South Tipperary's New Apple & Cider Festival is on This Weekend

A celebration of the apple and the many ways it can be enjoyed will take place in Cahir, County Tipperary. The Slow Food Apple and Craft Cider Festival, the first of its kind in the country, will be held this Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd September. 

The festival will celebrate the apple and the many ways it is enjoyed, with the revival of traditional pure-juice cider as a central theme. This inaugural event will also see Irish Seed Savers bringing their annual Apple Day to South Tipperary to make the festival a true Seed-to-Cider affair.

The event will be family friendly and there will be lots of activities for old and young. On Saturday the emphasis is on food and drink and on Sunday the apple itself is very much at the core of the festival!

Throughout the weekend there will be opportunities to try Irish craft ciders, watch apple-pressing and cider-making demonstrations, to learn about Irish apple varieties and the history of apple-growing and cider-making. Apple growers and producers of apple-based foods will be showcasing their products and there will be opportunities to enjoy great local food with a distinct apple flavour. 

Day-time events will take place at the Traas family Apple Farm in Moorstown, Cahir, and include Cider Making, Food Matching, Barbeques, Tastings and other Demonstrations. There will be a festival dinner in Cahir House Hotel where the organisers have challenged a local chef to create an exciting apple-flavoured tasting menu. Sheridan’s Cheesemongers will be on hand to match Irish ciders with Irish cheeses.

The tradition of local cider-making endured in Ireland until the middle of the 20th century, and now a new wave of small-scale Irish pure cider-makers are making their presence felt. 

Paul Deegan, from Slow Food, said - “As an organisation we have always been concerned with the preservation of local food heritage. Apples and cider are an integral part of the South Tipperary landscape. We feel the time has come to celebrate the local cider-making tradition and promote the Irish apple-growing industry, and where better to start than in Tipperary.”

Follow the Cider Trail around Cahir Town

In recent years there have been a number of innovations from Irish apple growers, such as apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, apple brandy and apple syrup. These producers are the vanguard of a fledgling industry that has significant potential for growth, is totally sustainable and is a perfect fit for the “Green Food Island”. 

Craft cider and other apple-based products offer growers an economically viable use for apples with the potential for export and to contribute to the economy of the region. 

Con Traas of the Apple Farm said: “As a country we import 90% of our apples and this is such a pity, especially since we can grow such great tasting apples. If we grew even half of these fruit here it could provide 300 jobs, and there is no reason why Tipperary should not be the place to do it!”

For more details see: http://www.slowfoodireland.com/ciderfest 

Zack

Fulacht Fiadh - A Bronze Age Cooking Demonstration on Friday night in Waterford City

A Fulacht Fia was the ancient field kitchen of the Fianna, the legendary soldiers of the High Kings of Ireland. The Irish word "fulacht" denotes a pit used for cooking. "Fiadh or Fia" which means "of the deer" or "of the wild", may be derived from the early word "fian" - "of the Fianna (or Fionn Mac Cumhail).

Hunting parties used these cooking pits from the early Bronze Age up to the Elizabethan period!

It is also believed that Bronze Age Irish clans came together at Samhain and Beltaine (May Day) and Samhain (October, Celtic New Year) to meet up and celebrate the Summer & Winter Solstices. At these gatherings Irish wild Deer would be killed, cooked & shared among the families of the clans.

A rectangular trench, a metre wide by 2 metres long and maybe half a metre or more in depth, was dug in low-lying land where it would quickly fill with water. This was clad on the four sides with wooden sections. Stones heated on the fire were then used to boil the water in the wooden trough.

The joint of venison, or other meat, was wrapped in straw (sugan - like the straw ropes) and put into the simmering water until cooked. The meat would have been quite tender as technically they were Slow Braising the meat in exactly the same way the we do now with our Irish Lamb Shanks!

On Friday Night / Saturday Morning you can step back in time to a Bronze Age Cooking Demonstration as the organisers of the Waterford Harvest Festival are doing a historical recreation of a Fulacht Fiadh cooking pit. The local Scout Club, with the help of The Druid Chef, Rory Morahan, the Fulacht Fia will be used to cook up some ancient Celtic recipes for all to see, smell and taste.

It promises to be a real experience not to be missed for anyone with an interest in Irish History and food! Ballybricken Green, in Waterford City, will be the place to witness this millennia old tradition taking place.
Venue: Ballybricken Green

Date: Friday September 14
Time: 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Cost: FREE EVENT

And then on Saturday Morning the Scouts & Chefs group will be dishing up the cooked meat for all to enjoy. There will be talks, music and fun for all the family!
Venue: Ballybricken Green


Date: Saturday September 15
Time: 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
Cost: FREE EVENT


Zack

Meet the 14 Food Champions selected by Failte Ireland to help steer the direction of Modern Irish Food

September 2012

Fáilte Ireland have selected 14 emerging food champions who will travel on a food tourism benchmarking trip to Prince Edward County in Canada where they will experience a bespoke itinerary developed by renowned food tourism destination expert Rebecca LeHeup (@OntarioCulinary), Executive Director, Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance (OCTA), who will be their guide throughout the trip.

These 14 food champions which are dispersed throughout the country from Dublin, Cork, Sligo, Waterford, Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Meath and Clare, were picked from 160 nominations for their resounding passion and belief in Irish food, together with a commitment and drive to actively influence and shape the future of Irish cuisine and food tourism in their region.

The 14 newly elected Failte Ireland "Irish Food Champions"

Anthony Creswell, Ummera Smokehouse, Timoleague Cork

Brid Torrades, Café Osta/Só, Sligo

Colin Jephson, Ardkeen Quality Food Store, Waterford

Donal Doherty, Harry's Restaurant, Bridgend, Donegal

Fergus O'Halloran, The Twelve, Galway

JP McMahon, Aniar Restaurant, Cava Restaurant and Eat Gastropub (EAT Galway) Galway

Mark K Murphy, Dingle Food Market, Dingle, Kerry

Olivia Duff, Headfort Arms Hotel, Kells, Meath

Padraig Og Gallagher, Boxty House, Dublin

Ruth Healy, URRU, Bandon, Cork

Siobhan NiGhairbhith, St Tola, Inagh Farmhouse Cheese, Clare

Sylvia Meulmeester Greenes Rest/Cork Food Week Cork Cork

Therese McDermott, Waterford Festival of Food Ltd, Dungarvan, Waterford

Yvonne Carty, Hey Pesto!, Offaly

An admirable selection of the finest Food Champions operating in Ireland today. I think they will be a credit to the progression of Irish Food on the National and the International Culinary Stage. 

Congratulations to you all!

Zack

Young Irish Chef of the Year 2012 Competition Launched

The search for Young Heroes of Irish Cooking through the Euro-toques Young Chef of the Year competition was launched today. The organisers are calling out to all young chefs in Ireland, aged 18-26, to enter the competition. Winning it could change their culinary careers!

Young Chefs from any type of catering establishment can enter the competition online HERE. Closing date for online entries is September 26th.

In association with Failte Ireland, the competition aims to search for Ireland’s Young Food Heroes that display talent, enthusiasm and passion for Irish food. This is the 22nd year of the competition which presents unique opportunities to ambitious Young Chefs to increase their knowledge, enhance their skills and further their career. It also gives them the chance to cook with and for top chefs and gain international experience.

All stages of the competition promote Euro-toques principles of local and seasonal sourcing. It's aim is to get young chefs thinking about “What Irish Cooking means today”.

Speaking at the launch Gearoid Lynch, President Euro-toques Ireland, said, “Our vision for this competition is to evoke the feeling of pride and thoughts of excellence when people think about Irish cooking and food. Irish culinary skills are developing at a fast rate and for this reason chefs need to be nurtured from a young age. Young Chef of the Year aims to do just that while promoting and supporting local produce at the same time.”

At each stage of the competition, candidates will be whittled down and the next task revealed. Then Five Finalists will be announced in early November and showcased at an exciting Pop-Up event in Dublin’s City Centre. The final of the Euro-toques Young Chef of the Year will take place on November 25th and the winner will be revealed at an exclusive mystery event. You can win tickets to both these events by logging onto www.youngchef.ie. 

Irish Chef Trevor Moran who is Sous Chef at the Noma  Restaurant    

Judges for the final will include Dublin-born Guest Chef Trevor Moran, Sous Chef at Restaurant Noma, Copenhagen that holds two Michelin stars and was voted best restaurant in the world by Restaurant Magazine for 3 years running. Commenting about his role in the competition Trevor said, “I am really excited to be involved in this competition and see young chefs using the incredible products we have available in Ireland, both wild and cultivated. We have the advantage of a huge choice of amazing seafood, flavourful meat, and fantastic wild plants in Ireland. We need to take pride in all this and showcase it in Irish cooking, that’s what this competition is all about." 

Kamil Dubanik who won the competition in 2011

Speaking at the launch, Kamil Dubanik, 2011 Young Chef of the Year and Senior Chef de Partie at Knockranny House said, “The competition was a great experience while giving me an opportunity to prove my skills. While having an unforgettable time during the competition I also learned huge lessons that will stand to me during my career. Taking part in the Euro-toques Young Chef of the Year was the biggest challenge in my life so far, but well worth it as I got to meet great people from this industry that share my passion for working with only the best food products.”

For more details see http://www.euro-toques.ie/youngchef/about.php

UPDATE - November 25th 2012

And the Winner of the @eurotouquesirl #youngchef 2012 is @ciaran_elliott from @rpguilbaud .Congrats Ciarán. Well done. twitter.com/irishfoodguide…
— Irish Food Guide (@irishfoodguide) November 25, 2012

zack

Waterford Harvest Festival Invites you to Join in their Slow Food Guided Tours

Waterford Harvest Festival kicks off from September 10th to 16th and the organisers have announced a series of Slow Food Tours to take place throughout the festival week. Over the course of the week, the Harvest Festival will be offering opportunities to join Guided Tours of Waterford’s finest food, drink and agricultural attractions. 

September 10th The first Slow Food Tour of the Festival will visit a prize winning dairy farm at milking time to view the process in action and will then meet John Flahavan at the sixth generation miller’s facility at Flahavan’s Porridge in Kilmacthomas. 

John Flavahan

The final stop is an opportunity to meet Grace Kiersey and take a tour of her vegetable garden also near Kilmacthomas, County Waterford. It promises to be a real treat of a day out and something that should not be passed up for any curious foodies who want to get a behind the scenes at local food production. 

Meet  Grace Kiersey at her Vegetable Garden

September 11th is for seafood lovers. You will experience seaweed foraging on Boat Strand, a talk from Bord Iascaigh Mhara on local fisheries and a visit to Flanagan’s Fish Mongers where you will be able to taste scallops, mussels, oysters, crab, lobster and many more seafood delights. 

Visit Flanagan’s Fish Mongers

September 12th Visitors will be taken on a journey north of the River Suir to south Kilkenny to visit High Bank Organic Orchards where you can view the production of their organic juices and syrup and also sample the finished products. 

High Bank Organic Orchards

From there the tour will travel to Goatsbridge Trout Farm where you will experience their eco-riendly work environment and taste their premium fish and smoked trout produce. You will also be able to try some tasty Trout Caviar samples! 

Goatsbridge Trout Farm

To round off the tour, it is then on to Knockdrinna Farmhouse Cheese to observe their cheese production and indulge in some of the finished products.

Knockdrinna Farmhouse Cheese

September 13th Slow Food Tour guests will be taken to experience the Ballybeg Horticulture Project & Allotments. This community driven project will demonstrate the possibility of what can be achieved when people come together for the greater good of the community. It has the chance to inspire and motivate all those who visit so it could be a great way to gain some tips and pointers for anyone wanting to start their own community garden project.

Ballybeg  Ballybeg Horticulture Project & Allotments

Tourists will be taken on a tour of the gardens and allotments and may even get the chance to roll up their sleeves and get stuck in! Afterwards, the tour will reach the Manor House walled kitchen garden where tour attendees will get the opportunity to view and sample some of the local produce.

September 14th (SOLD OUT, But more may get lined up) a trip to Dunhill Ecopark & Community Garden is first on the cards for this Slow Food Tour. Visitors will be able to take in the fantastic scenery of the community garden and stretch their legs out in the fine County Waterford air. 

Dunhill Ecopark & Community Garden

You will also be able to sample some very tasty treats from artisan food producers and see the recently installed apiary from the Beekeepers Federation along with the Crough Venison Farm.

Crough Venison Farm

September 15th is the final day of the Slow Food Tours and a trip to a traditional Waterford Craft Butcher is the first port of call. At the butchers, guests will get the chance to view and sample local meat specialities such as Crubeens, Chucks and Pig’s Tail.

A traditional Waterford Craft Butcher

A visit to the uniquely Waterford Bilberry Goats Heritage Trust at Bilberry Rock, Gracedieu is a perfect way to finish up the Slow Food Tours. You will be able to experience the protected creatures in their beautiful and often perilous surroundings and sample their homemade goats cheese!

Waterford Bilberry Goats Heritage Trust

All Slow Food Tours depart the House of Waterford Crystal at their appointed date and time, tickets are €14 for a place on the bus and a car travelling is €10 per car. Guests will travel on a 15-seat bus and 8 persons are required to make trip viable. 

Ring 087 2109894 to book a Tour or Book Online at http://www.waterfordharvestfestival.ie/tickets/

Waterford city will be in festival mode from September 10th to 16th with events on offer for all the family. For a full programme of events and more information see www.waterfordharvestfestival.ie

Zack

Donegal company Siansplan.com are Overall Winners at the International Computer Cooking Contest 2012

Siansplan.com 'Meal Plan in Colour' was announced overall winners of the 'Innovative use of Technologies for Cooking' at the 5th International Computer Cooking Competition held at the prestigious Institut Paul Bocuse, in Lyon, France, last night, 3rd of September. 

Sian and Vincent Breslin, from Donegal Town, were praised for their "innovative solution for home-cooks to food related health, austerity and food waste issues which are now at a global crisis." The jury of distinguished chefs, computer and food scientists and leading industry experts praised the timely and innovative concept. The judges were particular impressed with the fact that Siansplan.com "solves real life issues faced by home-cooks worldwide".

The competition which was open to all food technology companies around the world attracted the best in food technology solutions for the home cook. Ranging from semantic recipe search sites such as Yummly to cooking videos to University research projects to food tech businesses with multi-million euro investment. Mehmet Goker, Vice President of Analytics at Salesforce, was generous in praising Siansplan.com for providing "a modern solution for modern families".

There were two parts to the competition - one for advanced software technologies for cooking, and one for innovative use of digital technologies for cooking. The judges focused on technologies for home cooking, as opposed to technologies that are targeted at professionals caterers. Each participant had to submit a presentation of their system, in writing, before August and then had to make a live 30 minute presentation and demo during the Computer Cooking Competition, in Lyon, on September 3.

Vincent Breslin with his mum Sian - the founders of Siansplan.com

"Siansplan.com has been self-funded with support from Donegal County Enterprise Board, Enterprise Ireland, Letterkenny IT, IT Sligo and AIB." said Sian Breslin. "We are close to securing our first round of seed funding which will allow us to hire 4 new employees, create a mobile app, officially launch in the UK and Ireland and to enhance our current platform. We plan to help 1 million families over the next 12 months."

"Siansplan.com 'Meal Plan in Colour' is a realistic and habitual lifestyle solution for home-cooks" said Vincent Breslin. "The meal planning in colour concept provides the solution to economic, health, food waste and stress associated with the daily meal making process. The concept was originally created by Sian to help home-cooks at her cookery school provide healthy meals for their families within budget during the Irish recession. Siansplan.com is ideal for busy parents with school going children."

Sian Breslin, a professional home-economist with 25 years experience. Her son, Vincent, has a 1^st Class MSc. in Sustainable Engineering. The founders of Siansplan.com are delighted to have now been recognised as among the world's leading food-tech companies. They are on a mission to help 1 million families in the next 12 months by making it easier for home-cooks to provide healthy meals within a budget and without the stress. 

For more details and a free membership see Siansplan.com

zack

A Feast of Celtic Food Fusion - Scotland comes to West Cork

The 2011 Celtic Cook Off winner, Roy Brett of the Ondine Seafood and Shellfish Restaurant in Edinburgh, is bringing three of his kitchen brigade with him to the West Cork Hotel in Skibbereen to provide “A Taste of Ondine” on Tuesday 11th September, 2012.  Roy and his team will work with Chef Aidan O’Driscoll and the West Cork Hotel team to cook a Scottish themed meal using the very best of West Cork produce.

Roy Brett of the Ondine Seafood and Shellfish Restaurant in Edinburgh

Roy loved his visit to the A Taste of West Cork Festival so much last year that he discussed the possibility of coming back with Neil Grant, West Cork Hotel General Manager, as soon as he returned to Scotland.  “Roy has been an unbelievable ambassador for West Cork and its incredible food produce since his visit a year ago,” explains Neil.  “Roy featured Rosscarbery Recipe’s White and Black puddings, Sally Barnes Smoked Salmon and he even started baking his own Soda Bread after his visit.  I understand he knocked back numerous offers to attend various events this year in favour of attending this year’s food festival, so we are thrilled to have him.”

Roy will be a busy man.  Not only will he be cooking a meal at the West Cork Hotel, he is also judging for both the Food Festival’s Schools’ Cookery Competition and this year’s Celtic Cook Off event.  Roy was blown away by the quality of cooking on show at last year’s Schools’ Competition and vowed to return.  “If you asked a kid in Scotland where there food came from they would say ‘Tesco,’” was Roy’s quip on seeing the young chefs talk about the provenance of their food being cooked last year!

It will be interesting to see him judge the Celtic Cook Off as he is very familiar with Tony Singh of Scotland as well as Jack Stein and Stephane Delourme who are coming from the Rick Stein Company and representing Cornwall and Brittany respectively. And with Gary O'Hanlon representing Ireland, the Celtic Cook Off, this year, should be an exciting show of food and entertainment!

The Taste of Ondine will be a six course tasting menu at €40 per person and will be served at 7:30 PM on Tuesday 11 September. The produce for this Celtic Feast is sponsored by artisan food producer members from West Cork Food, www.westcorkfood.com .  As Neil Grant says, “We are lucky to have such a wealth of great produce in this region.  The producers have such passion and their passion combined with Roy’s artistry….wow.  We are in for a great night!” 

Bookings can be made through the West Cork Hotel reception.  +00 353 (0)28 21277 www.westcorkhotel.com

For more see A Taste of West Cork Festival 

Zack