The Menu: Food news with Joe McNamee
The Menu is readying himself once more for yet another trip to Cloughjordan, this time for a weekend conference (May 26/27), Feeding Ourselves: Rural Revitalisation through a Cooperative Approach to Farming and Food, an annual gathering of small farmers, community food advocates and anyone with an interest in good food, farming and rural revitalisation. Saturday is devoted to the conference and the Evening SpeakEATsy while Sunday is given over to the outdoor ‘conference hall’ for Out on the Land, a day spent in the farm and the fields, walking, talking and doing.
This year the focus is on community supported agriculture, cooperation, regenerative agriculture, citizen science, better agri-food policies and other environmentally friendly farming practices such as social farming and high nature value farming, while special guests include Ella McSweeney (RTE, BBC, Guardian) Hannes Lorenzen (European Parliament, ARC2020, IATP, Forum Synergies) Pavlos Georgiadis (Community manager at GROW Observatory, Calypso olive oil, Kannabio co-operative), Aideen McGloin (Social Farming Ireland), Davie Philip (Cultivate), Oliver Moore (ARC2020, UCC Centre for Co-operative Studies) Noreen Byrne (UCC Centre for Co-operative Studies) Pippa Hackett (Green Party Spokesperson on farming and food) and Stuart Miekle (agri-consultant).
And should you make the weekend, it would be a crime not to miss SpeakEATsy, an evening ‘happening’ that goes on ‘til late at night with food, art, spoken word and live music, and a facilitated conversation involving thinkers, writers and activists, which sounds very much like The Menu’s ideal way to hold a conference.
Kate Ryan’s ever-popular Clonakilty Walking Food Tour returns once again for its fourth year as she guides food-curious tourists around the lovely West Cork town, visiting some of Ireland’s top locally based producers and suppliers including butchers, bakers and bean-to-bar chocolate makers, also fitting in cheese, ice-cream, craft beer and a trip to the vibrant little Clonakilty Farmers’ Market, all the while filling the belly with the finest of local foodstuffs. Taking place each Friday, from June to August, advance booking is essential to procure one of the limited places. www.flavour.ie
Blas na hÉireann, the Irish Food Awards, the largest such event on the island of Ireland are issuing a reminder to all native producers and suppliers that the closing date for entries is on June 15, after which preliminary judging will begin in advance of next October’s final round of judging and awards ceremony, which takes place during the very wonderful Dingle Food Festival. (www.irishfoodawards.com)
The Menu is currently in a state of exalted bliss, the class of reverie known only to those close to their chosen god or, as in The Menu’s case, Irish Farmhouse Cheese, for the latest revelation delivered unto him is yet another stonker from the Hegarty’s Cheese Whitechurch dairy, just North of Cork city, this time a Comté-style creation of superb quality, An Teampall Geal/Temple Gall (the Irish for Whitechurch). With a firm yet yielding texture, it is sweet, nutty and possesses oodles of that delightful tingling-on-the-tongue Comté finish and it paired remarkably well with Champagne, not a match that would have sprung first to The Menu’s mind but one deemed most apposite on the occasion.
BEER OF THE WEEK
Matsons, O’Briens, Bradleys, Independents.
Eureka is the fifth edition of the O’Hara’s Hop Adventure Series, this time featuring the US hop Eureka — prized for its bittering qualities while still imparting classic American tropical fruity flavours. The beer pours light golden with just a hint of fluff, citrus and herbal aromas combine with tropical fruit and pine touches, light and refreshing with a noticeable grapefruit tang and good bitter kick on the finish.
This is on tap at Urban Brewing at CHQ in Dublin. O’Haras have been expanding their portfolio quite a bit recently (e.g. Somerset’s Wild Beer), and will be the official beer at the Castlepalooza festival this weekend (although if you are reading this you are probably not there!).
