Food festivals galore on Leeside
You spend half the year waiting for a food festival on Leeside and then two arrive along in tandem. While The Menu shall be gadding about Fitzgerald’s Park this weekend immersing himself (ie eating like a hound) in the wonders of the Irish Examiner Food Festival. He’ll nonetheless be keeping a weather eye on the waistline, the better to fit into the tux for the Titanic Ball in aid of Cope Foundation, a mere six days later, in Cork City Hall on Friday, Jul 27, the highlight of Cork Food Week, yet another celebration of Cork’s culinary magnificence. But with Cork’s finest restaurants all cooking a dish for the banquet, The Menu will most probably be in the market for a cummerband before the night is out. www.corkfoodweek.com
Regional finalists have just been revealed in the Goodall’s search for the nation’s favourite scone with the three nominees from the ‘South’ category coming from Cork and Waterford, respectively. Waterford’s Tuckaway Coffee Shop have been baking fine scones Suir-side for 30 years while Kate Lawlor of Fenn’s Quay opts for a traditional fruit scone with raspberry jam but The Menu is especially tickled at the inclusion of Mary Hayes of The Electric. Having first sampled one of Mary’s scone’s 20-odd years ago, he can still conjure up the sensation of that first melting mouthful at the drop of a hat and would personally fork over the €1,000 cash and €500 Goodall’s hamper for another mouthful right at this very moment. www.goodalls.ie
A great man for the crustaceans, The Menu is especially partial to a spot of lobster as an occasional treat, but with half a lobster, hand-cut chips and a fresh green salad available for €25 in the salubrious surroundings of Dublin’s Cliff Townhouse, he is of a mind to make that treat more than occasional. Furthermore, that lobster, born and bred off Erin’s green shores can be had in its entirety for €40 with chips and salad — what’s not to like?
The Menu is a mighty man for blowing his own trumpet, most especially when it comes to his soda bread. Hitherto, he would inform you his freshly baked brown loaves were deserving of world heritage status but that has now changed. You see, The Menu has discovered Dunany Organic Flours, grown, harvested, dried, milled and packaged, all in Co Louth by the Workman family, fourth generation farmers. Using a combination of the Extra Coarse Wholemeal and the Fine Ground Wholemeal wheat flours in tandem with his usual Feirm Úr Buttermilk, The Menu is now turning out a different beast entirely, nutty, golden-brown crust yet inside, sweet, rich bread, firm yet so coyly yielding, it could pass as a pillow. The Menu now insists his brown soda bread with Dunany Organic Flour is the crowning achievement of humankind’s entire existence. And, as you well know, The Menu is not prone to exaggeration. See Dunany Flour on Facebook for further information.
