Exclusive multi-course cooking demo
It all promises to be a splendid night of culinary high jinks, nosh and bubbly and some excellent spot prizes. The shindig is in aid of the Hope Foundation, who work with street children in Kolkata. A limited number of seats are available by auction to the highest bidders, bidding starts at €30 per ticket with all bids to be emailed to themenu@examiner.ie by 5pm next Wednesday.
While his tailor might beg to differ, The Menu is a discerning sort and does not simply hoover up all that is placed before him, beginning with his preference for the finest local, seasonal and sustainable Irish produce. Which is why you will very likely find him at Rethinking Agriculture, the 24-hour food challenge hosted by Cloughjordan Community Farm, dedicated to examining many of the issues surrounding food in the 21st century that are rarely discussed in the mainstream media as well as a Farm Camp-out, public speeches, film screenings, discussions, workshops, foraging, a night-harvest and a farmrelated party. Contact lumakovska.ivana@gmail.com or see
The Menu is keenly anticipating the formal opening (June 28) of Dillisk, a seaside food project, running from late June to early September, in a specially-converted boatshed, in Aughrusbeg, Connemara, serving up a tasting menu of the very best local produce of the day, including whatever the Dillisk crew have planted, pickled and foraged to the finest produce from local growers, suppliers and fishermen in Cleggan Harbour ( ). The very excellent Bandon-based Kevin O’Regan, head chef at the West Cork town’s Chapel Steps restaurant, continues his love affair with the finest of local beef, hosting the West Cork Angus Beef Festival (June 25-29) with differently-themed nights all revolving around this excellent local beef, with €2 from every festival menu order going to the Deirdre O’Reilly fund ( ). At Goatsbridge Smoking Workshop (June 28), on the renowned trout farm, you can learn to make your own smoker, practice with fellow pupils and then all chow down together ( ).
The Menu is not an easy man to please but, once smitten, can gush for Ireland so forgive him as he delivers an encomium to one of the finest new products in many a long moon, Silver Darlings Nordic-style Irish herring. This stunning range of pickled fish includes a dill-heavy number but it is the sandalwood pickle that has utterly stolen The Menu’s heart, sweet and toothsome morsels of fish that dissolve under gentle probing leaving behind the merest hint of deep, woody musk on the back of the tongue;
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Bradley’s, Worldwide Wines Waterford, Redmonds Ranelagh, Donnybrook Fair, Fallon and Byrne.
Orpens cider was founded by Chris Hill and Matt Tindal with help from S. African wine/cider producer Bruce Jack. Matt and Chris both worked in the wine trade and relished the idea of making their own wine. Given that this can’t happen in Ireland they turned to cider.
Orpens is made from fresh Irish apples using no concentrate with production in a hired facility for now. Aromatic clean, fruity style with lots of yellow apple flavours and a nice dry tannic kick on the finish.
