The Menu: Dingle Food Festival top of the bill
Dingle Food Festival
There is a certain giddiness in the air as Clan Menu ready themselves for their annual return to Dingle for the Dingle Food Festival (October 5-7) and the Blás na hÉireann Food Awards, one of the highlights of the culinary calendar.
Yet again, the weekend programme is packed with events for all the family including cookery demonstrations, from Wade Murphy (Adare 1826), Eddie Atwell (Eccles Hotel) and former Irish-athlete-turned-cook David Gillick, food workshops on beekeeping, poultry and herbal remedies, kiddie entertainment, The Great Dingle Bake Off, Whiskey Masterclasses, Wine & Cheese Masterclasses, Beer and Cider Craft Trail while this year’s outing of the legendary Taste Trail features an incredible 78 locations, all offering finest local fare, in addition to the two-day street market, featuring many of those same producers in competition for the Blás awards, which will see gongs doled out in over 100 food and drink categories from an original longlist of 2,500 products with especial interest in the final identities of the Best Artisan Producer and overall Supreme Champion. www.dinglefood.com & www.irishfoodawards.com
Afternoon tea
Dear Old Sainted Mother Menu is rather fond of the Killarney Park Hotel so The Menu fancied a new afternoon tea in the luxury five star might tickle her fancy, with the hotel’s pastry chefs creating a special menu to celebrate the official reopening of the recently-restored 18th century Killarney House, more or less across the road.
“Well, DOSM,’ cries The Menu, ‘how do you fancy some horseradish prawn cocktail sandwiches with Aruga caviar and other delicious comestibles of that ilk?”
“That would indeed be pleasant, Most Beloved Son,” replies DOSM, “but I am even more taken with the other KPH offer of an an Ultra-Luxurious Gourmet Mountain Adventure involving a helicopter ride to the top of Mangerton Mountain whereupon I shall feast upon a provided gourmet picnic, all part of a two-night package including dinner!” “Knock yourself out, DOSM!” says The Menu, being much more of an afternoon tea kind of soul.
www.killarneyparkhotel.ie
Currying favour
We consume an awful lot of the stuff, either at home, in takeaways or, increasingly, in a growing number of high end restaurants but we rarely seem to make space in the national food conversation for ‘curry’. The Irish Curry Awards return with seven categories including best chef, restaurant and take-away with the general public throughout the 32 counties being urged to nominate their favourite Asian food operation or person to acknowledge the social and economic contributions of Ireland’s Asian community.
www.irishcurryawards.com.
Chef sessions
The latest Chef Sessions (Oct 1) from the Market Lane group and taking place in Blackrock Castle Café sees a number of their junior colleagues from Catalonia, a result of the groups recruitment programme with Campus de Turisme, Hoteleria i Gastronomia University, in Barcelona take over the kitchens under the guidance of Executive Chef Stephen Kehoe to deliver a Catalan-themed eight-course tasting menu with paired drinks for one night only www.castlecafe.ie
Dine and wine
The impeccably sited Inchedoney Island Lodge & Spa, near Clonakilty, where Atlantic waves near lap at the front door, offer a very appealing French Côtes du Rhône wine dinner (Oct 4) featuring Maison Chapoutier.
www.inchydoneyisland.com
Beer of the week
: Castle Tralee, Bradleys, Redmonds, McHughs and every decent bar and off-licence in Co Mayo.
Westport’s OktoberFest West will take place on October 6 and 7 on the grounds of Westport House. Expect lederhosen, Bavarian music, beer and bratwurst.
The festival is organised by Jack and Eddie of the excellent Mescan Brewery. This is my second saison in a row but quite different to the Larkin’s version I featured last weekend which is a session beer made with German hops (Mescan use New World hops).
Hazy gold colour, rich tropical and citrus aromas, fruity, spicy, and with textured layers of complex fruit and malt flavours.
Watch soon for Mescan’s Beoir na Nollaig 2018 which is currently maturing in whiskey casks.
