmer in Ireland today … Jenny Young writes about life and work on an organic mixed farm in Co Kildare - and selling its produce Castlefarm in April ...
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    Castlefarm Tomato Plant
    This Farming Life - May in Castlefarm
    What it means to be an organic farmer in Ireland today … Jenny Young writes about life and work on an organic mixed farm in Co Kildare - and selling its produce We have kept 28 ca ...
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    Pumpkin Plants
    This Farming Life - June on Castlefarm
    What it means to be an organic farmer in Ireland today … Jenny Young writes about life and work on an organic mixed farm in Co Kildare - and selling its produce After two months of i ...
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    Young Vegetables
    This Farming Life - July on Castlefarm
    What it means to be an organic farmer in Ireland today … Jenny Young writes about life and work on an organic mixed farm in Co Kildare - and selling its produce Summer is finally her ...
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    Beehives
    This Farming Life - August on Castlefarm
    What it means to be an organic farmer in Ireland today … Jenny Young writes about life and work on an organic mixed farm in Co Kildare - and selling its produce This month it&rsqu ...
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    John Flahavan
    This Farming Life - September on Castlefarm
    What it means to be an organic farmer in Ireland today … Jenny Young writes about life and work on an organic mixed farm in Co Kildare - and selling its produce At Castlefarm it i ...
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    Cows on CastleFarm
    This Farming Life - November on Castlefarm
    What it means to be an organic farmer in Ireland today … Jenny Young writes about life and work on an organic mixed farm in Co Kildare - and selling its produce It is all slowing ...
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    Castle Farm shop in snow
    This Farming Life - December on Castlefarm
    Jenny Young The farm is in muck. It is cold, wet and dreary so I am glad we will finish milking in mid December. At present we are milking 60 cows once a day. The other cows have been dried off. ...
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    Ethiopian Farming
    This Farming Life
    What it means to be an organic farmer in Ireland today … Jenny Young writes about life and work on an organic mixed farm in Co Kildare - and selling its produce. This month Jenny gives ...
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    Castlefarm Allotments
    This Farming Life
    What it means to be an organic farmer in Ireland today … Jenny Young writes about life and work on an organic mixed farm in Co Kildare - and selling its produce February and March we ...
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    Castlefarm Cattle
    This Farming Life
    At Castlefarm the breeding season has begun. This month we begin 6 weeks of intensive AI before the Angus bull arrives to join the herd. At the moment we are using a vasectomised bull to mark the ...
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    Tomatoes
    This Farming Life
    What it means to be an organic farmer in Ireland today … Jenny Young writes about life and work on an organic mixed farm in Co Kildare - and selling its produce At Castlefarm the bre ...
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    Jenny Young in CastleFarm Shop
    This Farming Life
    What it means to be an organic farmer in Ireland today … Jenny Young writes about life and work on an organic mixed farm in Co Kildare - and selling its produce At Castlefarm we ar ...
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    Castlefarm Chicken
    This Farming Life
    What it means to be an organic farmer in Ireland today… Jenny Young writes about life and work on an organic mixed farm in Co Kildare - and selling its produce Yay December, our qu ...
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    Castlefarm Potatoes
    This Farming Life
    What it means to be an organic farmer in Ireland today … Jenny Young writes about life and work on an organic mixed farm in Co Kildare - and selling its produce May was a great mon ...
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    • Grow It Yourself
      Grow It Yourself
      Grow It Yourself - February
      Though St Brigid’s Day (Feb 1st) is considered the start of spring, it’s really still winter outside in the veggie patch. Come February I am always itching to get started with my seed ...
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      GIY Ireland
      Grow It Yourself - March
      There’s a wise old GIYer I know who says that the “sap starts to rise” in gardeners in March. It’s an odd expression and I yet I completely get what he means by it. The s ...
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      Grow It Yourself
      Grow it Yourself - April
      Weeds are a downer. Many the great GIYing dream has been dashed against the rocks of a bed full of weeds. We start off with a lovely clear bed, we sow some seeds, there’s a shower of rain a ...
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      Purple Sprouting Broccoli
      Grow it Yourself - May
      Last Saturday we got together in a friends house for a GIY meitheal (pronounced meh-hill). A meitheal is a wonderful Irish term for a working gang – it has its origins in rural Ireland wher ...
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      BROAD BEANS
      Grow it Yourself - June
      Did a lot of transplanting this weekend, which is always a fun activity for a GIYer. There’s nothing like the satisfaction of planting seedlings – bare beds transformed in an instant ...
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      GIY Ireland
      Grow it Yourself - July
      A supermarket is a place where there are no seasons. You can buy any vegetable you want at any time of the year. Want a butternut squash in May? Your local supermarket probably has one for sale, t ...
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      Leeks - GIY Ireland
      Grow it Yourself - August
      Harry's Restaurant has been getting rave reviews and much-deserved plaudits of late. Run by Donal Doherty, the restaurant is bucking the recessionary trend by attracting people in their droves to ...
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      Tomatoes
      Grow it Yourself - September
      If you allow it to be, the harvest can be a time of incredible celebration, and it is quite right that it should be so. We should be celebrating at this time of the year even though it might be k ...
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      Chilli Peppers
      Grow it Yourself - November
      It was World Food Day last month and as I always do with these vast global events, I tried to think about it down at the only level that makes any sense to me – my vegetable patch. One of m ...
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      Spinach
      Grow it Yourself - December
      I had a bit of a panic last weekend when it occurred to me that I hadn’t sown anywhere near enough spinach or chard when I did my ‘winter sowing’ back in September. I’m a ...
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      GIY Seedlings
      Grow it Yourself - January
      Every year I worry a little about whether I will find enthusiasm for growing my own food again – what if the year turns and I just don’t have any interest any more? I always take a de ...
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      GIY Ireland - Compost
      Grow it Yourself - February
      The other evening I was going through some notes from a course on soil fertility I attended a few years back with Jim Cronin on his smallholding in Bridgetown, Co Clare. Jim is a rare breed &ndas ...
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      Grow It Yourself
      Grow it Yourself - March
      One of the most incredible things about children is their innocence – they have (thankfully) almost none of the hang-ups that us adults are burdened with. They approach life with a wid ...
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      GIY - Seedlings
      Grow it Yourself - April
      I’m not too far removed from the point where I was really, really daunted by the idea of growing my own food. I was the least green fingered person in the universe when I started growing my ...
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      Grow It Yourself - Beetroot
      Grow it Yourself - May
      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 a ...
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      Grow It Yourself - Basil
      Grow it Yourself - June
      I am doing a lot of transplanting at the moment, which is always a fun activity for a GIYer. There’s nothing like the satisfaction of planting seedlings – bare beds transformed in an ...
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      Grow it Yourself - Harvest
      Grow it Yourself - July
      There are some vegetables that you grow yourself and you really wonder whether it's worth the hassle, particularly if there are good commercial alternatives available. But given the fact that mos ...
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      From The Ground Up by Fionnuala Fallon
      Grow it Yourself - September
      If you are looking for inspiration for your growing endeavours, it can often be found in the gardens of other GIYers. I always find that walking around another grower’s garden leaves me wit ...
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      Phacelia
      Grow it Yourself - November
      Back in late summer when the broad beans, early peas and early spuds were finished cropping, I cleaned up the beds and sowed a green manure called phacelia in the beds (the seeds were broadcast li ...
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      C
      Grow it Yourself - December
      I have started to harvest celeriac from the garden now – it’s a hardy veg that I generally leave in the ground until things are starting to get a bit sparse elsewhere and when most of ...
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      Oriental Greens
      Grow it Yourself - January
      With the 2013 growing season nearly upon us, I’m intrigued by the idea that 2012’s GIYing is still paying dividends. It’s a good time of the year therefore for a bit of stock-ta ...
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      Winter Veg
      Grow it Yourself - February
      As we make the first tentative sowings of 2013, the 2012 growing season, for the moment, keeps on giving. Last weekend I got out in the veg patch in frost and brilliant sunshine to do some jobs w ...
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      Seedlings
      Grow it Yourself - March
      If you want to grow your own food and are starting with lawn, where do you begin? Let’s take a look at three different options. First of all, if you’re not in too much of a hurry to g ...
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      Purple Sprouting Broccoli
      Grow it Yourself - April
      It’s hard to believe that this time last year, we were basking in 20 degrees heat and headed for the beach over the Easter holidays. This year it’s a case of wrapping up well and tryi ...
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      Scorzonera
      Grow it Yourself - July
      I am growing scorzonera for the first time this year and enjoying the sight of it in the summer veg patch while waiting patiently to try it later in the autumn. This oddly named vegetable is rela ...
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      Piccalilli
      Grow it Yourself - August
      For me, August is the ultimate payback month, when all the hard work of the year really starts to pay off. Somehow, it never seems as busy as other months. August and September sees us poised be ...
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      Soil
      Grow it Yourself - September
      Stop treating your soil like dirt Soil. Well, it’s just dirt really, isn’t it? It’s something to be cleaned off our boots and scrubbed off our hands, right? When I started gro ...
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      GIY
      Grow it Yourself - November
      If, like me, you like your apples, you will almost certainly have noticed how badly served we are by the commercial food chain when it comes to this wonderful fruit. Though there are literally th ...
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      Honey
      Grow It Yourself - December
      I can’t confess to know a lot about beekeeping. Actually, correct that, I know absolutely nothing about beekeeping. So, one might be surprised to find a beehive in my garden. But there it ...
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      Kale
      Grow It Yourself - January
      I’ve tried hard to resist the charms of kale over the years, but finally, perhaps inevitably, I have succumbed. I’ve become somewhat of a kale nut. Kale suffers somewhat from a reputa ...
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      GIY Tools
      Grow It Yourself - February
      Though we haven’t quite reached ‘hungry gap’ territory yet, I think it’s fair to say at this stage that we are beginning to pass the point of plenty as far as last year&rsq ...
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      Michael Kelly GIY
      Grow It Yourself - March
      I am all for taking a decent break from the veg patch in the winter months, and I do very little between late November and February. There are lots of things I could be doing if I was that way in ...
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      Michael Kelly GIY
      Grow It Yourself - April
      The luck of the crop rotation draw and bad design in my veg patch means that particular veg families tend to have what might be described as ‘off years’ depending on the area they are ...
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      Michael Kelly GIY
      Grow It Yourself - May
      Each month, I try and think about my seed sowing in two categories. The first category is those veg that we must sow pretty much every month to guarantee a consistent supply (without gluts) &ndas ...
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      GIY Seeds
      Grow It Yourself - June
      Could soil be the new Prozac? This is a question prompted by a recent research study, which found that treatment with a specific soil bacterium, Mycobacterium vaccae, can alleviate the symptoms of ...
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      Headlands Community Garden
      Grow It Yourself - July
      I know that sometimes I can be guilty of hyperbole, but recently I visited a garden that I think could transform Ireland. One of the recipients of a community food growing grant from AIB via the G ...
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      Michael Kelly
      Grow It Yourself - August
      It’s hard to fathom, but it’s already August and the seed-sowing year is almost over – this month is the last opportunity to sow seeds and marks the end of seven months of fairly ...
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      Michael Kelly
      Grow It Yourself - September
      Yesterday morning I went down to the polytunnel to get a few fresh tomatoes to go with our breakfast eggs, only to walk in on a group of birds conducting a daring raid. They had managed to pull a ...
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      GIY Turkeys
      Grow It Yourself - November
      With Halloween over, the countdown to Christmas is truly on, and as a result we have turkeys back in our garden again. Each year we rear about 4 turkeys, with one becoming the centerpiece of our ...
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      .
      Grow It Yourself - December
      This year I managed to fill 3 large hessian sacks with spuds for storage and we’ve been tucking in to them every other day as required. It’s very handy to have them there, waiting pat ...
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      Michael Kelly
      Grow It Yourself - January
      Michael Kelly New Year’s resolutions sometimes get a bad rap, because they seem to represent the folly and flightiness of the human spirit. We start off the year with grand intentions to e ...
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      Michael Kelly
      Grow It Yourself - February
      Michael Kelly 2015 is the UN FAO’s Year of Soil. The year-long project aims to raise awareness in society about the ‘profound importance’ of soil for human life and promote the ...
      more...
      Tomato Seedlings
      Grow It Yourself - March
      Tomatoes have a long growing season so to get good fruit you need to get the plants started early (if you are growing from seed). I sow my tomatoes on a heating mat in the potting shed in mid Feb ...
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      Michael Kelly
      Grow It Yourself - April
      A few months ago, I was giving a talk about growing things (as you do) to a GIY group and was discussing the growing of spuds when a woman put up her hand to comment. She told us about a traditio ...
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      GIY Seed Trays
      Grow It Yourself - May
      There is a wonderful Ted Talk by New York-based chef Dan Barbour about a small farm in Spain that produces foie gras humanely (without the force feeding that the product is often lambasted for). R ...
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      Carrots
      Grow It Yourself - June
      Michael Kelly It’s hard to believe that we’re now in the sixth month of the year already, and that the longest day of the year is a mere three weeks away. At the risk of getting a sl ...
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      GIY Green Beans
      Grow It Yourself - July
      Michael Kelly French beans are, I think, one of the most underrated of vegetables. Of all the legume family, they are my favourite to eat, more desirable to my mind than runner beans, broad bean ...
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      GIY Onions Drying
      Grow It Yourself - August
      After a couple of quiet weeks it’s time to get busy in the veg patch again, this time with harvesting. Our onions are ready to pick so it’s a job for a quiet Saturday, if the weather p ...
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      Mick Kelly
      Grow It Yourself - September
      This week I spent some time at either end of the food growing cycle: at one end, up to my neck in compost, turning the heaps at the end of the garden; at the other, up to my neck in a mountain of ...
      more...
      Garlic in Winter
      Grow It Yourself - November
      Being a contrary sort I have always sown my garlic in the spring time, and it’s an approach that has served me well over the years. In fact, it has worked so well that I never really saw th ...
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      Brussels Sprouts - Michael Kelly
      Grow It Yourself - December
      Ok, so here’s a confession. In almost ten years of growing I’ve never managed to successfully grow that quintessential Christmas crop, the Brussels sprout. This has been somewhat i ...
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      Compost
      Grow It Yourself - January
      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 ...
      more...
      GIY Seed Pots
      Grow it Yourself - February
      Michael Kelly And so it begins. Another season starts with the determined act of seed sowing in the potting shed. A bag of compost opened and tipped out on the sowing bench. Cold black plast ...
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      Potatoes
      Grow It Yourself - March
      The rise of carbs such as rice, pasta and cous cous has seen sales of potatoes decline by 20% in the last decade. In fact Bord Bia reports that sales of the spud could fall by as much as 40% in ...
      more...
      Michael Kelly
      Grow it Yourself - April
      When you have been growing your own food for a few years, it’s easy to forget what it felt like when you started out first. I am talking about that sweaty, daunted, vaguely frightened feeli ...
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      Parsnips
      Grow it Yourself - May
      Early this month I will be sowing my parsnips outside in the veg patch. Unlike carrots, they are relatively easy to grow (once you have persuaded them to germinate), and since they store well in t ...
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      GIY Tomatoes
      Grow it Yourself - June
      Tomatoes can be difficult to grow well, but I think a proper watering regime is one of the keys to an abundant crop. The secret to watering tomatoes properly is that you need to water ‘de ...
      more...
      GIY Pickle Jar
      Grow It Yourself - August
      Successful food growing is as much about time spent in the kitchen as in the veg patch and at this time of the year that point is usually in sharp focus. The garden is at its most productive and ...
      more...
      Courgette
      Grow It Yourself - September
      I own more cookbooks than is sensible, and though I can sometimes be accused of being a little slow on the uptake, I’ve spotted a trend in them of late – yes my fellow laggards, I br ...
      more...
      Broad Beans
      Grow It Yourself - October
        It really is hard to believe that it’s already October, and the year is winding down inexorably towards Halloween and that other mid-winter festival that will remain unmentioned. ...
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      Kimchi Veg
      Grow It Yourself - November
      We have a pretty fixed view of what makes up the human body – cells, blood, tissues, bone and so on. But, did you know that inside your gut you carry around a whopping 2kg of microbes, wh ...
      more...
      Blackcurrants
      Grow It Yourself - December
      I have two blackcurrant bushes in the garden – they are prolific croppers and don’t get a huge amount of love from me if the truth be known. I always consider them a second-tier cro ...
      more...
      GIY FEbruary
      Grow It Yourself - February
      And so it begins. Another season starts with the determined act of seed sowing in the potting shed. A bag of compost opened and tipped out on the sowing bench. Cold black plastic pots filled ...
      more...
      Tomato Seeds Sown
      Grow It Yourself - March
      I absolutely love being a GIYer at this time of the year. It’s hard not to feel all spring-like and full of hope about life in general when one sees a little green seedling emerging from t ...
      more...
      GIY Hens
      Grow It Yourself - April
      We added ten new hens to the flock here at home this week, ostensibly so the Eldest Child could satisfy his entrepreneurial instincts and start to sell our excess eggs. We had 5 hens up to now: ...
      more...
      .
      Grow It Yourself - May
      On one level, food growing is quite simple – you sow a seed, a plant grows, you eat it. But of course it’s the bits in between those major milestones where things can get complicate ...
      more...
      Strawberries
      Grow It Yourself - June
      I’ve discovered as I get older that I am person that loves to square things away, and that applies equally with food-growing where I am constantly looking for things that simplify what can ...
      more...
      GIY Pears
      Grow It Yourself - September
      I was about 5 hours in to my monster 8-hour ‘pickle-athon’ and up to my neck in diced fruit, veg and vinegar syrups. I had just peeled, cored and chopped 2kg of pears (I didn’ ...
      more...
      Raised Bed
      Grow It Yourself - November
      Over the last few years I’ve noticed a definite snootiness about using raised beds for growing food, which I find ridiculous. It’s almost like if you are not out there double diggin ...
      more...
      Apples from Ardkeen
      Grow It Yourself - December
      I am a massive fan of apples and the “apple a day keeps the doctor away” lessons of youth have stayed with me all my life. I’ve often thought it strange however, that such a t ...
      more...
      Winter Veg
      Grow It Yourself - February
      As we move towards sowing time, my inner critic is active again, goading me to get started on work in the veg patch. Every time I look out the window at the veg patch, or visit it to grab a lee ...
      more...
      GIY Eat Together
      Grow It Yourself - March
      There’s a great scene from Michael Moore’s 2015 documentary Where to Invade Next that focuses on school dinners. He visits a small rural town in France and goes to the ‘best p ...
      more...
      Michael Kelly
      Grow It Yourself - April
      It is fair to say that it has been a long and thoroughly miserable winter, with almost 6 months of grim weather at this stage. The impact has been minimal enough for the home-grower but we shou ...
      more...
      Michael Kelly
      Grow It Yourself - May
      It’s a nice surprise to discover that what you have considered a real nuisance in the veg patch, could in fact turn out to be a blessing. I’ve been plagued with chickweed for well ov ...
      more...
      GIY June
      Grow It Yourself - June
      Like most GIYers I did a little rain dance with the arrival of rain after nearly a month of drought conditions. What a fickle bunch we are!  Not so long back we were cursing how wet the soi ...
      more...
      Michael Kelly
      Grow it Yourself - August
      One of the great lessons I’ve learned in my time as a GIYer is that the sowing season doesn’t stop at the end of Spring. In fact, if you want a consistent supply of vegetables over th ...
      more...
      Michael Kelly
      Grow It Yourself - September
      There’s been a sudden drop in nighttime temperatures which it has to be said can’t be unexpected given the time of year. Still, with the kids back to school as well, it’s a fair ...
      more...
      Michael Kelly
      Grow it Yourself - October
      Soil. Well, it’s just dirt really, isn’t it? It’s something to be cleaned off our boots and scrubbed off our hands, right? When I started growing my own food, I didn’t ha ...
      more...
      sprouts
      Grow it Yourself - November
      I went on a sobering visit to a couple of our biggest field veg growers this week: Paul Brophy in Kildare who is the largest grower of broccoli in the state and the Weldon Brothers (Martin and End ...
      more...
      Jerusalem Artichoke
      Grow it Yourself
      We harvested our Jersusalem artichokes in GROW HQ in the last month and they’ve started to appear on the menu in the café. When I started growing first I was confused about the diffe ...
      more...
      Potatoes
      Grow it Yourself
      Most people sow their early potatoes outside in the vegetable patch in March, but if you have a polytunnel or greenhouse you can get started right now for a super early crop (May). Some years ago ...
      more...
      Chilli Peppers
      Grow it Yourself
      “Grand bit of spring in the air” the lady said to me as we stood waiting for the pedestrian lights to go green. “It’s lovely” I said and smiled back at her. And it w ...
      more...
      Spicy Carrot And Chickpea Pitta Pocket
      Grow it Yourself
      Tomato Mania I delivered a course on growing tomatoes at GROW HQ recently, and though I was ostensibly ‘at work’, it didn’t really feel like work to be teaching about growing to ...
      more...
      GIY recipe
      Grow It Yourself
      After a recent Fianna Fáil amendment to the Oireachtas report on Climate Action was accepted by both the Government and Opposition parties without a vote, Ireland became only the second cou ...
      more...
      Drummond House Garlic Scapes for sale
      Grow It Yourself - June - Irish Veg Growing in Crisis
      I’ve written here before about the lamentable state of affairs in the commercial veg growing world in Ireland. A perfect storm of competition from imports, aggressive price discountin ...
      more...
      Onions drying
      Grow It Yourself - Know Your Onions
      We’ve been eating onions for the last month or so, even though they are not ready yet. The immature ‘green’ onions are a delight to eat and can be used anywhere there is a requi ...
      more...
      GIY Tomatoes
      Grow It Yourself - August
      The veg patch feels like a hard task master right about now, churning out seemingly never-ending gluts of produce. There’s a level on which I feel grateful for this abundance, particularly ...
      more...
      Grow It Yourself
      Grow It Yourself - October
      The summer harvesting of salads and tomatoes might be easing off a little, but it’s replaced by an abundance of apples. The joy of having your own fruit trees is that September brings gluts ...
      more...
      Grow It Yourself
      Grow It Yourself - November
      I attended a sustainability conference this week for Climate Finance Week hosted by Sustainable Nation and AIB that brought former UK climate change advisor Sr David King to Dublin. The wea ...
      more...
      GIY
      Sustainable Christmas tips from the Green Guru Michael Kelly of GIY
      Founder of GIY Michael Kelly and Muireann Ní Chíobháin's brilliant GIY Know-it-Allmanac aims to teach children how to grow and cook food as well as live more sustainably - and ...
      more...
      GIY
      Grow It Yourself - September
      Tips For Reducing Food Waste  The benefits of growing your own food are endless. Not only can it improve your health and save you money, but it is also a fantastic way to reduce your food wa ...
      more...
      GIY
      Grow It Yourself - October
      Grow-It-Yourself guru Michael Kelly reminds us that, as well as doing the final harvesting and tidying up, we can start planting new crops this month. And it’s time to fall back in love agai ...
      more...
      Grow It Yourself
      Grow It Yourself - November
      Garlic is where it all started for GIY, so of course, we grow loads of it at GROW HQ. Since most of the garlic available in supermarkets is from China (still, grrrr), it's a great one to grow your ...
      more...
      Grow It Yourself
      GIY - What's in Store for February?
      With what always feels like the longest month of the year finally coming to an end it's time to look forward to Spring and all that this amazing season has to offer. As we find ourselves, once aga ...
      more...
      GIY
      Grow It Yourself - Hurrah for Spring!
      GIY founder Mick Kelly has plenty of advice for everyone who’s starting out to grow some food crops this year - and the great news is that you don’t even need a garden!  It ...
      more...
      Grow It Forward
      Grow It Yourself - Grow it Forward
      As GIY founder, Michael Kelly, said at the launch of their latest campaign Grow it Forward, “The pandemic has seen a record number of people turn to growing their own food and discovering th ...
      more...
      GIY
      GIY - Autumn Jobs & Delicious Eats
      Spooky season is finally upon us and a new month means new veg to sow and plenty of veg to harvest. October Jobs Pot up herbs so that they can be grown inside for use during winter. Continue to ...
      more...
      GIY December Almanac
      GIY - How to have a more Sustainable Christmas
      Founder of GIY Michael Kelly has some top tips for us all in order to enjoy a guilt-free and more ecological Christmas at home as well as tips to live more sustainably in 2022. Michael is sharing ...
      more...
      GIY Wasted
      GIY - Dig For Dinner
      There may not be too many people around who remember the Dig For Victory campaign in WW2, but the importance of food security has taken on a new urgency recently - and GIY founder Mick Kelly and h ...
      more...
      Grow it Yourself
      GIY - 'Get Ireland Growing Day’ 2022
      Join in 'Get Ireland Growing Day’ 2022 urges GIY Ireland founder, Mick Kelly - projects like seed exchanges, pollinator walks and foraging with friends all help to realise the power of commu ...
      more...
      GIY Pumpkin
      GIY - The Colder Months
      As always Mick Kelly and the gang at GIY www.Giy.ie have been busy hatching new plans and, as well as all the usual valuable advice to help us get the most from out veg patches, they have loads of ...
      more...
      Mick Kelly
      GIY - A Future for Irish Vegetables?
      There’s a vegetable shortage crisis, yet Irish vegetable growers are going out of business – what’s going on? If you haven’t caught up with the excellent TV series Food ...
      more...
      GIY GROW at school
      GIY - GROW At School FUND RAISING
      Grow It Yourself (GIY) calls on businesses and well-wishers to back an important €1 million initiative for children to GROW At School  The not-for-profit social enterprise Grow It Your ...
      more...
      Get Ireland Growing
      GIY's 'Get Ireland Growing Day' - Doing our bit for the planet
      Mick Kelly and the wise folk at GIY urged every household in Ireland to 'sow a seed and Get Ireland Growing’ this summer, with a special reminder issued to mark the longest day of the year. ...
      more...
      GIY
      GIY Market Garden at Curraghmore Estate
      Seriously exciting news from the multi-award winning social enterprise GIY (Grow It Yourself) this month, on their expansion to develop a GIY Market Garden at Curraghmore Estate in Portlaw, ...
      more...
      Grow it Yourself
      Grow It Yourself
      100,000 children are set to experience growing their own food this year, with GIY and SuperValu’s ‘Let’s GROW’ Initiative  We all know the potential for change that l ...
      more...
      GIY LEAF
      New LEAF programme for GIY and Libraries Ireland
      Yet another brilliant educational project from Michael Kelly's GIY (Grow It Yourself), who have teamed up with Libraries Ireland to create a new food education and literacy programme, LEAF, ...
      more...
      • In Season
        Oysters
        Oysters
        Of the many good things September brings, one of the most exciting is the new native oyster season. Very much associated with the west of Ireland, especially Galway, its arrival is celebrated ever ...
        more...
        Pumpkins
        Pumpkins & Squash
        No other food epitomises the plenty of autumn like the glorious orange pumpkin - although we may be inclined to underrate its many less flamboyant but very delicious cousins in the extended squash ...
        more...
        Pheasant roasted with Smoked Bacon and Sage, with Red Cabbage Salad
        Pheasant
        Autumn and winter bring many treats to the kitchen and, for many people, wild game is one of the most exciting. What fun it used to be walking down past Sawyers in Chatham Street, when all the fe ...
        more...
        Chestnut
        Chestnuts
        The image of “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…” pretty much sums up the best and cosiest of winter activities, especially the sociability of the festive season. No ...
        more...
        Scallops
        Scallops
        What are they? Scallops are bi-valve molluscs, easily recognisable by their pretty radially ribbed shells which (although this is out of fashion at the moment) can used for presentation; the s ...
        more...
        xyz
        Smoked Haddock
        A brilliant fish at any time, smoked haddock is especially welcome in the early months of the year, when storms may affect supplies of fresh fish. The essence of cold-weather comfort food, it&rsqu ...
        more...
        xyz
        Beef
        With St Patrick’s Day the highlight of this often chilly month, there’s nothing to beat one of our really traditional dishes, such as a warming bowl of Irish Stew, a plate of bacon and ...
        more...
        Rhubarb
        Rhubarb
        What is it? Although usually used in sweet dishes, rhubarb is not a fruit but classed as a vegetable. It grows easily in Ireland and is still a familiar feature in gardens all over the countr ...
        more...
        Egg
        Eggs
        Eggs are available all year, but their natural season is spring and this is a good time to remind ourselves to make the most of them, and to look at how this most versatile of foods works with oth ...
        more...
        Strawberries
        Strawberries
        Irish strawberries are now available through much of the year thanks to the fact that Keelings (www.keelings.com), in particular, have invested so heavily in glasshouses, extending the season from ...
        more...
        Sea Spinach & Samphire
        Shoreline Vegetables
        You don’t have to be walking in wild windswept places to find good things along the shoreline at this time of year – shoreline plants will grow anywhere they can get a hold in salty ar ...
        more...
        Nectarine
        Nectarines & Peaches
        What Are They? Nectarines are a smooth-skinned variety of peach, the fruit of a hardy deciduous tree. Where Do They Come From? Peaches are native to China, but they are widely grown in other ...
        more...
        Beef - Castlefarm Cows
        Autumn Beef
        At this time of year, chefs and beef connoisseurs begin to get excited about the new autumn beef which is just coming in from local farmers. Beef may be available all year – and many consume ...
        more...
        Irish Apples
        Irish Apples
        Apples have been grown in Ireland for at least 3000 years. Indeed, St. Patrick is said to have planted a number of apple trees in Ireland, including one at Ceangoba, a settlement close to where Ar ...
        more...
        Dried Fruits
        Dried Fruits
        Dried fruits are available all year round but, for truly memorable Christmas cakes and puddings, the experts agree that using top quality new-season ingredients makes all the difference. Good ...
        more...
        Abalone - Ireland
        Abalone
        Abalone are a highly prized shellfish delicacy, now scarce in most countries where they were once plentiful. Known as much for their beautiful iridescent shells as for the delicately flavoured mea ...
        more...
        Cabbage
        Cabbage
        Irish vegetables have been seriously undervalued during the boom years, and none more so than the staple crops that have stood by us so well down through the centuries – everyday foods like ...
        more...
        Water Cress
        Watercress
        Watercress (Nasturtium officinale) is a fast-growing semi-aquatic perennial plant and one of the oldest known leaf vegetables consumed by human beings. Watercress belongs to the cabbage (brassica) ...
        more...
        Asparagus
        Asparagus
        Imported asparagus may be available all year round but there is nothing to beat the treat of having locally grown asparagus in its short spring season, which traditionally begins on 23rd April and ...
        more...
        Gooseberries
        Gooseberries
        Of all our Irish fruit the gooseberry has the earliest natural season and is ideally suited to our climate - yet it seems to be inexplicably underused. Admittedly the bushes tend to be thorny and ...
        more...
        Carrots
        Carrots
        A domesticated form of the wild carrot Daucus carota, an umbelliferous plant which is native to Europe and southwestern Asia, this everyday root vegetable is usually orange - although purple, red, ...
        more...
        Blueberry
        Blueberries
        Now widely recognised as a ‘superfood’, blueberries are bigger cousins of the native Irish bilberry or fraughan and thrive in similar peaty habitats. Grown on cutaway bogland in Co ...
        more...
        Mussels
        Mussels
        The most abundant, widespread and versatile of Irish shellfish, the common or blue mussel (Mytilus edulis – or an diúilicín in Irish), is to be seen on virtually every rock, pi ...
        more...
        Bramley Apples
        Bramley Apples
        The Bramley’s Seedling is one of Ireland’s latest fruit crops, harvested at the end of October, and its special qualities have made it the most popular cooking apple in Britain and Ire ...
        more...
        Smoked Salmon
        Smoked Salmon
        Smoking is a popular preserving process for oily fish, with salmon being a particular delicacy made from sides of salmon (fillets) that are dry-cured or brined and then hot or cold smoked, typical ...
        more...
        Seville Oranges
        Seville Oranges
        As the New Year brings thoughts of restraint and good resolutions to eat more healthily, it is a happy coincidence that – although now available all year round – vitamin-packed citrus ...
        more...
        Purple Sprouting Broccoli
        Purple Sprouting Broccoli
        Sprouting broccoli is one of my favourite vegetables and it’s a great crop to grow yourself because, strangely, it’s very rarely to be seen in the shops in Ireland. A brassica (mem ...
        more...
        Mushrooms
        Cultured Mushrooms
        As the winter vegetables near the end of their season and the new season outdoor crops are far from maturity, food grown under protection comes into focus. And what more reliable or useful allies ...
        more...
        Sorrel
        Sorrel
        Sorrel is a rich green acidic-tasting salad herb or green vegetable that looks and behaves rather like a cross between a dock and a smallish pointed-leaved type of spinach. It grows abundantly ...
        more...
        Aubergine
        Aubergine
        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 i ...
        more...
        Broad Beans
        Broad Beans
        Harbingers of summer, broad beans are among the earliest crops to be harvested in Britain and Ireland, and all the more welcome for that. Also known by different names in other cultures (notably f ...
        more...
        Manus McGonagle - Quality Sea Veg
        Sea Vegetables
        “Seaweed has always been an important part of life for Ireland’s coastal communities, for use on the land and in the home,” says Sligo GP and Slow Food member Prannie Rhatigan in ...
        more...
        Sweetcorn
        Sweetcorn
        Sweetcorn (Zea mays convar. saccharata var. rugosa; also known as Indian corn, sugar corn, and pole corn) is a variety of maize with a high sugar content and antioxidant health benefits. Picked wh ...
        more...
        Black Face Sheep
        Hill Lamb
        Coming from areas such as Connemara, Kerry and West Waterford, where a rugged terrain with heathers, wild herbs and grasses produces a distinctive texture and herbal flavour, Irish hill lamb is sm ...
        more...
        Red Cabbage
        Red Cabbage
        Red cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. rubra) is by far the most the most useful leaf vegetable you could have in the house over Christmas: when stored in a cool place it will hold almost ...
        more...
        Lemon
        Lemons
        The lemon (Citrus × limon) is a small evergreen tree native to Asia - although now widely grown in other areas including Europe and America - and its cheery yellow fruit is one of the m ...
        more...
        Wok Fried Clams
        Clams
        With pretty coloured shells, Palourde clams, tapes semidecussatus, are also known as ‘carpetshell’ or ‘Manila’ clams, and were introduced to Ireland in the early 1980s. Sin ...
        more...
        Rhubarb
        Rhubarb
        What is it? Although usually used in sweet dishes, rhubarb is not a fruit but classed as a vegetable. It grows easily in Ireland and is still a familiar feature in gardens all over the country. ...
        more...
        Primrose
        Wild Primrose & Wild Sweet Violet
        Wild herbs and edible flowers are a great addition to any kitchen and Biddy White Lennon and Evan Doyle devote a chapter of ‘Wild Food’ to these charmingly pretty and colourful foods. ...
        more...
        David Wallace
        Eggs
        Eggs are synonymous with spring and they’re Nature’s convenience food - perfectly packaged and always accessible. They’re also highly nutritious (a concentrated source of protein ...
        more...
        Plum Almond Tart
        In Season - Plums
        What Are They? Prunus domestica is a group of hardy trees and shrubs which bear edible fruits containing stones; the type generally grown in Britain and Ireland is a cross between a sloe and a plu ...
        more...
        Wild Mushrooms
        In Season - Wild Mushrooms
        Weather conditions in the late summer and early autumn this year have been ideal for fungi, which are prolific everywhere in our hedgerows, fields and woodlands, often well ahead of their normal s ...
        more...
        Parsnips
        In Season - Parsnips
        Closely related to the carrot, this creamy coloured root (Pastinaca sativa) has been used as a vegetable since antiquity and was cultivated by the Romans. Like carrots, parsnips are valued for the ...
        more...
        Cranberries
        In Season - Cranberries
        As much a part of our Christmas as the turkey or the plum pudding, cranberries are borne on evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines (subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium). A major commercia ...
        more...
        Turnips
        In Season - Root Vegetables
        Under rated for decades, root vegetables - broadly categorised as plants with edible underground parts, but most often referring to those with tap roots and tuberous roots such as carrots, parsnip ...
        more...
        Oranges
        In Season - Citrus Fruits
        Cultivated since ancient times, the best-known citrus fruits are the oranges, lemons, grapefruit, limes and tangerines. Citrus plants hybridise easily and kumquats are among the many related fruit ...
        more...
        Seed Potatoes
        In Season - Seed Potatoes
        No, we’re not suggesting that you should be eating seed potatoes, but it’s the ideal time to plant them (see Michael Kelly’s GIY column) and it’s worth thinking carefully a ...
        more...
        Wild Garlic
        In Season - Wild Garlic
        Popular in many Irish kitchens and also known colloquially as ‘ramsons’, this attractive bulbous perennial (Allium ursmum) is a member of the onion/garlic family that grows prolificall ...
        more...
        Spring Cabbage
        In Season - Spring Cabbage
        One of the new the season’s first crops, spring cabbage was a favourite vegetable before the days of all-year everything as it was such a welcome change after the heavy winter vegetables. It ...
        more...
        Radishes
        In Season - Radishes
        Although there are other edible members of the ancient radish family, Raphanus sativus - which includes white radish (daikon or mooli, used widely in Japan) and black radish - it is the jaunty lit ...
        more...
        Richmount Elderflower Cordial
        In Season - Elderflower Cordial
        Georgina Campbell For years I’ve been banging on about the shortage of good Irish-made non-alcoholic drinks - and, specifically, a quality commercially produced elderflower cordial that wou ...
        more...
        Globe Artichokes
        In Season - Globe Artichokes
        Georgina Campbell On our travels this summer I’ve been surprised to see that wintry favourite, Jerusalem artichoke, on a number of menus where seasonality is usually observed. Perhaps chef ...
        more...
        Wild Strawberries
        Wild Strawberries - In Season
        Georgina Campbell Wild strawberries, Fragaria Vssca, the woodland strawberry or fraises des boi,s grow abundantly all over the northern hemisphere and their small, but sweet and intensely aromati ...
        more...
        Wild Plums
        Plums & Damsons - In Season
        Everywhere we’ve travelled in recent weeks the cooks of Ireland have been hard at working preserving this year’s heavy crops of fruit and, especially, plums and damsons, or prunus dome ...
        more...
        Hells Kettle Hazelnuts
        Irish Nuts - In Season
        Although collecting wild hazelnuts from hedgerows was a common activity in Ireland until recently (and has perhaps seen a resurgence due to the current popularity of all kinds of foraging), commer ...
        more...
        .
        Venison - In Season
        Wild venison is a treat that game lovers look forward to enjoying in restaurants in winter and, as it becomes more accessible, it is also being cooked more at home, both as a special occasion dish ...
        more...
        Cauliflower
        Cauliflower - In Season
        A member of the brassica (cabbage) family dating back to the 16th century or earlier, cauliflower is one of our healthiest and most versatile vegetables. With its white curdy head surrounded by a ...
        more...
        .
        Blood Oranges - In Season
        Georgina Campbell Blood oranges are a variation of the familiar orange (Citrus x sinensis) with slightly reddish tones showing in the skin and deep, in some cases almost blood-red, flesh. They a ...
        more...
        Sheep
        Hogget - In Season
        Georgina Campbell Although Easter is just around the corner (and early this year) March is only the beginning of spring and it can be a very chilly month, when comfort food that makes the most of ...
        more...
        Nettle
        Nettles - In Season
        The common Stinging Nettle, Urtica dioica, was for many generations an important traditional food in Ireland, providing a free and tasty ingredient for soups, purées and sauces in the sprin ...
        more...
        Baked Trout with Herbs
        Trout - In Season
        Georgina Campbell With the mayfly hatching this month, it’s peak season for trout. Closely related to salmon and Arctic char, the name trout actually covers a number of fish including the p ...
        more...
        Yellow Man
        Yellow Man - In Season
        Not exactly ‘in season’ of course, but the crunchy sweet, Yellow Man, is unique to Northern Ireland and - although it is also found on stalls at other country fairs and, nowadays, in t ...
        more...
        Marrow
        Marrows - In Season
        A gorgeous display of marrows in the window of the Ward family’s superb shop and café, Country Choice, in Nenagh, Co Tipperary has reminded me that we hear plenty about other, more ex ...
        more...
        Pumpkins
        Pumpkins & Squash - In Season
        Pumpkins are not just for Halloween, as - like other so-called winter squashes - they store well after ripening and can be kept throughout the winter, making a versatile addition to the usual rang ...
        more...
        .
        Sweet Chestnut - In Season
        So much a part of our traditional Christmas, the edible chestnut, Castanea sativa, known as the Spanish or Sweet Chestnut, is a major food crop in some areas of Western Asia, North Africa and Sout ...
        more...
        Lentil Bacon Toast
        Lentils - In Season
        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 j ...
        more...
        Leek
        Leeks - In Season
        Georgina Campbell Although available all year round, leeks are at their best in winter and early spring and this versatile member of the allium (onion) family is a very useful garden crop as they ...
        more...
        Wilkies Chocolate
        Wilkies Chocolate - In Season
        Mention Easter and the first food association likely to come to mind is chocolate. It’s an all year favourite, of course, but it has seasonal peaks at Christmas, Valentines and, especially, ...
        more...
        Ralph Haslam - Mossfield Organic Milk
        Milk - In Season
        Georgina Campbell To many it’s just a commodity, a bland white liquid with no character and no season, to be used without thought all year with breakfast cereals and tea - and the growing ...
        more...
        Comber Earlies
        Comber Earlies - In Season
        There’s nothing quite like the first early potatoes to remind us that summer is just around the corner. Everybody loves them and in Ireland we’re especially fortunate to have a uniqu ...
        more...
        Drummod House Garlic Scapes
        Garlic Scapes - In Season
        Georgina Campbell It’s fair to say that garlic scapes are a pretty new concept to most Irish cooks, but they came to everyone’s attention in a big way when they famously featured on ...
        more...
        Second Early Potatoes - Queens
        Second Early Potatoes - In Season
        The first new potatoes are always a joy but, long after the first earlies have had their moment, other varieties are coming on stream. Since potatoes are available all year, it’s easy to f ...
        more...
        Irish Onions
        Irish Onions - In Season
        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. Iris ...
        more...
        Wine Making Equipment
        Country Wine Making - In Season
        by Hans Wieland I still remember that Easter Day 1985 when we looked at that cottage in the wilds of Leitrim, near Manorhamilton, climbed through the window and stood in a damp, deserted living ...
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        Brett Stephenson & Pamela Walsh - Wicklow Fine Wines
        Wicklow Fine Wines - In Season
        Aoife Carrigy meets two pioneers who are producing fine Irish fruit wine. Their new elderberry and blackberry flavour, launched in October, is based on wild elderberries foraged in the Wicklow M ...
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        Quince
        Quince - In Season
        The new books highlighted by Darina Allen in her column this month include Gather, by Gill Meller (Quadrille, £25) and, from it, she selected the lovely recipe for pheasant and quince, giv ...
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        Pancakes with Lemon
        Pancakes with Lemon - In Season
        Shrove Tuesday (28th February this year) is one of the best loved culinary landmarks of the year for many families, because the traditional image it conjures up is very hard to beat: simple and ...
        more...
        Lemon Cake
        Baking - In Season
        Georgina Campbell For some reason I always feel that - apart from the big baking build up to a traditional Christmas - March is the month when the gentle rituals of baking really come into thei ...
        more...
        Kevin Dundon cooking asparagus
        Asparagus - In Season
        Georgina Campbell Asparagus is all too familiar as an all-year flown-in product, but locally grown asparagus is a different thing altogether. It was once widely grown in walled gardens and flou ...
        more...
        Kimchi
        Fermenting - In Season
        Georgina Campbell In August, Irish Food Writers’ Guild members visited The Organic Centre in Rossinver, Co Leitrim, where Hans and Gaby Wieland showed us around the wonderful (and highly ...
        more...
        Seville Oranges
        In Season - Seville Oranges
        It's a happy coincidence that – although now available all year round – vitamin-packed citrus fruits are in their peak season in January and February, bringing the scents and flavours ...
        more...
        Hawthorn berries
        In Season - Autumn Fruits & Foraging
        One of the regular highlights in our Inbox here at ireland-guide.com is the monthly newsletter from Neantóg, Gaby and Hans Wieland’s organic Garden, Kitchen & School at ...
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        • Book Reviews
          ‘The Wine and Food of Ely Through the Seasons’
          Pesto Lasagne from 'The Wine and Food of Ely Through the Seasons'
          Homemade pasta is easier to make than you might think, as shown by this appealing vegetarian main course from Erik and Michelle Robson’s impressive and practical recently published cookbook ...
          more...
          The Galway Ingredient
          The Galway Ingredient
          Over in the west of Ireland, a small group of Euro-Toques chefs (members of the non-elitist international chefs’ organisation dedicated to safeguarding culinary heritage) got together to cel ...
          more...
          What to Eat Now - More Please! by Valentine Warner
          Book Reviews
          Two very appealing new cookbooks have hit my desk recently, and both will merit a re-visit later in the year, as there are some delicious recipes well worth sampling.   What To Eat Now &nd ...
          more...
          The Mushroom Feast by Jane Grigson
          Book Reviews
          The seasonal rush of books for the Christmas market is only around the corner (one I just can’t wait to see is Carmel Somers’ Eat Good Things Every Day, due to hit the bookshops in Oct ...
          more...
          Cliff House Hotel The Cookbook
          Cliff House Hotel, The Cookbook
          STOP PRESS! (Or at least it would be stop press in a non-digital world), a lovely big hunk of a book has just landed on my desk and – although it’s something to come back to in more de ...
          more...
          Home Chef by Neven Maguire
          Book Reviews
          It’s an exceptionally good year for cookery books so, for a lot of  gift lists, that could be Christmas pretty much sorted. The only question is, which ones suit your nearest and deares ...
          more...
          Zest
          Book Reviews - Seasonal Sanity Savers
          Tradition usually rules at Christmas if you’re cooking for a large number (see our main cookery feature for the traditional Christmas feast ) – and, if you’re lucky, there will b ...
          more...
          Anjum’s New Indian (Quadrille paperback, €19.50),
          Book Reviews - A Taste of Spice
          We all look for change in January and that includes food – the weather may drive us to comfort food but we also crave lighter dishes and a change of tone that spicy foods from world cuisines ...
          more...
          Prannie Rhatigan’s Irish Seaweed Kitchen
          Book Reviews - Prannie Rhatigan's Irish Seaweed Kitchen
          A remarkable book by any standards, it comes as no surprise find that Prannie Rhatigan’s Irish Seaweed Kitchen (Booklink; full colour hardback 288pp, €35) was many years in the making & ...
          more...
          The Yellow Door, Our Story, Our Recipes by Simon Dougan - Blackstaff Press
          Book Reviews - The Yellow Door, Our Story, Our Recipes by Simon Dougan
          The Yellow Door, Our Story, Our Recipes, by Simon Dougan Blackstaff Press £20 Simon Dougan is one of the luminaries of Irish food, and undoubtedly one of the great influences for good i ...
          more...
          The Country Cooking of Ireland by Colman Andrews
          Book Reviews - The Country Cooking of Ireland by Colman Andrews
          The Country Cooking of Ireland by Colman Andrews, with photographs by Christopher Hirscheimer, Foreword by Darina Allen (Chronicle Books, hardback 384pp, US$50, €40). An impressive book by ...
          more...
          Jamie Does... (Penguin hardback, 360pp, £26)
          Book Reviews
          Something different by way of book reviews this month, as an unusual and interesting collection of books has come our way. Firstly, there is Jamie Does... (Penguin hardback, 360pp, £26) ...
          more...
          The Eye of the Ventriloquist by Paul Chatenoud.
          Book Reviews
          The Eye of the Ventriloquist by Paul Chatenoud. (Published by Les Cygnes, Paris, price €20; translated from French by Allaye O'Connor). Memoirs by people who've spent a lifetime working in ...
          more...
          Verdura, Vegetables Italian Style by Viana La Place
          Book Reviews
          Spices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen, by Elizabeth David (Grubb Street; hardback, 280pp; stg £12.99). It is always a pleasure to see classic cookbooks coming out again in s ...
          more...
          The Accidental Chef - Nick Price
          Book Reviews - The Accidental Chef
          The Accidental Chef - The Nick's Warehouse Cookbook, by Nick Price (Booklink, hardback, 144pp, colour photography throughout; £20) Brave (not the word he would use), talented and inspirat ...
          more...
          Catherine's Italian Kitchen by Catherine Fulvio (Gill & Macmillan paperback 254pp, €19.19)
          Book Reviews - Catherine's Italian Kitchen
          Catherine's Italian Kitchen by Catherine Fulvio  (Gill & Macmillan paperback 254pp, €19.19) Having full time experience running her lovely Co Wicklow farm B&B, Ballyknocken Ho ...
          more...
          Ireland for Food Lovers by Georgina Campbell
          Book Reviews - Ireland for Food Lovers
          "What a lovely, lovely book! There should be a copy on show in every Irish embassy in the world...so comprehensive & so beautifully produced" Myrtle Allen Not so much a book rev ...
          more...
          The Secret of the Mince Pies
          Book Reviews
          A round-up of interesting foodie titles to consider for the Christmas bookshelf... There are always plenty of Irish interest food books to choose from coming up to Christmas, and this year is n ...
          more...
          The Butcher Shop by Pat Whelan
          Book Review - An Irish Butcher Shop by Pat Whelan
          Who could fail to be charmed by a book that arrives carefully wrapped in stout brown paper, tied up with white string, labelled with a manilla tag label (like the ones my father used, when sending ...
          more...
          MasterChef AT HOME - DK hardback 366pp, £20 / €25
          Book Review - MasterChef AT HOME
          MasterChef AT HOME  (DK hardback 366pp, £20 / €25) BBC’s MasterChef is a phenomenally popular show, with over 7.8 million viewers and now in its seventh series - so the ch ...
          more...
          The Dubliner Diaries by Trevor White
          Book Review - The Dubliner Diaries by Trevor White
          The Dubliner Diaries by Trevor White (The Lilliput Press, www.lilliputpress.ie; €9.99) As memories of the Celtic Tiger fade into the clouds of dirt it kicked up as it disappeared over the ...
          more...
          Guide to Irish Farmhouse Cheeses - Bord Bia
          Book Review - Guide to Irish Farmhouse Cheeses
          Bord Bia’s new 'Guide to Irish Farmhouse Cheeses' is mainly trade orientated – it is designed to promote and encourage the use of Farmhouse Cheese in restaurants, catering and food ser ...
          more...
          Edward Hayden - Food to Love
          Book Review - Food to Love by Edward Hayden
          Young Kilkenny chef Edward Hayden is a busy man: not only does he have a regular cookery slot on TV3’s popular Ireland AM programme and a column in the Sunday World, but the day job finds hi ...
          more...
          The Free Range Cook by Annabel Langbein
          Book Review The Free Range Cook by Annabel Langbein
          Annabel Langbein is one of New Zealand’s most popular food writers and it’s easy to see why. Her message is bang on trend – she’s ‘on a mission to get people into the ...
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          Cooking Gluten, Wheat and Dairy Free, by Michelle Berriedale-Johnson
          Book Review - Cooking Gluten Wheat and Dairy Free by Michelle Berriedale-Johnson
          Cooking Gluten, Wheat and Dairy Free, by Michelle Berriedale-Johnson 200 recipes for coeliacs, wheat, dairy and lactose intolerants ISBN 978-1-906502-92-8 paperback, stg£14.99 For a ...
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          I Love Good Food
          Book Reviews
          I Love Good Food, Irish Heart Foundation (Poolbeg Press €19.99; paperback, 230pp full colour; available from bookshops & online from www.irishheart.ie at €16.99 + p&p) The Iri ...
          more...
          Cheeses of Ireland
          Book Reviews
          Print publishing may be in an uncertain place right now, and book shops feeling the force of the move towards e-publishing but, judging by the bumper crop of books that have come in for review thi ...
          more...
          Dunne & Crescenzi - The Menu
          Book Reviews
          There’s nothing to beat seeing a handsomely produced book on the shelf and books still make the greatest Christmas presents. This - the second month of our Christmas books selection - includ ...
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          Our Daily Bread
          Book Reviews
          Books are not just for Christmas and these are a few more of the good ones to enjoy this year. Books weren’t really on the agenda at the Good Food Ireland conference in November, but the ...
          more...
          BOUGHT, BORROWED & STOLEN, Recipes & Knives from a Travelling Chef (Octopus, hardback £25)
          Book Review - BOUGHT, BORROWED & STOLEN, Recipes & Knives from a Travelling Chef
          Not a lot of people could claim an MBE for services to the hospitality industry on their CVs, but Allegra McEvedy is one who can – and the best-selling food writer, chef, broadcaster and cul ...
          more...
          Fish Cookbook (Dorling Kindersley £20/€25)
          Book Review - FISH COOKBOOK
          Dorling Kindersley are famous for the quality of their reference books and one of their latest kitchen bibles is focused on the sea: the DK FISH COOKBOOK, How to buy, prepare and cook the best sus ...
          more...
          Sheila Kieley’s Gimme the Recipe (Mercier Press, paperback €19.99)
          Book Review - GIMME THE RECIPE
          Anyone who has six children and runs a business with her husband must have a pretty down to earth take on feeding family and friends, and countless mums all over Ireland will relate to the daily & ...
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          Saved by Cake - Over 80 Ways To Bake Yourself Happy by Marian Keyes (Penguin, hardback; 230pp €15.99)
          Book Review - Saved by Cake - Over 80 Ways To Bake Yourself Happy
          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 th ...
          more...
          Easy Food Home-Cook Hero, 100+ recipes and other favourites (paperback, 146pp; Zahra Publishing, €4.95)
          Book Review - Easy Food Home-Cook Hero
          Not so much a book review this month, more a call to cook: Easy Food Home-Cook Hero, 100+ recipes and other favourites (paperback, 146pp; Zahra Publishing, €4.95) is an action-packed little p ...
          more...
          The Chef & I, a nourishing narrative (WiseWords Ltd, hardback, 178pp, full colour, €25; eBook €4.99)
          Book Review - The Chef & I, a nourishing narrative
          The Chef & I, a nourishing narrative (WiseWords Ltd, hardback, 178pp, full colour, €25; eBook €4.99) The world of publishing is all topsy-turvy these days and, while book sales ar ...
          more...
          Ard Bia Cookbook (Atrium, hardback 328pp, €39/£35).
          Book Review - Ard Bia Cookbook
          Ard Bia Cook Book (Atrium, hardback 328pp, €39/£35). In his foreword to the Ard Bia Cookbook, travel writer Manchán Magan ponders, “If Druid is the mind of Galway, Salth ...
          more...
          Martin&Pauls SurfnTurf
          Cook Book Reviews
          The Christmas crop of food books is exceptionally heavy this season - I was tempted to test this, literally, on the bathroom scales as there’s been a move towards posh hardbacks since the re ...
          more...
          Let's Go Disco
          Cook Book Reviews
          Is it art, craft or theatre? All three perhaps, with food as the medium and the emphasis on art? That’s the kind of thing that diners tend to ponder on at The Cliff House Hotel in Ardmore, C ...
          more...
          Recipes From The English Market (Atrium Press, hardback €25)
          Book Reviews
          This month’s books have both been written in celebration of great Irish institutions. Firstly, Michelle Horgan’s Recipes From The English Market (Atrium Press, hardback €25) is ...
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          At Home in Ireland by Mary Leland (Atrium, hardback, 290pp; colour photographs throughout; €30)
          Book Reviews - At Home in Ireland by Mary Leland
          At Home in Ireland by Mary Leland (Atrium, hardback, 290pp; colour photographs throughout; €30) For over fifteen years from the mid-1990s, the Cork-born author and journalist, Mary Leland, h ...
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          Book Review - Wild Food - Nature's Harvest: How to Gather Cook & Preserve by Biddy White Lennon and Evan Doyle
          Book Review - Wild Food - Nature's Harvest - How to Gather Cook & Preserve by Biddy White Lennon and Evan Doyle
          Georgina Campbell It’s generally a quiet time of year for new books but, in any case, everything else can go on the back burner this month as the big news in the Irish foodie world is the m ...
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          BLAZING SALADS 2 Good Food Every Day, by Lorraine Fitzmaurice (Gil & Macmillan, hardback €19.99).
          Book Review - Blazing Salads 2
          BLAZING SALADS 2 Good Food Every Day, by Lorraine Fitzmaurice (Gill & Macmillan, hardback €19.99). It may seem a long time to some, but to me it seems as if Blazing Salads has always bee ...
          more...
          Food for Friends by Edward Hayden (O’Brien Press, hardback, €22.99/£18.99)
          Book Reviews - Food for Friends by Edward Hayden
          Food for Friends by Edward Hayden (O’Brien Press, hardback, €22.99/£18.99). Popular author and TV chef Edward Hayden is well known from his appearances on TV3's 'Ireland AM' and ...
          more...
          Book Reviews - Apron Strings, Recipes from a Family Kitchen by Nessa Robins
          Book Reviews - Apron Strings, Recipes from a Family Kitchen by Nessa Robins
          Apron Strings, Recipes from a Family Kitchen by Nessa Robins (New Island, hardback, €22.99/£19.99) Blogging has changed the landscape of food writing in an amazingly short time - Westm ...
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          Georgina Campbell's Ireland Guide, The Best of Irish Food & Hospitality
          Book Reviews - Georgina Campbell's Ireland, The Best of Irish Food & Hospitality & Dromoland Castle Cookbook
          Georgina Campbell’s Ireland, The Best of Irish Food & Hospitality GCGuides, 576 pages, paperback with flaps; maps & colour images. ISBN: 978-1-903164-334; available from bookshops ...
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          Chapter One, An Irish Food Story by Ross Lewis
          Book Review - Chapter One, An Irish Food Story by Ross Lewis
          Gill & Macmillan, hardback 315 X 285, 302pp, ISBN 9780717157877; photography by Barry McCall; €39.99. From bookshops, the restaurant, and online Stunning is a word that’s overused ...
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          Celebrating Irish Salmon by Mairin Ui Chomain
          Book Review - Celebrating Irish Salmon by Mairin Ui Chomain
          Celebrating Irish Salmon (Artisan House Editions, paperback; €20; available from bookshops, featured restaurants and online from www.artisanhouse.ie) They came to the beautiful Lough Inagh ...
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          Oyster Delight by Jonathan Mite
          Book Review - Oyster Delight by Jonathan Mite
          Oyster Delight (White Seahorse Press, paperback 100pp; price approx. €10.22 from Amazon.co.uk, also available online from www.whiteseahorse.com) You’ll have to read About the Author to ...
          more...
          Irish Pantry by Noel McMeel
          Book Review - Irish Pantry by Noel McMeel
          IRISH PANTRY: Traditional Breads, Preserves and Goodies to Feed the Ones You Love By Noel McMeel With Lynn Marie Hulsman; photographs by Steve Legato. Running Press, hardback 320pp. Price €25 ...
          more...
          The Extra Virigin Kitchen by Susan Jane White
          Book Review - The Extra Virigin Kitchen by Susan Jane White
          The Extra Virgin Kitchen, Recipes for Wheat, Sugar and Dairy-Free Eating by Susan Jane White with photographs by Joanne Murphy (Gill & Macmillan, hardback, 262pp; €27.99). “Sinfull ...
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          Proof is in the Pudding
          Book Review - The Proof is in the Pudding - Kelly's Black & White Pudding Recipes
          Available from Kellys Butchers, Newport, Co. Mayo; The Castle Bookshop, Castlebar; and online from mayobooks.ie Price: €15, with proceeds going to Cystic Fibrosis West. There may be nothing ...
          more...
          The Pleasures of the Table, Rediscovering Theodora Fitzgibbon by Donal Skehan
          Book Review - The Pleasures of the Table, Rediscovering Theodora FitzGibbon by Donal Skehan
          Georgina Campbell The Pleasures of the Table, Rediscovering Theodora FitzGibbon. Over 150 classic dishes from Ireland’s much-loved food writer selected and photographed by Donal Skehan (G ...
          more...
          Bread on the Table by Valerie O'Connor
          Book Reviews - Bread on the Table & Wholesome
          Two more cookery books from well known Irish food bloggers this month - anyone who thinks print is dead should take a look at the avalanche of food bloggers’ books that have appeared since D ...
          more...
          NO-BAKE BAKING Easy Oven-free Cakes & Treats by Sharon Hearne-Smith with Photography by Donal Skehan (Quercus, £16.99 Hardback).
          Book Reviews - No-Bake Baking
          NO-BAKE BAKING Easy Oven-free Cakes & Treats by Sharon Hearne-Smith with Photography by Donal Skehan (Quercus, £16.99 Hardback). Although this is her own first book, food stylist Sharon ...
          more...
          Burren Wild Baker, Recipes from Ireland’s Most Charming Farmhouse, by Kasha Connolly (Hazel Mountain Publications 2014, hardback 78pp €20).
          Book Reviews
          A touch of summer magic comes into play this month, as we look at a couple of quirky cookbooks from original cooks in Clare and Kerry - and also an unusual supermarket magazine, Fresh, which has t ...
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          Sláinte, The Complete Guide to Irish Craft Beer and Cider, by Caroline Hennessy and Kristin Jensen (New Island, hardback 232pp, €19.99)
          Book Reviews
          Georgina Campbell Reviews DINNER The Irish Times Selection, by Domini Kemp (Gill & Macmillan hardback, €22.99) Fans of Domini Kemp’s brilliant weekly column in the Irish Times W ...
          more...
          Michael & Peter Clifford
          Book Reviews
          Clifford & Son, New Irish Cooking From Michael & Peter Clifford, With Joe McNamee. (Liberties Press, paperback €29.99 / £24.99) A warm tribute to a great chef, this is not just ...
          more...
          Grow Cook Eat by Michael Kelly GIY
          Georgina Campbell's Book Reviews
          Grow Cook Eat by Michael Kelly (GIY Ireland Ltd, hardback 294pp, full colour; €25 online from GIY: http://is.gd/lWiPqL ) All proceeds to GIY, a registered charity in Ireland. I had intended ...
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          Cava Bodega Cookbook, TAPAS: A TASTE OF SPAIN IN IRELAND, by Jp McMahon, with photography by Julia Dunin, paperback, 280pp, €25
          Georgina Campbell's Book Review - Cava Bodega Cookbook, TAPAS A TASTE OF SPAIN IN IRELAND, by Jp McMahon
          Cava Bodega Cookbook, TAPAS: A TASTE OF SPAIN IN IRELAND, by Jp McMahon, with photography by Julia Dunin, paperback, 280pp, €25 (available from the three EatGalway restaurants - Cava Bodega ...
          more...
          Clodagh's Irish Kitchen
          Georgina Campbell's Book Review - Clodagh's Irish Kitchen
          Clodagh’s Irish Kitchen by Clodagh McKenna, with photography by Tara Fisher. Kyle Books, hardback, 256pp. RRP €25 Well timed to hit the book shops just before St Patrick’s Day, C ...
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          Lucy Madden's The Potato Year, 300 Classic Recipes (Mercier Press, hardback; 350pp; €14.99)
          Georgina Campbell's Book Reviews
          A brace of books this month, all about the humble tuber that has become our national vegetable: the potato. Lucy Madden's The Potato Year, 300 Classic Recipes (Mercier Press, hardback; 350pp; &eur ...
          more...
          RAW Recipes for Radiant Living by Bernadette Bohan (Gill & Macmillan hardback 204pp photography by Neil Hurley.
          Georgina Campbell's Book Reviews
          RAW Recipes for Radiant Living by Bernadette Bohan (Gill & Macmillan hardback 204pp photography by Neil Hurley. Judging by images on the cover and throughout this handsomely presented book, B ...
          more...
          Kevin Dundon's Back to Basics
          Georgina Campbell's Book Reviews
          Feast or Famine: a Cultural Food Journey of the North West of Ireland by Emmett McCourt. Guildhall Press, hardback, 272 pp, fully illustrated. £19.95. Passion is an overused word these days ...
          more...
          Neven Maguire's Complete Baby & Toddler Cookbook
          Georgina Campbell's Book Reviews
          Neven Maguire’s Complete Baby & Toddler Cookbook (Gill & Macmillan hardback 276pp, €18.99; photography by Joanne Murphy). Every parent wants to give their child the best possib ...
          more...
          It’s The Little Things - Francis Brennan’s Guide to Life (Gill & Macmillan hardback (Gill & Macmillan hardback 231pp, €14.99).
          Georgina Campbell's Book Reviews
          It’s The Little Things - Francis Brennan’s Guide to Life (Gill & Macmillan hardback (Gill & Macmillan hardback 231pp, €14.99). Francis Brennan has become something of a n ...
          more...
          All in the Cooking
          Georgina Campbell's Book Review
          All in the Cooking by (O’Brien Press, €16.99 hardback 256pp; some diagrams, no photographs.) Back, as the publishers say, by very popular demand, this is the official textbook of Dubl ...
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          HOME: Recipes from Ireland by Trish Deseine (Hachette Cuisine; hardback, 356pp; photography by Deirdre Rooney; €29)
          Georgina Campbell's Book Reviews
          From the terrific autumn crop of food books that’s piling up on my desk, I’ve selected two especially gift worthy volumes for this month’s reviews. Trish Deseine’s new ...
          more...
          Counter Culture - The Sheridans Guide to Cheese, by Kevin and Seamus Sheridan, with Catherine Cleary (Transworld; hardback, £16.99)
          Georgina Campbell's Book Reviews
          Counter Culture - The Sheridans Guide to Cheese, by Kevin and Seamus Sheridan, with Catherine Cleary (Transworld; hardback, £16.99) How to buy, store, age, taste and appreciate the great ch ...
          more...
          The ICA Book of Christmas
          The ICA Book of Christmas
          Aoife Carrigy introduces The ICA Book of Christmas - an evocative book that should be somewhere on every family’s gift list! It was such a pleasure to edit The ICA Book of Christmas, the ...
          more...
          Lyons Cafe 2 by Gary Stafford
          Georgina Campbell's Book Reviews
          It seems only the other day that Gary Stafford published his super book of recipes from the lovely Lyons Café in Sligo Town yet, not only has it already been reprinted, but Gary and the tea ...
          more...
          Where to Eat Pizza, by Daniel Young (Phaidon, hardback; 14 b/w illustrations; 576pp; £16.95/€24.95)
          Georgina Campbell's Book Review
          Where to Eat Pizza, by Daniel Young (Phaidon, hardback; 14 b/w illustrations; 576pp; £16.95/€24.95) Subtitled variously ‘The Last Word on The Slice’ and ‘The Experts& ...
          more...
          Val's Kitchen Real Food, Real Easy by Valerie O'Connor (Brien Press; hardback, 246x189mm, 160pp; photography by the author; €19.99/£14.99)
          Georgina Campbell's Book Review
          Val's Kitchen Real Food, Real Easy by Valerie O'Connor (Brien Press; hardback, 246x189mm, 160pp; photography by the author; €19.99/£14.99) Already well known to followers of the popula ...
          more...
          Raw: Recipes For a Modern Vegetarian Lifestyle by Solla Eiríksdóttir Published by Phaidon; hardback, 240 pp, 100 specially commissioned photographs; £24.95/€34.95.
          Georgina Campbell's Book Review
          Raw: Recipes For a Modern Vegetarian Lifestyle by Solla Eiríksdóttir Published by Phaidon; hardback, 240 pp, 100 specially commissioned photographs; £24.95/€34.95. ...
          more...
          Ballymaloe - A Day in the Life, 24th June 2015, by Daphne Spillane; photography by Joleen Cronin and Leila Aldous (Trijar Publishing, hardback, 96pp; €25)
          Georgina Campbell's Book Review
          Ballymaloe - A Day in the Life, 24th June 2015, by Daphne Spillane; photography by Joleen Cronin and Leila Aldous (Trijar Publishing, hardback, 96pp; €25) The idea of making a photographic r ...
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          Food & Drink in Ireland
          Georgina Campbell's Book Reviews
          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 t ...
          more...
          Vermicelli With Roast Duck In Soup
          Georgina Campbell's Book Reviews
          China, The Cookbook by Kei Lum and Diora Fong-Chan (Phaidon; hardback 720pp, colour photographs throughout; €39.95, stg£29.99) The traditional holiday period associated with the Chin ...
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          Chef Interrupted by Trevis Gleason
          Book Review by Barbara Collins
          Chef Interrupted, by Trevis Gleason; Collins Press Paperback, €12.99. Reviewed by Barbara Collins Not many people who have been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis would be able to start a ...
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          The Goat’s Cheese, A cookery book inspired by the good people and great food of Skerries by Fergus Gannon, Danny ward and Pete Radzwion (The Goat’s Cheese, paperback, 122pp, €25)
          Book Review
          JEANNE QUIGLEY reviews The Goat’s Cheese, A cookery book inspired by the good people and great food of Skerries by Fergus Gannon, Danny Ward and Pete Radzwion (The Goat’s Cheese, pap ...
          more...
          Pesto Blend
          Book Reviews
          If size counts - and it certainly does where kids are concerned - GIY’s Know-it-Allmanac is a winner. Checking in at 39cm x 28cm it’s at least twice as big as most books, which is just ...
          more...
          Cornucopia
          Book Review- Cornucopia- The Green Cookbook
          Modestly described on publication as “A timely cookbook from Ireland’s plant-based pioneers”, Cornucopia: The Green Cookbook went on to win the Avoca Cookbook of the Year 2019 ti ...
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          Tom & Maura
          Cookery Feature - Maura O’Connell Foley’s Recipes & Recollections
          Hardly into Q2 of this extraordinary year, we have another book by an exceptional figure in Irish food. In February, Jp McMahon’s The Irish Cookbook hit the culinary headlines with it ...
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          The Joy of Food
          Cookery Feature - The Joy of Food
          A simple statement on the back cover of The Joy of Food says, ‘This is the book that Rory O’Connell was born to write.’ And it is no overstatement. If ever there was a cookbook t ...
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          Bake: Traditional Irish Baking with Modern Twists
          Cookery Feature - Bake
          Although we have many traditional bakes in Ireland for calendar festivals and other special occasions, there’s never any need for an excuse to do a bit of baking and it’s one of the th ...
          more...
          The Gathered Table
          Cookery Feature - The Gathered Table - A Taste of Home
          A timely publication if ever there was one – and very appropriately launched recently at a lovely homely event in Eoin McCluskey’s Bread 41 Dublin bakery and café - this unusual ...
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          Steamed Mussels Paul Flynn Butter Boy
          Cookery Feature - Butter Boy
          Butter Boy is not Paul Flynn’s first cookbook – in fact it is his fifth – but when this lovely big yellow door stopper of a book landed on my desk it took me straight back to 199 ...
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          Ballymaloe Bread Book
          Cookery Feature - The New Ballymaloe Bread Book
          Destined to become the go-to bread-making reference for a new generation of cooks and bakers in Ireland and beyond, Darina Allen’s new book is just what’s needed post-pandemic, and wil ...
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          Christmas Books
          IRISH BOOKS FOR COOKS
          At the busiest, buzziest time of year for bookshops, here’s a round up of some of our favourite recent books for cooks and food lovers, to buy for yourself or others – could be just th ...
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          A Compendium of Irish Pints: The Culture, Customs and Craic
          Book Review - A Compendium of Irish Pints - The Culture, Customs and Craic
          Ali Dunworth is well known as a writer, journalist, consultant and events curator ‘who loves writing and talking about food and drink so much that she’s made a career out of it’. ...
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          Agak-Agak
          Cookery Feature - A Taste of Malaysia
          Well known for his regular appearances on Virgin Media One’s Six O’Clock Show, where he demonstrates easy Asian-style dishes, the engaging Malaysian-born Euro-Toques restaurateur, ...
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          Tango
          Cookery Feature - TANGO
            Nothing brings people together like food and nowhere do we see this demonstrated better in Ireland than in the Blasta Books cookery series, which tells the stories of an extraordinar ...
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          • Survival Solutions
            Bramleys - Abbeyleix
            Survival Solutions
            All over Ireland, hotels have been taking an especially hard hit during the current economic crisis. Many have reduced their prices drastically and, while this may initially sound like great news ...
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            Connemara Abalone
            Survival Solutions - Gastronomic Getaways
            One of an occasional series on diversification and added value in Irish hospitality – finding new ways for hotels and restaurants to thrive also brings good news for customers. All over Irel ...
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            Richys Restaurant - Clonakilty County Cork Ireland
            Survival Solutions
            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, ...
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            Vintage Cocktail Club
            Irish Craft Drinks in Lockdown - and Beyond
            Aoife Carrigy asks how have Irish crafts drinks producers, purveyors and consumers been responding to the lockdown – and finds a buzzing scene of innovation and imagination.  As we ...
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            • News
              Baileys Eurotoques Young Chef of the Year 2009
              Sweet Taste of Success - The Baileys Euro-toques Young Chef of the Year 2009
              23 year old James Devine from Dungannon, Co Tyrone has beaten four other finalists from across Ireland to win the title Baileys® Euro-Toques Young Chef for 2009, plus a cash prize of  &eu ...
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              Scenic Ireland
              What do people enjoy most about visiting Ireland?
              Fáilte Ireland’s recently published Key Overseas Visitor Survey makes interesting reading - 5,700 holidaymakers were asked: why do visitors come to Ireland - and do they enjoy their ...
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              Eat Smart Week - Derry Clarke
              Eat Smart - Eat Healthy
              How healthy is your shopping basket? The recent Slán survey shows that one in four Irish people is now obese – hopefully the recession will make us think more carefully about the food ...
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              http://www.ireland-guide.com/recipes/gigot_lamb_chops_with_paprika.7912.html
              New Season Lamb - A Summer Time Favourite
              Over the June Bank Holiday weekend, Bord Bia launched its new season lamb campaign, promoting great tasting leg of lamb recipes for weekends and special holiday occasions.  Award winning ...
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              BIM Seafood Circle
              Back to our roots - Seafood
              Marilyn Bright chats to BIM Seafood Circle members and discovers their love for the lesser known species of seafood. From Dean Swift’s Malahide herrings “soft as custard” and ...
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              ireland guide iPhone App
              NEW Ireland Guide iPhone App v2.0
              NEW IRELAND GUIDE IPHONE APP V2.0 Ireland's 300,000+ Apple iPhone & iPod Touch owners (& many more from abroad) can quickly and easily find all the very best places to eat, drink &am ...
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              Georgina Campbell Awards 2010
              2010 Georgina Campbell Hospitality Awards
              The cream of the hospitality world gathered at Bord Bia in Dublin on Thursday 15th October, for the announcement of the 2010 Georgina Campbell Awards, associated with the respected Georgina Campbe ...
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              Sugar Cookies from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook
              Christmas Treats & Edible Gifts
              Home made sweets and little treats are always welcome gifts - and perfect for these recessionista times. The following article contains recipes that have been taken from some of the wonderful cook ...
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              Norfolk Black Turkey
              Talking Turkey
              Marion Maxwell has come up with a treasure trove of turkey facts – and an unusual cooking method for the big bird... What is gallopavophagy? Is it true that French peasants liked to eat J ...
              more...
              Seafood Circle Plaque 2010
              Good Food Simply Cooked
              “Good food, simply cooked” is David Fitzgibbon’s guiding principle and it’s one that has stood him in good stead at Aherne's Seafood Restaurant in Youghal. Selected as BIM ...
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              Myrtle Allen & Nicky McLoughlin
              Irish Food Writers Guild Awards 2010
              QUALITY & SUSTAINABILITY THE REAL WINNERS AT FOOD AWARDS Agriculture was the prevailing theme at the Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Awards 2010. From farm to fish, just five indigenous ...
              more...
              IIA Awards
              Georgina Campbell's ireland-guide.com Shortlisted for Two Awards
              Irish Internet Association -  Net Visionary Awards 2010 The shortlist has been announced for the highly respected annual IIA Net Visionary Awards. Georgina Campbell's ireland-guide.com ha ...
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              IIA Awards
              Georgina Campbell's ireland-guide.com is NUMBER 1 - TWO BE SURE!
              NUMBER 1 – TWO BE SURE! Enterprise Ireland & Irish Internet Association – Net Visionary Awards 2010 Georgina Campbell’s ireland-guide.co ...
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              Georgina Campbell's Ireland Awards
              GEORGINA CAMPBELL'S IRELAND HOSPITALITY AWARDS 2011
              Raising a Toast to Those who Survive – and Thrive! At the 2011 Georgina Campbell's Ireland Awards Representatives of the very best of Irish hospitality gathered at Bord Bia in Du ...
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              Thorntons Restaurant Dublin
              Best of the Best in Ireland - Georgina Campbell's Ireland
              List of the Best of the Best places to eat, drink & stay from Georgina Campbell's Ireland including starred restaurants, deluxe hotels and outstanding pubs... KEY Demi-Star – For C ...
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              Ireland for Food Lovers by Georgina Campbell
              OUT NOW - IRELAND FOR FOOD LOVERS
              IRELAND FOR FOOD LOVERS Everything the food lover in Ireland needs to know... by Georgina Campbell AVAILABLE NOW - click here to purchase Food tourism in Ireland enters an exciting new pha ...
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              Benoit Lorge - Chocolatier
              Easter Treats
              Easter wouldn’t be Easter without the many chocolate treats that have become synonymous with it. Chocolate eggs top the list of course, and the many superb Irish artisan chocolatiers off ...
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              Dr Ollie Moore
              Making Ireland's Unique Foods Stand Out in the Marketplace
              The whole of Europe, it seems, is going out of its way to designate its traditional and geographically specific foods as PGI, PDO or TSG. Ireland however, lags chronically behind the rest of the E ...
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              TASTE Council
              'THE FUTURE IS FOOD' - The TASTE Council goes live in County Wicklow
              Handsome is as handsome does, and there is no doubting that the TASTE Council lived up to its name (and then some) at the first National Food Symposium - or Summer School - on ‘the current a ...
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              Westport Festival of Food
              Westport Festival of Food (& FUN!)
              A family invitation to attend the inaugural Westport Food Festival (2-4 September 2011) got us itching to head west, so we bundled our two little boys into the car and hit the road, heading for th ...
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              Euro-Toques Young Chef of the Year Award
              Euro-Toques Young Chef Competition Comes of Age!
              Household names including Darina Allen, Neven Maguire (MacNean House & Restaurant), Ross Lewis (Chapter One), Derry Clarke (l'Ecrivain) and Guillaume LeBrun (Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud) feat ...
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              Georgina Campbell Awards 2012
              GEORGINA CAMPBELL'S IRELAND HOSPITALITY AWARDS 2012
              True Grit - Irish Hospitality Leaders Show The Way Forward At the 2012 Georgina Campbell Awards Representatives of the very best in Irish hospitality gathered at Bord Bia in Dublin today T ...
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              EuroToques Young Chef of the Year 2011
              Euro Toques Young Chef of the Year 2011
              Ireland's Culinary Elite Salute A Rising Star The Euro-Toques Young Chef of the Year competition has been a highlight of Ireland’s pre-Christmas culinary season for 21 years, and attendin ...
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              EuroToques School Food Workshops
              Whats the Truth About Obesity?
              Ruth Hegarty, Secretary-General of Euro-toques Ireland, says it comes down to Children and Food Education While discussing the government’s approach to tackling obesity recently with one ...
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              Westport
              Doing it the Westport Way
              We have long admired Westport and were not a bit surprised when it was recently hailed The Irish Times Best Place To Live In Ireland. Not just a pretty town - although it is certainly that – ...
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              Catherine Dundon & Myrtle Allen
              40 Years of The Blue Book
              In 2014 Ireland’s premier association of country houses, historic hotels and restaurants, The Blue Book, will celebrate 40 years since its foundation. Gillian Nelis talks to founder member M ...
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              Pol O'Conghaile
              The Curious Traveller
              So you think you know Dublin? This month we’re delighted to feature some little known gems hidden away in the capital - and unearthed for the curious visitor by Irish Travel Writer of the Ye ...
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              The Wild Atlnatic Way
              The Curious Traveller - The Wild Atlantic Way
              The world’s longest coastal touring route has just been unveiled – and it’s right on our doorstep. Pól Ó Conghaile maps the Wild Atlantic Way. Thundering s ...
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              Joe McNamee
              Restaurant Trends
              Joe McNamee From food tourism — holidays that are all about the restaurants — to annual pilgrimages to high-end eateries, the way we eat out has been transformed. THERE was a ...
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              Aoife Carrigy
              A Burren Farm Visit
              Aoife Carrigy heads off on a very unusual trip to Co Clare It’s hard to resist an invitation of tea at Father Ted’s house. Especially when it’s to be followed by lunch at the R ...
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              Castlemine Farm Shop, Kinvara Smoked Salmon and The Friendly Farmer
              New Year, Great Start - Artisan Food Producers Growing Together
              Barbara Collins on the groundbreaking collaboration between three complementary artisan food producers in the West of Ireland Three high profile artisan food producers from the West of Ireland ha ...
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              Barbara Collins
              Culinary Fun and Games in Belfast and Galway
              Barbara Collins looks at the way trends are going, as seen in two very different - but equally popular - restaurants… It’s a case of one extreme to the other when it comes to wha ...
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              Aileesh Carew
              2015 Year of Irish Design - Aileesh Carew
              In the first of a new series, Aileesh Carew introduces the Year of Irish Design and its importance for tourism. 2015 has been designated as the year of Irish design. Irish Design 2015 (ID2015) ...
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              Ballymaloe Cookery School
              Use Design in Your Business
                This is the Year of Irish Design and, continuing her fascinating series on the opportunities that good design can bring to Irish food and tourism businesses, AILEESH CAREW focuses on a ver ...
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              West Waterford Food Fest
              What's on in April
               A double bill of festivals in April means you won’t be stuck for things to see and do and taste, writes Dee Laffan. Festival season well and truly ignited this month, with the fourt ...
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              Boundary Brewing IPA
              Belfast Beer Festival
              Barbara Collins Craft breweries are springing up all over the place these days. This Bank Holiday weekend 22-23 May the historic Titanic Drawing Offices will be the venue for a festival to celeb ...
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              Chapter One - Petit Four Plate
              What can Irish Design do for Tourism?
              In the latest of her series on the Year of Irish Design and its importance for tourism, Aileesh Carew explores the developing role of design in food. This month my focus turns to design in food ...
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              Anne Marie Carroll
              Word from the West
              West of Ireland food writer Anne Marie Carroll introduces an unlikely new farm, right in the heart of Galway city A group of snails can be referred to as a rout, escargatoire or a walk of snails ...
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              Taste of Ulster TV
              Taste of Ulster TV
              Barbara Collins, who is Channel Editor of Taste Of Ulster TV, introduces this exciting new resource Jamie Oliver’s done it with Food Tube, now Taste of Ulster/Food NI has launched a brand ...
              more...
              Marie-Thérèse & Ruairi de Blacam in Polytunnel
              What can Irish Design do for Tourism?
              In the latest of her series on the Year of Irish Design and its importance for tourism, Aileesh Carew highlights the award for Design in Tourism at the inaugural Irish Tourism Awards. In April, ...
              more...
              Ronan Byrne, aka, the Friendly Farmer with Bess, the Pyrenean Mountain Dog
              Word from the West
              This month Anne Marie Carroll introduces some very special East Galway dogs - livestock guardian dogs are an ancient solution to a common farming problem. Traditionally in Ireland, the working f ...
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              Ruby Blue Craft Irish Potato Vodka
              Potato Vodka
              Barbara Collins, introduces Ireland’s first potato vodka, recently launched by Hughes Craft Distillery The potato is ubiquitous in Ireland, and of course is the key ingredient in poitin, bu ...
              more...
              Service Design by Engine
              What is Service Design and Why is it Important for Tourism?
              The tourism sector is constantly becoming more and more transparent through social media and review websites. Nowadays, it’s the individual guest’s experience that makes or breaks the ...
              more...
              Northbound Brewery
              Northbound Brewery
              Barbara Collins introduces the new Northbound Brewery in Derry, where the local ingredients used include Irish malt, Derry water and Irish carrageen moss - and it is already being used as an ingre ...
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              The bridge at Cong
              Word from the West
              West of Ireland food writer Anne Marie Carroll revisits the village of Cong, Co Mayo and discovers that it has reinvented itself as Cong Food Village The village of Cong in County Mayo is small a ...
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              Design Island App
              What can Irish Design do for Tourism? The Design Island App
              In the latest of her series on the Year of Irish Design and its importance for tourism, Aileesh Carew introduces your new must-have travelling companion - the Design Island app One of the great ...
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              Great Taste Awards
              Great Taste of the North
              Northern Ireland may not be the biggest geographical area in the annual Great Taste Awards but, says Barbara Collins, that doesn’t stop them winning dozens of gold stars The famed Hannan ...
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              Galway Whiskey
              Word from the West
              West of Ireland food writer Anne Marie Carroll introduces a new Whiskey Trail in Galway and the history that inspired it “Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whiskey is barely ...
              more...
              Hunters Hotel
              What can Irish Design do for Tourism?
              In the latest of her series on the Year of Irish Design and its importance for tourism, Aileesh Carew suggests a touring itinerary that would take in range of the great design experiences that Des ...
              more...
              Caulfield Country Boards Cheeseboard
              What can Irish Design do for Tourism?
              In the latest of her series on the Year of Irish Design Aileesh Carew picks some favourites from the Design & Crafts Council of Ireland’s seasonal campaign, which highlights the choice o ...
              more...
              Mark Moriarty at FOTE (photo: Boyd Challenger)
              Word from the West
              West of Ireland food writer Anne Marie Carroll reports on an extraordinary event that took place in Galway last month - Food on The Edge. Monday and Tuesday have traditionally been the chef&rsq ...
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              Irish Design
              What can Irish Design do for Tourism?
              In the last of her series on the Year of Irish Design and its importance for tourism, Aileesh Carew writes about the initiative’s flagship exhibition Liminal - Irish design at the threshol ...
              more...
              Indie Fude
              Indie Fude
              Barbara Collins introduces a new pop up shop in County Down. “Not what it sounds like” could be a first reaction by the uninitiated - but lovely once you’re in the know! They s ...
              more...
              GMIT Food
              Word from the West
              West of Ireland food writer Anne Marie Carroll enjoys a tour of the hospitality and culinary arts department at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT). Tourism is now Ireland’s most ...
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              Aoife Carrigy
              A Year in Food - What restaurant trends will we see emerging in 2016?
              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 tipster ...
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              David Bodas - Restaurant Gigis
              Word from the West
              West of Ireland food writer Anne Marie Carroll reveals something surprising on the menu at the G Hotel When the debate began early last year on the government’s plans for the introduction o ...
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              Yoshimi Hayakawa - Sushi
              Word from the West
              Anne Marie Carroll finds that East meets West at Wa Café. For the majority of the population of the world, it would be unthinkable to sit down to dinner without a pot of hot rice on the ta ...
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              Templelicious
              Templeicious
              Nessa Robins introduces a terrific cookbook that the students and staff of An Grianán National School in Mount Temple, Co. Westmeath, have produced to help raise funds for the school. Temp ...
              more...
              Ross Golden Bannon
              7 things every foodie should know about the TTIP treaty and the secret seven who got exemptions
              Seanad Candidate Ross Golden-Bannon explores the all-encompassing CETA & TTIP treaties and their many worrying provisions, which bode ill for the Irish food sector. International trade seems ...
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              Ross Golden Bannon
              The Secret Ingredients in Our Food
              On the warpath once again in the fight for better food, Seanad candidate and food writer Ross Golden-Bannon explores the tricks that the processed food sector gets up to, to make additives sound ...
              more...
              Galway Bid Team
              Word from the West
              “European Region of Gastronomy certainly sounds impressive,” says Anne Marie Carroll, following Galway's success in winning the European Region of Gastronomy designation - “but ...
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              Ulster Artisans Airport Shop
              No Ordinary Airport Fare
                Barbara Collins introduces The Taste of Ulster Shop, a great artisan food and drink initiative at Belfast International Airport Most Duty Free shops across the world are fairly generic. ...
              more...
              Anne Marie Carroll
              Word from the West
              West of Ireland food writer Anne Marie Carroll fills us in on the latest good food news from Galway: Food On The Edge Set To Return 'Food On The Edge', held in Galway last October, is set to re ...
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              Erne Water Taxi
              See And Taste Fermanagh By Water Taxi
              In the NI Year of Food & Drink 2016 calendar, May is designated ‘Landscape & Places’ month. What better time for Barbara Collins to introduce a new way to get around the foo ...
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              McCambridge's Strawberries
              Word from the West
              West of Ireland food writer Anne Marie Carroll says that summer starts with strawberries grown by the wonderful McCambridge's of Galway The Irish Summer. You know when it’s coming and ...
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              LitFest Welcome
              A Particpant's View of LitFest
              Irish Food Writers’ Guild Chairperson, Aoife Carrigy gives a participant’s view of LitFest! The sun shone on Shanagarry and we all pretended that life was always like this here in ...
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              Hog Plate
              News from the North
              Barbara Collins introduces the British Street Food Awards, an exciting new competitive event at this year’s Hillsborough International Oyster Festival Food NI is collaborating with both ...
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              Maria Canabal, president of the PARABERE Forum
              Word from the West
              West of Ireland food writer Anne Marie Carroll, reports on the recent Athru 2016 conference in Galway city, which focused on empowerment across the culinary arts Galway’s recent Athru 2016 ...
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              Aqua Restaurant, Howth
              Food Academy Programme
              Aoife Carrigy says there’s Something (Deliciously) Fishy Going On Around Ireland This Summer!   It's great to see innovative food producers being showcased as part of SuperValu's F ...
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              Kevin Thornton - Tribal Cooking
              Food for the Soul
              The Body & Soul Festival 2016 was held recently in the grounds of Ballinlough Castle, Co. Westmeath. Dee Laffan, a passionate campaigner against food waste, found much of interest to report on ...
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              Larder 360
              Word from the West
              West of Ireland food writer Anne Marie Carroll, tells us all about a brilliant Galway food initiative - an online farmers’ market called Larder 360 “Larder 360 makes getting y ...
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              Broughgammon Farm’s goat tacos
              News from the North
              Barbara Collins Ballycastle-based Broughgammon Farm’s goat tacos have won them the Best Snack Food category in the influential British Street Food Awards 2016 in Birmingham. Broughgammon ...
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              Sheena Dignam
              Word from the West
              West of Ireland food writer Anne Marie Carroll introduces Galway Food Tours, Around the Marketplace, a culinary walking tour of Galway - just the thing if you have visitors from out of town She ...
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              Food on the Edge
              Word from the West
              West of Ireland food writer Anne Marie Carroll reports on Galway’s second Food On The Edge international symposium It is said that behind every great man is a great woman - but in the cas ...
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              Karen Nixon - Vintage Tea Tours
              Vintage Tea Tours
              Jeanne Quigley and friends enjoy Dublin’s latest (and most unusual) Afternoon Tea experience - on a vintage tea bus called Pauline Afternoon tea on a bus driving around the Dublin streets ...
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              Galway Christmas Market
              Word from the West
              With Galway’s famous Christmas Market in full swing and casting its magic spell over the city, West of Ireland food writer Anne Marie Carroll celebrates Galway markets old and new In Amer ...
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              Confrerie Barberstown
              The King Sitric & La Confrerie St Etienne d'Alsace - A Celebration of Quality
              Ross Golden Bannon reflects on the significance of a very special event, when the oldest wine guild in France teamed up with the oldest seafood restaurant in Dublin - a unique celebration of qua ...
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              White Gables Valentines Day
              Word from the West
              In a light hearted mood this month, West of Ireland food writer Anne Marie Carroll introduces a unique Galway food tour that celebrates singletons on Valentine’s Day Valentine's Day may b ...
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              Fire place with crane and ash hole
              It all began with the crane
              Food writer Margaret Hickey sees the history of Ireland differently - and it’s all through the prism of food and drink It all began with the crane. In 1999, I resigned from Country Livin ...
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              Galway Food Festival
              Word from the West
              West of Ireland food writer Anne Marie Carroll introduces the 2017 Galway Food Festival, a celebration of ‘Community and Food’ to be held over the Easter Bank Holiday Weekend If yo ...
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              Galway Gin Festival
              Word from the West
              West of Ireland food writer Anne Marie Carroll introduces Galway’s first Gin Festival and related treats. The craft beer revolution is in full swing and has well and truly whet the consum ...
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              Margaret Hickey in Costa Rica
              A Taste of Costa Rica
              Margaret Hickey Having written Ireland's Green Larder, a history of the food and drink of Ireland, concentrating on the food of the rural poor in particular, I was particularly interested in th ...
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              Takashimi Yazaki
              Japanese Food in Ireland
              Dee Laffan speaks to the acclaimed Cork chef Takashi Miyazaki about Ireland’s growing love affair with Japanese food - and the challenges of starting a Japanese restaurant here. There is ...
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              Veronica Steele
              Memories of Veronica Steele
              Moved by Cork’s recent celebration of ‘Milleeens Week’, food writer Margaret Hickey shares her personal memories of the late great cheesemaker, Veronica Steele 31st August 197 ...
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              Market Street
              Word from the West
              West of Ireland food writer Anne Marie Carroll welcomes plans for a new covered market in the European tradition - right in the heart of Galway city Markets are a must-see when going somewhere ...
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              Mungo Murphy Seaweed
              Aoife Carrigy - Wild Atlantic Way Food Tour
              Aoife Carrigy heads west for a day of grazing along the Wild Atlantic Way “Imagine 40 Hookers racing out from that bay.” We’re sitting outside Tigh Chadhain pub on a lesser-tr ...
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              Osterich
              Word from the West
              West of Ireland food writer Anne Marie Carroll has some unusual neighbours among the stone walls and green fields of rural Galway. Whether it’s a few clucking chickens, downy ducks or a g ...
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              LitFest
              Aoife Carrigy - Ballymaloe Litfest
              Aoife Carrigy shares some of the highlights and recurring themes of this year’s Ballymaloe Litfest The third weekend in May has become an unmissable pilgrimage in the Irish food and dr ...
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              Assassination Custard
              Root to Tip Sustainability
              Dee Laffan talks ‘Root to Tip’ sustainability Love them or loathe them we are all influenced by trends, whether it’s fashion or food. They trickle down until they find th ...
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              Barbara Collins
              Economusee
              Barbara Collins introduces Northern Ireland’s newest members of Economusée, an international network of artisans renowned for their excellence. Broughgammon Farm in Ballycastle and ...
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              Georgina Campbell Irish Breakfast Awards 2018 in association with Failte Ireland
              The Georgina Campbell Irish Breakfast Awards 2018 in association with Failte Ireland
              It’s shaping up to be a great year for Irish hospitality and with accommodation bookings well up everywhere and eating out for breakfast and brunch now hugely popular - especially in citie ...
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              Brunch, Rua Co. Mayo
              Brunch: an unhurried meal between meals, an indulgent late breakfast or early lunch, a growing weekend staple and a social occasion to dissect or prolong the night before. However you like your br ...
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              Irish Dairy The Complete Natural Brunch Award at the Georgina Campbell Irish Breakfast Awards, in association with Failte Ireland Terms & Conditions   Nominations are now open for the ...
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              Irish Breakfast Awards 2019
              The Georgina Campbell Irish Breakfast Awards 2019 in association with Failte Ireland
                    From 5* hotels to B&Bs and from cafés to country houses, the winners of the 2019 Georgina Campbell Irish Breakfast Awards in association with Fáilte I ...
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              Eggs for Anytime
              Calling all Chefs - Your Egg Recipe Could be a Winner! Bord Bia and the Irish Egg Association are on the hunt for Ireland’s most Eggsciting recipes from Chefs all over the country, and we ...
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              Ireland's longest-running, independent Irish food and hospitality awards, in association with AIB, will celebrate 21 years under the current branding (plus a good few more before that!), with a ga ...
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              Georgina Campbell Awards 2020
              Georgina Campbell Irish Food & Hospitality Awards 2020
              Ireland’s Hotel, Restaurant, Chef, Hideaway and Pub of the Year announced at National Awards Ceremony   From Ireland’s best street, ethnic and seafood to the finest host and the ...
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              Awards 2020
              Georgina Campbell Irish Food & Hospitality Awards 2020
              1. NATURAL FOOD AWARD 2020  • POULTRY Carlow Free Range Fenagh Co Carlow   • FISH Goatsbridge Trout Farm Thomastown Co Kilkenny • DRINKS Longueville House Beverag ...
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              Breakfast Awards
              From 5* hotels and cosy cafés to the finest country houses in the Emerald Isle, the shortlist for the 2020 Georgina Campbell Irish Breakfast Awards in association with Fáilte Ireland ...
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              Irish Breakfast Award Logo
              With its flexible timing, relaxed approach and wide-ranging menu base, brunch is probably Ireland's most popular meal. High standards all around the country make our awards choices very difficult ...
              more...
              The Georgina Campbell Breakfast Awards 2020
              The Georgina Campbell Irish Breakfast Awards 2020 in association with Failte Ireland
              From classic breakfast favourites to dishes with a twist, the winners of the 2020 Georgina Campbell Irish Breakfast Awards in association with Fáilte Ireland were announced today. Ei ...
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              Aran Bakery & Bistro
              Brunch - not just a passing trend
              Of all meals, brunch is the one that reflects modern Ireland the best and its flexible timing, relaxed approach and wide-ranging menu base give brunch a unique multi-generational appeal. This is t ...
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              Ashford Castle Sustainability Award 2020
              Sustainability - keeping it local
              Acknowledging Ireland’s leading producers is an important element of the Irish Breakfast Awards, as we need to encourage all breakfast providers, particularly hotels, to support local ...
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              Irish Food Writers Guild Awards
              IRISH FOOD WRITERS’ GUILD AWARDS 2020
              Cork’s reputation as a centre of food excellence received another boost this month, with three of the eight Irish Food Writers’ Guild (IFWG), Awards going to the rebel county. The ...
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              Irish Food Writers' Guild Awards
              Irish Food Writers' Guild Awards 2020
              The IFWG Food Awards are unique, as no one can enter themselves or their product into the awards and no company knows it has been nominated or shortlisted for an award. The Guild is the sole nomin ...
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              Eileen & Stefano
              Under Lockdown in Rome - Thoughts from Eileen Dunne & Stefano Crescenzi
              Eileen and Stefano Crescenzi have been housebound in Rome for weeks. But, true to form, they are not letting that get them down. Food is a tonic as ever and the evening meal has become the focus o ...
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              Cliff Townhouse
              Three to Try - Restaurant Standards for Home Dining
              As more restaurants gear up towards reopening this summer, Aoife Carrigy highlights three very different Dublin eating places where they’re testing the waters and keeping regulars happy with ...
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              Lockdown Restaurant Diagram
              After Lockdown - Return to Business - Time to Think Outside the Box
              Chef Chris Hadlington says industry professionals have the expertise to find solutions to the demands being placed on hospitality businesses by government - and suggests a few practical ideas to g ...
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              Dax Restaurant
              Dax Entertainment
              As the country's restaurants reopen, Aoife Carrigy revisited one of Dublin's finest for her first post-lockdown outing - an experience that, after months of home cooking, “felt like waking u ...
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              Irish Cider's Home Rules
              Irish Cider's Home Rules
              Aoife Carrigy talks to Seamus O’Hara of Drinks Ireland|Cider about why Irish cider is at a seriously exciting stage in it millennia-long evolution.   A couple of autumns ago, I ha ...
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              The Future is Food
              Our Future is Food
              Ireland’s first PhD in Food Tourism, John Mulcahy, speaks with vision and experience when he says the Covid cloud has a silver lining – the food in tourism Whenever anything went wron ...
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              Sligo Oyster Experience
              Experience the Taste of the Atlantic Trail
              Some places have a magic that’s hard to capture and that you really just have to experience for yourself. For me, New Quay and the Flaggy Shore  on the edge of the Burren in County Cla ...
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              Ashford Castle
              Festive Wines
              Paul Fogerty, head sommelier at Ashford Castle, shares his recommendations for wine choices to complement many occasions and foods over the festive period - even if you’re not booked into As ...
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              Greene's Cork
              Delicious Dinner Deals for Date Night Treats
              While St Valentine's Day has been and gone, there will be plenty of date nights when you want to make sure it's a memorable occasion - and an excellent start would be to check out the many superb ...
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              Between the Briars
              Blooming Beautiful Irish Flowers
              Flowers are synonymous with gifting - but not all flowers are equal. Fresh, lively, seasonal flowers from a local grower will out-class the superficial perfection of imported ones any day - and ma ...
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              Lorge Chocolate
              Irish Handmade Chocolates for Easter Treats - 10 of the Best
              Our national chocoholism is no secret and it revs up to top gear at Easter, - when it’s not just about eggs but all kinds of symbols of spring - while theme-free top quality chocolates make ...
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              The New Tourism
              Post-Covid World - The New Tourism
              Pivoting has been one of the most-used words throughout the pandemic - and with good reason, as those able to see opportunities and move quickly to change direction are staying the course. But it& ...
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              Richard Corrigan
              Earth Day at Virginia Park Lodge
              While President Biden’s Earth Day summit on 22nd April was the highlight event on the international stage, the day also inspired myriad public contributions from businesses, organisations an ...
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              Galway peat bog
              In Praise of Rain
              We all know that water is our most precious resource so let’s hear it for rain, wonderful rain, says Joe Hughes. To a man who knows what drought is all about, our references to rain in last ...
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              Postgraduate Diploma in Irish Food Culture
              Discovering Irish Food Culture at UCC
              Applications are open for UCC’s Postgraduate Diploma in Irish Food Culture. Recent graduate, food writer Kate Ryan, gives her perspective on why it’s never too late to return to colleg ...
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              Hotel of the Year 2021
              Georgina Campbell Irish Food & Hospitality Awards 2021
              Ireland’s Restaurant, Chef, Hideaway and Pub of the Year announced in ‘Love letter to Irish food and hospitality’ From Ireland’s best hotels, fine dining and seafood to ga ...
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              Blasta Books
              Blasta Books - Q&A with Kristin Jensen
              The brain behind the brand - we talk to cookery editor, and now publisher, Kristin Jensen about her new cookery imprint, Blasta Books  Q1: As a pandemic project, Blasta Books would take some ...
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              Martin Calvey
              Cookery Feature - Tradition Stands Strong at the IFWG Annual Food Awards
              Bringing a beacon of hope and goodness at a time when a shaken world is badly in need of reassurance - and especially about sustainable food and farming - the annual Irish Food Writers’ Guil ...
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              Marie Gillooly
              The Story Behind The Door
              Lesley Emerson of PRWest  shares an intriguing story about an extraordinary woman with Roscommon connections who is proudly remembered at a famous destination in the town - and also featured ...
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              Cronin's Pub
              2022 Georgina Campbell Irish Food & Hospitality Awards
              Ireland’s Restaurant, Chef, Hideaway and Pub of the Year announced in end-of-year celebration of Irish food and hospitality      From Ireland’s hospitality leaders, ...
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              IFWG Award Winners
              IRISH FOOD WRITERS’ GUILD CELEBRATES 30 YEARS OF FOOD AWARDS
              IRISH FOOD WRITERS’ GUILD CELEBRATES 30 YEARS OF FOOD AWARDS WITH SPOTLIGHT ON CHEESE, EEL AND ALE AT 2023 AWARDS March 2023: From eel and ale and sheep’s milk yogurt to eco-frien ...
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              Euro-Toques Awards
              Euro-Toques Ireland Food Awards are back!
              It’s good to see some of our favourite food and drink producers honoured at the 2023 Euro-Toques Food Awards, which were held recently at the lovely Dunbrody Country House Hotel in Arthursto ...
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              A Taste of Wexford
              A Taste of Wexford
              A highlight of the year for the Irish Food Writers’ Guild, of which I am a founder member, is our summer outing – and this time we had a ball visiting north Wexford. The sunny South-Ea ...
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              Angel Pirev
              2023 Georgina Campbell Irish Food & Hospitality Awards
              Ireland’s Restaurant, Chef, Pub and Newcomer of the Year announced in celebration of Irish food and hospitality   From Ireland’s hospitality leaders, best hotels, fine dining an ...
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              The Winter Table
              The Winter Table
              Delicious seasonal food isn’t just for summer….Celebrating Ireland’s winter bounty, Euro-Toques Ireland chefs and producers are coming together during December and Jan ...
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              IFWG Awards
              Cookery Feature - Celebrating the 2024 Irish Food Writers' Guild Food Awards in Style
              Now in their 31st year, the Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Awards are very special. The Guild advocates for ethical practices in Ireland’s food and drink sector and the awards are a un ...
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              Woodcock Smokery
              SPECIAL EVENTS AT THE WORLD-RENOWNED WOODCOCK SMOKERY IN WEST CORK
              Busy-bee chef ANTHONY O’TOOLE explains how he’s getting together with the legendary SALLY BARNES to host a Producer x Chef event series in West Cork over the next few months – wi ...
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              GC Awards 24
              Ireland’s Hotel, Restaurant, Hospitality Hero, and Pub of the Year announced at National Awards Ceremony  From newcomer of the year to the most pet-friendly destination and Ireland&r ...
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              Fat Tomato
              A LONG TIME COMING - ANTHONY O'TOOLE'S HORTICULTURE PROJECT, FAT TOMATO, IS ABOUT TO RIPEN. IT ONLY TOOK 8 YEARS!
              Perched on the picturesque Carrig Rua Hill in North Wexford behind his parents’ house, Anthony’s tiny garden is now home to over 500 varieties of organic heritage seeds and plants. Wha ...
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              Burtown House
              Historic Houses of Ireland - From Surviving to Thriving
              Anyone familiar with Irish hospitality will understand the key role played by our historic houses, many of which are famous members of associations such as Ireland’s Blue Book and Hidden Ire ...
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              IFWG Awards
              Cookery Feature - 32nd Irish Food Writers' Guild Food Awards
              Tuesday 4th March 2025 was a proud day for Irish Food Writers’ Guild members, as we announced our 32nd annual Irish Food Awards. And - with their reminder this year that greenwashing and ...
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              Powerscourt
              3 of the Best Food Experiences in Wicklow's Great Houses
              Kate Ryan, Flavour.ie; images courtesy of Kate Ryan County Wicklow has a well-deserved reputation as the Garden of Ireland, a moniker bestowed for the county’s unusual concentration of hist ...
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              The Happy Pear
              Cookery Feature- The Happy Pear at 20!
              A much loved fixture in Greystones for as long as many of its customers can remember, The Happy Pear recently marked two decades of “flavourful food, cheerful community and happy, healthy ...
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              Neantog Sligo Food Tour
              National Biodiversity Week, May 16th to May 25th
               As the importance of biodiversity is better understood, public interest in protecting and promoting it is growing and The Organic Centre in Co Leitrim has organised a busy timetable of ...
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              Euro-Toques
              EURO-TOQUES IRELAND FOOD AWARDS 2025 - HONOURING IRELAND'S KITCHEN TABLE
                Ashford Castle Estate made a wonderful setting for this year's Euro-Toques Ireland Food Awards a heartfelt celebration of Ireland's food producers and craftspeople. Founded in 1986 b ...
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              Slow Food
              Food Feature - Slow Food Weekend of Flavour and Stories
              Slow Food Weekend of Flavour and Stories – Anthony O’Toole’s Reflections from a magical couple of days in Comber, Co Down Early July, I swapped a weekend in my Fat Tomato edible ...
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              • Fáilte Ireland's #FoodChamps
                Failte Ireland Food Champs
                Failte Ireland's Food Champs
                In the first of a new monthly column, Failte Ireland Food Champion Anthony O'Toole explains what it’s all about - and says, “We can and we will put our little green land on the world ...
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                Terra Madre 2016
                Diary of a Failte Ireland Food Champion
                Empowering the Youth and Cross Collaboration will grow Irish Food and Tourism, says our busy Failte Ireland Food Champion, Anthony O'Toole There is such an abundance of local food tourism initi ...
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                Food Champs
                Diary of a Failte Ireland Food Champion
                Failte Ireland Food Champion Anthony O'Toole tells us about a memorable benchmarking trip to Denmark, that will help to “put our little green land on the world map for food and tourism&rdq ...
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                Full n Plenty
                Diary of a Failte Ireland Food Champion
                This month, Failte Ireland Food Champion Anthony O'Toole shares the #FoodChamps Wish-list for 2017 It’s February already. We’re six weeks into 2017 and already we’ve seen som ...
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                Cattle
                Diary of a Failte Ireland Food Champion
                Anthony O'Toole April is one of my favourite months of the year. Not just because it is my birth month, but because the days are getting longer, the spring air is warming up, and signs of new l ...
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                The Moorings, Dungarvan
                Diary of a Failte Ireland Food Champion
                In the latest of his monthly columns, Failte Ireland Food Champion Anthony O'Toole welcomes the new food festival season The festival season is upon us with community events taking all over Ir ...
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                Pigtown
                Diary of a Failte Ireland Food Champion
                Last June Anthony O'Toole was one of a group appointed as the new Fáilte Ireland Food Champions. So, one year later, what have they been up to? Since June 2016, we Food Champions have ...
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                Failte Ireland Announcement
                Diary of a Failte Ireland Food Champion
                This month Failte Ireland Food Champion Anthony O'Toole welcomes the recently released Fáilte Ireland Food and Drink Strategy for 2018-2023. Consuming Irish food and drink can be an imm ...
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                • Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  Caherbeg Free Range Pork Products
                  Caherbeg Free Range Pork Products
                  With St Patrick’s Day being the main event in March, it’s a natural time for Irish people to think about our traditional foods – and there’s nothing more traditional than p ...
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                  Arctic Charr
                  Arctic charr is a fish highly prized for its meaty texture and mild, yet distinctive flavour. Since the last ice-age charr have thrived in the cold, pure water of glacial lakes on Ireland’s ...
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                  Carrigbyrne Cheeses
                  Carrigbyrne Cheeses
                  Carrigbyrne St Killian is one of Ireland’s longest-established and most popular farmhouse cheeses – easily recognisable (even when sold as an own-brand, eg M&S) by its presentation ...
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                  St Tola Organic Goats Cheese
                  St Tola Organic Goats Cheese
                  The revival and development of Irish farmhouse cheesemaking over the last 30 years has seen some extraordinary enterprises take root and thrive – including St. Tola Organic Goats Cheese, whi ...
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                  Connemara Smokehouse Products
                  Connemara Smokehouse Products
                  Smoked fish has always been an important part of Irish life, valued both for its flavour (very useful for making a simple diet more interesting) and its good keeping qualities. And it’s neve ...
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                  Murphys Ice Cream
                  Murphys Ice Cream
                  We may not always like the rain but it makes for great grass – the key to Ireland’s well-earned reputation for wonderful dairy produce. For the last few decades, that rich creamy milk ...
                  more...
                  Clandeboye Estate Yoghurt
                  Clandeboye Estate Yoghurt
                  It’s not hard to see why Clandeboye Estate Yoghurt stands out from the crowd: not only is it made with milk from Clandeboye’s prized herd of Holstein and Jersey cows, but the eye-catch ...
                  more...
                  McGeough's Air Dried Meats
                  Mountain Lamb
                  Mention lamb to most people and it is likely to summon up images of spring - green fields and daffodils, with fluffy lambs gambolling around – but, tasty as tender young lowland lamb may be ...
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                  Roast Loin of Pork with Black Pudding Stuffing, served with Roasted Vegetables & Apple Sauce from Rolys Cafe & Bakery Cookbook
                  Black Pudding
                  “The pig was probably the first domestic animal to be brought to Ireland and many country people can remember the time when most rural households killed at least one pig a year. It was a co ...
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                  Euro-Toques Table Display
                  Euro-Toques
                  When presenting their annual Food Awards at Dublin’s Bang Cafe in November, chefs group Euro-toques Ireland the called on the government to establish a ‘safety net’ support syst ...
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                  Simply Sourced
                  Simply Sourced
                  “Delicious honest wholefood” is what Nigel Cobbe promised in July 2009 when he launched his online free-range meat service SimplySourced (www.simplysourced.net; 087 057 0000) – a ...
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                  Chocolates
                  Chocolate
                  Quality chocolate production is perhaps an unexpected speciality for Ireland but, although the main ingredients are of course imported, it has become an important – and increasingly successf ...
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                  Knockdrinna Meadow Sheeps Cheese
                  Knockdrinna Meadow Sheeps Cheese
                  Helen Finnegan’s wonderful sheeps’ cheese has attracted much praise – most recently earning one of just five of the Irish Food Writers Guild Food Awards. Having long yearned ...
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                  Fermanagh Free Range Chicken
                  Fermanagh Free Range Chicken
                  Kettyle Irish Foods is an innovative food company producing a variety of speciality food products developed out of the 500 acre family farm in Co Fermanagh, which had mainly reared beef for export ...
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                  Smoked Salmon
                  Nicky's Plaice Smoked Salmon
                  Smoked salmon is a popular speciality food all around Ireland, and it is surprising how much its character can vary, in colour, texture and flavour. There tends to be a noticeable difference in te ...
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                  Omega Direct Irish Organic Beef: 'Farming with Altitude'
                  Omega Direct Irish Organic Beef - Farming with Altitude
                  Joe and Eileen Condon’s farm close to the Knockmealdown mountains in Co Tipperary, is a model farm for a state initiative “Farming with Altitude”, which has been developed to en ...
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                  Blueberries
                  Blueberries
                  Now widely recognised as a ‘superfood’, blueberries are virtually fat and cholesterol free, low in calories, high in vitamins A and C high in dietary fibre, high in calcium, require li ...
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                  Castlefarm Organic Farm Foods - Jenny Young
                  Castlefarm Organic Farm Foods
                  Although we are now a widely urbanised society, a high proportion of Irish people have country connections - yet there were worrying signs, during the boom years, of growing disconnection with our ...
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                  Flahavans
                  Flahavan's Oats
                  One of the unsung heroes of the Irish food scene, oats are widely grown, inexpensive, nutritious and extremely versatile. There’s much more to oats than breakfast but, whether in porridge or ...
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                  Country Choice Christmas Pudding
                  Handmade Christmas Puddings
                  Festive baking is a joy and many people especially enjoy both making and eating the traditional plum pudding, which is a very appealing hot dessert throughout the colder months. Artisan produc ...
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                  ChocOneill Handmade Chocolates - Ireland
                  Quality chocolate production is on of Ireland’s biggest recent artisan success stories, and Aughnacliffe, Co Longford is a very special destination for chocolate connoisseurs as this is wher ...
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                  Cuinneog
                  Cuinneog
                  On the family farm near Castlebar in Co Mayo, Tom and Sheila Butler have run their business Cuinneog Dairy Products (www.cuinneog.com) since 1990. They specialise in the production of once-fam ...
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                  O'Neill's Foods
                  O'Neill Foods Dry-cured Bacon and Ham
                  The excellent dry-cured bacon and ham produced in Co Wexford by O’Neill Foods was one of the winners at the 2011 Irish Food Writers' Guild Food (IFWG) Awards. Having been born into a fai ...
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                  Sheridans Cheesemongers
                  Sheridans Cheesemongers
                  Where would our producers be without those who sell their foods, and who help them to reach the public in prime condition? Recent weeks have seen unprecedented media interest and public discussion ...
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                  Rapeseed Fields
                  Rapeseed Oil
                  A new product which looks set to play an important role in Ireland’s agriculture and cuisine is RAPESEED OIL and, while the changes this crop brings to the landscape are not universally welc ...
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                  Achill Island Turbot
                  Achill Island Turbot
                  Turbot is a flat fish with pure white flesh that is highly prized for its texture and flavour – a delicacy since Roman times, it is a favourite of that great seafood chef Rick Stein. A la ...
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                  Sarahs Wonderful Honey
                  Sarahs Wonderful Honey
                  'Sarah's Wonderful Honey' is the brainchild of Sarah Gough, who is General Manager of her family’s business, Mileeven Fine Foods, in Kilkenny. Founded in 1988 by her mother, Eilis Gough, the ...
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                  Janets Country Fayre
                  Janets Country Fayre
                  Janet's Country Fayre range of handmade chutneys, relishes and sauces was among the many impressive Co Wicklow speciality foods showcased at the Taste Council Summer School at The BrookLodge Hotel ...
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                  Comeragh Lamb
                  Comeragh Mountain Lamb
                  Lamb is widely produced throughout Ireland, but the size, texture, flavour and season vary considerably depending on the terrain and climate, with the main division being between lowland lamb (lar ...
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                  Green Saffron Spices - Arun Kapil
                  Green Saffron Spices
                  Set up by Arun Kapil in 2007, Green Saffron Spices (www.greensaffron.com) is a Cork based company specialising in supplying premium, farm-fresh whole spices and blends. While the spices are no ...
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                  Foods of Athenry
                  The Foods of Athenry
                  When former dairy farmers Paul and Siobhan Lawless started their farmhouse bakery, “The Foods of Athenry” in 2000, a converted bicycle shed on their Co Galway farm was the unlikely set ...
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                  Natasha's Living Food
                  Natasha's Living Food
                  A lot of things about Natasha Czopor’s ‘Natasha's Living Food’ are out of the ordinary, beginning with Natasha herself, who is representative of Ireland’s energetic and ent ...
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                  Corleggy Farmhouse Cheeses - Silke Cropp
                  Corleggy Farmhouse Cheeses
                  In rich pasture land beside the River Erne, Silke Cropp makes her wonderful range of goat, sheep and cows’ milk cheeses. Silke is one of Ireland’s longest-practising cheesemakers, and ...
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                  McCarthy's of Kanturk
                  McCarthys of Kanturk
                  Recently singled out by the Irish Food Writers Guild, who honoured them with an Award for their notable contribution to Irish food, McCarthy’s of Kanturk in Co Cork is an institution that is ...
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                  Natural Irish Cider
                  Natural Irish Cider
                  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 wit ...
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                  Glebe Brethan Cheese
                  Glebe Brethan Cheese
                  Glebe Brethan is a superb gruyère-style cheese, handmade by the Tiernan family in the lush grasslands of Co Louth, where David Tiernan farms the land that was farmed by his father and grand ...
                  more...
                  Triskel Goats Cheese
                  Triskel Goats Cheese
                  Triskel Cheeses are hand-ladled French-style soft goats cheeses and a semi-hard cow’s cheese, made by Breton woman Anna Leveque in a small production unit at her home in Portlaw, Co Waterfor ...
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                  Moyallon Guanciale
                  Moyallon Guanciale
                  Guanciale (pronounced gwan-chalie) is an unsmoked Italian bacon prepared with pig's jowl or cheeks. Its name is derived from guancia, Italian for cheek, and it is a delicacy of central Italy, part ...
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                  Gubbeen Bacon
                  Gubbeen Bacon
                  Gubbeen Farmhouse Products are made by the Ferguson family at their beautifully located dairy farm near Schull in West Cork. Tom and Giana Ferguson are the fifth generation to care for this lovely ...
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                  Goatsbridge Trout Caviar
                  Goatsbridge Trout Caviar
                  A surprising number of small producers are bucking the system at the moment, doing well in businesses that you’d never expect to succeed in recession. One of these success stories is still i ...
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                  Ronan Byrne aka The Friendly Farmer
                  Ronan Byrne aka The Friendly Farmer
                  Ronan Byrne - AKA The Friendly Farmer - is a familiar figure at Galway and Moycullen farmers’ markets, where he sells the free range meat and - especially - poultry - produced on the 35 acre ...
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                  Kilbeggan Organic Porridge
                  Kilbeggan Organic Porridge
                  “Oats Produced from Ballard Organic Farm, owned and operated by the Lalor family since 1844” is the proud proclamation on the Kilbeggan Organic Foods website and it says a lot about th ...
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                  Highbank Orchard Syrup
                  Highbank Orchard Syrup
                  Apples grow well in many parts of Ireland and the limestone-rich soil of Co Kilkenny, where Rod and Julie Calder-Potts have farmed Higbank Organic Orchards since1969 (organically since 1994), is p ...
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                  Knockdrinna Brewers Gold Cheese
                  Brewer's Gold Cheese - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  New artisan cheeses have been coming onto the Irish market in a pleasingly steady flow in recent years and, every now and then, something really unusual comes along. That can certainly be said of ...
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                  Oats
                  Porridge Oats
                  Oats are among the most important crops grown in Ireland and, while we tend to take them for granted, we should value this simple, wholesome food for its goodness, notably its special slow-release ...
                  more...
                  Butlers Chocolate Egg
                  Butlers Chocolates - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  Georgina Campbell 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 ...
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                  Young Buck Cheese
                  Young Buck Cheese - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  Georgina Campbell 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 introduct ...
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                  Achill Island Sea Salt
                  Achill Island Sea Salt - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  Georgina Campbell New products (and themed books) are like buses, you wait for ages for one to come along and then suddenly there are several. Despite our long, rugged coastline and clean Atlant ...
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                  Baldwins Farmhouse Ice Cream
                  Baldwins Farmhouse Ice Cream - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  Given Ireland’s lush grass and strong dairy tradition, it is not surprising that a lot of dairy farmers have diversified into ice cream production in recent years, and we are now fortunate t ...
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                  Toby Simmonds & Johnny Lynch of Toonsbridge Dairy
                  Toonsbridge Irish Buffalo Products - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  Georgina Campbell Toby Simmonds is a legend of alternative thinking in the Irish food world - in 1993 he started a venture that many said would never work, The Real Olive Company, at a stall in C ...
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                  Lucy Deegan & Mark Cribbin of Ballyhoura Mushrooms
                  Ballyhoura Mountain Mushrooms - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  Very much with the zeitgeist for wild and foraged foods, Lucy Deegan and Mark Cribbin’s enterprising north Cork company grows a unique range of speciality mushrooms - comprising everything f ...
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                  Durcan's Spiced Beef
                  Durcan's Spiced Beef - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  Georgina Campbell Tom Durcan Meats was established in 1985, so this is far from being one of Ireland’s longest-established butchers - but it is one of the most highly-regarded and, being ri ...
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                  Mick Healy, Wild Irish Game
                  Mick Healy, Wild Irish Game - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  A fervent supporter of sustainable hunting and seasonality, Mick Healy was singled out for a 2014 Euro-Toques Award. Highlighting his ‘commitment to delivering the best and most sustainable ...
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                  Pink Flamingo Gin
                  Highbank Organic Gins - Special Irish Foods & Drinks & The People Who Make Them
                  DEE LAFFAN spills the beans on Ireland’s newest, smallest – and only organic – distillery The rumour mill has been in overdrive for the past month that Highbank Farm & ...
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                  McCarthys of Kanturk
                  McCarthys of Kanturk - Special Irish Foods & Drinks & The People Who Make Them
                  Dee Laffan talks to the fourth and fifth generation butchers, McCarthys of Kanturk, about their business - and their hugely popular Pig in a Day courses The excellence of McCarthy’s Butche ...
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                  Trout
                  Goatsbridge Trout - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  Dee Laffan Hard work and passion go hand-in-hand for most small farmers and artisan producers and no truer statement could be made about Mag and Ger Kirwan of the third generation business, Go ...
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                  Birgitta Curtin
                  Burren Smokehouse - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  Well deserved recipient of the 2015 Irish Food Writers Guild ‘Notable Contribution to Irish Food Award’, Birgitta Curtin is not only dedicated to maintaining the highest standards for ...
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                  Teeling Whiskey Barrel
                  Teeling Whiskey Distillery - Special Irish Foods and Drinks & The People Who Make Them
                  Dee Laffan speaks with Stephen Teeling of the new Teeling Whiskey Distillery in Newmarket Square, Dublin 8, which opens its doors this month. It is one of the most keenly anticipated openings ...
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                  Farrellys Butchers
                  Farrelly's Butchers and Abattoir - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  Following an apparently unstoppable onslaught by the multiples and their promise of convenience and low prices, the family butchers shop has undergone a remarkable renaissance in recent years - gr ...
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                  Joe's Farm Crisps
                  Joe's Farm Crisps - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  In what you might think is a saturated market, one Irish product has managed to find a niche and edge its way into the top ranks of people’s tastes, and is even found as a garnish in a well- ...
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                  Marita Collier - Drummond House Irish Garlic
                  Drummond House Irish Garlic - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  Since Michael Kelly’s famous ‘Eureka’ moment - when confronted by garlic all the way from China in his local supermarket - there’s been a strangely emotive connotation to t ...
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                  Camerino Bakery
                  Camerino Bakery - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  Camerino Bakery celebrated one year in business on November 1st and, as Dee Laffan discovered when talking to the lady behind the baked treat emporium on Capel Street, Dublin 1 about her success, ...
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                  Sarah O’Connor & Isolde Johnson, Cool Beans
                  Cool Beans - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  Dee Laffan chats to the two entrepreneurial women behind Irish food company Cool Beans about their success story, love of beans and their desire to start Ireland’s Bean Revolution! There&rs ...
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                  Abernethy Butter
                  Abernethy Butter - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  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 i ...
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                  Ross Thompson - Punjana Tea
                  Punjana Tea - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  Georgina Campbell Ask anyone in Northern Ireland about Punjana Tea and you’ll be in no doubt that you’ve touched on something central to the culture - even people who never drink te ...
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                  Bushmills Whiskey
                  Bushmills Whiskey
                  Marking the third month of Northern Ireland’s Year of Food and Drink 2016, we salute one of the region’s most iconic brands, Bushmills Whiskey - a product that seems to sit happily in ...
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                  Roll It Pastry
                  Mairead Finnegan, Roll It Pastry - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  Dee Laffan talks to the woman behind the all-butter convenience pastry, which is made in Co Meath Learning to make pastry is one of my earliest food memories. Standing on a chair to reach the ki ...
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                  Tipp Food Producers
                  Tipperary Food Producers - Special Irish Foods & Drinks & The People Who Make Them
                  Dee Laffan speaks about Networking Success with Pat Whelan, chairman of Tipperary Food Producers and winner of the Supreme Champion title at the 2015 Great Taste Awards Community networks are c ...
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                  Colin & Kevin Jephson of Ardkeen
                  Ardkeen Quality Food Store - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  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 ...
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                  Hugh O'Malley - Achill Oysters
                  Achill Oysters - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  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 ...
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                  James & Grace Gannon - Cloonconra Cheese
                  Cloonconra Cheese - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                    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 Irelan ...
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                  Lammas Fair in the 1980s
                  Yellowman - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  Georgina Campbell 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 ...
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                  Man of Aran Fudge
                  Man of Aran Fudge - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                   Georgina Campbell Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without some sweet treats to hand round after dinner and you can’t beat good old fashioned fudge, made with pure butter. It&rs ...
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                  Andarl Farm
                  Free Range Pork by Pigs on the Green and Andarl Farm - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  Georgina Campbell The Euro-Toques EirGrid Food Awards are always special and 2016 was a vintage year, when they celebrated the 30th Anniversary of Euro-Toques Ireland and also marked Myrtle All ...
                  more...
                  Teelings Whiskey & Little Milk Co
                  The Little Milk Company - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  Georgina Campbell The Little Milk Company is an innovative cooperative demonstrating that environmentally responsible small producers can thrive by working together – and they are the win ...
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                  Gubbeen Salami
                  Irish Charcuterie - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  AOIFE CARRIGY celebrates Irish charcuterie Maybe it’s an islander thing, but we Irish have always had a curiosity for what lies beyond our shores. Marry that with our loyal love of the land ...
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                  Pat and Miriam Mulcahy
                  Ballinwillin Venison and Wild Boar - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  Georgina Campbell It is the quality of their products that leads many to Pat and Miriam Mulcahy’s farm on the edge of Mitchelstown in Ireland’s Ancient East, as their tender Ballinw ...
                  more...
                  Velvet Cloud
                  Sheep's Milk Yogurt - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  Georgina Campbell There is only one sheep’s milk yogurt produced in Ireland and it is made by Aisling and Michael Flanagan on the Flanagan farm in Co Mayo, where the family have been farm ...
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                  Euro-Toques Award Winners
                  Euro-Toques Food Awards 2017 - Special Irish Foods & The People Who Make Them
                  Georgina Campbell Held annually to recognise and celebrate the very best food being produced in Ireland, the Euro-Toques Food Awards were established in 1996 by the members of the Euro-Toques F ...
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                  IFWG 2018 Award Winners
                  Natural Born Winners at the IFWG Food Awards 2018
                  Now in their 24th year, the Irish Food Writers’ Guild (IFWG) Food Awards celebrate organisations and food producers who create, make and share great Irish produce and products while helpin ...
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                  • The Jillian Bolger Column
                    Jillian Bolger
                    The Jillian Bolger Column
                    Although she is often that soldier herself, Food & Travel Writer JILLIAN BOLGER sometimes finds herself Critical of Critics Last month I found myself reading reviews of a new restaurant in ...
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                    Lens & Larder
                    The Jillian Bolger Column
                    Food & Travel Writer JILLIAN BOLGER samples Lens & Larder’s pop-up Village Life dinner at Kildare Village - Summer’s most exclusive dinner party Garlands of trailing ivy hung ...
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                    Jillian Bolger
                    The Jillian Bolger Column
                      Can someone please call time on kids’ menus, asks Food & Travel Writer JILLIAN BOLGER When did we ever decide kids’ menus were a good idea? Long before chicken nuggets, o ...
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                    Jillian Bolger
                    The Jillian Bolger Column
                    This month Jillian has words to say about something we can all relate to - badly designed restaurants Some days you have to wonder about the qualifications of restaurant designers? There are t ...
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                    Jillian Bolger
                    The Jillian Bolger Column - Mind Your Language
                    On the BBC’s Room 101, host Frank Skinner invites three guests each week to nominate their pet hates, things they’d most like to see banished to Room 101 forever. The chosen items us ...
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                    Cake
                    The Jillian Bolger Column - Cake Sales
                    All the fuss about The Great British Bake Off leaving the BBC has got Food & Travel Writer JILLIAN BOLGER thinking about CAKE SALES - and she is on a (slightly tongue in cheek) mission to ra ...
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                    Jillian Bolger
                    The Jillian Bolger Column
                    Disappointed with the service at a famous Irish restaurant, JILLIAN BOLGER says proprietors need to realise that investing in front-of-house training is investing in a satisfied customer. Final ...
                    more...
                    Jillian Bolger
                    The Jillian Bolger Column
                    BAD SERVICE - Food & Travel Writer JILLIAN BOLGER has got the bit between her teeth on this one, and she’s not letting go. And she’s dead right. In last month’s ezine I wr ...
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                    Berthas Revenge
                    The Jillian Bolger Column - The Rise and Rise of the Irish G&T
                    The first time I ever tasted a Hendrick’s gin and tonic was in Chapter One. Former manager, Declan Maxwell, introduced me to the cucumber-enhanced aperitif one evening several years ago, a ...
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                    Paul Kelly
                    The Jillian Bolger Column - Pastry Chefs
                    JILLIAN BOLGER wonders why we so rarely see the work of highly skilled pastry chefs credited by including their names on menus Over many years as a food writer I’ve always been struck at ...
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                    Jillian Bolger
                    The Jillian Bolger Column - Restaurant Websites
                    JILLIAN BOLGER wonders why so many restaurants’ websites let them down. Remember the last time you went online to google a restaurant? Do you recall what information you were looking for? M ...
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                    Jillian Bolger
                    The Jillian Bolger Column - Obesity
                    Never afraid to speak her mind, our intrepid columnist JILLIAN BOLGER says bluntly that if we want to get to the bottom of the obesity problem there's no point in blaming restaurants. The problem ...
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                    • Insider View
                      Hilton Park - Clones County Monaghan Ireland
                      Insider View - How do you satisfy a part-time vegetarian?
                      In the first of a new monthly column written refreshingly (and sometimes controversially) from the perspective of those who offer hospitality rather than enjoy it – in her case, in a wonder ...
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                      Hilton Park - Clones County Monaghan Ireland
                      Insider View
                      A younger friend told me recently that I was totally out of touch with current trends and had no idea at all what people want. Me, old fashioned? Fiddle-de-dee.   Her observation was ...
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                      Hilton Park
                      Insider View - When is a tip not a tip?
                      My sister-in-law, who has uncompromising views of etiquette, keeps a visitors book in her house. Nothing odd about this, except that I noticed on the back page a list, written in her hand, of some ...
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                      Hilton Park - Clones County Monaghan Ireland
                      Insider View - Tourist Board Approval - Does It Matter?
                      Lucy Madden recalls a busman's holiday to Edinburgh, winding up in the B&B from hell, and begins to understand just why we should be grateful for the exceptionally high levels of inspection by ...
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                      Hilton Park - Clones County Monaghan Ireland
                      Insider View - Busman's Holiday
                      There is a handwritten card of the utmost sadness pinned up in our local shop, and it reads: 'Polish woman desperate to work. Will do anything.' Whoever would have thought even a year ago that thi ...
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                      Hilton Park - Clones County Monaghan Ireland
                      Insider View - Cultural Tourism
                      Remember the couple who were spotted ‘fornicating’ on a beach in Dubai? They got off lightly, I reckon. Three months in the slammer seems lenient; in other places, it could have been d ...
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                      Hilton Park - Clones County Monaghan Ireland
                      Insider View - Green Tourism
                      The other day found me eating a large meringue before going to lie on my bed, as you do when overwhelmed by a large work-load. Yes, business is very slow: this country has so many bedrooms now. Fo ...
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                      Hilton Park - Clones County Monaghan Ireland
                      Insider View - Call of the Wild
                      Lucy Madden muses on our affluence, or lack of it, and thinks she may have got hold of the germ of an idea which could open up a whole new tourist market in Ireland - and give back to children and ...
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                      Hilton Park - Clones County Monaghan Ireland
                      Insider View - Cultural experiences - With a Difference
                      My son likes to remind his prurient mother that she once, when driving through Gloucester, suggested making a detour to see the house where murderers Fred and Rosemary West carried out their foul ...
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                      Hilton Park - Clones County Monaghan Ireland
                      Insider View - Hospitality Awards
                      Lucy Madden ponders, among other things, the increasingly prolific (and obscure categories of) hospitality awards... We are told, and no surprises here, that airbrushed stars in magazines leave ...
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                      Hilton Park - Clones County Monaghan Ireland
                      Insider View - Simplicity
                      Lucy Madden longs for simplicity and a celebration of things Irish on our plates – and takes a trip to Belfast Somewhere out there is a factory where a huge vat brims with an unctuous li ...
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                      Hilton Park - Clones County Monaghan Ireland
                      Insider View - Death by Health & Safety
                      Lucy Madden considers the paradox of death by health & safety, among other things. To the jaw-dropping astonishment of my husband, our accountant recently suggested that we might like to pa ...
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                      Hilton Park - Clones County Monaghan Ireland
                      Insider View - Here's to The Hotel Bore
                      There is a cartoon postcard that friends have been known to send us, entitled ‘THE GUEST FROM HELL’. It depicts a drawing room with blazing fire in front of which the club bore, refill ...
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                      Hilton Park - Clones County Monaghan Ireland
                      Insider View - Seeing Ireland The Official Way
                      In her article this month Lucy Madden laments increased bureaucracy and the apparent desire of the tourism authorities in Ireland to make all accommodation uniform - quashing any charm & chara ...
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                      Hilton Park - Clones County Monaghan Ireland
                      Insider View - What Price Authenticity
                      "People abroad no longer think Ireland possesses a naturally unspoiled environment, because the truth is out there." “Authentic: not imaginary, false fake or imitation: genuine, ...
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                      Hilton Park - Clones County Monaghan Ireland
                      Insider View - Self Improvement - and the dangers of Self Promotion
                      Lucy Madden ponders the benefits of Self Improvement – and the dangers of Self Promotion Travelling home by plane to Ireland the other day I noticed that all three passengers in our row, ...
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                      Hilton Park - Clones County Monaghan Ireland
                      Insider View - On Being Appropriate
                      Lucy Madden ponders, in her inimitable way, on the inexact science of appropriateness - and its importance in the hospitality business Photographed outside the High Court at the end of last ye ...
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                      Hilton Park - Clones County Monaghan Ireland
                      Insider View - On Festivals
                      Lucy Madden reflects on the life enhancing power of festivals – even when it rains “We’re not coming to stay” said the woman at the front door. “But the parrot is. ...
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                      Hilton Park - Clones County Monaghan Ireland
                      Insider View - On 'The Best'
                      This month Lucy Madden’s hawk-eyed view of Irish life and hospitality focuses on ‘the best’... A friend has presented me with a packet of recycled plastic clothes-pegs. Not a ...
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                      Hilton Park - Clones County Monaghan Ireland
                      Insider View - On What Went Wrong
                      Like many of us in Ireland today, Lucy Madden is asking, What Went Wrong? Some 20 years ago my daughter was the first generation of Trinity graduates who did not, as she said at the time, &ldqu ...
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                      Lucy & Johnny Madden
                      Insider View - Keeping Cheerful
                      It has been a merry season. Never mind, for a moment, that we live under a tomb-like pall of grey, or that the misery of unemployment is all around us, small groups of people have got together t ...
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                      Hilton Park - Clones County Monaghan Ireland
                      Insider View - Goodbye to 2011
                      This may be the season of goodwill but Lucy Madden’s feet are still very firmly on the ground as she reflects on an ‘interesting’ year and shares some incredibly awful (and hopef ...
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                      Lucy & Johnny Madden
                      Insider View - On Retirement
                      Retirement, what retirement? Lucy Madden contemplates the joys of being the ‘older generation’ in a family business. “Whose teeth are false?” You may know the ad: two ...
                      more...
                      Hilton Park - Clones County Monaghan Ireland
                      Insider View - on Staycations
                      Lucy Madden contemplates the gentle pleasures of the ‘staycation’:“A day out in, say, the Glens of Antrim or even the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre can be more restorative than t ...
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                      Lucy & Johnny Madden
                      Insider View - on Doing Things Differently
                      Lucy Madden on doing things differently these days in the gardens at Hilton Park. In a crepuscular gloom I am trying to plant onions while listening with (hard to conceal) irritation to a lectu ...
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                      Lucy & Johnny Madden
                      Insider View - on Saturation
                      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 al ...
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                      Insider View - Hilton Park
                      Insider View - on Eating
                      Lucy Madden wonders at the theatrical experience that eating at the World’s Best Restaurant offers – and puts in a plea for more simple, authentic food for visitors to rural Ireland, ...
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                      Lucy & Johnny Madden
                      Insider View - Doing Nothing
                      Turning her attention to the wisdom of ‘letting the hare sit’, Lucy Madden contemplates (among other things) the benefits of masterful inactivity. Our summer, henceforth to be known ...
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                      Lucy & Johnny Madden
                      Insider View - Internet Reviews
                      Lucy Madden considers the advantages – and the perils – of the internet, especially in relation to a subject dear to our own hearts: ‘impartial’ online reviews... My sis ...
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                      Lucy & Johnny Madden
                      Insider View on Manners
                      Lucy Madden considers the question of Manners - and, warning that The Gathering’s returning diaspora may cast a more critical eye on us than we might like, hopes that we can remain a mannerl ...
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                      Lucy & Johnny Madden
                      Insider View on the elderly
                      Never one to shy away from unspoken truths, this month Lucy Madden considers the elderly... The hirsute and not-so-easy-on-the eye racing correspondent John McCririck (72) is suing Channel 4 for ...
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                      Lucy & Johnny Madden
                      Insider View on Opening a Restaurant
                      This month our intrepid thinker Lucy Madden considers the irresisistible force that so often lures the wrong people into opening a restaurant - and gives some excellent examples of the good and th ...
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                      Maddens
                      Insider View - The G8
                      When the news reached our house that the G8 talks were to be held this year in Enniskillen, my initial reaction – joy that such an auspicious gathering would be on our doorstep – was r ...
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                      Lucy & Johnny Madden
                      Insider View on The Gathering
                      This month our intrepid thinker Lucy Madden wonders about the longterm value of The Gathering - and has some excellent ideas of her own to put forward Local children hover to catch the unwary ...
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                      Lucy & Johnny Madden
                      Insider View on TripAdvisor & Weddings By Website
                      This month our intrepid thinker Lucy Madden wonders once again about the merits (and otherwise) of TripAdvisor - and The Rule Book that seems to apply to the modern ‘wedding by website&rsqu ...
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                      Lucy & Johnny Madden
                      Insider View - Is The Flipping Top Table Asleep?
                      This month Lucy Madden reflects on a number of strange and worrying goings-on in Ireland - and asks “Is the flipping top table asleep?” This anguished and heartfelt cry voiced on a r ...
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                      Lucy & Johnny Madden
                      Insider View on Deception
                      Lucy Madden considers ‘deception’, in various intriguing forms. In a desperate but undisputedly mean-spirited way I booked a lunch-time table for twelve at a restaurant of which I am ...
                      more...
                      Lucy & Johnny Madden
                      Insider View on Holidays
                      Lucy Madden considers those who admit that they do not like holidays - and there are more of them (us?) than you might think A woman has rung in to a radio talk show and confessed that she doesn ...
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                      Lucy Madden
                      Insider View - Places Unlike Anywhere Else
                      This month Lucy Madden considers what an 80 year old friend calls ‘romantic Ireland’ - but, while mourning the passing of so much that was unique about this country, she also finds i ...
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                      Lucy & Johnny Madden
                      Insider View - Dear Santa
                      This month Lucy Madden enlists Santa’s help to make our green and pleasant land can become a more attractive place to live and to visit Dear Santa, It is many years since I last wrote t ...
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                      Lucy & Johnny Madden
                      Insider View - Friendliness in Restaurants
                      A timely piece from Lucy Madden about the ideal level of ‘friendliness’ in restaurants - just when we are concentrating our own efforts on addressing complaints from many of our asse ...
                      more...
                      Lucy & Johnny Madden
                      Insider View - Diets
                      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 t ...
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                      Lucy & Johnny Madden
                      Insider View - Is Irish Food Really Getting Better?
                      This month Lucy Madden questions whether Irish food is really getting better - saying that, in rural Ireland, a good meal at a reasonable price is hard to find It was a recycled wine bottle fil ...
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                      Lucy & Johnny Madden
                      Insider View on Northern Ireland
                      This month Lucy Madden says it will be a sad day when Mother Nature is not enough, and a place must be theme-parked to attract visitors A perfect day. They so rarely occur, but imagine sitting ...
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                      Ken Buggy Chef
                      Insider View on Calorie Counted Menus
                      This month, Lucy Madden speaks for us all - on the dread topic of calorie-counted menus - and has some sensible tips on meaningful menus too. (Ken Buggy’s quirky drawing shown here, has been ...
                      more...
                      Lucy & Johnny Madden
                      Insider View on Demanding Guests
                      This month, Lucy Madden describes some of the increasingly unreasonable behaviour of demanding guests - observing that ‘the accumulation of wealth and power seems to go hand in hand with rud ...
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                      Lucy & Johnny Madden
                      Insider View on the Trials & Tribulations of Travel
                      This month, Lucy Madden wonders why does the airport experience have to be so unpleasant ? But the trains are no better - and as for the experiences of overseas visitors over-70s wishing to hire a ...
                      more...
                      Lucy & Johnny Madden
                      Insider View
                      Ending the year on an optimistic note, Lucy Madden finds encouragement in the observation that a more relaxed approach in restaurants and hotels does not have to mean a lessening of standards, mor ...
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                      Lucy & Johnny Madden
                      Insider View - on Parties
                      Lucy Madden begins the new year by sharing a guilty secret - and it is one that will be familiar to many... My sister and I for years have shared a guilty secret; it may be hard to believe but we ...
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                      Lucy Madden
                      Insider View
                      This month Lucy Madden considers with a mixture of sadness and wry amusement some of the consequences that follow high jinks and disrespect for historic properties and antiques - and urges culrpit ...
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                      Lucy Madden
                      Insider View - Airbnb
                      This month Lucy Madden considers the rampant rise of Airbnb - and the merits of spending precious time and money with people who know what they are doing, i.e. the hospitality professionals  ...
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                      Lucy Madden
                      Insider View
                      In sparkling form this month, Lucy Madden asserts that “for anyone young, and naturally sociable, there can be few more promising career paths to take than in hospitality”. An ebullie ...
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                      • New Product Review
                        Mr Goods Fabulous Fish Range
                        Mr Good's Fabulous Fish - Georgina Campbell's New Product Review supported by BIM
                        Little did the people of Carrigaline know what a business dynamo they had in their midst when local fishmonger Denis Good opened a small fish shop here in the mid 1980s. Far from being a flash in ...
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                        Silver Darlings - Kirsti O'Kelly
                        Silver Darlings - Georgina Campbell's New Product Review supported by BIM
                        The history of Ireland and the little herring has been intertwined for many a generation, with the success or failure of the herring season having a major impact on coastal communities. In recent ...
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                        Kilmore Quay Seafood Sausages
                        Kilmore Quay Seafood Sausages - Georgina Campbell's New Product Review supported by BIM
                        What better food could there be to begin a new year than a comforting and healthy sausage. While sausages are an all-year food, they’re especially appealing in the early months when the weat ...
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                        Atlantic Treasures
                        Atlantic Treasures - Georgina Campbell's New Product Review supported by BIM
                        Fish smoking has a long history in Ireland, with traditionally smoked fish a staple on our tables until relatively recently. It is still held in affection and many people have fond memories of loc ...
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                        • Just Ask
                          Bord Bia
                          Just Ask
                          What is Just Ask? Just Ask is a public awareness campaign that aims to encourage consumers when eating out to look for information on where the food (particularly meat) on their plate comes fro ...
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                          Longueville House Hotel
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month - Longueville House
                          “Just Ask!” is a public awareness campaign run by Bord Bia that aims to encourage consumers when eating out to look for information on where the food (particularly meat) on their plate ...
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                          Itsa4
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month - Itsa4
                          “Just Ask!” is a public awareness campaign run by Bord Bia that aims to encourage consumers when eating out to look for information on where the food (particularly meat) on their plate ...
                          more...
                          Over the Moon Restaurant - Skibbereen County Cork ireland
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month June - Over the Moon
                          “Just Ask!” is a public awareness campaign that aims to encourage consumers when eating out to look for information on where the food (particularly meat) on their plate comes from, and ...
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                          Rathmullan House - County Donegal ireland
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month - Rathmullan House
                          “Just Ask!” is a public awareness campaign that aims to encourage consumers when eating out to look for information on where the food (particularly meat) on their plate comes from, and ...
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                          Fiacri Country House Restaurant & Cookery School - Roscrea County Tipperary ireland
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month - Fiacri Country House Restaurant & Cookery School
                          “Just Ask!” is a public awareness campaign that aims to encourage consumers when eating out to look for information on where the food (particularly meat) on their plate comes from, and ...
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                          Coopershill House - Riverstown County Sligo Ireland
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month - Coopershill House
                          “Just Ask!” is a public awareness campaign that aims to encourage consumers when eating out to look for information on where the food (particularly meat) on their plate comes from, and ...
                          more...
                          O'Connell's Restaurant Dublin 4
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month - O'Connell's Ballsbridge
                          “Just Ask!” is a public awareness campaign that aims to encourage consumers when eating out to look for information on where the food (particularly meat) on their plate comes from, and ...
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                          West at the Twleve Hotel - Just Ask Restaurant of the Month November
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month - West at The Twelve Hotel
                          “Just Ask!” is a public awareness campaign that aims to encourage consumers when eating out to look for information on where the food (particularly meat) on their plate comes from, and ...
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                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month December - Nash 19 Cork
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month - Nash 19 Restaurant Cork
                          “Just Ask!” is a public awareness campaign that aims to encourage consumers when eating out to look for information on where the food (particularly meat) on their plate comes from, and ...
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                          Cafe Rua - Castlebar County Mayo Ireland
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month - Café Rua
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for February is Café Rua in Castlebar, Co Mayo When Ann McMahon opened Café Rua on New Antrim Street, Castlebar, in the ...
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                          King Sitric Restaurant - Howth County Dublin Ireland
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month March - King Sitric Restaurant
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for March is King Sitric Restaurant in Howth, Co Dublin. Long before it was popular or profitable to do so (indeed, ever since he op ...
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                          Harrys Bar & Restaurant - Bridgend County Donegal ireland
                          Just Ask Resturant of the Month for April - Harrys Bar & Restaurant
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for April is Harrys Bar & Restaurant in Bridgend, Co Donegal. Donal & Kevin Doherty and Raymond Moran operate this well-run ...
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                          Lennons @ Visual - Carlow Town County Carlow Ireland
                          Just Ask Resturant of the Month for May - Lennons @ Visual
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for May is Lennons @ Visual in Carlow Town, Co Carlow Fans of the former Lennons Café Bar of Tullow Street in Carlow Town had to ...
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                          Ristorante Rinuccini - Kilkenny Ireland
                          Just Ask Resturant of the Month for June - Ristorante Rinuccini
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for June is Ristorante Rinuccini in Kilkenny The Cavaliere family are from Lazio in Italy and, for over twenty years, they have ru ...
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                          Fallons of Kilcullen - COunty Kildare Ireland - Beef
                          Just Ask Resturant of the Month for July - Fallons of Kilcullen
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for July is Fallons of Kilcullen, Co Kildare When his much loved Newbridge hotel, The Red House, was destroyed by fire a few years a ...
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                          Lisloughrey Lodge - Cong County Mayo Ireland
                          Just Ask Resturant of the Month for August - Salt Restaurant
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for August is Salt Restaurant, Lisloughrey Lodge, Cong, Co Mayo Just outside Cong, in the Ashford Castle Estate, Lisloughrey Lodge is ...
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                          The Winding Stair - Restaurant Dublin 1 ireland
                          Just Ask Resturant of the Month for September - The Winding Stair
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for September is The Winding Stair, Dublin The Winding Stair has been in the news a lot of late and, following the well-publicised prob ...
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                          The Fatted Calf - Glasson County Westmeath Ireland
                          Just Ask Resturant of the Month for November - The Fatted Calf
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for November is The Fatted Calf, Glasson, Co Westmeath Feargal O’Donnell and his wife, Fiona, chose well when they took over a ...
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                          Waterford Castle Hotel - Chef Michael Quinn
                          Just Ask Resturant of the Month for December - Waterford Castle Hotel & Golf Resort
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for December is the Munster Room Restaurant at Waterford Castle Hotel & Golf Resort This beautiful hotel dates back to the 16th c ...
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                          Oscars Bistro Galway
                          Just Ask Resturant of the Month for February - Oscars Seafood Bistro, Galway
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for February is Oscars Seafood Bistro, Galway Just a couple of minutes’ walk across the bridge and away from the bustle of Ga ...
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                          Jacques French Bistro - Wexford Town County Wexford Ireland
                          Just Ask Resturant of the Month for March - Jacques French Bistro, Wexford Town
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for March is Jacques French Bistro, Wexford Town As more and more Irish chefs take pride in introducing customers to the foods of t ...
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                          Farmgate Cafe - Just Ask Restaurant of the MOnth April 2011
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for April - Farmgate Cafe Cork City
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for April is Farmgate Café in Cork City Since opening in 1994 – well before most restaurateurs in Ireland thought it mig ...
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                          Ashford Castle - Cong County Mayo Ireland
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for May - Ashford Castle Co Mayo
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for May is Ashford Castle, Cong, Co Mayo There is nowhere like Ashford Castle - and, thanks to an exceptionally talented and dedicated ...
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                          Hilton Park - Clones County Monaghan Ireland
                          Insider View - On Being Optimistic
                          Despite everything that has happened here recently, Lucy Madden finds many reasons for optimism in Ireland today. A friend of mine views the world through a prism of joy and optimism; how I wis ...
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                          The Garden Cafe @ Avoca - Mount Usher Gardens Ashford County Wicklow Ireland
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for June - Avoca Garden Cafe at Mount Usher Gardens
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for June is The Avoca Garden Café at Mount Usher Gardens, Ashford, Co Wicklow Widely acknowledged among the great gardens of ...
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                          Richys Restaurant - Clonakilty County Cork ireland
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for July - Richys Restaurant Clonakilty Co Cork
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for July is Richy's Restaurant in Clonakilty Co Cork When everyone heads off on the annual pilgrimage to West Cork in July, many of ...
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                          The Box Tree - Stepaside Dublin 18 Ireland
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for August - The Box Tree Stepaside Dublin 18
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for August is The Box Tree Stepaside Dublin 18 Tucked away in Stepaside village, near Leopardstown race course, ‘The Box Tree b ...
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                          Onions & Turnips
                          Harvest Dinners
                          Full on kitchen gardening has been a new experience for thousands of allotment virgins this last couple of years, and it’s a fair bet that a good few are wondering what on earth to do with a ...
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                          Gormans Clifftop House & Restaurant - Dingle Peninsula County kerry Ireland
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for September - Gorman's Clifftop House & Restaurant
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for September is Gorman's Clifftop House & Restaurant, Dingle Peninsula, Co Kerry Beautifully situated near Smerwick Harbour on t ...
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                          Lucy & Johnny Madden - Hilton Park Clones County Monaghan Ireland
                          Insider View - On Causing Offence
                          Sister number one has caused unpardonable offence to sister number two by referring to her work chairing an arts organisation as a ‘piddling little job’. This is a slight that will re ...
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                          Tankardstown House - Slane County Meath ireland
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for October - Tankardstown House
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for October is Tankardstown House, Slane, Co Meath Since buying Tankardstown House in 2002, Trish and Brian Conroy have restored a ...
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                          O'Connells Restaurant - Donnybrook Dublin 4 Ireland - Tom O'Connell
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for November - O'Connell's Restaurant
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for November is O'Connells in Donnybrook, Dublin 4 Although only open in this characterful Donnybrook premises for a year, O'Connells R ...
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                          O'Brien Chop House - Lismore County Waterford Ireland
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for December - O'Brien Chop House
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for December is O'Brien Chop House, Lismore, Co Waterford Food lovers have many good reasons to head for beautiful and unspoilt West Wa ...
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                          VM Restaurant - Viewmount House - Longford County Longford ireland
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for February - 'VM' Restaurant, Viewmount House
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for February is "VM" Restaurant, Viewmount House, Longford, Co Longford Just outside Longford Town, this beautiful Georgian ...
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                          Tony & Bobbie Schwarz - White Sage Restaurant - Adare County Limerick Ireland
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for March - White Sage Restaurant
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for March is White Sage Restaurant, Adare, Co Limerick If good looks were the secret of a restaurant’s success then Tony and Bobb ...
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                          Ard Bia - Galway City
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for April - Ard Bia
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for April is Ard Bia in Galway City Happy the food lover visiting Ireland’s western capital who happens on Aoibheann MacNamara&rs ...
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                          Thyme Restaurant - Athlone County Westmeath Ireland
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for May - Thyme
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for May is Thyme in Athlone, Co Westmeath Right in the centre of Athlone, Thyme Restaurant is one of the town’s most popular eati ...
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                          Jp McMahon & Drigin Gaffney & Enda McEvoy - EatGalway
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for June - EatGalway
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for June is EatGalway, Galway City Something very different for the ‘Just Ask!’ Restaurant of the Month in June as, for t ...
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                          Just Ask
                          70 per cent of leading Irish restaurants have increased purchase of local goods in the past two years
                          Consumers increasingly looking for sourcing information on menus A survey conducted among leading Irish restaurant owners and chefs from around the country has shown that 70% of those surveyed ...
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                          Limerick Strand Hotel - Chef Tom Flavin
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for August - The River Restaurant at Limerick Strand Hotel
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for August is The River Restaurant at Limerick Strand Hotel The River Restaurant at Limerick Strand Hotel, Co. Limerick has been awar ...
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                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for September - Global Village
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for September - Global Village
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for September is Global Village, Dingle, Co Kerry Everything about Martin Bealin and Nuala Cassidy’s long-established restauran ...
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                          The Strawberry Tree
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for October - The Strawberry Tree
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for October is The Strawberry Tree, BrookLodge Hotel, Macreddin, Co Wicklow The ‘Just Ask!’ Restaurant of the Month for O ...
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                          Michelle Darmody - Cake Cafe
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for November - Cake Cafe
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for November is Cake Café Dublin A love of traditional food and recognition of the environmental impact of the business are the ...
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                          Sage Restaurant
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for February
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for February is Sage Restaurant, Midleton, Co Cork With its weekly farmers’ market (one of Ireland’s best) and an enviable ...
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                          Stephen Lenahan - Belleek Castle
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for March - Belleek Castle
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for March is Belleek Castle, Ballina, Co Mayo Complete with 16th century armoury, huge open fires, massive chandeliers and many quirky ...
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                          Alan Coady - Step House Hotel Borris
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for April - The Cellar Restaurant at The Step House Hotel
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for April is The Cellar Restaurant at The Step House Hotel, Borris, Co Carlow Although it is, as they say themselves down there, &lsquo ...
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                          Jonathan Keane
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for May - Wildes at the Lodge
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for May is Wilde's at the Lodge, Lisloughrey Lodge, Cong, Co Mayo Set in the grounds of Ashford Castle, Lisloughrey Lodge enjoys on ...
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                          Cronins Pub
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for July - Mad Fish at Cronin's Pub
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for July is Mad Fish at Cronin's Pub, Crosshaven, Co Cork If you ever need an excuse to go to the lovely seaside village of Crosshaven, ...
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                          Gannet Fish Galway
                          Just Ask - Supplier of the Year
                          Gannet Fishmongers in Galway has received the most nominations in a survey conducted among leading Irish restaurant owners and chefs, who were asked to identify their ‘Supplier of the Year&r ...
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                          Kilkenny Design Centre Restaurant
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for September - Kilkenny Design Centre Restaurant
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for September is Kilkenny Design Centre Restaurant With the seventh Savour Kilkenny Food Festival coming up (24-28 October 2013; www.sa ...
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                          Inch House
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for November - Inch House, Thurles
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for November is Inch House, Thurles, Co Tipperary Built in 1720 and rescued from dereliction by John and Nora Egan in the 1980’s, ...
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                          Grangecon Cafe
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for February - Grangecon Café
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for February is Grangecon Café in Blessington Co Wicklow Jenny and Richard Street first opened for business in the charming littl ...
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                          Kate Lawlor - Fenns Quay Restaurant
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for March - No. 5 Fenns Quay Restaurant
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for March is No. 5 Fenn's Quay Restaurant, Cork “Our philosophy is simple, we use only the best produce from the best local suppli ...
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                          McCambridges of Galway
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for April - McCambridge's of Galway
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for April is McCambridge's of Galway Established in 1925 and now run by siblings Eoin, Natalie and Norma, who take pride in continuing t ...
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                          Signature Cuts
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for May - The Cornstore, Limerick & Cork
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for May is The Cornstore, Cork & Limerick “Quality Food Sourced Locally” has always been the mantra at Padraic ...
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                          Dan O'Brien & Michael Vaughan
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for June - Restaurant Lahinch, Co Clare
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for June is Restaurant Lahinch, Vaughan Lodge, Lahinch, Co Clare One of a great Lahinch dynasty - his late father owned the town’s ...
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                          Caifé na Caolóige at Louis Mulcahy Pottery - Crab Salad
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for August - Caifé na Caolóige at Louis Mulcahy Pottery
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for August is Caifé na Caolóige at Louis Mulcahy Pottery, Ballyferriter Co Kerry Sixteen kilometres west of Dingle, o ...
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                          Mount Falcon Estate
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for September - Kitchen Restaurant, Ballina, Co Mayo
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for September is The Kitchen Restaurant at Mount Falcon Estate, Ballina, Co Mayo Having been a private home - and a country house guesth ...
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                          Hatch & Sons
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for November - Hatch & Sons Irish Kitchen, Dublin 2
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for November is Hatch & Sons Irish Kitchen, Dublin Run by the famous catering sisters Domini and Peaches Kemp Irish Kitchen is an un ...
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                          An Port Mor Lamb
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for December - An Port Mor
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for December is An Port Mór in Westport, Co Mayo Welcome is the byword at Frankie Mallon’s deservedly popular Westport ...
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                          Rathsallagh Chefs
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for January - Rathsallagh House Dining Room
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for February is Rathsallagh House Dining Room, Dunlavin, Co Wicklow Just an hour from Dublin, the O'Flynn family’s romantically ra ...
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                          Number 35, Kenmare, Co Kerry
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for March - Number 35
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for March is Number 35, Kenmare, Co Kerry In common ownership with the boutique Brook Lane Hotel, Dermot and Una Brennan’s popular ...
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                          The Copper Hen
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for April - The Copper Hen
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for April is The Copper Hen, Fenor, Co Waterford The scenery of Waterford’s beautiful ‘copper coast’ is a treat in sto ...
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                          Kai Winners
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for May - Kai
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for May is Kai Café & Restaurant in Galway Fun, quirky and always busy, Kai (meaning food in Maori) is the brainchild of ...
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                          Murphs Tavern, East Ferry, Co Cork
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for June - Murphs Tavern
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for June is Murph's Tavern East Ferry Co Cork Siblings Michael and Laura Cashman took over the lease of this famous waterside pub in 201 ...
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                          The Kings Head, Galway
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for August - The King's Head
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for August is The King's Head, Galway Steeped in centuries of history and atmosphere, The King’s Head is a destination food pub in ...
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                          Rua Cafe & Deli
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for September - Rua
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for September is Rua, Castlebar When Ann McMahon set up the excellent Cafe Rua just along from Castlebar’s Linenhall Art ...
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                          Hanoras Cottage Breakfast Buffet
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for November - Hanora's Cottage
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for November is Hanora's Cottage, Ballymacarbry High up in West Waterford’s wonderfully away-from-it-all Nire Valley, the Wa ...
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                          Barry Liscombe - Head Chef Harte's of Kildare
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for December - Harte's Bar & Grill, Kildare
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for December is Harte's Bar & Grill, Kildare, Co Kildare When brothers-in-law Paul Lenehan and Ronan Kinsella opened Hartes Bar & ...
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                          Sash Restaurant - Blue Table
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for February - Sash at No 1 Pery Square, Limerick
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for February is Sash at No. 1 Pery Square, Limerick There’s been a new confidence about Limerick city since it was chosen as ...
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                          The Washerwoman
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for March - The Washerwoman, Dublin
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for March is The Washerwoman, Glasnevin, Dublin 9 With a reputation for excellence that includes the deservedly successful Winding Stair ...
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                          The Mill Restaurant
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for April - The Mill Restaurant
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for April is The Mill Restaurant, Dunfanaghy, Co Donegal An ‘open secret’ hideaway destination that has attracted discerni ...
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                          The Purple Onion
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for May - The Purple Onion
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for May is The Purple Onion Bar & Restaurant, Tarmonbarry, Co Roscommon Paul Dempsey and Pauline Roe’s almost-Shannonside ba ...
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                          Wade & Elaine Murphy
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for June - 1826 Adare
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for June is 1826 Adare, Adare, Co Limerick Wade Murphy - recent Commissioner General of Euro-Toques Ireland and former head chef in ...
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                          14 hours confit pork cheeks, brandy sauce, mushrooms and parsnips mash with herbs
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for August - Le Petit Pois Restaurant & Wine Bar
                            The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for August is Le Petit Pois Restaurant & Wine Bar, Galway City Through a picturesque stone archway at Victoria Pla ...
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                          Castle Leslie
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for September - Snaffles Restaurant, The Lodge at Castle Leslie
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for September is Snaffles Restaurant, The Lodge at Castle Leslie, Co Monaghan Home to the Leslie family since 1665 and now run by S ...
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                          Margaret & Laura Bowe
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for October - Marlfield House Hotel & The Duck Terrace Restaurant
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for October is Marlfield House Hotel & The Duck Terrace Restaurant, Co Wexford A fine regency house set in 40 acres of immacu ...
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                          Le Pain Quotidien
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for November - Le Pain Quotidien
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for November is Le Pain Quotidien, Kildare Village, Co Kildare The brainchild of Belgian chef and baker Alain Coumont, Le Pain Quot ...
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                          Moloughney's - chefs
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for December - Moloughney's
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for December is Moloughney’s, Clontarf, Dublin 3 Just off the seafront, in what has become the ‘restaurant quart ...
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                          Lee Martin - The Draft House
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for February - The Draft House
                           The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for February is The Draft House, Strandhill, Co Sligo Since May 2015, Daniel McGarrigle's gastropub The Draft House has proved a ...
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                          La Boheme - Food
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for March - La Boheme
                           The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for March is La Bohème Restaurant & Wine Bar, Waterford A wonderfully atmospheric restaurant in the vaulted base ...
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                          Restaurant Sage, Letterkenny
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for April - Restaurant Sage
                           The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for April is Restaurant Sage, Letterkenny, Co Donegal Just across the road from An Grianan Theatre in Letterkenny, Restaurant Sa ...
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                          Keith Boyle - The Bay Tree Bistro
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for May - The Bay Tree Bistro
                           The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for May is The Bay Tree Bistro, Waterford City "Locally sourced food, cooked local, by a local chef" is the mantra tha ...
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                          Carmel Somers - Good Things at Dillon's Corner
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for June - Good Things at Dillon's Corner
                           The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for June is Good Things @ Dillon's Corner, Skibbereen, Co Cork A philosophy of creating an experience for diners rathe ...
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                          Henry Stone - Sha Roe Bistro
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for July - Sha Roe Bistro
                           The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for July is Sha-Roe Bistro, Clonegal, Co Carlow ‘Quietly excellent’, that’s Henry and Stephanie Stone's s ...
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                          Hotel Doolin Restaurant
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for September
                           The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for September is Hotel Doolin, Co Clare Visitors exploring bustling Doolin village often come across one of the country’s ...
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                          Market Lane Restaurant & Bar
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for November - Market Lane Restaurant & Bar, Cork
                           The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for November is Market Lane Restaurant & Bar, Cork Named after the nearby English Market that supplies so much of the produc ...
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                          Osta Cafe & Winebar - Brid Torrades
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for December - Osta Café & Winebar, Sligo
                           The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for December is Osta Café & Winebar, Sligo The Garavogue river sweeps past this bright and airy café in the ce ...
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                          BuJo Suppliers
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for February - BuJo, Sandymount
                           The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for February is BuJo, Sandymount, Dublin 4 BuJo (‘Burger Joint’) is a cool modern fast casual restaurant with a slow ...
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                          Ferrit & Lee
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for March - Ferrit & Lee, Midleton
                           The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for March is Ferrit & Lee, Midleton, Co Cork Pat Ferriter and Stephen Lee celebrate a year in business at their smart m ...
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                          Lemon Tree Restaurant
                          Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for April - The Lemon Tree Restaurant, Letterkenny
                           The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for April is The Lemon Tree Restaurant, Letterkenny, Co Donegal After nearly two decades on Lower Main Street, the Molloy family ...
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                          Muckross Park
                          “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month for May - Yew Tree Restaurant, Muckross Park Hotel & Spa, Killarney, Co Kerry
                          Beautifully located, near Muckross House and Gardens and within the Killarney National Park, the five star Muckross Park Hotel & Spa has a fine Victorian house at its heart and - while the new ...
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                          Hooked ext
                          “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Year - Hooked, Sligo, Co Sligo.
                           The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Year is Hooked, Sligo, Co Sligo. Located just a few blocks away from its well established older sister, the deservedly popular Eala Bhá ...
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                          Truffles fishing crop
                          “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for AUGUST - Truffles Restaurant & Wine Bar in Kilkenny, Co Kilkenny
                          The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for August is Truffles Restaurant & Wine Bar in Kilkenny, Co Kilkenny Truffles may be one of Kilke ...
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                          pantry & corkscrew dish
                          “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month for September -The Pantry & Corkscrew, Westport, Co Mayo
                          Our “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for SEPTEMBER is The Pantry & Corkscrew, Westport, Co Mayo Just off the Octagon in Westport’s handsome town centre, you’ ...
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                          Docks Chicken
                          “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month for November - Dooks Fine Foods, Fethard, Co. Tipperary
                          Modern, fiercely local food is the hallmark of chef Richard Gleeson’s smartly understated restaurant and deli on the edge of Fethard. When he returned to his home town to open Dooks Fine Fo ...
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                          The Square Table
                          “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month for December - The Square Table, Blarney, Co Cork
                          An attractive, neatly presented stone building in the centre of Blarney is home to one of the area's most interesting restaurants, serving the very best of Irish food with a hint of French cuisine ...
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                          Basilico - Derrykeel Farm
                          “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month for February - Basilico, Galway
                          A popular restaurant that has been a destination for lovers of authentic Italian food for over a decade, Basilico is part of an attractive off-street complex in the centre of the Galway suburb of ...
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                          The Wilds, Enniscorthy
                          “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Year Award 2020 - The Wilds, Wexford
                          Set in a landmark historic building at the top of Weafer Street, Paula and Simon Nelson’s delightful café has been wowing customers since the day it opened in 2015. This quirky daytim ...
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                          Black Cat Galway
                          “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month for April - Black Cat, Galway
                          A distinctive black and white three-storey building just a stone’s throw from the Atlantic Ocean, the Black Cat in downtown Salthill has been a casual dining destination of choice for discer ...
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                          Dunmore House Hotel
                          “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month for May - Dunmore House Hotel, Cork
                          The O'Donovan family's immaculately maintained hotel just outside Clonakilty has long been renowned for its stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean, great hospitality and warmly modern classic style ...
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                          Flanagans Gastro Pub
                          'Just Ask!' Restaurant of the Month for June - Flanagan's Gastro Pub, Co. Mayo
                          Easy to spot with its bright cream and red colour scheme and an old Austin delivery van parked outside, Flanagan's once provided Brickens with the traditional village combination of bar, grocery a ...
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                          Chef Brian McDermott, The Foyle Hotel
                          'Just Ask!' Restaurant of the Month for July - The Foyle Hotel, Moville, Co. Donegal
                          Well known throughout Ireland as a TV chef and teacher with a great commitment to promoting the superb produce of his native Donegal and the North-West of Ireland, Brian McDermott and his wife Bre ...
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                          Waterfront House & Restaurant Seafood Platter
                          'Just Ask!' Restaurant of the Month for August - Waterfront House & Restaurant, Enniscrone, Co. Sligo
                          Poised promisingly just across the road from Enniscrone's famous beach - and a couple of doors from the even more famous Kilcullen’s Seaweed Baths (est. 1912) - this pleasant boutique ho ...
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                          Lemon Tree
                          'Just Ask!' Restaurant of the Month for October - Lemon Tree Seafood Restaurant, Dunmore East, Co Waterford
                          Renowned for its lovely fresh fish, delicious home baking and friendly atmosphere, Joan Boland's gem of a café-restaurant is well worth the short walk up from the harbour at Dunmore East. ...
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                          Olive Deli & Cafe
                          'Just Ask!' Restaurant of the Month for November - Olive Deli & Café , Skerries Co. Dublin
                          A stalwart of the characterful north Co Dublin fishing port of Skerries since 2005, Peter and Deirdre Dorrity's charming specialist food shop and café has always showcased a carefully selec ...
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                          Brownes
                          Just Ask!' Restaurant of the Month winner for December is Brownes, Tuam, Co Galway
                          Husband and wife team Stevie Lane and Amanda Fahy have created the perfect blend of old and new at the former Brownes Pub in Tuam. Since saving it from dereliction on returning to their home town ...
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                          • Beer of the Month
                            Twisted Hop
                            Beer of the Month - Twisted Hop
                            Beginning a new series that’s all about craft brews, our expert columnist and food blogger KRISTIN JENSEN introduces her first Beer of the Month: Twisted Hop from Hilden Brewing Company ABO ...
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                            Galway Bay Brewery
                            Beer of the Month - Chocolate Milk Stout
                            Continuing a new series that’s all about craft brews, our expert columnist and food blogger KRISTIN JENSEN introduces a Beer of the Month that might go down a treat on Valentine’s Day: ...
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                            Blacks of Kinsale
                            Beer of the Month - Black IPA
                            Continuing her new series that’s all about craft brews, our expert columnist and food blogger KRISTIN JENSEN says “Forego the usual pint of the black stuff this Paddy’s Day for s ...
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                            Brú Rua
                            Beer of the Month - Brú Rua
                            Continuing her series all about craft brews, our expert columnist and food blogger KRISTIN JENSEN says “This pleasant, fruity, easy-drinking red matches well with food but, at 4.2% ABV, it w ...
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                            Amber Ella Beer
                            Beer of the Month - Amber-Ella
                            This series is all about Irish craft brews and, for May, our expert columnist and food blogger KRISTIN JENSEN introduces a Beer of the Month that’s made in north Cork by a couple of quality ...
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                            Whitewater Brewery
                            Beer of the Month - Belfast Lager
                            This series is all about Irish craft brews and, for June, our expert columnist and food blogger KRISTIN JENSEN introduces a Beer of the Month that’s made by one of Ireland’s longest ru ...
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                            Trouble Brewing
                            Beer of the Month - Lazy Sunday Saison
                            This series is all about Irish craft brews and, for July, our expert columnist and food blogger KRISTIN JENSEN introduces a seasonal treat that’s ‘the little black dress of beer &ndas ...
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                            N17 Brewery
                            N17 Rye Ale - Beer of the Month
                            This series is all about Irish craft brews and, for August, our expert columnist and food blogger KRISTIN JENSEN introduces N17 Rye Ale, a delicious beer from a very promising newly launched brew ...
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                            O'Haras Beers
                            Carlow Brewing Company Leann Folláin - Beer of the Month
                            For September, our expert columnist, food blogger - and joint author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders - KRISTIN JENSEN introduces a delicious stout from one of Irel ...
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                            Dan Kellys Cider
                            Dan Kelly's Cider - Beer of the Month
                            For November, our expert columnist, food blogger - and joint author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders - KRISTIN JENSEN has moved away from beer, to offer up a very p ...
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                            Kristin Jensen
                            White Gypsy Emerald Fresh - Beer of the Month
                            For December, our expert columnist, food blogger - and joint author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders - KRISTIN JENSEN introduces us to the first all-Irish beer, Emera ...
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                            Kinnegar Brewing Company
                            Kinnegar Yannaroddy Porter - Beer of the Month
                            KRISTIN JENSEN - co-author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders - introduces us to Kinnegar Yannaroddy Porter, from County Donegal ABOUT THE BREWER Headed up by owners ...
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                            Wicklow Wolf Brewing Company
                            Wicklow Wolf American Amber - Beer of the Month
                            KRISTIN JENSEN - co-author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders - introduces us to one of Ireland’s newest craft beers, Wicklow Wolf American Amber ABOUT THE BREWE ...
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                            The White Hag Brewing Company
                            Bran & Sceolan Irish IPA - Beer of the Month
                            KRISTIN JENSEN - co-author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders - introduces us to one of Ireland’s newest craft beers, White Hag Brewing Company Bran and Sceolan I ...
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                            Metalman Pale Ale
                            Metalman Pale Ale - Beer of the Month
                            KRISTIN JENSEN - co-author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders - introduces us to Metalman Pale Ale, from the first Irish microbrewery to can their beer instead of bottl ...
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                            Stony Grey IPA
                            Stony Grey IPA - Beer of the Month
                            KRISTIN JENSEN - co-author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders - introduces us to Brehon Brewhouse Stony Grey IPA ABOUT THE BREWER Brehon Brewhouse is set amongst t ...
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                            Dungarvan Brewing Company
                            Helvick Gold Irish Blonde Ale - Beer of the Month
                            KRISTIN JENSEN - co-author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders - introduces us to Dungarvan Brewing Company Helvick Gold Irish Blonde Ale ABOUT THE BREWER Dungarva ...
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                            Black Donkey Brewing Sheep Stealer Irish Farmhouse Ale
                            Black Donkey Brewing Sheep Stealer Irish Farmhouse Ale - Beer of the Month
                            KRISTIN JENSEN, co-author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders, introduces us to ‘ the little black dress of beer’, the Black Donkey Brewing Sheep Stealer Iri ...
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                            Galway Hooker Irish Dark Lager
                            Galway Hooker Irish Dark Lager - Beer of the Month
                            KRISTIN JENSEN, co-author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders, introduces us to Galway Hooker Irish Dark Lager ABOUT THE BREWERY Galway Hooker Brewery is an independen ...
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                            St Mel's Brewing Company Brown Ale
                            St Mel's Brewing Company Brown Ale - Beer of the Month
                            KRISTIN JENSEN, co-author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders, introduces us to St Mel’s Brewing Company Brown Ale ABOUT THE BREWERY St Mel’s Brewing Compa ...
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                            Craigie's Ballyhook Flyer Irish Cider
                            Craigie's Ballyhook Flyer Irish Cider - Beer of the Month
                            KRISTIN JENSEN, co-author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders, celebrates autumn by introducing us to Craigie’s Ballyhook Flyer Irish Cider ABOUT THE CIDER MAKER ...
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                            Rascal’s Brewing Company Ginger Porter
                            Rascal's Brewing Company Ginger Porter - Beer of the Month
                            KRISTIN JENSEN, co-author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders - introduces us to Rascal’s Brewing Company Ginger Porter ABOUT THE BREWER Like many othe ...
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                            O Brother Brewing Joe Coffee Porter
                            O Brother Brewing Joe Coffee Porter - Beer of the Month
                            KRISTIN JENSEN, co-author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders - introduces us to O Brother Brewing Joe Coffee Porter ABOUT THE BREWER As the clever name ...
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                            Clever Man Ejector Seat Turf Smoked Stout
                            Clever Man Ejector Seat Turf Smoked Stout - Beer of the Month
                            KRISTIN JENSEN, co-author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders - introduces us to Clever Man Ejector Seat Turf Smoked Stout ABOUT THE BREWER Founded by ...
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                            Kristin Jensen
                            Hail Glorious Saint Patrick Extra Stout - Beer of the Month
                            KRISTIN JENSEN, co-author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders - introduces us to Jack Cody’s Brewery Hail Glorious Saint Patrick Extra Stout ABO ...
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                            Walled City Brewery
                            Boom Derry Pale Ale - Beer of the Month
                            KRISTIN JENSEN, co-author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders - introduces us to Walled City Brewery Boom Derry Pale Ale ABOUT THE BREWER Launched at th ...
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                            Kilmegan Wild Elderflower-Infused Cider
                            Kilmegan Wild Elderflower-Infused Cider - Beer of the Month
                            KRISTIN JENSEN, co-author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders - introduces us to Kilmegan Wild Elderflower-Infused Cider ABOUT THE CIDER MAKER The origi ...
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                            Boyne Brewhouse Long Arm Dortmunder Export
                            Boyne Brewhouse Long Arm Dortmunder Export - Beer of the Month
                            KRISTIN JENSEN, co-author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders - introduces us to Boyne Brewhouse Long Arm Dortmunder Export ABOUT THE BREWER The Boyne Brewh ...
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                            Long Meadow Oal
                            Long Meadow Oak Aged Irish Craft Cider - Beer of the Month
                            KRISTIN JENSEN, co-author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders - introduces us to Long Meadow Oak Aged Irish Craft Cider   ABOUT THE CIDER MAKER L ...
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                            Kristin Jensen
                            Northbound Brewery 26 Pale Ale - Beer of the Month
                            ABOUT THE BREWER David Rogers and his wife Martina decided to open up a craft brewery in Derry to fit in with rearing a young family. After becoming interested in craft brewing while living in ...
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                            Kristin Jensen
                            Gallows Hill Barley Wine - Beer of the Month
                            KRISTIN JENSEN - co-author of ‘Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders’ - introduces us to Dungarvan Brewing Company Gallows Hill Barley Wine ABOUT THE BREWER D ...
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                            • Recipes
                              Hot Chocolate Fondant
                              Romantic Menu for Valentines Day
                              Although it may not feel like it with the seriously wintry weather we always seem to get at this time of year, St Bridget’s Day officially marks the beginning of our Irish spring – and ...
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                              IFWG Award Winners
                              Irish Food Writers Guild Awards - Nothing But The Best!
                              Every February the Irish Food Writers Guild (IFWG) announce their unique Awards of Excellence, which are presented to just three or four carefully selected top food producers at a special awards c ...
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                              Leg of Lamb Roasted with Mustard and Rosemary
                              Easy Does It - Lovely Lamb Dishes for Spring
                              Georgina Campbell shares some seriously tasty Irish lamb recipes… Lamb is synonymous with spring, and has become one of the most popular Easter treats in recent years. New season Iri ...
                              more...
                              Allotment
                              Cookery Feature - Grow & Cook!
                              A really encouraging thing is happening all over Ireland at the moment: growing-your-own is back in style. And, although there’s a touch of ‘Digging for Victory’ about the unlike ...
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                              Chapter One Starter - Melon & Raspberries with Cinnamon Jelly and Fresh Basil
                              Cookery Feature - A Taste of Dublin
                              This month’s major culinary highlight is unquestionably the Taste of Dublin festival (11-14 June 09), held again this year at the lovely Iveagh Gardens on the south side of St Stephen’ ...
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                              Gerry Galvin's Seafood Coddle
                              Summer Seafood
                              Whether you’re in a smart seafood restaurant such as The King Sitric of Howth or O'Connors of Bantry, relaxing in a pub like Mary Ann's in Castletownshend – or in your own back ga ...
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                              Lobster - King Sitric
                              Lobster Fest - Big Treats, Great Value
                              Ask around to see what’s regarded as the ultimate treat when dining out, and the chances are most people will say lobster – and the good news is that it’s so plentiful this summe ...
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                              Waterford HArvest Festival
                              Summer's End - Year's Beginning
                              So, it’s the end of the long summer holidays and back to school – which may sound a little sad, but the start of the new academic year is always an exciting time. It’s also a mag ...
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                              Minestrone Soup - Good Mood Food by Donal Skehan
                              Hallowe'en Treats
                              Hallowe’en is coming up and the evenings are closing in nicely for the bonfire and sparklers – this month’s recipes are ideal for feeding family and friends the casual, hearty fa ...
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                              Hallowe'en Cooking for the Kids
                              Hallowe'en Cooking for the Kids
                              We have some seriously spooky stuff that the kids can help with – perfect for the mid-term break. Not only will carrots help you see in the dark, but they can be made into great ‘Hallo ...
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                              Roly's Christmas Pudding from Roly's Cafe & Bakery Cookbook
                              The Big Bake
                              Christmas is coming and there’s nothing a good cook likes better than the orderly preparations that begin with making the puddings and rich fruit cakes – once they’re made and st ...
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                              Christmas Dinner
                              A Traditional Christmas Feast
                              Christmas Menu Spiced Beef (Bites or Starter - see below) - Traditional Roast Turkey & Accompaniments Glazed Ham Perfect Roast Potatoes Greens with Shallots & Bacon Jerusalem Art ...
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                              Porridge - Flahavans
                              Oat Cuisine
                              No winter morning begins in our house without a bowl of porridge, enjoyed with Irish honey and a good splash of full cream milk - we make the porridge overnight, cooked on Low in an electric slow ...
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                              Lamb Stew Hot Pot
                              Slow Cooked Meals for Lovely Lazy Flavours
                              Fast food has come in for a right royal bashing lately and, with certain noble exceptions (stir-fries, for example), quite right too. The irony is that, in true tortoise and hare fashion, traditio ...
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                              Hearty Tuscan Bean Soup
                              Shop Smart, Cook Smart, Eat Smart
                              THE NHF* EAT SMART WEEK 19TH – 25TH APRIL 2010 With so many families now faced with reduced disposable income through wages cuts, redundancy and increased taxes, the Nutrition & Healt ...
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                              Grilled Mackerel Fillets with Indian Spiced Potatoes and Raita
                              Here Comes...Happy Heart Eat Out Month
                              The Irish Heart Foundation, safefood and the HSE have joined together for this year’s Happy Heart Eat Out month, which runs in hundreds of participating restaurants, workplaces and communiti ...
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                              Tom Yaam Goong
                              Guilt-Free Dining Out
                              Back by popular demand - we gave a taster of Happy Heart Eat Out Month in our last e-zine and there were so many requests for more that we said, sure, why not... Small is beautiful when you&rsq ...
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                              Fluffy American Pancakes with Mixed Berries & Yoghurt
                              Tasty by Name, Tasty by Nature
                              There has been great interest in the fabulous cookbook Truly Tasty (Atrium, hardback 332pp, original photography throughout; €19.95/£17.95), which was compiled by successful kidney tran ...
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                              Potato Stir fry with Seaveg and Seafood
                              Sea Harvest - Food For Free
                              With the nation’s foodie mindset already well tuned in to sustainable living – thousands of us started allotments this year, and no allotment is complete without its bijou chicken run ...
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                              Castlefarm Shop
                              Go Organic!
                              Thinking back on it, it’s amazing how farming has changed in the last half century or so - for anyone growing up more than 50 or 60 years ago, organic farming was the norm; it didn’t n ...
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                              Ireland for Food Lovers by Georgina Campbell
                              Cookery Feature - Ireland for Food Lovers
                              Visitors to Ireland often seek simple traditional food based on local ingredients, as it has a real sense of place - and, although this kind of food has been out of favour with many Irish resident ...
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                              Mince Pies
                              Cookery Feature - Casual Festive Entertaining
                              Whether you’re planning to have people around for a drink or just like to be prepared for unexpected guests, everyone needs a few tasty standby dishes to hand at this time of year. We’ ...
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                              Valentines Chocolates
                              Treats for Your Sweet
                              Our national love affair with chocolate continues apace. Now pretty much synonymous with indulgence at Christmas, Easter and Valentine’s Day, it seems that any excuse will do - and, in fairn ...
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                              Corned Beef and Colcannon With Maple Roasted Carrots
                              Traditional Treats
                              A recent correspondence with an American food writer has got me thinking about St Patrick’s Day traditions, both here in Ireland and across the pond. It’s interesting that there&rs ...
                              more...
                              Irish Food Writers Guild Awards 2011
                              Home-Produced Treats
                              Homegrown talent, quality & integrity were honoured at the 2011 Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Awards - highlighting the vital work of small, independent Irish food producers, at a time ...
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                              Enda Kenny - Gourmet Greenway - Mayo Ireland
                              A Taste of Mayo's Gourmet Greenway
                              As Lucy Madden mentions in this month’s Insider View, the magnificent Great Western Greenway in Co Mayo opened in 2010. The longest off-road walking and cycling trail in Ireland, it mean ...
                              more...
                              Neven Maguire - Lamb
                              New Season Irish Lamb
                              In recent times, new season spring lamb has become traditional at Easter in Ireland, but it is a much better buy in summer when it has had more time to grow larger (making it more suitable for fam ...
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                              Potato & Bean Salad with Bacon
                              It's Summer Time & The Cookin' is Easy
                              New season vegetables make healthy eating a pleasure, and they’re quick and easy to cook too, in simple dishes that allow their fresh flavours to take centre stage. The food that Ireland ...
                              more...
                              Late Summer Tea Party
                              Late Summer Tea Party
                              Gardens are really beautiful at the moment and, as the days are getting noticeably shorter, this is the time to celebrate late summer with a tea party to remember. Pick a lazy sunny afternoon ...
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                              Pumpkin Cassoulet
                              Deep Flavoured Dishes for Dark Days
                              The short days of November and December are brightened by festivals, and also the abundance of wonderful seasonal produce that we have at our disposal – fruit, vegetables and foraged foods, ...
                              more...
                              Plum Pudding
                              Time to Stir Again
                              If you enjoy the traditional Christmas preparations and haven’t got started yet, it’s time to think about the puddings and cakes – although the long maturing time favoured by our ...
                              more...
                              Christmas Spread - The Twelve Hotel - Barna County Galway Ireland
                              Christmas Compendium
                              Ideas from events and establishments around the country - Georgina Campbell The festive season is in full swing and Christmas offers an escape from the everyday state of doom and gloom, so man ...
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                              Oats Field - Flahavans
                              One of the great unsung heroes of the Irish food scene, oats are widely grown, inexpensive, nutritious and extremely versatile. And, while there’s much more to oats than breakfast (see recip ...
                              more...
                              Pancakes
                              Pancakes Galore
                              The countdown to Easter begins on 21st February, which is Shrove Tuesday or, in the cooks’ lexicon, Pancake Day. As it’s the day before the first day of Lent (Ash Wednesday), it was tr ...
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                              The Best of Irish Breads & Baking (Epicure Press paperback, €15)
                              Best of Irish Breads & Baking
                              Home baking has settled so comfortably back into our collective psyche that it’s hard to believe it ever went away - and also back, by popular demand, is our vintage cookbook, The Best of Ir ...
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                              Irish Food Writers Guild Awards
                              Nothing But the Best - Derry Clarkes Winning Recipes for the Irish Food Writers Guild Awards
                              Artisan producers are the unsung heroes of the food industry in Ireland, but need support from the commercial sector to ensure their survival. This was the view of Myrtle Allen, one of the pionee ...
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                              Irish Traditional Cooking - Darina Allen
                              Irish Traditional Cooking
                              What is Irish cuisine – or is there any such a thing at all? There’s been a lot of talk about it in recent years and the idea has often been scornfully dismissed, as too has the concep ...
                              more...
                              Seafood
                              Seafood Special
                              Once the summer begins to kick in the annual drift towards the seaside starts too, so fish and seafood soon take pride of place on menus and home dinner tables alike. There are great goings-on ...
                              more...
                              Neven Maguire - Summer Lamb
                              Summer Lamb
                              Lamb may be synonymous with spring but, while tender, the small joints that make it to the Easter table are not a patch on the fuller-flavoured (and better value) meat that comes onto the market l ...
                              more...
                              Salt Sugar Smoke by Diana Henry
                              Preserving Nature's Bounty
                              It may not have been the best of summers but there’s a pleasing seasonal abundance of most foods nevertheless. And there’s even an over-abundance of some, particularly tunnel-grown cro ...
                              more...
                              The MacNean Restaurant Cookbook - Neven Maguire
                              Cook Like Neven
                              Neven Maguire has a special place in Irish food and in the hearts of Irish food lovers, and it is well earned. Whether through the family business, MacNean House & Restaurant in Blacklion, Co ...
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                              The Best of Irish Breads & Baking by Georgina Campbell
                              Quick & Easy Christmas Baking - Some Retro Favourites
                              Georgina Campbell Even if you’re very pressed for time coming up to Christmas, cooking a few bits and pieces is very satisfying, gets you into the festive mood - and it makes the house smel ...
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                              William's Seafood Chowder
                              Comfort Cooking from Cork's English Market
                              January is synonymous with comfort food - and where better to look for ideas when the weather turns chilly than Ireland’s great old traditional dishes? You’ll find these a-plenty in Mi ...
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                              Lamb Shanks
                              A Trio of Classics with Irish Meats
                              This time of year is always deceptive, the days are getting longer and everybody starts talking about spring but it’s often the coldest time of all. What’s needed in the kitchen is rec ...
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                              Irish Food Writers Guild Award Winners 2013
                              Trust & Innovation - Two Key Ingredients in Great Irish Food
                              Trust has become one of the most important ingredients in food production in Ireland today, according to the Irish Food Writers’ Guild (IFWG). “If we can’t have full faith in wh ...
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                              Sea Beet & Crab Tart
                              Wild Food Comes In From The Cold
                              Georgina Campbell In last month’s review of Biddy White Lennon and Evan Doyle’s book Wild Food Natures Harvest: How to Gather, Cook and Preserve (O’Brien Press), I promised to g ...
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                              Martin Shanahan
                              At Home with Hake
                              It seems an incredible amount of money but, according to recent figures from Bord Bia, Irish shoppers spent €3.5 million on fresh hake last year – which is a staggering an increase of 8 ...
                              more...
                              Chicken Breast with Fennel & Rocket Salad
                              Cookery Feature - First Find Your Spring Chicken...
                              Georgina Campbell Chicken is - for many reasons - one of the best examples of the disconnect that exists between the food on our plates and its origins. All of our foods have their natural seaso ...
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                              Wild Strawberry, Bilberry, Blackberry & Rosewater Jelly
                              Cookery Feature - Wild & In Season Now
                              Georgina Campbell It’s a great time to look for wild fruit in the hedgerows and heathland - finding wild strawberries to pick and enjoy while you amble along quiet laneways in sunny areas i ...
                              more...
                              Nicoise Salad
                              Cookery Feature - Use Your Loaf
                              Georgina Campbell The Gathering is one thing - the sort of get togethers that are pre-planned and organised to within an inch of their lives - but there’s no time like high summer for &lsqu ...
                              more...
                              Oysters Bloody Mary
                              Cookery Feature - Tastes of Autumn
                              Georgina Campbell With autumn comes the harvest, and so many treats to be enjoyed. This miscellany of seasonal dishes is from Irish Country House Cooking, The Blue Book Recipe Collection - inspir ...
                              more...
                              Auntie Maureen's Plum Pudding
                              Cookery Feature - A Seasonal Miscellany
                              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 so ...
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                              Electric Beef Wellington
                              Cookery Feature - Alternative Christmas Recipes
                              Georgina Campbell 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 mea ...
                              more...
                              Pork Chop
                              Cookery Feature - Free-From Food
                              Georgina Campbell ‘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 ...
                              more...
                              Rory O'Connell
                              Cookery Feature - Master It With Rory O'Connell
                              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 Ball ...
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                              Irish Food Writers Guild Award Winners 2014
                              Cookery Feature - Winning Ways
                              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 fo ...
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                              Lamb - Guard of Hounour
                              Cookery Feature - Easter Feasting
                              Georgina Campbell 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, mo ...
                              more...
                              The Egg Man
                              Cookery Feature - Eggs - Not Just for Breakfast!
                              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 re ...
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                              The Ballymaloe Cookbook
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Cooking with a Legend
                              Side by side on my desk are two books: the first edition of The Ballymaloe Cookbook by Myrtle Allen, published in 1977 by Agri Books - publishers of the Irish Farmers’ Journal, where many of ...
                              more...
                              Comber Earlies
                              Comber Potatoes - Cookery Feature from Georgina Campbell
                              Ireland’s answer to the famed Jersey Royal early potato from the Channel Islands, Comber Earlies are this island’s flagship potato and one of only a small handful of products here to h ...
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                              St Tola Goats
                              No Kidding! Goat Meat Makes It Onto Irish Menus At Last
                              The goat is the most widely used farm animal in the world for its milk, the cheese and its meat - yet, astonishingly, we hardly use it at all here, except for cheese. It really is the invisible m ...
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                              Bramley Apple
                              Cookery Feature - Armagh Bramley Apples
                              Georgina Campbell The special qualities of the Bramley’s Seedling have made it the most popular cooking apple in Britain and Ireland - and those grown in Northern Ireland’s ‘Orc ...
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                              Launch of Gubbeen Cookbook
                              Cookery Feature - Fantastic Farm Food
                              Georgina Campbell I have long been an admirer of the Ferguson family and have often cited their West Cork farm, Gubbeen, as a shining example of sustainable farming and quality food production in ...
                              more...
                              A Simply Delicious Christmas by Darina Allen
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Darina Allen's Simply Delicious Christmas
                              Twenty five years on and the original recipes in Darina Allen’s A Simply Delicious Christmas (Gill & Macmillan, hardback €27.99) still seem as fresh and relevant as ever, but this h ...
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                              Eunice Power
                              Eunice Power - Alternative Christmas Cakes
                              I am really fond of making Christmas cakes and look forward to making them each year. There is something immensely comforting about the aroma of warm spices in the kitchen while the cake is baking ...
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                              Rich & Hearty Potato Stew
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Let's Hear It For The Spud
                              What could be more comforting in the cold, dark days of late winter than hearty dishes based on the nation’s favourite vegetable, the spud. Or any dish with a lovely big, steaming baked pota ...
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                              Pork Crackling
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Passionate About Pork
                              Pork is one of our most traditional and most versatile foods and, while the introduction of refrigeration made a big change to attitudes as fresh pork was no longer seen as being ’just for w ...
                              more...
                              IFWG 2015 Award Winners
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Provenance and Authenticity - Celebrating Ireland's finest food products
                              Now in its 21st year, the annual Irish Food Writers’ Guild (IFWG) Food Awards recognise homegrown producers, organisations or individuals, whilst also celebrating the heroes who have devoted ...
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                              The Lettercollum Cookbook
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Recipes from The Lettercollum Kitchen Project
                              Georgina Campbell A popular West Cork destination for food lovers and a delightful find for visitors to the town, The Lettercollum Kitchen Project in Clonakilty is the latest phase in a wonderful ...
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                              Rhubarb shortbread butterscotch sauce
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Celebrating Vegetables
                              Georgina Campbell The UK’s National Vegetarian Week is scheduled for 18th-24th May and - while the nearest equivalent in Ireland is World Vegetarian Day in October, which is marked by the V ...
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                              Confit of Chicken Terrine
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Chicken: Fillets Not the Only Meat
                              Georgina Campbell How often do you eat chicken? It is by far the most popular meat in Ireland, accounting for about a third of the nation’s total meat consumption, so the chances are you ea ...
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                              Farmhouse Baguette with Blue Cheese & Bacon
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Why not Meet the Cheesemakers this Summer?
                              Georgina Campbell Bord Bia has been very supportive of cheesemakers, and of small producers generally, and through the EU-funded Discover Farmhouse Cheese programme, they are currently encouragin ...
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                              Summer Seafood Linguine Marinara
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Simple Summer Seafood
                              Georgina Campbell Summer by the seaside means lots of fresh fish and seafood - and fortunately the best way to treat good seafood is simply, so these recipes are perfect for those summer evenings ...
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                              Declan Ryan - Arbutus Breads
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Love Your Loaf
                              There’s never a bad time to think about the quality of staple food, but this is one of the best when it comes to bread and baking. With the new school year comes the challenge of the daily ...
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                              BrookLodge Parfait
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Celebrating the Classics
                              As new places open, food fashions come and go, and new products flood the market, the pages of the Irish food story are turning with ever increasing speed - and, while the phenomenon is quite righ ...
                              more...
                              Georgina O'Sullivan Christmas Turkey
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Christmas Cooking by The Book
                              Christmas is coming and the cooking is getting complicated - or maybe not.  If you’re looking for ways to simplify the annual feast without losing the sense of tradition that makes i ...
                              more...
                              Paula McIntyre
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Down to Earth Cooking
                              Georgina Campbell 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&rsquo ...
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                              Seville Orange Tart
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - A Taste of Mayo
                              County Mayo has become a favourite destination for food lovers from all over the country thanks to people like the McMahon family of the hugely popular Café Rua on New Antrim Street in Cast ...
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                              Salad of Silver Darlings Irish Herring
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Winning Ways
                              A Hymn to Rural Ireland - Special Dishes Created to Showcase the 2016 Irish Food Writers’ Guild Awards Georgina Campbell A hymn to rural Ireland - that just about sums up the Irish Food Wr ...
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                              Fish & Chips
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Up the Ante in Your Cooking with Beer & Cider
                              Craft drinks production is growing at such a dizzying speed that it seems that every place in Ireland now has at least one local speciality beer or cider to its name - and perhaps a gin, whiskey, ...
                              more...
                              Warm Salad of Gubbeen Cheese and Bacon
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Place on a Plate
                              Could 2016 be the year when we finally earn our stripes as ‘the food island’? There are still plenty of bad meals to be found in Ireland and foods that don’t deserve the name, bu ...
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                              Msasaa
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Middle Eastern Vegetarian Cooking
                              Vegetarian or not, many of us are now choosing to eat less meat (‘less but better’, perhaps) and more plant-based protein. Aside from the health and environmental arguments, one of the ...
                              more...
                              The No-Cook Cookbook (Quercus Books, €24.99/£20.00; also available in Kindle, £13.99; Foreword by Donal Skehan)
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - No-Cook Cooking!
                              Following on the success of her first book, No-Bake Baking, it was only a matter of time before the impossibly talented and retro-stylish Sharon Hearne-Smith topped it with an even better one, and ...
                              more...
                              Edward Hayden’s Whole Roasted Chicken with Sausage Meat Stuffing, Glazed Winter Vegetables
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Savouring Kilkenny
                              “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 take ...
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                              Lough Erne Resort
                              Cookery Feature - Dee Laffan Shares a Taste of Fermanagh
                              Lough Erne Resort in County Fermanagh is a place that has long been on my list of must-visit spots in Ireland - now happily checked off the list following a fascinating press trip. The drive up ...
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                              Mags & Ger Kirwan
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Celebrating Rainbow Trout 'The Forgotten Fish'
                              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 r ...
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                              Meghli
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - A Vegetarian Christmas
                              For every traditionalist who loves the ritual of the turkey, ham, plum pudding and mince pies at Christmas, there is probably another who - for cultural, religious or dietary reasons - celebrate ...
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                              Born & Braised
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - New Image for Northern Irish Food
                              Thanks to its inspiring leaders, brilliant calendar of events throughout the year and enthusiastic support from producers, chefs ad the general public, Northern Ireland’s Year of Food and ...
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                              The Friendly Farmer Pasture-Reared Chicken with Lemon Viennoise and Sweet Potato Purée
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Celebrating Family, Tradition and Ireland's Food Legacy at 2017 IFWG Awards
                              Since 1993, the Irish Food Writers’ Guild (IFWG) Food Awards have celebrated Ireland’s food producers and organisations, recognising those behind the great Irish produce that is integr ...
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                              Flatbread - Paula McIntyre
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - A Taste of Spring
                              The arrival of April, and Easter, brings a change of tone in the kitchen. Here are a few suggestions for some aromatic recipes that can be served as sharing dishes and suit the longer, brighter da ...
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                              The Great Dixter Cookbook
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Grow & Cook
                              As we head into early summer - loveliest of seasons for gardens, whether your own or others to visit - there’s no better time to remember the late great Christopher Lloyd, gardener and gar ...
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                              Blue Cheese Tart
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Celebrating Cheese
                              National Cheese Week took place earlier this month and, with it, came The National Dairy Council’s announcement of the six finalists in their Cheese up your Life recipe competition. The ...
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                              On Vegetables: Modern Recipes for the Home Kitchen, written with Noah Galuten, has recently been published by Phaidon (£29.95)
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Vegetable Based Cuisine
                              Although vegetables have only come into the culinary spotlight relatively recently, it’s hard to recall a time when they were inevitably relegated to the supporting cast, as ‘sides&r ...
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                              Neven Maguire's Perfect Irish Christmas
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Neven Maguire's Perfect Irish Christmas
                              Neven Maguire’s Perfect Irish Christmas is published by Gill Books, price €22.99. A new book from Neven always causes a stampede in the book shops and this one, in particular, is des ...
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                              Souffle
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Starring Role for Cheese
                              These tasty recipes were created for the National Dairy Council by Vanessa Greenwood of Cooks Academy Cookery School, Dublin, with the aim of celebrating the best of Irish and European cheese at C ...
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                              Oyster Gastronomy (paperback, €15)
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Beef Up Your Kitchen Bookshelf
                              There’s always a rush to the bookshops coming up to Christmas, but this is a calmer time to add to our collections - especially if we’re lucky enough to have book vouchers to use. Yo ...
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                              Brian McDermott's Donegal Table Delicious Everyday Cooking (O’BrienPress, hardback, €19.99 /£17.99)
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Delicious Donegal Dishes
                              Donegal has gained a reputation as one of the coolest places on earth of late, but there are plenty of people who have known that all along - and that includes the well known chef and teacher, B ...
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                              Margaret Hickey’s new book, Ireland's Green Larder (Unbound, Hardback £20; online sellers)
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Ireland's Green Larder
                              “Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are” (Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin) is a telling choice for the first of many well-chosen quotations in Margaret Hickey’s ne ...
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                              Food Depot cover
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature - Delicious Dishes from the Food Depot
                              No better time than high summer (and the peak season holiday weeks) to seek out the best street food - and no better place to find it than the legendary Food Depot Gourmet Street Kitchen food truc ...
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                              Dingle dinner
                              Georgina Campbell's Cookery Feature -Dingle Dinners
                              A memorable summer dinner at Dingle’s oldest pub, The Lord Baker’s, saw me coming away with copy of Trevis L. Gleason’s Dingle Dinners (The Collins Press, hardback; €25) tuc ...
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                              Darina Allen Chicken
                              Georgina Campbell Cookery Feature - Simply Delicious the Classic Collection
                              Anyone who remembers Darina Allen’s first RTÉ Simply Delicious programmes when they hit our TV screens in 1989 (on Monday 13th March to be precise) will recall what a breath of fresh ...
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                              Shepherd's Pie
                              Georgina Campbell Cookery Feature - Home Economics for Life
                              Brilliant title, brilliant concept - Neven Maguire’s latest book is the one. One of Ireland’s greatest ambassadors for good, local food and simply delicious home cooking, Neven and hi ...
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                              Nordic Bakery
                              Georgina Campbell Cookery Feature - The Nordic Baking Book
                              Traditional baking is always of special interest at this time of year, and there’s no better time to focus on specialities from the Nordic countries. For the definitive reference, seek out ...
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                              Marmalade - the Bitter-Sweet Breakfast Treat
                              Marmalade - the Bitter-Sweet Breakfast Treat
                              Now that most foods are available at any time of year, it’s hard to recall the excitement that the beginning of a new season used to generate. But there is still one exception to the rule ...
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                              Irish Food Writers Guild Award Winners
                              Irish Food Writers' Guild Food Awards Celebrate Indigenous Deliciousness!
                              Now in their 25th year, the annual Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Awards were held this month - and the main message from IFWG Chairperson, Kristin Jensen, was a call for more support ...
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                              Simnel Cake, “Meals For All Seasons” Wolfhound Press 1992
                              Easter Treat - Traditional Simnel Cake
                              Chocolate seems to have taken over everything at Easter, including cakes, and the traditional Simnel Cake has become an endangered species - but it’s one of my favourite cakes and anyone who ...
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                              Moroccan Style Braised Lamb Shanks
                              Cookery Feature - Lamb - Not Just For Easter
                              It’s synonymous with spring and - while I would be the first to agree that a flavoursome free range roast chicken is still one of the best dishes around -lamb has taken over from it as the f ...
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                              Myrtle Allen, The Legacy
                              Cookery Feature - Myrtle Allen, The Legacy
                              Ireland’s greatest food hero, Myrtle Allen, died on June 13th 2018 at the age of 94. While she is sorely missed and we will remember her especially on her anniversary, it is wonderful to see ...
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                              Eggs for Anytime, Pork Ramen, Kai, Galway
                              Cookery Feature - Eggs for Anytime - Winning Ways with Eggs
                              Not only do eggs come in the neatest and most beautiful of packaging, but ‘Nature’s convenience food’ is also one of the most versatile ingredients in any cook’s armoury &n ...
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                              The Garden Chef
                              Cookery Feature - The Garden Chef
                              A modern retake on the days when many top chefs had the gardens - and probably the home farm too - of a large estate to call on when writing the day’s menu, the return of the kitchen garden ...
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                              From Tide To Table
                              Cookery Feature - From Tide To Table
                              We’re delighted to announce the arrival of a new edition of Ireland’s original ‘seafood bible’, From Tide To Table - Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Buying, Prepar ...
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                              Burren Dinners
                              Cookery Feature - Autumn Bakes from the Christmas Book List
                              We’ve been diving into some of the best new Irish cookbooks in search of tasty autumn bakes this month - and the year’s Christmas crop includes some pretty gorgeous recipes.  &nb ...
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                              Smokies
                              Cookery Feature - Seafood For Christmas - and Beyond
                              For most of us Christmas is all about tradition and Darina Allen’s column this month focuses on the creating a memorable meal with roast turkey and all the trimmings. But new traditions can ...
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                              Rua Café & Deli - Irish Bread Award 2020
                              Rua Café & Deli - Irish Bread Award 2020
                              This unusual bread is from the McMahon family’s Rua Café and Deli in Castlebar, Co Mayo, and it was originally a Gerry Galvin recipe. “As a chef, restaurateur and poet, Ge ...
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                              The Irish Cookbook
                              Cookery Feature - The Best of Irish Cooking
                              It takes confidence to call your book simply The Irish Cookbook, and fortunately that’s something the famous Galway chef, Irish food hero, Irish Time columnist and author, Jp McMahon, has in ...
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                              IFWG Awards 2020
                              Irish Food Writers' Guild Awards - Menu & Recipes
                              Lunch menu and all recipes devised by Gareth Mullins executive head chef at The Marker and incorporating the 2020 award-winning produce. • Shine’s Wild Irish Tuna Belly, Nicoise Salad, ...
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                              From Tide to Table
                              Cookery Feature - A Taste of the Sea
                              While home baking seems to have become the new national sport during the lockdown, all home cooking is seeing a welcome revival and it’s good to see so many producers upping their game t ...
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                              Chargrilled Vegetables
                              Cookery Feature - Hooray for Irish Produce - Simply The Best!
                              When it comes to good food it’s all about the ingredients, and quality ingredients are all about great producers - so, as savvy chefs always tell us, the trick is to shop well, support local ...
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                              Ballyvolane Salad
                              Cookery Feature - Simply Summer
                              It’s all about the ingredients again this month - and why wouldn’t it be. High summer has brought an abundance of terrific Irish produce, so there’s no better time to keep it sim ...
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                              Carrot sea spaghetti salad
                              Cookery Feature - Wild & Free
                              Thanks to this year’s travel restrictions, 2020 will go down as the year of the great Irish staycation. And that’s proving to be a silver lining of this challenging time as - just as w ...
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                              Beetroot Salad
                              Cookery Feature - Time To Go Organic
                              There’s never been a better time to make the case for organic food production and its potential in Ireland is massive. With Green issues including climate change at the top of the political ...
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                              Nevin Maguire Midweek Meals
                              Cookery Feature - Neven’s Midweek Meals
                              A new book from Ireland’s best-loved chef, Neven Maguire, is always welcome - and, once again, he’s right on the money with Neven Maguire’s Midweek Meals (Gill, hardback. €2 ...
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                              Edward Hayden Cookery School
                              Cookery Feature - Celebrating Kilkenny’s Festive Traditions
                              For all its challenges, many interesting projects came out of 2020 and creating a group cookery book, as Visit Kilkenny have done with their online Kilkenny Christmas Traditions collection of fest ...
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                              Pancakes with Lemon
                              Cookery Feature - Simple Seasonal Treats
                              Delicious pancakes hot off the pan sum up Shrove Tuesday (16th February this year) for a lot of families - and making them is fun, so it’s just what we need right now. But the traditions be ...
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                              Eat well to keep well
                              Cookery Feature - Keep Well - and Celebrate Spring!
                              A year after Covid-19 first darkened our lives, things are beginning to look up at last - but we’re all getting really weary. So, now that we’re on the home straight and the priz ...
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                              CLARE ISLAND SALMON WITH BONITO VINEGAR, SORREL, APPLE, DILL AND BEE POLLEN
                              Cookery Feature - Sensational Cooking with Great European Products
                              By chance the other day, I happened on an impressive EU cookbook Sensational! Cooking with Great European Products. It outlines the history, purpose and value of the PDO (Protected Designatio ...
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                              Neighbourhood Food
                              Cookery Feature - Best of Basics at the IFWG Awards
                              With beef, butter and potatoes among the winners of the 2021 Irish Food Writers’ Guild (IFWG) Food Awards, food staples certainly took centre stage - but, as IFWG Chair, Kristin Jensen, said ...
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                              GrowHQ
                              Cookery Feature - Outdoor Dining - Be Inspired by GROW HQ
                              Nowhere is there more excitement about the grand reopening than at GROW HQ, the beautiful GIY headquarters and café just across the road from the University Hospital on the Dumore Roa ...
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                              Shepherds Pie
                              Cookery Feature - Why Not Try Watercress?
                              With water generally abundant in Ireland I’ve often wondered why the wonderfully peppery ‘superfood’ watercress is so hard to come by, as it’s a versatile ingredient that g ...
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                              Blasket Island lamb
                              Cookery Feature - Mountain Lamb for Autumn Treats
                              While lamb is an all-year product, it’s generally associated with spring – especially Easter. But there’s a completely different and more characterful variety that comes in ...
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                              And For Mains
                              Cookery Feature - And For Mains…
                              The first thing to say about And For Mains… is that it’s hugely entertaining. It’s not often that I sit down and read a cookbook right through from cover to cover, but that& ...
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                              Cava Bodega Tapas, A Taste of Spain in Ireland
                              Cookery Feature - A Taste of Spain in Ireland
                              With all the ‘will we won’t we’ nerves this year, there’s been something comforting about considering alternatives to the traditional celebrations - and looking forward to ...
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                              Pat Lalor Kilbeggin Oats
                              Cookery Feature - Making More Of Oats
                              New year, new start - as good resolutions go, you couldn’t do better than resolve to eat more Irish oats. And it couldn’t be easier, or more reasonably priced, so there’s n ...
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                              Lily Ramirez-Foran
                              Cookery Feature - Tacos - A Taste of Mexico in Ireland
                              Authentic Mexican food may be in fairly short supply in Ireland but – as the founder of Ireland’s first Mexican boutique grocer and cookery school, Picado Mexican in Dublin, and n ...
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                              Achill Island organic smoked salmon
                              Cookery Feature - Easter Gathering
                              Even though international events mean that celebrations are touched with sadness this year, Easter is always a great time to get together around the table with family and friends if at all possibl ...
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                              Blasta Books - Hot Fat
                              Cookery Feature - Hot Fat
                              Where has the joy in food gone? This is the question that the Meath based food and travel writers Russell Alford and Patrick Hanlon, aka GastroGays, have been asking themselves of late. The joy in ...
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                              Blasta Books - The United Nation of Cookies
                              Cookery Feature - The United Nations of Cookies
                              When publisher Kristin Jensen’s brilliantly conceived Blasta Books hit the Irish publishing scene with a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign in May 2021, it was immediately obvious that s ...
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                              Blasta Books - Soup
                              Cookery Feature - Soup
                              It was exciting to see my copy of Soup popping through the letterbox earlier this month. The first title of the second series from publishing sensation Kristin Jensen’s Blasta Books, it foll ...
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                              IFWG Awards
                              Cookery Feature - 2023 IFWG FOOD AWARDS - RECIPES FROM SUESEY STREET
                              The Irish Food Writers’ Guild recently celebrated 30 years of their annual IFWG Food Awards with an event at Dublin’s Suesey Street, where the award winners’ products were u ...
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                              Paradiso
                              Cookery Feature - PARADISO PLATES
                              Ground breaking, inspirational, ever-evolving, respectful of the vegetable kingdom (both plants and producers), responsible, sustainable, bold, beautiful, deeply-flavoured, different and oh-so-enj ...
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                              Taste Causeway
                              Cookery Feature - Taste Causeway
                              A great sense of post-pandemic reconnection came out of a very enjoyable trip around Donegal and some of the more northerly parts of Northern Ireland recently, inspiring me to take another deep di ...
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                              Created in Cavan
                              Cookery Feature - Created in Cavan
                              You can’t beat a collaborative local cookbook for creating a real sense of place and this new book from members of the Created in Cavan Food Network does that very well. Bringing Cavan&rsq ...
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                              Seafood for Christmas
                              Cookery Feature - Seafood for Festive Occasions
                              The perfect antidote to the traditional festive foods and too much chocolate, fish and seafood brings contrasting flavours and – even when we’re talking comfort food - a special sea-fr ...
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                              Wasted
                              Cookery Feature - Wasted
                              With concern for sustainability gearing up at an unprecedented rate, reducing waste will have topped many a New Year resolutions list this year – and, with reducing food waste in particular ...
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                              Broighter Carrots
                              Cookery & Food Tourism Feature - Taste the Causeway Coast
                              Celebrating the seriously good things in food and hospitality that North Antrim and nearby areas have to offer was the theme at a ‘Giant Taste of Causeway Coast and Glens’ event that I ...
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                              Mille Feuilles
                              Cookery & Food Tourism Feature - Wonderful Waterford
                              Now growing into its role as a major player in Irish food and tourism, Waterford was in fine fettle at the recent Waterford Festival of Food in Dungarvan – long gone are the times when visit ...
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                              Summer Seafood
                              COOKERY FEATURE - SUMMER SEAFOOD
                              Light, colourful, tasty, quickly cooked and at its best in summer, Irish seafood is perfect for barbecues and casual entertaining. These favourite recipes are from From Tide To Table – All ...
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                              Michelle Darmody
                              Cookery Feature - Seed to Supper
                              Well known from her previous Dublin food businesses, The Cake Café and Slice, and for establishing the social enterprise Our Table, supporting people living in direct provision, the w ...
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                              Gin-Cured Salmon
                              Cookery Feature - Christmas Books for Cooks
                              What cook or would-be-cook doesn’t love a food book for Christmas? And luckily there’s no shortage of seriously interesting Irish published books to choose from, with a bumper crop thi ...
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                              Dried Fruit, Oat & Hazelnut Crumble
                              Cookery Feature - Out with the Old - Store Cupboard Recipes to Relish
                              There’s something very cathartic about the post-Christmas/New Year period. Once the decorations have been cleared away and the house cleaned up, it’s time to go through the food &ndash ...
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                              Kish Fish
                              Cookery Feature - King of Fish & The Black Stuff - Inspired by Tradition
                              A very interesting (and enjoyable) event took place recently at Kish Fish on the West Pier in Howth. Named after a nearby lighthouse, the business dates back 1966 when Tadgh O’Meara - father ...
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                              Seafood Chowder
                              Cookery Feature - Simply Seafood - Be Inspired by Chowder
                              There’s much talk of food tourism these days, and of the ambitious menus presented by high-end chefs, at eye-watering prices. But, impressive as some of these culinary creations are for spec ...
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                              Renvyle
                              Cookery Feature - Special Summer Flavours
                                    If reminders were needed that simple is best for summer foods - to enjoy them at their freshest and relish their true flavours - we’ve had plenty of delicious exa ...
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                              • Pairing Food & Beer
                                Blue Cheese & Beer
                                Craft Beer and Christmas Cheer - Beer and Food Pairing Tips for Christmas Dinner
                                Craft beer is perhaps the biggest success story of Irish food and drink over the last couple of years and we are delighted to introduce our new columnist Kristin Jensen, who is not only one of Ir ...
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                                Kristin Jensen
                                Top Tips for Beer and Food Matching
                                Craft beer is one of the biggest recent success stories of Irish food and drink. This month, in the first of a series which will show how to get the best from some specific food and wine pairings, ...
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                                Chocolate Truffles
                                Top Tips for Beer & Food Matching - Beer & Chocolate
                                In the second of a series which shows how to get the best from some specific food and beer pairings, our expert columnist and food blogger Kristin Jensen gives her tips on matching beer and choc ...
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                                Beef & Irish Stout Stew
                                Top Tips for Beer & Food Matching - Beer & Stews
                                by Kristin Jensen A warming bowl of stew, a chunky soup or chowder or a golden, steaming pot pie all beg for a beer to be served alongside them. And if they can be enjoyed together while sittin ...
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                                Cheddar, Chive and Ale Bread
                                Top Tips for Beer & Food Matching - Beer & Bread
                                They say bread is the staff of life … or should that be beer? There’s a theory that agriculture developed in order for societies to grow enough wheat and barley not so that they c ...
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                                Ma Aruna’s Chicken Curry
                                Top Tips for Beer & Food Matching - Beer & Curry
                                In the fourth of a series which shows how to get the best from some specific food and beer pairings, our expert columnist and food blogger KRISTIN JENSEN gives her tips on matching Beer and Curr ...
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                                Black Pudding Burgers
                                Top Tips for Beer & Food Matching - Beer & BBQ
                                In the fifth of a series which shows how to get the best from some particular food and beer pairings, our expert columnist and food blogger KRISTIN JENSEN gives her tips on matching Beer and BBQ - ...
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                                Beer & Pizza
                                Top Tips for Beer & Food Matching - Beer & Pizza
                                In the sixth of a series which shows how to get the best from particular food and beer pairings, our expert columnist and food blogger KRISTIN JENSEN gives her tips on matching Beer and Pizza - a ...
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                                Prawns Pil Pil
                                Top Tips for Beer & Food Matching - Beer & Seafood
                                In the latest of a series which shows how to get the best from particular food and beer pairings, our expert columnist and food blogger KRISTIN JENSEN gives her tips on matching Beer and Seafood - ...
                                more...
                                Oysters
                                Top Tips for Beer & Food Matching - Stout & Oysters
                                In the latest of a series which shows how to get the best from particular food and beer pairings, our expert columnist and food blogger KRISTIN JENSEN gives her tips on matching Stout and Oyster ...
                                more...
                                Slow-cooked Pork Cheeks in Cider
                                Matching Cider & Food
                                In the latest of a series which shows how to get the best from particular food and beer pairings, our expert columnist and food blogger KRISTIN JENSEN gives her tips on matching a different kind ...
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                                Knockmealdown Burger
                                Top Tips for Beer & Food Matching - Beer & Beef
                                In the latest of a series which shows how to get the best from particular food and beer pairings, our expert columnist and food blogger KRISTIN JENSEN gives her tips on matching beer and beef - th ...
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                                • An Irish Chef in France
                                  Martin & Sile Dwyer
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France, begins a fascinating column about their new life ...
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                                  Breakfast with Martin Dwyer
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France, describes how they came to find Le Presbytè ...
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                                  Thezan les Beziers
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France, describes how they landed on their feet when they ...
                                  more...
                                  Christmas Decorations
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they take g ...
                                  more...
                                  Martin & Sile Dwyer
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they take g ...
                                  more...
                                  Martin Dwyer - Nationwide
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they take g ...
                                  more...
                                  Tranche St Remy
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they take g ...
                                  more...
                                  Vin de Noix
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, wh ...
                                  more...
                                  Martin Dwyer on the Canal du Midi
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they take g ...
                                  more...
                                  Windows
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they take g ...
                                  more...
                                  Carrots
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they take g ...
                                  more...
                                  Doves
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they tak ...
                                  more...
                                  Chateau de Teildras
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they take g ...
                                  more...
                                  Italy
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they take ...
                                  more...
                                  Gerona Food
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they take g ...
                                  more...
                                  Strollers with Martin Dwyer
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they tak ...
                                  more...
                                  Martin Dwyer
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they tak ...
                                  more...
                                  Martin Dwyer
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they tak ...
                                  more...
                                  Martin Dwyer - Terrace Dinner
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they tak ...
                                  more...
                                  Martin Dwyer
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they tak ...
                                  more...
                                  Martin Dwyer
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they t ...
                                  more...
                                  Martin Dwyer - Cooking for the French
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they ...
                                  more...
                                  Martin Dwyer - new guests
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where th ...
                                  more...
                                  Martin Dwyer
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where ...
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                                  Martin Dwyer Pastries
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, w ...
                                  more...
                                  Salt Cod
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, ...
                                  more...
                                  Scallops Torrades
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc ...
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                                  The Road to Roujan
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they tak ...
                                  more...
                                  French Picnic
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they ...
                                  more...
                                  Summer Fruits
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where th ...
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                                  Pain Fruité du Presbytère
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where ...
                                  more...
                                  Brocanting
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, wh ...
                                  more...
                                  Mouli
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, ...
                                  more...
                                  Sunset through a Christmas Lantern
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they t ...
                                  more...
                                  Mimosa
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they tak ...
                                  more...
                                  Martin Dwyer
                                  An Irish Chef in France - How the French Entertain
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they tak ...
                                  more...
                                  Heat - Cover
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they tak ...
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                                  La Cuisine d’ Été (‘Summer Kitchen’)
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they tak ...
                                  more...
                                  The Vine
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                    Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where ...
                                  more...
                                  Asparagus - Martin Dwyer
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they t ...
                                  more...
                                  Snaffles
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they t ...
                                  more...
                                  Pissaladière
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they tak ...
                                  more...
                                  le Presbytere
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                    Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, wher ...
                                  more...
                                  View from Le Presbytere
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they t ...
                                  more...
                                  Monkfish a la mericaine
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  This month our man in the Languedoc, Martin Dwyer, shares the wonderful lobster recipe, Homard à l’Américaine and its history - and wishes you all a Joyeux Noel! The French ...
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                                  Veronica Steele
                                  An Irish Chef in France - Remembering Veronica Steele
                                  This month our man in the Languedoc, Martin Dwyer is Remembering Veronica Steele Veronica Steele, who died last month was indeed one of the most important innovators in the food revolution ...
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                                  Grape Vines - Martin Dwyer
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  This month: A little introduction to The Wines of the Languedoc - there are lots of them selling in Ireland now, as Martin noticed on his last visit. We are just back from a winter break in the ...
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                                  Martin & Sile Dwyer
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they t ...
                                  more...
                                  Eiffelss Bridge
                                  An Irish Chef in France - Driving Through France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where t ...
                                  more...
                                  White Cherries
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where t ...
                                  more...
                                  Martin Dwyer
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where t ...
                                  more...
                                  Wholewheat Chestnut Bread
                                  An Irish Chef in France - Wholewheat Chestnut Bread
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where t ...
                                  more...
                                  Martin Dwyer
                                  An Irish Chef in France - A Cork Childhood Christmas
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where t ...
                                  more...
                                  Leaves from a Tuscan Kitchen
                                  An Irish Chef in France - The Wife of Bath
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where t ...
                                  more...
                                  Cauliflower Cheese
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  In Ireland, at the end of the last century, a vegetable accompaniment often produced at large functions was Cauliflower Cheese. There were various reasons for this, Cauliflower is reasonably ea ...
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                                  Pezenas Market
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  I have always been enamoured of a good French market. The French really use their markets for buying their groceries and the producer for selling their wares. One of our first family holidays in F ...
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                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  The French don’t like to throw stuff away, when an artefact, a piece of clothing or furniture becomes redundant they much prefer to sell it. There are various levels on which it is possib ...
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                                  Martin & Sile
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Historically the Chambre d’Hote in France predated the restaurant by many years. France is such a large area that a traveller would have to spend more than one night in rented beds if he wan ...
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                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  It must be every chef’s dream from the first day they put on whites that their ultimate ambition is only going to be satisfied when they run their own restaurant. Every decision made by the ...
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                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  The end of a year, particularly when it coincides with the end of a decade is a time when one starts to look back and examine your last few years. For the Dwyer family it also coincides with the ...
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                                  Languedoc Vines
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Irish chef Martin Dwyer and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford some years ago and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they (normally) take guests - and f ...
                                  more...
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer and his wife Sile, formerly of the much-loved Dwyers restaurant in Waterford, now live in the Languedoc, where they take guests - and feed them very well. This mont ...
                                  more...
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer and his wife Sile, formerly of the much-loved Dwyers restaurant in Waterford, now live in the Languedoc, where they take guests - and feed them very well. This mo ...
                                  more...
                                  Elizabeth David
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer and his wife Sile, formerly of the much-loved Dwyers restaurant in Waterford, now live in the Languedoc, where they normally take guests and feed them very well - alt ...
                                  more...
                                  Cazal Viel
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  When we bought our Chambre d’Hote in the Languedoc in 2006 we very quickly became aware that the dominant use of the land here was to cultivate the grape and the outstanding product of the a ...
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                                  Patisserie
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                   The Village Bakery: Our Irish Chef in France, Martin Dwyer, tells the story of their local bakery and its ups and downs. And there’s a lesson we could learn from in Ireland too - a f ...
                                  more...
                                  Martin Dwyer Sushi
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  A keen observer of the changing food scene, Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer is well known in Ireland for the excellent restaurant that he and his wife Sile ran in Waterford, until they moved to Fran ...
                                  more...
                                  Martin Dwyer
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Now living in the Languedoc, where they take guests - and feed them very well - Waterford chef Martin Dwyer and his wife Sile have been closed this season due to Covid, which has given them time ...
                                  more...
                                  A Chef in France
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Martin and Sile Dwyer’s Chambre d’Hôte in the Languedoc has been closed by Covid for months on end. So now‘the dinner’ takes on a different role - and, simple as ...
                                  more...
                                  Almond Tree
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Martin and Sile Dwyer’s Chambre d’Hôte in the Languedoc has been closed by Covid for months on end and, as for everyone in lockdown, the daily walk has become their main high ...
                                  more...
                                  Stuffed Mussels
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Martin and Sile Dwyer’s Chambre d’Hôte in the Languedoc has been closed by Covid for months on end and is likely to remain closed for the 2021 season. But they are finding lo ...
                                  more...
                                  Elderflowers
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Martin and Sile Dwyer’s Chambre d’Hôte in the Languedoc has been closed by Covid for months on end and is likely to remain closed for the 2021 season. But they're enjoying th ...
                                  more...
                                  Martin Dwyer
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Martin and Sile Dwyer’s Chambre d’Hôte in the Languedoc will remain closed for the 2021 season. But, as ever in the Dwyrer household, delicious food is always a highlight - i ...
                                  more...
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  An Irish Chef in France
                                  Martin and Sile Dwyer’s Chambre d’Hôte in the Languedoc will remain closed for the 2021 season. But delicious food is always a highlight in the Dwyer household and afternoon ...
                                  more...
                                  • Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas
                                    Rachel Gaffney
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas
                                    To introduce herself and her new monthly column, well known foodie Rachel Gaffney explains how she came to be an American mom flying the flag for Ireland in Texas... The career guidance room in ...
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                                    Rachel Gaffney
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas
                                    Rachel Gaffney, the famous foodie who’s flying the flag for Ireland in Texas, arrives with time in hand before teaching an Irish cooking class in Austin – and discovers the work of an ...
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                                    Margaret Hunt Hill bridge Dallas
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas
                                    Rachel Gaffney, the famous foodie who’s flying the flag for Ireland in Texas, sees parallels between Dublin and Dallas in the rebirth of the city she now calls home Beyond Southfork Ranch ...
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                                    Rachel Gaffney - Food
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas - LongHouse Food Revivals
                                    Rachel Gaffney, the famous foodie who’s flying the flag for Ireland in Texas, travels to Austin for what turns out to be a very interesting foodie weekend LongHouse Food Revivals The drive ...
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                                    Dallas Food Truck
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas - Dallas food trucks
                                    Rachel Gaffney, the famous foodie who’s flying the flag for Ireland in Texas, introduces an Irish visitor to a local food phenomenen the Dallas food trucks - and, who knows, maybe the food ...
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                                    Olive Bottles
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas - Locally Grown Olives
                                    Just recently I attended the grand opening of ‘Collin County Farmers Market’ located in Plano, Texas. I planned on being there for the opening time of 8am. While I brewed a fresh pot ...
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                                    .
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas - Barbecue & BBQ
                                    Rachel Gaffney, the famous foodie who’s flying the flag for Ireland in Texas, explains the vital difference between ‘barbecue’ and ‘BBQ’ - and introduces us to the ...
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                                    Grapefruit
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas - Texas Ruby Red Grapefruit
                                    Rachel Gaffney, the famous foodie who’s flying the flag for Ireland in Texas, tells us about grapefruit Ah, the 1970's. My parents took us to eat frequently at various hotels around Cork ...
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                                    Fish
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas - Not So Many Limits in Austin
                                      Rachel Gaffney, the famous foodie who’s flying the flag for Ireland in Texas, explains why there are Not So Many Limits in Austin When writing about the food and lifestyle here in ...
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                                    Wholesome Fayre
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas - Are You Being Served?
                                    Rachel Gaffney, the famous foodie who’s flying the flag for Ireland in Texas, shares some of the good - and, revealingly, some of the not so good - experiences of a recent visit back to Ir ...
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                                    Cinderella Pumpkin
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas - Pumpkin Time
                                    Rachel Gaffney, the famous foodie who’s flying the flag for Ireland in Texas, reveals that In America just like Ireland, Autumn is Pumpkin Time Autumn and pumpkins simply go together like f ...
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                                    Celeriac
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas - Food Trends for 2014
                                    Rachel Gaffney, the famous foodie who’s flying the flag for Ireland in Texas, shares her thoughts on the Food Trends she sees shaping up for 2014 In the last few weeks, I have read article ...
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                                    Dromoland Castle
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas - Discerning Trips to Ireland
                                    Rachel Gaffney, the famous foodie who’s flying the flag for Ireland in Texas, shares valuable insights into the hopes and expectations of discerning travelers to Ireland - and how they can b ...
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                                    Castletown House
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas - Cultural Tourism in Ireland
                                    Rachel Gaffney, the famous foodie who’s flying the flag for Ireland in Texas, is turning her attention to other aspects of Irish culture - especially our historic buildings Spring has cert ...
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                                    Rachel Gaffney
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas - Why is Irish food and cooking still laughed at in America?
                                    Rachel Gaffney, the famous foodie who’s flying the flag for Ireland in Texas, asks why is Irish food and cooking still laughed at in America? Some articles end with a disclaimer but I am ...
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                                    Map of Ireland
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas - Before & After
                                    Rachel Gaffney, the famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas compares some visitor expectations with their actual experiences in Ireland - and feels gratified Over the la ...
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                                    Rachel Gaffney
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas - Like a Phoenix Rising
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in the States tells us about the revival of the Texas Chapter of the Irish Georgian Society The Irish Times 23rd July 1953 ~ ‘Si ...
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                                    Rachel Gaffney
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas shares a Twitter success story, of converting social media interaction into business There are many social media sceptics amon ...
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                                    Rachel Gaffney Group
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas shares the first instalment of a recent Culinary Adventure in Ireland It was their first visit to Ireland. Everyone had heard ...
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                                    Rachel Gaffney Group
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas
                                    Rachel Gaffney, the famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas shares a story of wonderful time spent at MacNean House & Cookery School with a group of American visitors M ...
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                                    Rachel Gaffney
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas is also always on the lookout for the very best Irish places to recommend to American visitors. This month, she shares the deta ...
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                                    Rachel Gaffney
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas tells us all about the Texas Emerald Ball that’s to be held next March - and some of the people who are involved with it& ...
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                                    Rachel Gaffney
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas - From Authentic to Real
                                    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 cult ...
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                                    Rachel Gaffney
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas - Experiencing Ireland
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas finds that some of her wealthy clients understand better than most the value of rural Ireland, and the appeal of a farmhouse ho ...
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                                    An Illustrated History of the Phoenix Park, Landscape and Management to 1880
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas is looking for people with particular interests - drivers, guides and authors, who can introduce American visitors to people in I ...
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                                    Clashganny
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas explains why changing holiday patterns for Americans will be good news for Irish tourism I can tell the season for travel ...
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                                    Fishing with Rachel Gaffney
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas
                                    Recently I was introduced to a new and thrilling world, one that I would never have imagined I would enjoy quite as much as I did - and I have a Texan by the name of Doug Deason to thank for th ...
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                                    Rachel Gaffney
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas reminds us that businesss is business and beautiful properties are not enough - people will vote with their feet if hotels d ...
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                                    Secret Garden Path
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas describes what can happen over lunch with five hundred ladies - in a phone- and social media-free zone. I was a guest at a lun ...
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                                    Achill Sea Salt
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas is on a mission to share the story of Irish food at a prestigious event in Dallas next month - and get everyone to ‘Meet ...
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                                    .
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas highlights the challenges that face passengers flying to Ireland from Dallas - and, while lauding Shannon for its efficiency an ...
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                                    Afternoon Tea in Dallas
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas tells us about the ‘Irish Afternoon Tea in Dallas’ that she recently hosted Last December I hosted a m ...
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                                    Arbutus Bread Award
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas tells us about a recent visit home to Cork It had been many years since I made this familiar walk over Parnell bridge, crossin ...
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                                    .
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas celebrates the official nut of Texas, the pecan. Over the last few years, I have been battling health issues that have taken m ...
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                                    Jake McDorman in Ballydehob
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas rustles up a short notice Irish trip for actor Jake McDorman and his childhood friend, Cole Evans It has been by far the most ...
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                                    RH Ghan House oyster
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas shares a story from a recent Irish Culinary Adventure In April 2018, nine ladies from Oklahoma, Texas and New Jersey set out on ...
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                                    Ballywalter
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter from Texas
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in the USA recalls a memorable visit to County Down with a group of appreciative American visitors As we draped ourselves over the gua ...
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                                    American Airlines
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter From Texas
                                    A Brave New Connection There’s no substitute for experiencing a foreign land firsthand. Aldous Huxley understood this when he wrote: “To travel is to discover that everyone is wro ...
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                                    Cork Waterfront
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter From Texas
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas takes a trip home and enjoys a new energy in her home town, Cork city, where ‘sharing and collaborating’ is becomin ...
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                                    A Day at the Beach
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas - A Day at the Beach
                                        Crawford’s Rock is an area off the County Down coastline and it is here that Michelle Wilson and her family forage the beaches for seaweed. Tracey Jeffery from Northern ...
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                                    Rachel Gaffney
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas - Hospitality versus Service
                                    I spent almost three months in Ireland this summer. Some of it was personal time, but the majority of my time was spent working. I stayed in hotels, dined in restaurants and cafés, hired re ...
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                                    Holly Bough
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas - Cork’s Holly Bough Makes Me Feel Good
                                    I cannot recall a day without hearing the words impeachment or Brexit, for quite some time. We are bombarded with the sound of politicians deriding each other, bullying seems to be the norm and pe ...
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                                    Rachel Gaffney
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas - Staying Relevant During Covid-19.
                                    Her clients may all have cancelled their trips to Ireland this year - but, says the famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas, this is the time to inspire people with content, ...
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                                    Dunbrody House Hotel
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas
                                    By now clients had either cancelled or postponed their trips to Ireland. It was not pessimistic but realistic to assume I would not be booking any more for this coming summer. What now? Do I ...
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                                    Rachel Gaffney
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas
                                    The New Normal was the phrase used back in 2008 following the global recession and here it is again, used every single day. It is now thrown around carelessly, without much thought. We have been t ...
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                                    Rachel Gaffney
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas
                                     This month the famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas shares her thoughts on Promoting Ireland – and draws our attention to a place that we already love which a ...
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                                    Scenery
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas
                                    This time my trip to Ireland was very different. It looked different and it felt different. This must have been what Ireland looked and sounded like long before people travelled internationally. ...
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                                    Grainne Bagnell
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas
                                    I can remember packing sandwiches and a few biscuits and meeting my friends among the trees at the ripe old age of 11. We played for hours in the woods. We used to think we were Enid Blyton's fict ...
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                                    Cliff House Hotel
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas anticipates a new world of travel as we gradually emerge from Covid restrictions – and it’s one in which Ireland has ...
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                                    Dr Jill Biden
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas - Dressing The First Lady
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas looks beyond the food world, to a different craft - and shares a proud connection between Ireland and the new First Lady’s ...
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                                    Shannon Princess
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas - Revenge Travel
                                    Revenge travel. Yes, it’s a term and lately it’s being used a lot. In some ways it’s an unfortunate word as it implies harm or hurt but when you add the word travel it evokes act ...
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                                    Rachel Gaffney
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas - Let's Go Wild
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas is planning for 2022 - and she, and the groups she’ll bring to Ireland, will be embracing the Irish weather   After ...
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                                    Gregans Castle Hotel
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas - The Floodgates Open
                                    The floodgates opened last week. New and returning clients are all eagerly booking their trips to Ireland for the summer of 2022. Whilst this is great news, on the other hand I now find myself i ...
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                                    Rachel Gaffney
                                    Rachel Gaffney - From Cork to Connemara with the Wall Street Journal
                                     WSJ + (Wall Street Journal Plus) is a complimentary benefits programme for subscribers of the Wall Street Journal publication. It offers exclusive access to experiences, special offers and e ...
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                                    Good Day Deli Cork
                                    Rachel Gaffney - Exploring Cork City
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas enjoys a day out exploring some of the gems of her home town   During the autumn I hosted two live digital feeds from Irela ...
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                                    Heroes of the Alamo
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas - Unlikely Heroes
                                    Priorities have changed this month for the famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas. Excitement about bringing visitors to Ireland will return, but events in Europe are makin ...
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                                    Lakeside Killaloe
                                    Rachel Gaffney's Letter From Texas - Killaloe - Fit For a King
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas shares her experience of a return visit to a special place, on the mighty River Shannon.  It felt as though I had stumbled ...
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                                    Kilronan Castle
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas recalls an enjoyably relaxing experience when travelling solo last summer - it was Irish hospitality at its best. Solo travel has ...
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                                    Drumshambo
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas - From The Curious Mind Of PJ Rigney
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas recalls an unexpectedly interesting visit to Co Leitrim last summer   As I enjoyed a creamy latte, the couple next to me be ...
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                                    Stauntons
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas relishes the quiet elegance of a small hotel with American connections on Dublin’s most famous Georgian square.   ...
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                                    Fiddle & Bow
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas - Doolin
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas is always planning for the groups she’ll bring to Ireland. This summer she took more time than usual over her research in C ...
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                                    Doolin
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas - Top Visitor Destination Requests
                                    January is behind me and it has been a very busy month, designing and booking trips to Ireland. Looking at the many itineraries, I can’t help but notice that the routes are all fairly ...
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                                    Ballintubbert House & Gardens
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas - A Festival of Gardens and Nature
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas introduces an exciting new garden event that’s taking place this April at Ballintubbert House & Gardens in County Laois ...
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                                    Parknasilla
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas - Why Do You Stay There?
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas is thinking history this month…A ‘Culturally Curious’ traveller herself, she wonders how – and why - ...
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                                    Woodland Suites
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas - Ireland’s Most Luxurious Outdoor Suites
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas is smitten by The Woodland Suite Experience at The Montenotte Hotel in Cork City. Pea and mint soup, a simple and straightforwar ...
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                                    Rachel Gaffney Slea Head Drive
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas - The Slea Head Drive
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas reflects on time spent at home in Ireland last summer – and what it is that keeps people coming back   This year, I s ...
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                                    Antrim Coastline
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas
                                    Last autumn, the famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas went to see the new 5-star overlooking Royal Portrush, venue of The 153rd Open in 2025  Dunluce Castle perches ...
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                                    Salthouse
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas - Northern Star
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas shares her excitement in discovering one of the Guide’s favourite eco-destinations, The Salthouse Hotel   Irish summe ...
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                                    Roundstone
                                    Rachel Gaffney’s Letter From Texas - Within The Village
                                    The famous foodie who’s flying the tricolour for us in Texas reflects on the true meaning of luxury – and of great hospitality  When I hear someone say something is "within ...
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                                    • The Seafood Interview
                                      Mike Crowley - The Crazy Crab Kilmore Quay County Wexford Ireland
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - The Crazy Crab Café & Bistro
                                      In the first of a new series, Marilyn Bright looks at the highs and lows of some of Ireland’s leading seafood restaurants - and finds out what makes them tick. They keep things simple at ...
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                                      Tim Mason - Out of the Blue
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - Out of the Blue, Dingle
                                      Marilyn Bright talks to Tim Mason of Out of the Blue, Dingle, Co Kerry, a man who saw potential in a derelict shack beside the harbour - and turned it into one of Ireland’s best-known (and m ...
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                                      Mary Ann's Bar & Restaurant - Castletownshend County Cork Ireland
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - Mary Anns Bar and Restaurant
                                      Marilyn Bright talks to Patricia and Fergus O’Mahony, who have been running their renowned seafood pub in West Cork for over 25 years – that’s a quarter of a century before the w ...
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                                      Fabrice Maitre D & Kelly McCrudden of Castle Murray House Hotel
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - Castle Murray House Hotel
                                      Marilyn Bright talks to Marguerite Howley of Castle Murray House Hotel, St John's Point, Dunkineely, Co Donegal. From a cliff-top above the long toe of St John's Point, diners in Castle Murray ...
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                                      The Oarhouse
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - The Oar House
                                      MARILYN BRIGHT talks to the folk behind Howth’s busiest and buzziest harbourside restaurant, The Oar House – a relatively new restaurant but part of along-established business, and one ...
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                                      QCs
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - QCs
                                      Marilyn Bright talks to Kate Cooke who, together with her husband Andrew, runs QC’s Bar, Restaurant & Townhouse in Caherciveen, Co Kerry - where, bucking the trend for the area this year ...
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                                      Billy & Joanne
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - Aldridge Lodge
                                      MARILYN BRIGHT talks to our Seafood Chef Of The Year For 2013, Billy Whitty, of Aldridge Lodge, Duncannon, Co Wexford Supported by BIM A chef who has grown up living just 200 yards from the Dunc ...
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                                      Fairways Restaurant - Fish
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM
                                      Marilyn Bright talks to Geoff Jones, owner and head chef of The Fairways Bar & Orchard Restaurant near Nenagh Co Tipperary, of the joys and challenges of running a rural restaurant specialisin ...
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                                      The Tavern Bar & Restaurant - Murrisk, Co Mayo
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - The Tavern Bar & Restaurant
                                      This month Marilyn Bright talks to Myles O’Brien of The Tavern Bar & Restaurant at Murrisk, Co Mayo, where local seafood is emphatically the star of the show Warnings of gale force win ...
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                                      La Bohème Restaurant
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - La Bohème Restaurant
                                      This month Marilyn Bright talks to Christine & Eric Thèze of La Bohème Restaurant in Waterford City, where seafood is an increasingly important item on the menu Hong Kong, Par ...
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                                      Patricia & Gerard Kennedy
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - The Moorings
                                      This month Marilyn Bright talks to Patricia Kennedy of The Moorings in Portmagee, Co Kerry, where even traditional accompaniments like colcannon and boxty have been given a local seafood twist Le ...
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                                      The Exchange
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - The Exchange Restaurant at The Westin Hotel
                                      This month Marilyn Bright talks to John Hickey, Head Chef of The Exchange Restaurant at the Westin Hotel, Dublin 2, where an innovative Daily Catch menu offers diners a choice of cooking methods, ...
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                                      Kealys - Greencastle
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - Kealy's Seafood Bar
                                      This month Marilyn Bright talks to Tricia Kealy, owner-chef of Kealy’s Seafood Bar, in Greencastle, Co Donegal, who is marking a quarter of a century in business this year The sun was g ...
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                                      Cullinan's Seafood Restaurant & Guesthouse
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - Cullinan's Seafood Restaurant & Guesthouse
                                      This month Marilyn Bright talks to  <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-fo ...
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                                      O'Grady's on the Pier, Barna, Co Galway
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - O'Grady's on the Pier
                                      This month Marilyn Bright talks to Michael O’Grady, proprietor of O’Grady’s on the Pier, in Barna Co Galway and Kirwan’s Lane Restaurant & The Seafood Bar in Galway C ...
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                                      The Lobster Pot, Ballsbridge
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - The Lobster Pot, Dublin 4
                                      This month Marilyn Bright talks to Gary Crean, proprietor of one of Dublin’s oldest and most famous restaurants, The Lobster Pot, in Ballsbridge. Proust may have longed for lost tea and mad ...
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                                      Eithnas by the Sea - Mullaghmore, Co Sligo
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - Eithna's by the Sea, Co Sligo
                                      This month Marilyn Bright talks to Eithna O’Sullivan, proprietor-chef of Eithna’s by the Sea, Mullaghmore, Co Sligo. our Seafood Restaurant of the Year 2014, sponsored by BIM If uns ...
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                                      Oysters
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - Oscar's Seafood Bistro, Galway
                                      This month Marilyn Bright talks to Michael O'Meara, chef-proprietor of Oscar's Seafood Bistro, Galway Michael O'Meara is a chef who literally immerses himself in his work and in the process has ...
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                                      Fergal Quinn, Jason Whooley and George Stephens
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - George Stephens
                                        We begin the new year with a brand new series in which we find out what makes the best of our young fishmongers stand out from the crowd. This month, Marilyn Bright talks to George Steph ...
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                                      Jason Whooley, Fergal Quinn and Graham Rogerson
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - Graham Rogerson
                                      What makes the best of our young fishmongers stand out from the crowd? Marilyn Bright talks to Graham Rogerson of Georges Fish Shop, at Monkstown Farm, Dun Laoghaire, and finds that fishmongerin ...
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                                      John Feeney
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - John Feeney
                                      What makes the best of our young fishmongers stand out from the crowd? Marilyn Bright talks to John Feeney of Galway Bay Seafoods at Salthill, Galway and finds that this newcomer to fishmongerin ...
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                                      Arnaud Lepricey
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - Arnaud Lepricey
                                      What makes the best of our young fishmongers stand out from the crowd? Marilyn Bright talks to Arnaud Lepricey at Wrights of Howth, and finds that - while he may have arrived in this Howth fish ...
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                                      James Kirwan and Michael Quinn
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - James Kirwan
                                      What makes the best of our young fishmongers stand out from the crowd? Marilyn Bright concludes her current series of interviews with some of Ireland’s best by talking to the winner of the ...
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                                      The Wild Honey Inn
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - Aidan McGrath of The Wild Honey Inn
                                      This month Marilyn Bright talks to Aidan McGrath, whose guests at The Wild Honey Inn in Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare are delighted by the wonderful seafood dishes he serves at accessible prices - no s ...
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                                      The Fish Kitchen, Fish
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - Diarmaid Murphy of The Fish Kitchen, Bantry
                                      This month Marilyn Bright talks to Diarmaid Murphy of The Fish Kitchen, Bantry, where “Keep it fresh and keep it simple” is the byword With the sparkling waters of Bantry ...
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                                      O'Neill's The Point Bar - Caherciveen
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - Michael O'Neill of O'Neill's The Point Bar
                                        This month Marilyn Bright talks to Michael O’Neill of O’Neill’s The Point Bar, Renard Point, Caherciveen, Co Kerry; with a big reputation for ultra fresh seafood, the & ...
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                                      Kealys, Greencastle, Co Donegal
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - Tricia Kealy of Kealy's Seafood Bar
                                      This month Marilyn Bright talks to Tricia Kealy of Kealy’s Seafood Bar in Greencastle Co Donegal about their 25th anniversary, some of the nostalgic menu dishes that were brought back this ...
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                                      Marco Roccasalvo
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - Marco Roccasalvo of Campo de' Fiori
                                      This month Marilyn Bright talks to Marco Roccasalvo of Campo de' Fiori on the seafront in Bray - where seafood is a natural speciality “The best Italian restaurant in Ireland is Campo de& ...
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                                      Peter Caviston
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - Peter Caviston
                                      This month Marilyn Bright talks to one of the Dublin food scene’s most colourful characters, the second generation fishmonger Peter Caviston The splash of colour that marks out Caviston' ...
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                                      Gerard Collier
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - Gerard Collier
                                      This month Marilyn Bright talks to Gerard Collier, recently named BIM Young Fishmonger for 2015. Gerard works every day within sight and sound of the sea at Clogherhead's picturesque Port Orie ...
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                                      Frankie Mallon - An Port Mor
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - Frankie Mallon
                                      This month Marilyn Bright talks to Frankie Mallon, chef- proprietor of the acclaimed An Port Mor seafood restaurant in Westport, Co Mayo Summers spent on Lough Neagh fishing, picking berries an ...
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                                      Martin Shanahan
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - Martin Shanahan
                                        This month Marilyn Bright talks to Ireland’s most famous ambassador for fresh Irish seafood, Martin Shanahan of Fishy Fishy Restaurant in Kinsale, Co Cork- whose motto is “no ...
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                                      Mitchells Restaurant Clifden
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - JJ & Kay Mitchell
                                      This month Marilyn Bright talks to J.J. and Kay Mitchell, whose seafood restaurant in the heart of Clifden has been delighting locals and visitors alike for nearly a quarter of a century With ...
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                                      Birgitta Hedin Curtin
                                      The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - Birgitta Hedin-Curtin
                                      This month Marilyn Bright talks to Birgitta Hedin-Curtin, of the famed Burren Smokehouse in Lisdoonvarna Co Clare, about this vibrant business and some of its recent successes. A leaping salmon ...
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                                      • The Eunice Power Column
                                        Eunice Power
                                        The Eunice Power Column
                                        Eunice Power is a professional chef with over twenty years experience in the hospitality business. She runs Powersfield House in Dungarvan County Waterford, which is our B&B of the Year for 20 ...
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                                        Eunice Power
                                        The Eunice Power Column
                                        January is a pretty hectic month for me, lots of wedding and catering enquiries along with room reservation for what looks like a busy year ahead. So a good healthy start to the year for me is imp ...
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                                        Eunice Power
                                        The Eunice Power Column - Eat Yourself to Good Health
                                        Since I was a child carrots have appeared on my dinner plate several times a week. My mum used to tell us that they helped us see better in the dark – and she wasn’t too far from the t ...
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                                        Eunice Power
                                        The Eunice Power Column - Spring is in the air, Rhubarb is in the garden...
                                        There is no surer sign that spring has arrived than seeing the beautiful pink rhubarb stalks ripen underneath their canopy of enormous leaves. Spring has arrived a little earlier than usual this y ...
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                                        Eunice Power
                                        The Eunice Power Column - Down in the Woods
                                        The best things in life are free – this is certainly true for wild garlic, which is growing like a carpet under the trees in Glenshelane woods near Cappoquin –where its pungent garlic ...
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                                        Asparagus with Apple & Goats' Cheese Dressing
                                        The Eunice Power Column - Irish Asparagus
                                        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 spec ...
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                                        Eunice Power
                                        The Eunice Power Column - Early Summer Treats
                                        Summer has arrived bringing with it elderflower blossom, I could smell its delicate perfume as I walked in the field behind my house this evening. As I inhaled the the balmy fragrance I had a rush ...
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                                        Eunice Power
                                        The Eunice Power Column - Beetroot
                                        There is nothing like the colour or flavour of home grown beetroot. One of my friends grows several varieties, all various shades of pink and magenta. I discovered Llewellyn’s apple balsamic ...
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                                        Tagine
                                        Eunice Power's Crowd Pleasing Tagine
                                        Eunice Power This dish is a great favourite in our house with the young and old. I am constantly being asked for the recipe - so here it is. The tagine is best made the day before allowing the wo ...
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                                        Christmas Cake Buns
                                        Eunice Power's Christmas Cake Buns
                                        These delicious buttery spicy buns are a real quick fix for Christmas. They are a huge hit as a gift or just to have at home with a few friends for your elevens’s. I bake these all the time ...
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                                        Marmalade
                                        The Eunice Power Column
                                        Has January come around faster than usual? Although I am not complaining as my Seville orange marmalade is bubbling on the stove, the house is filled with its wonderful perfume, a wonderful contra ...
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                                        Eunice Power
                                        The Eunice Power Column - Little Pork Pies
                                        Life on the farm is pretty hectic at the moment with new calves arriving, training first time cows to the milking machine along with the other joys of spring. I don’t get overly involved i ...
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                                        Eunice Power with Rhubarb
                                        The Eunice Power Column - Rhubarb
                                        There is lot of talk about the economy showing green shoots, for me the pink shoots of Rhubarb pushing through the ground in early Spring are uplifting, a new season bringing with it new growth. ...
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                                        Picnic
                                        The Eunice Power Column - Picnic Time!
                                        Picnic time has arrived – Yipee! Be it a picnic on the beach, from the boot of the car at the local show or the big basket stuffed with goodies that’s brought out to the fields to boos ...
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                                        Eunice Power
                                        The Eunice Power Column
                                        Rhubarb and spring arrive together. I love rhubarb. It’s the first to wave the ‘I have survived the winter’ flag in my otherwise desolate garden. Last autumn I put my rhubarb to ...
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                                        Eunice Power
                                        The Eunice Power Column
                                        A light, buttery fruit cake with a double dose of home-made almond paste for your Easter table Out come the tins again for the Easter baking. When I was growing up, a Simnel cake always featured ...
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                                        Eunice Power
                                        The Eunice Power Column
                                        Slow cooked Lamb Shanks in Rioja with pearl barley and wild garlic oil This is a wonderful way to cook lamb, much better cooked the day before allowing the wonderful flavours to develop overnight ...
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                                        Eunice Power
                                        The Eunice Power Column
                                        We have the most delicious sweet crab in Co Waterford. I get my crab from Helvic, the pots go out traditionally on St Patricks day – which incidentally is a busy day on land and at sea as it ...
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                                        Sticky Ginger Bread Cake with Lemon Drizzle
                                        Eunice Power - Healing Foods
                                        January has come around rather quickly, the month in which I am always full of good intentions regarding my diet and lifestyle – an annual necessity after a hectic Christmas. However, my bod ...
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                                        Eunice Power
                                        Eunice Power - Tuscan Lamb with Olives and Thyme
                                        This is a wonderfully warming casserole, perfect for cold February days. Red wine gives a lovely richness to the dish, the chilli warmth and the thyme an aromatic quality. The cooking aromas are ...
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                                        Rhubarb & Vanilla Cream Tart
                                        Eunice Power - Rhubard and Vanilla Cream Tart
                                        Rhubarb stems burst through the soil in March, their emergence heralding the beginning of the new season. I watch over my plants and as soon as there is enough for a tart I pluck the wonderful col ...
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                                        Sponge Cake
                                        Eunice Power - Lemon and passion fruit sponge cake
                                        This month Eunice shares her recipe for this gorgeous cake to celebrate the arrival of spring: Lemon and passion fruit sponge cake 225g soft butter * It is really important that the butter is s ...
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                                        Rosewater and Pistachio Pavlova
                                        Eunice Power - Rosewater and Pistachio Pavlova
                                        This month Eunice shares the recipe for her sumptuous Rosewater and Pistachio Pavlova - the perfect summer party piece Rose water and pistachio are two of my favourite ingredients – altho ...
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                                        Lamb Carpaccio with Caponata, Knockalara sheeps cheese and rocket
                                        Eunice Power
                                        This month Eunice shares her lovely summery recipe for Lamb Carpaccio with Caponata, Knockalara sheeps cheese and rocket This beautiful dish is a wonderful way to serve new season lamb, the swe ...
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                                        Christmas Pudding Pie
                                        The Eunice Power Column
                                        This month Eunice shares her recipe for a very clever dessert that can be made ahead to simplify the Christmas feast All-in-one Christmas pud and custard in a tart. Served with a large dollop o ...
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                                        Eunice Power
                                        Eunice Power - Nettle Soup
                                        This month Eunice shares her enthusiasm for nettles: Some of the most important health benefits of stinging nettle include its ability to detoxify the body, improve metabolic efficiency, boost ...
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                                        • The Darina Allen Column
                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          The Real Thing! My goodness, it’s the end of the world as I know it! Last week my two and half year old granddaughter Amelia Peggy came along clutching an iPhone and told me she wanted ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Ireland’s future is unquestionably in food production. At long last we are recognising the fact that Ireland is in an enviable position in terms of natural resources – we are an island ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Stevie Parle is an interesting young chef who is making waves on the London food scene - and he was one of the youngest students we ever had on our 12 Week course. Stevie was just 17 years old whe ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          I’m sitting with my back to a stone wall on Inis Meáin – on Ireland’s western seaboard – watching islander Padraic McDonagh hand threshing rye in the time honoured w ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          The fight to preserve the right to produce, sell and buy raw milk in Ireland is entering a critical phase. In response to a letter protesting the proposed ban from Georgina Campbell to the Min ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          I recently spent a fantastic afternoon foraging in the rock pools on Ballyandreen strand close to Ballycotton in East Cork. It was one of a series of East Cork Slow Food Events to teach some Forgo ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Despite the fact that the Minister for Agriculture is determined to ban the sale of raw milk in Ireland, all is not yet lost – a few thoughts on the subject. I was reared on raw milk, ori ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          A Wonderfully Traditional Feast Few people can recall going into the festive season at a time of such doom and gloom. But many of us remember when little treats were much looked forward to &nd ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          So many menus nowadays are utterly predictable, chicken, farmed salmon, steak and maybe lamb. Sometimes there is duck but it’s rare enough to be offered any wild food or game. The deer hunti ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Slow Food has taken me to many remote places around the globe in search of ancient cultures and indigenous foods. On one memorable occasion I found myself in Sápmi (Samiland) in northern Sw ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina visits Noma restaurant in Copenhagen, where “a table is one of the hottest most sought after meal slots in the whole world”. Curious chefs and food lovers from all ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          In New York, I lost track of the number of people who told me that the most exciting and diverse food scene was out in Brooklyn, so needless to say I sped over the bridge in search of the super co ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Welbeck Abbey
                                          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 ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Sri Lanka
                                          We love our cuppa in Ireland and are still drinking more tea per head than any other country in the world. Sadly though, nowadays most cups of tea are made from teabags rather than good loose tea ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Artisan Milk & Handmade Butter
                                          The artisan milk and handmade butter movement is really gathering momentum, it is still minute but boy is it causing a stir. Single estate milk is a new growth area in Irish food. Many top rest ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina focuses on authenticity and labelling – this was one of the main themes at the recent TASTE Council Annual Summer School at BrookLodge Hotel, Co Wicklow, where she chaired ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina focuses on the value of growing your own fresh food – and the huge impact that Michelle Obama’s vegetable garden at the White House has had in a country where the co ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Game
                                          Game is a treat at this time of year, but what do you do with it if you’re lucky enough to receive some as a gift? Together with expert George Gossip, who recently gave a game course at Ball ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Ballymaloe Cookery Courses
                                          Darina takes a break from her column this month, but Georgina Campbell has been browsing the 2013 Ballymaloe Cookery School Course Schedule... It may seem like no time at all to many of its longt ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina focuses on the value of farm shops, for farmers - and their customers, especially children Farm Shops, we need many more all around the country so farmers can sell and add value ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Obesity
                                          This month Darina focuses on the shocking problem of obesity, its cost in human and financial terms - and gives her 10 Top Tips to avoid it Safefood Ireland, recently commissioned a report on Th ...
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                                          Wild Garlic
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Foraging
                                          This month Darina gets stuck into one of her favourite topics - foraging. Wild and foraged foods are once again becoming part of chic restaurant menus as well as family meals. Beware; once you ge ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Effortless Entertaining
                                          This month Darina gives (and gets) some unusual advice on effortless entertaining. I’ve just learned the secret of how to give a totally stress free dinner party! So here’s how it&rsq ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Honor Moore
                                          When I heard of Honor Moore’s recent passing I was deeply saddened. Somehow one felt that this doyenne of Irish food writers would always be with us. I didn’t know Honor very well but ...
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                                          Tomatoes
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Rooftop Farming and Backyard Chickens
                                          In the US something very interesting is happening, it’s virtually a grass roots revolution. However, it’s not just in the US, in cities all over the world people seem to feel a deep ne ...
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                                          Ballymaloe School
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Darina reflects on what the 12 Week Certificate Course means to the students who complete it - and proudly announces that both she and her brother Rory O’Connell have finally moved into the ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina writes about an aspect of ‘cheap’ food production that is rarely discussed - the human cost. And says it is time to ask questions I was totally shocked by an arti ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Christmas Recipes and Tips - and Good News about Real Butter! The shops are brimming with tempting trinkets and baubles and canny shoppers are taking advantage of pre-Christmas bargains, and ti ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina takes a very long journey to the far north of Sweden - and it’s rewarded with a very big treat There is a restaurant way up in the tip of Sweden, 600 miles north of St ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                            This month Darina Allen comments on the food trends that are sweeping the world IT’S a hugely exciting time to be in food. Farmers are more optimistic about the future than they ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina reminds us of the importance of the small shops that we so often value only when it is too late - and her favourite new recipes include a variation on the classic scone and a d ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina shares some of the culinary highlights from Lucknow, a place that turned out to be full of surprises on a recent visit to India What a surprise Lucknow was, even though it is ...
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                                          The Big Shed at Ballymaloe LitFest
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          On the countdown to the second LitFest at Ballymaloe, Darina lets us in on some of the hot tickets - and also the free events to be enjoyed by all The excitement is really mounting, it’ ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          A sense of discovery for Darina this month, as she recounts a wonderful Slow Food trip to Northern Ireland If you’ve never taken the train from Dublin to Belfast put it on your ‘mus ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          We’ve gone crazy for seaweed in recent times, says Darina, and now she’s really woken up to phenomenal variety of sea vegetables around our coast. We were always big fans (and still ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          The trend towards people growing their own food has sprung from a desire to eat healthily, says Darina, and she has some interesting seasonal recipes to tickle your taste buds The ever more ala ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          There’s going to be a great crop of blackberries this year, says Darina, and she has some terrific recipes for you to try Wow, there’s going to be the biggest crop of blackberries ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          IFEST, the first major celebration of Irish culture and food was held in Boston recently - and Darina was there It’s the brainchild of Rachael Kelly, the young entrepreneur who was behind ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                            The scent of spices is synonymous with Christmas, so what better time for Darina to think back over the changes she has seen in our use of spices over three decades at Ballymaloe Cookery ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                            Darina says there are worse things to be addicted to than her new pedometer - and her other health resolutions this year include cutting the sugar content in Ballymaloe Cookery School re ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                            This month Darina talks about one of the most anticipated restaurant openings in London for several years, a place where “beautifully fresh ingredients shine through with the minim ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          It’s not as easy as it sounds to give visitors ‘a real taste of our Irish produce’ - but Darina has the answer to this common problem I got a wonderful letter recently, beaut ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                            This month Darina considers our food history, and the many fascinating old recipes that have been discovered in ‘manuscript cookbooks’ - maybe you have some tucked away in a ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina talks about one of the West of Ireland’s biggest food heroes, JP McMahon. The larger than life author of ‘Cava Bodega Tapas, A Taste of Spain in Ireland’ is a ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                            This month Darina talks about the pleasures - and rewards - of foraging. You’ll find lots more foraging information and recipes in her wonderful book Forgotten Skills of Cooking (K ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          What is it about a school excursion that makes us all revert back to our carefree childhood temperament? asks Darina, as she recounts the fun she and her 12 Week Certificate course students had on ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina considers something that many of us are likely to be thinking about at this time of year - Family Reunions Nowadays, in our crazily busy lives, years can flash by in a hectic ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina fondly remembers one of Kerry’s most legendary women - and one of its greatest cooks - the late Mary Keane I recently heard the sad news of Mary Keane’s passin ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina talks about an important topic that's on every parent's mind at the beginning of a new school year - school lunches When I was a child my brothers, sisters and I ran home up t ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina celebrates not only Christmas but also the game season - and wider retail availability of game in Ireland - with an introduction to her favourite new book on game, which would ...
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                                          Korean Stir Fry
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          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 ta ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Once more on the war path to get us to take back control of what we eat, Darina recalls George Orwell’s prophetic words in ‘The Road to Wigan Pier’ (1937), “…w ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina shares her coveted London List! London, just a little hop from any of our airports in Ireland has been one of the hottest food destinations in the world for over a decade now. ...
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                                          The Farmette Cookbook Recipes and Adventures from My Life on an Irish Farm
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina revels in the traditional food that the spring always reminds us of, thanks partly to the focus of St Patrick’s Day, and enjoys a new book written by an American city gir ...
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                                          Grapefruit Mezcal
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina talks about this year’s Kerrygold Ballymaloe Lifest LitFest (20-22 May 2016) Things are really hotting up here at Litfest HQ, plans are romping ahead and bookings are p ...
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                                          Ptakas
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina reflects on some of the highlights of the 2016 Kerrygold Ballymaloe Lifest Well, the Kerrygold Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine is over for another year - ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina recounts a Co Cork food tour undertaken with a group of international students who are attending a Gastro Boot Camp at Ballymaloe Cookery School this summer We’re cru ...
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                                          A-Z of Eating
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina introduces Felicity Cloake’s unusual book, The A-Z of Eating A for almond, B for blue cheese, C for caramel, D for dumplings, E for eggs, F for fat and so on. The chapte ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column - A Real Taste of Irish Produce
                                          It’s not as easy as it sounds to give visitors ‘a real taste of our Irish produce’ - but Darina has the answer to this common problem  I got a wonderful letter beautifu ...
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                                          Salad
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina talks about “an extraordinary fortnight of random events dreamed up by a small committee of super charged individuals” at the annual Taste of West Cork festival I ...
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                                          Rachel Allen - Recipes from my Mother
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Darina has been inundated with a whole new crop of cookbooks published just in time for Christmas - something to tempt aspiring, experimental and accomplished cooks Every time I think I’v ...
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                                          Miso Happy
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina looks at the coming Food Trends for 2017 - What will we be eating in 2017? Well for most of us it will probably be more of the same but my top tip for what it’s worth i ...
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                                          .
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Real Bread
                                          This month Darina talks about Real Bread Bread and our national loaf is a subject which continues to exercise me. I’m totally in despair at the quality of our squishy sliced bread and de ...
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                                          Knockdrinna Carrots
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Carrots
                                          This month Darina talks about one of the unsung heroes of our kitchens - the humble carrot Bet you didn’t know there was such a thing as an International Carrot Day, well indeed there is. ...
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                                          Rhubarb
                                          The Darina Allen Column - The Hungry Gap
                                          This month Darina talks about The Hungry Gap and a Pop Up ‘eating between the seasons’ dinner organised by her students recently, to raise funds for the Slow Food Educational Project ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Early Summer Recipes
                                          This month Darina shares the joys of early summer food We are coming into the most super exciting time of the year for both cooks and gardeners. The summer produce is ready to harvest at last. ...
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                                          VEGAN Recipes from the Middle East, Parvin Razavi, published by Grub Street, London
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina responds to the growing interest in veganism Recently, I’ve had requests for vegan recipes as the interest in a vegan life style gathers momentum. The increase in numb ...
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                                          Cook Well Eat Well by Rory O'Connell
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina talks about Rory O’Connell’s new book, Cook Well Eat Well I love Rory O’ Connell’s new book, sounds a bit soppy but I‘m a big fan of my brother& ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina talks about the myth that low fat is good for you - and why we need fat in our diet. So why not resolve to begin the new year with a better diet, enriched by food with plenty o ...
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                                          Foragers Soup
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina talks about What's Hot and What's Not for 2018 So what’s hot and what’s not on the 2018 food scene. Much energy and investment goes into predicting up-coming trend ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina talks about Food as Medicine A growing body of research confirms that our food should be our medicine. So making time to shop well and cook for ones family becomes an even gre ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina talks about eggs - preferably from happy lazy hens Eggs are truly a super food, every cook’s best friend. Unsurprisingly they are having their moment again, particularly ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          While I love tucking into many warming stews, tagines and slow cooked braises in the colder months, I’m now so ready for the fresh tastes of spring. The Jerusalem artichokes ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Summer What joy, the garden and greenhouses are bursting with produce, so are the Farmers and Country markets and hopefully, your local shops and supermarkets are offering the bounty of the sea ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                            The Currant and Berry garden here at the Ballymaloe Cookery School is bursting with ripe, juicy organic fruit and so are the Farmers Markets. Check out the Country Markets too and try to f ...
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                                          Sponge
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          For me, ambling slowly through the Burren in Co. Clare is almost a spiritual experience – the prehistoric landscape feels sooo ancient, I can virtually feel the spirit of those who chipped a ...
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                                          Raspberry bread
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          I was over in Denmark recently to attend the MAD Food Symposium and The World Food Summit. While both were inspirational (and I don’t use that word lightly), they couldn’t have been mo ...
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                                          Parsnip and Fennel Soup
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Super excited to have three new Michelin Star restaurants in County Cork - Mews in Baltimore, West Cork under Chef Ahmet Dede; Ichigo Ichie in Cork City owned by Chef Takashi Miyazaki; and Chestnu ...
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                                          Pennywort Salad
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Our eating habits have changed drastically in the last few decades. One in eight Britons are now vegetarian or vegan, according to a recent report on food shopping. A further 21% claim to be flexi ...
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                                          Dandelion Salad
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Food trends are notoriously volatile but in any business, it’s super important to keep an eye on the indications relevant to your area, analyse them but beware of following them slavishly. S ...
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                                          Clipstone Charred Cabbage
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          The Ballymaloe Cookery School was founded in September 1983 and since then thousands of students from all over the world have ‘kick started’ their careers by doing a 12 Week Certificat ...
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                                          Paris Pastries
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          The Paris restaurant scene has sprung back into life. That may sound like a bizarre observation considering its reputation as the gastronomic capital of the world. However, throughout the 70&rsquo ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Darina gives some very timely statistics on food production and sustainability, which are shocking but not surprising, and advocates a return to mixed farming. But, now that the current situation ...
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                                          Abra Berens - Ruffage
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          An exciting parcel arrived on my desk the other day, a present from a past student who wanted me to have a copy of her very first cook book – Abra Berens is the 28th Ballymaloe Cooking Schoo ...
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                                          Harissa and Goats Cheese Buns
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Honey & Co Chefs, husband and wife team, Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich are sitting contentedly at our kitchen table podding peas and broad beans for supper. They’ve spent the aftern ...
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                                          Foragers Salad
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Foraging for wild foods with my little basket on my arm is definitely up there with my favourite pastimes. I’ve been sharing my enthusiasm ever since we offered the first foraging course her ...
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                                          Drummond House garlic
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          The Irish Food Writers’ Guild, which I’m proud to be a member of, meet occasionally to do reconnaissance trips around the country. We visit artisan producers to see their process and h ...
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                                          Jamie Oliver Veg
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          It’s that time of the year again, my desk is piled high with new cookbooks, pre-Christmas publications, all shiny and glossy and very tempting. First out of the traps in early September was ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Somehow it feels as though the festive season comes round earlier and earlier each year and with it, all too often, comes the worry of added expense coupled with extra work and sheer exhaustion. T ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          It’s never a good idea to follow trends slavishly, but certainly it’s good to know what’s causing excitement and particularly important for those of us in the food busi ...
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                                          Chargrilled Pizza Margherita
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Darina shares her expertise to help everyone, and especially newbie cooks, to get through the coronavirus crisis     How our lives and perspective have changed in the past few weeks, a ...
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                                          Coconut Curry
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Darina has been inundated with requests for advice and recipes during the coronavirus crisis - and she is more than happy to help and encourage everyone who’s finding it challenging to put n ...
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                                          Darina Allen Beetroot Curry
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          This month Darina talks about sustainability, practical life skills including cookery in schools - and how we can all make a difference by thinking about every item that we put into our shopping b ...
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                                          Blue Cheese Salad
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Blessed are the cheese makers! Let’s all do our bit to support small Irish producers, many of whom are still experiencing real hardship. The farmhouse cheese makers as just one example so ...
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                                          Strawberry and Pepper Jam
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Time for a jam session! Celebrating this year’s bumper fruit crops, Darina shares her 10 golden rules for successful jam-making - even if you’re a complete novice  It's been a br ...
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                                          Tomatoes
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          I've been a bit like a broken record throughout this Covid 19 pandemic reminding everyone about the importance of really focusing on the quality of the food we are feeding ourselves and our famili ...
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                                          Savoury Porridge
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Let’s hear it for oats! Darina shares her love of one of Ireland’s simplest, most nourishing and most versatile foods.   Virtually every food writer and journalist who stays at B ...
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                                          Nevin Maguire's Ribs
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Planning for Christmas? Well how about a great cook book for the foodie or budding cooks and chefs in your life. I've recently got lots of new titles, which I am really enjoying, all very differen ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Darina’s secret for a stress-free Christmas is to write lists and plenty of them - and she shares some great recipes that are suitable for smaller gatherings and will make for a calm kitchen ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column - In Praise of St Brigid
                                          The beginning of February is very special in the Irish calendar and - although the meteorological beginning of spring is a month later - La Feile Bride, the feast day of Saint Brigid on 1st Februa ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Darina shares the joy of new season rhubarb: “ I've just had my first rhubarb of the year, a sublime bowl of roast rhubarb drizzled with Jersey pouring cream…”  Every ...
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                                          Turmeric Latte
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Travels In My Kitchen
                                          Like many of us, Darina is missing travelling - and her solution is to 'travel' in her own kitchen… Doesn't this lockdown seem like an eternity – even the most resilient of us ar ...
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                                          BBQ
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Again this spring, fine weather has allowed great use of our outdoor spaces - Darina’s delighted to have the barbecue out again and to share her expertise: it’s all about temperature c ...
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                                          Picnics
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Picnics
                                          Outdoor dining is the big theme this summer - and you can be sure that Darina does things differently…  I come from a long line of picnickers, those who know me will be well aware ...
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                                          Darina Allen Sauerkraut
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Celebrating Microbiome - It’s all about Biodiversity!
                                          Famed for her passion for natural food, sustainabilty and biodiversity, who better than Darina Allen to headline Irish events recently on World Microbiome Day? Here she explains why microbes matte ...
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                                          Portuguese Custard Tarts
                                          THE DARINA ALLEN COLUMN - A Taste of Portugal
                                          What do you know about Portuguese food? Those of you who pop over to Faro from time to time will be familiar with the spanking fresh seafood on the Algarve but I’d only been to Portugal onc ...
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                                          Food on the Edge
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Recently, I spent an amazing two days at Food On The Edge, meeting and listening to an inspirational group of chefs, food activists, artisan bakers, millers, heirloom seed producers, food archaeol ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column - How To Cook
                                          As an ardent campaigner for teaching cookery and other life skills in schools, who better than Darina Allen to explain why ‘No Kids Should Leave School Without Being Able to Cook’ &nda ...
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                                          Sambal Oelek Chicken Skewers
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          As we head into a new year, Darina has been doing some crystal ball gazing and she’s come up with some interestingly diverse predictions for the food trends that we’ll be seeing in 202 ...
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                                          Ballymaloe Chicken Liver Pâté with Croutini
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Climate Change
                                          Practical as ever, Darina suggests 15 ways we can all make a difference…Not every suggestion will suit every person, but even if we were to make a habit of half of them, the changes wou ...
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                                          Grilled Spiced Chicken
                                          THE DARINA ALLEN COLUMN- Rekindling the Fire, Food and the Journey of Life
                                          Excited by two speakers who riveted the audience at last autumn’s Food On The Edge symposium, Darina shares her enthusiasm for a book that they have since published... Food On The Edge held ...
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                                          Mamushka by Olia Hercules
                                          THE DARINA ALLEN COLUMN - Ukraine
                                          Who better than Darina Allen to organise an online cookery demonstration based on the food of Ukraine to raise funds for the Irish Red Cross Ukraine Appeal. Here she tells us all about it and shar ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Celebrating our Oceans
                                           Unsure whether World Ocean Day is a celebration or a day of reflection, Darina Allen explains how much we depend on the oceans – and shares some recipes that respect them... World Oce ...
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                                          Ballymaloe Desserts
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Who's for Dessert?
                                          ‘Would you like to have a look at the sweet trolley’ is a familiar if rhetorical question in Ballymaloe House. When the sweet trolley is wheeled into the dining room, there’s a s ...
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                                          Ballymaloe Desserts
                                          The Darina Allen Column - New York
                                          In New York recently to attend a book launch, Darina Allen also had fun checking out the post-pandemic food scene.   It feels like the Big Apple is almost back to 'normal' whatever that migh ...
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                                          Darina Allen's Leftover Pie
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                           Darina shares ten resolutions for 2023 that can make a real difference to our health and wellbeing, to supporting local businesses - and to the planet. And they’re all very do-able. I ...
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                                          Darina Allen Chocolate pots
                                          THE DARINA ALLEN COLUMN - DATE NIGHT DINNERS
                                          Brilliant – we got through January and celebrated St. Brigid's Day so now it's upwards and onwards. Spring is just around the corner and romance is in the air. St. Valentine's Day kicks off ...
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                                          Bacon, Cabbage and Scallion Champ Pie
                                          The Darina Allen Column - How to Avoid Another Supermarket Veg Crisis
                                          Darina was not surprised by the recent fresh produce supply problems in our shops, she had seen it coming for years and warns (yet again) that we must support our growers. And cooking her deliciou ...
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                                          Chicken Marbella
                                          THE DARINA ALLEN COLUMN - BEST OF BELFAST
                                          I recently spent an action-packed weekend in Belfast and I can tell you the city is rocking. The food scene is exploding, and I certainly couldn't manage to fit all my 'must do's into my availab ...
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                                          Brown Bread Ice Cream
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Sustainability
                                          Sustainable continues to be quite the buzzword with many awards being meted out to establishments and companies who are making strides in this area. Yet Ireland with its clean, green image still r ...
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                                          Mussels in Cider
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Darina shares some highlights from the recent ‘Celebrate Our Producers Day’ at Ballymaloe, where the link between the cook or chef and the producers who make their job possible has bee ...
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                                          Summer Garden Salad
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Change and Innovation
                                          From very intensive conventional farmers to organic and biodynamic, even some small holders with just a couple of acres, to landowners with 6000 plus acre estates. All had a common purpose, at the ...
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                                          Patrick Holden
                                          The Darina Allen Column - A Few Days in Wales
                                          A Welsh farm we visited this summer is an example of what, in an ideal world, all farms could be - rich mixed pastures, abundant hedgerows filled with birdsong and wildlife, a pond teaming with fi ...
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                                          Tuna Poke
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Toronto
                                          Darina’s endless research into the most interesting and sustainably produced foods continues, with a recent trip to Canada a big hit – and of particular interest there, in view of her ...
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                                          Fig Leaf Panna Cotta
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Sustainable Farming in Tuscany
                                          Ever hungry to increase her extensive knowledge on the best ways to farm and eat healthily in harmony with nature - especially in view of the new Ballymaloe Organic Farming School that she is esta ...
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                                          Chicken Noodle Soup
                                          The Darina Allen Column - No-Shop Kitchen Supper Challenge
                                          Famed for her passion for natural food, sustainabilty and biodiversity, Darina Allen is always an inspiration – and this month, with war on waste to the fore, she’s on a mission to fin ...
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                                          Jerusalem Artichokes
                                          THE DARINA ALLEN COLUMN - System Reboot!
                                           As we come out of the long winter months, many of us have had conditions that required antibiotic treatment – but how many of us think afterwards about repairing the collateral damage ...
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                                          Spring Chicken in a Pot
                                          THE DARINA ALLEN COLUMN - Celebrating Cabbage
                                          Ever the champion of good, simple food, who better than Darina Allen to raise a cheer for the current elevation of the humble cabbage? Here she explains why she’s loving the renaissance of t ...
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                                          Maheshwar Scrambled Eggs
                                          THE DARINA ALLEN COLUMN - National Egg Month
                                          May is National Egg Month - a time to celebrate one of the most versatile and nutritious ingredients in our kitchens, says Darina Allen, who also urges everyone to consider keeping a few hens in t ...
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                                          Darina Allen BBQ
                                          DARINA ALLEN'S BBQ SPECIAL
                                          With summer now making a cautious appearance from time to time, Darina gives in to the inner 'caveman' that awakens her primeval instincts – and shares her Top Tips for tasty grilled food&am ...
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                                          Wedge Salad
                                          The Darina Allen Column
                                          Nothing says summer like a salad, so why not celebrate the long days with one of Darina’s super Wedge Salads Wedge salads have been all the rage in the US for some time now. For these, the ...
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                                          Creamed Horns
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Irish Food Writers’ Guild Summer Trip to Derry
                                          A first-time visitor to Derry this summer, Darina is now keen to spread the word about the city’s cool culinary delights – and has plenty of reasons to go back   Not sure how man ...
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                                          Irish Food Writers Guild
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Celebrating the Ards Peninsula and North Down
                                          Who better than Darina Allen to sing the praises of new-found gems that are closre to home than you might think – and to share some of their super recipes. Every day of the week, people are ...
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                                          Darina Allen
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Food Trends 2025
                                          For those of us in the food and hospitality industry, it's a crucially important to keep an eye on the food and drink trends. My late mother-in-law, Myrtle Allen used to say 'be aware of trends bu ...
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                                          Chunky Winter Vegetable and Bean Soup with Spicy Sausage
                                          The Darina Allen Column - The New and the Trusty - Celebrating Good Things
                                          Darina Allen always keeps a close eye on food trends and new restaurants here and abroad, many of which involve her own past students. A recent visit to London was no exception - and, back down to ...
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                                          National Irish Steak Challenge 2025
                                          The Darina Allen Column - National Irish Steak Challenge 2025
                                          If you’ve ever wondered why the quality of Irish meat is internationally renowned, Darina has the answers below - and a lot of it is down to the skill of our master butchers, who are very ta ...
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                                          Darina Allen column
                                          THE DARINA ALLEN COLUMN - Ireland's Free School Meals - Fit For Purpose?
                                          Famed for her passion for naturally nutritious food, who better than Darina Allen to weigh up the pros and cons of our free school meals…? And the verdict is not good.   Concern c ...
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                                          Nettle Soup
                                          THE DARINA ALLEN COLUMN - Nettles - Wild & Free!
                                          Famed for her passion for natural food, sustainability and biodiversity, who better than Darina Allen to bring weeds to your table - as delicious superfoods. Where you see weeds, I see dinner! T ...
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                                          Jay Raynor Crispy Duck
                                          THE DARINA ALLEN COLUMN - Ballymaloe Festival of Food
                                          This month Darina celebrates things good, delicious and healthy, as experienced by participants and visitors alike at the recent Ballymaloe Festival of Food.   We had the best weekend a few ...
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                                          Salad of Heritage Tomatoes, Peaches and Mozzarella
                                          The Darina Allen Column - Trip to Southwest France
                                          Trip to Southwest France If you're longing for a bit of peace and quiet, it's super difficult these days to find a place for a family holiday away from the madding crowd, yet with enough activiti ...
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