Letterkenny hosts new Irish Street Food Festival 29th and 30th July

Donegal's newest Food Festival kicks off this weekend in Letterkenny with an action packed program of events over Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th July 2017!

Off The Street Food Festival, Donegal's first ever Irish Street Food Festival, will feature local food producer's stories, food talks, cooking demonstrations, music and entertainment and a host of Donegal Street Food!

The brainchild of Chris Molloy from The Lemontree Restaurant and Derek Walker of Letterkenny Artisan Market, this new Irish Street Food Festival is offering a huge variety of food stalls selling amazing street, fresh local produce & much much more.

Two days of live music by local musicians, live cookery demos in the marquee by local talented chefs and producer story sections where you get to hear the stories behind some of Donegal's best food producers.

Declan McConnellogue from The Haven Smokehouse

Among the food producers from Donegal that will be telling their food story are Ballyholey Farm, OURganic Gardens, The Haven Smokehouse, Simply Natural Health, Harrys Walled Garden, Carols Stockmarket, Hive Donegal, Gareth Austin Horticulture and Boghopper Brewery.

Cooking Demonstrations will run all weekend and Donegal chefs on the stage on Saturday and Sunday include Gary M Peake, Mary McLaughlin, World Chowder Champion Kieran Duey, Frank Pasquier, Maurice McGeehan, me... Zack Gallagher, the 9 Hostages Coffee Baristas, Chris Molloy and Ciaran Sweeney.

The Street Food Festival takes place at the rear of the AIB Bank on Letterkenny Main Street and access is via Justice Walsh Road. There will be over ten stalls from local chefs cooking up a local Donegal Street Food and in total there will be over 50 food stalls!

As part of the food festival the popular Letterkenny Artisan Market will relocate to the festival site in the town centre over the weekend.

“The popularity of street has really grown in the last couple of years so we just wanted to try an run an event like this in my home town", said Chris Molloy, about the new Street Food Festival. "Entry is just €3 per ticket, €5 for a full weekend ticket and children go free!"

With something for the whole family, this is a true celebration of the vibrant Donegal Food scene, and a weekend not to be missed! For more info see www.offthestreetfoodfest.com

Limited Early Bird Two-Day Tickets for Food On The Edge available until the 31st July

Food On The Edge is a global conference, founded and directed by Galway chef JP McMahon, that brings chefs and food industry speakers, from all around the world, together in the City of the Tribes, to discuss the future of food and the food industry.

The symposium’s aim is to generate debate, discussion and thought leadership on the future of food both in the industry and on the planet. The 2017 dates are the 9th and 10th of October.

Approximately 50 chefs will speak over the two day symposium. All are chosen for their innovation, passion and influence on today’s food culture. Each speaker, with their own unique perspective, talks for 15 minutes on the cultural, social, environmental and educational aspects of food and will attempt to challenge our perspective on food and our connection to it.

The principal theme of this year’s Food On The Edge symposium is Action : Reaction and the emphasis for the talk is on the vision for the future of food and how we can make things better on both a local and a global level.

Speaking at the recent Irish launch, JP McMahon said, “After three years it was time to reflect on the issues we’ve been talking about and try to change or act on them. Feedback from chefs that had taken direct action as a result of attending Food On The Edge – chefs at the top of their game and chefs just starting out – has been inspiring and motivating. We’d like to hear these stories and promote action.”

Founder and Director of Food On The Edge, JP McMahon

Chef-owner Domini Kemp said she was delighted to be asked to speak at this year's event. "The impact of Food On The Edge cannot be understated. Part of what JP is doing is establishing Irish food culture. When you go to Food On The Edge you come aware very inspired."

The 2017 Food On The Edge venue is the Black Box Theatre, which is located along the banks of the River Corrib in Galway City. Now in its third year, this event sells out rapidly but limited edition Early Bird Two-Day Tickets are currently available until the 31st July for the special price of €350. These tickets give you access to all talks, lunches and also gets you into the famous Food On The Edge Wrap Party!

The official social media hashtags for Food On The Edge 2017 are #ActionReaction and #FOTE2017 and you can Purchase these special Early Bird Two-Day Tickets HERE.

Get your Early Bird Tickets Now, before it's too late!
Zack.

Newcastle West, Limerick, Food Tour on Thursday 24 August with Sharon Noonan

Following on from the successful launch of the Newcastle West Food Tour in June, the next tour will take place during Heritage Week on Thursday 24 August when guests will have an opportunity to explore the finest culinary hotspots and rich gastronomic history of the famed West Limerick town.

Developed by well known local, Sharon Noonan, tastings on the tour are plentiful and include coffee with raw milk from Croom, granola from Curraghchase, craft beer from Kilmallock and of course no food tour of Limerick’s largest town would be complete without enjoying award winning cheddar from its resident cheese maker, Cahill’s. 

More unusual stops include a visit to a sushi bar which is the latest addition to the restaurant scene in Newcastle West and a poetry reading from the town’s favourite son Michael Hartnett adds a quirky literary twist.  The tour culminates with a mouth watering lunch boasting a menu created from locally sourced ingredients.

Sharon, who presents the popular Best Possible Taste radio show and podcast, says the food and drink landscape in Newcastle West is ‘extremely impressive’ when you look closely.

“The town was home to Nash’s famous red lemonade and still is to Ballygowan, Ireland’s first developed water brand and the undisputed giant of Irish bottled water,” she explained.  The Desmond Banqueting Hall dominates the Square which is home to Sonas Healthfoods, our answer to the Happy Pear with its diverse and large range of Irish artisan food products.  Our eclectic stalls at the Thursday and Saturday markets have so much to offer with items such as freshly baked sourdough bread and Irish garlic which sell out early.”

Limited places are available on the next Newcastle West Food Tour which takes place on Thursday 24 August.  For further information, please contact Sharon Noonan 087 099 5741 or email sharon@sharonnoonan.com

A September tour takes place on Saturday 23 September 2017.

For full details and to book go to: https://sharonnoonan.com/2017/06/27/newcastle-west-food-tour/

Cooking Tips for the Perfect Irish Steak!

"...there is no flavour without the fat."

Irish Beef and Irish Steak are second to none on the world's stage of top quality meats. Our cattle are predominately grass-fed and this is something that other countries recognise as 'special' in Irish meats. I believe that this is the main reason that our Irish Beef is the tastiest meat on the planet! 

Sirloin Steak

A good steak is one of those dishes that can simply make or break any restaurant. If butchers owned restaurants, we'd all be happy! So Buy your Meat from a local Butcher!

Here are my tips for Buying a great Steak.

1. When choosing a steak, Sirloin (striploin) is a fine choice due to its tasty, melt-in-the-mouth succulence. A good steak has just the right amount of fat and nice marbling. Rump steak and Rib-eye are slightly cheaper than Sirloin and I think they are better steaks for barbequing or frying, with much more flavour.

2. Age of the steak is important, as the hanging process develops the flavour and tenderises the meat. So ask your butcher how long the beef has been hung for. As a rule, 21 days is a minimum and 35 days as a maximum hanging time is a good range to go for.

3. Good, well hung beef should be a deep red colour.

4. Check that the beef has good marbling - little streaks of fat running through the meat. This melts when heated, helping the steak to baste itself from within as it cooks.

5. There is no flavour without the fat! A good layer of creamy-white fat around the top of rump and sirloin steaks is essential, as is a little fat through the meat.

Ribeye Steak

Five steps to cooking the perfect steak at home

1. Take the steaks out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking to allow to come to room temperature. Heat your griddle pan or frying pan over a high heat.

2. Lightly rub the steak with a little olive oil, or Donegal rapeseed oil and season with sea-salt and freshly ground black pepper just before cooking.

3. If your pan is small, don't cook off more than two steaks at a time and keep them spaced apart. If you add too many steaks to the pan at once, the temperature will drop and the steak will stew, rather than fry.

4. Don't turn the steaks until they are well seared, then turn them over and cook on the other side (see timings, below). I always lift a sirloin or ribeye steak up on it's fatty edge and sear that too until it crisps - yum!

5. Let the steak rest for about 2 minutes (under loose tinfoil if you want) before serving, to allow the juices that have been drawn to the surface to relax back into the meat.

Fillet Steak

 Cooking Times for Steaks.

These timings are based on cooking a Sirloin steak that's about 2cm (3/4 of an inch) thick. Cooking times will vary depending on the type and thickness of the steak, and how hot your pan is. 
Be adventurous and try cooking your steak a little less well done than you normally would. I guarantee that you’ll never eat a well-done steak again once you’ve tasted a really juicy medium!

Blue: Warmed through, just, on a plate on the side of the cooker and then seared each side

Rare: 1 minutes each side

Medium rare: 2 minutes each side

Medium: 2½   minutes each side

Medium-well: 3½ minutes each side.

Well Done: 5 minutes each side - but do try to eat your steak a little less done than you usually would and you'll discover the real juicy taste of great Irish Steak!

Juicy Medium Rare - Just the way I like it!

zack

The "Just Ask" Restaurant for the Month of June is Good Things café in Skibbereen

The Bordbia Just Ask restaurant of the month for June goes to Good Things café at Dillon’s Corner, Skibbereen, Co. Cork.

Carmel Somers, Owner & Chef at The Good Things Café, Skibbereen, Cork

Good Things is the creation of chef, boss and mother extraordinaire, Carmel Somers, a passionate chef who cooks simple, fresh and tasty food.

“Good ingredients make good food", says owner Carmel Somers, owner & chef at Good Things café. "Therefore, at Good Things we make a priority of locally sourcing the best ingredients possible. In essence, whatever we cook, we like to ensure it’s something we would like to eat. Not only do our customers eat our food but also our staff, our family and our friends, therefore, we do our utmost to provide truly good food".

Their fresh meat is supplied by local butcher, William Walsh and Dave Louks of Sheehymore Free Range Farm supplies their chicken and eggs.

Fish and seafood are sourced from The Fish Station in Skibbereen and Ted Browne of De Brun Iasc Teo in Dingle. Additional suppliers include Sally Barnes of Woodcock Smokery for her smoked fish and the Ferguson family of Gubbeen Farmhouse for their Gubbeen cheeses and cured meats.

The Kingstons of Glenilen Farm are the suppliers for all their country butter, creme fraiche, clotted cream and yoghurts. Local fruit & vegetable suppliers include Steve and Aly of Grá Farm, Radical Roots of Bandon, grower Phil Walsh, Gubbeen Greens from Gubbeen House Gardens and Tim York of Lisheen Organics in Skibbereen.

Carmel also runs a successful Cookery School which continues with their tradition of cooking honest tasty good things to eat. For more details visit their website at www.thegoodthingscafe.com or call +353 (0)28 51948. (pics @GoodThingsCafe )

Bord Bia’s Just Ask initiative was established in 2009 to recognise restaurants across the country that demonstrate best practice both in sourcing local produce, and profiling suppliers on their menus. Listing the local farmers and businesses involved with bringing a menu together can enhance the experience for diners and promotes better engagement with the farm to fork journey.

To date, there have been over 65 winners, selected by food writer Georgina Campbell in collaboration with Bord Bia. Each month, a Restaurant of the Month is selected for an eatery that exemplifies the principles of the campaign. A leading restaurant is chosen for the annual Restaurant of the Year award and Good Things cafe actually won the Restaurant of the Year 2017 at an award ceremony last September.

Zack.

The Deadline for Foodie Destinations 2017 Applications is July 13th

The deadline is approaching for entries to the  Foodie Destinations 2017 organised by the Restaurant Association of Ireland (RAI). This competition celebrates the best of  Ireland’s unique and wonderful food offerings and encourages local food tourism initiatives across the country. 

If your town, village, suburb or region believes you have a unique food tourism offering and would like to apply, head over to www.foodiedestinations.ie where you'll find the entry criteria and the application form. 

The Foodie Destinations 2017 winner will be a destination that actively promotes itself through joint promotional activities such as food festivals, gourmet trails or farmers’ markets as well as great dining experiences for locals and visitors alike. They will have established a local producer/supplier network which is utilised and promoted by local businesses. 

Plans for future growth and investment into the food and hospitality industry at a local level will also be taken into consideration by Foodie Destinations judges. Education, training, development and employment will be key components of the ultimate food Foodie Destination and collaboration is of utmost importance - they want to see communities working towards a common foodie goal.

This year the RAI welcome FBD Insurance as their official sponsor. John Reade, Head of Business Insurance at FBD Insurance has this to say: “For 50 years FBD Insurance has been proud to support local community initiatives and as Ireland's only indigenous Insurer we are delighted to see so many communities developing their own food culture offerings and contributing to the wonderfully diverse food culture in Ireland.”

The Boyne Valley was the winner of the 2016 Foodie Destination competition and it had successfully pitched itself as a region "synonymous with heritage and lush green landscape" with a concentrated effort on the marketing and growth of their fabulous artisan producers from Ireland’s only garlic farm, heritage potatoes, blue goats cheese to rapeseed oils.

The deadline for 2017 applications is 12 noon, Thursday 13th of July.

All final applications must be submitted online here at : https://goo.gl/forms/HdLGs4h69RB9WQla2

Follow the competition on Twitter @FoodieDest and hashtag #FoodieDestinations and check out the dedicated website  www.foodiedestinations.ie

For all queries contact Emma at the RAI on +353 (1) 677 9901 or media@rai.ie

Zack.

Restaurant Association calls for immediate action on Chef Shortage crisis

The Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) has again made calls for emergency measures to be implemented to solve the crisis shortage of chefs in Ireland. The RAI are again reiterating the need for the re-establishment of CERT, the former State Tourism Training Agency. 

Chief Executive of the RAI, Adrian Cummins commented, “Some restaurants across the country are being forced to close on Mondays and Tuesdays due to the shortage of chefs. It is interesting to note that the other large industries in Ireland such as agriculture and fishing have dedicated training centres around the country.”

The RAI says that there is still a crisis in the shortage of chefs in the country, and an investment in training is needed urgently. The organisation is calling on the Minister for Education Richard Bruton T.D. to re-establish CERT with immediate effect. Mr. Cummins continued “The hospitality and tourism industry is one of our most valuable assets. It is ludicrous that there are no training colleges for our industry in this country.”

Mr. Cummins commented on the new proposals, “The chef shortage in this country is an ongoing problem. The new apprenticeship proposals are a stepping stone in tackling the crisis but the re-establishment of CERT is the only solution.” The RAI state that the main skills shortages are among suitably qualified chefs. Shortages of commis chefs feed into shortages at higher and specialist levels. Among the applicants submitted for chef positions, many are deemed not to be appropriately qualified. This reflects the fact that there is not enough chef training centres. Currently 1800 chefs qualify each year from certified culinary training programmes. There remains an immediate deficit of 5000 chef trainees annually.

The RAI recommends investment in management and the establishment of 10 new chef training centres nationally. CERT, the State Tourism Training Agency, was established in 1963. CERT was responsible for providing a trained workforce for the hotel, catering and tourism industry. It offered training courses for those wishing to pursue a career in this field and for employees in the industry who wanted to develop new skills. It was abolished in May 2003. Speaking about CERT, Mr Cummins said “CERT was fit for purpose and serviced the industry with skilled labour, it was held in very high esteem during its operational years.”

Irish workers account for 69% of employees in the Hospitality sector. This highlights the importance of the industry. Mr. Cummins continued, “We want to be able to market Ireland as a centre of food excellence, a true culinary experience with world-class chefs leading the way. Instead, we are finding ourselves in a position where we have a severe shortage of chefs in Ireland which is now threatening the success of the tourism industry’s recovery.”

You can contact the Restaurants Association of Ireland by Telephone on : +353 1 6779901