Spiritual nourishment on Sheep’s Head
Oft-neglected in comparison to its siblings on either side, Mizen and Beara, the startling contrast of verdant lush greenery overlooking Dunmanus Bay with Spartan weather-scoured wilderness on the far side, overlooking Bantry Bay and out to the wild Atlantic, is spiritual nourishment at its finest. But, as is well known to one and all, The Menu didn’t get where he is today on spiritual fare alone and Sheep’s Head is equally abundant in edible allure. It is the home, of course, of his most favoured Durrus Cheese and those other great dairy producers, Glenilen Farm along the Sheep’s Head Way, but that’s not the sum of it, as regular visitors to the Sheep’s Head Producers’ Market outside Eileen’s Bar, in Kilcrohane, will testify. Up next is a splendid weekend of dining, Eat Mussels the Sheep’s Head Way (May 23-25), showcasing the magical mollusc in the myriad excellent eating establishments throughout the peninsula, in nearby Bantry town and out on Whiddy Island; www.livingthesheepsheadway.com/eating
Sheep’s Head may yet be virgin territory for many Gaels but it is also the home of another too well-kept secret — Chef Carmel Somers of Good Things Café and Cookery School, in Durrus. Somers is a superb cook with a wealth of technical knowledge banked from years working abroad in Paris and England and if there is a finer ‘schoolyard’ — the peninsula itself — to be found in any cooking school in the world then The Menu will eat his hat (washed down with a decent Burgundy, of course!). Somers will also be hosting a mussel cooking demo over Eat Mussels weekend but in addition she has some very promising courses coming up including a baking course (May 24) that same weekend, a Hands-On Fish Cookery course (June 14), with The Menu’s seat already booked, and a very handy Dozen Quickies in a Day (June 21), the culinary equivalent of speed dating, as you learn 12 new dishes and fit in morning coffee, lunch with vino and afternoon tea, to boot! www.thegoodthingscafe.com
For city dwellers adrift in the Big Smoke with nay a chance of making it to actual countryside in the near future, there is still the pleasure of a St Stephen’s Green picnic, courtesy of Hatch & Sons featuring a blaa of your choice, Llewellyn’s Irish apple juice, DP Connolly crisps and a homebaked cake, for €12. www.hatchandsons.co
The Menu has been hiding away like a starving dog with an especially favoured bone all the past week as he continues to pick the very last from a fine leg of Achill Mountain Lamb, from Co Mayo. A gorgeous fresh pre-cooked aroma saw him leaving well enough alone: a little oil, rosemary and garlic, some seasoning and into the oven for a long, slow rendering that hours later had heather-sweet, seaside-salty lamb sliding onto the plates in tender, pink slices.
www.calveysofachill.com/
