The Menu: Cork restaurants notch prestigious awardz
One of The Menu’s most favourite epicurean experiences takes place each year in the wonderfully welcoming surrounds of Knockranny House Hotel where some conglomeration of winemakers assembles for a weekend of tastings, masterclasses and a wonderful dinner from chef Seamus Commons, complementing these liquid wares, writes
Wine With an Irish Accent (November, 16-17) features three very wonderful sets of Irish winemakers, Sinead and Liam Cabot, Róisín Curley and Simon Tyrell, as splendid in-house sommelier Nick Faujours overseeing proceedings. Package includes two nights B&B and dinner for €199pps. www.knockrannyhousehotel.ie
There are a multiplicity of food awards abroad in this epicurean epoch, a time when all and sundry appear to have heads buried in the trough, but, unfortunately, not all are as they appear, many no more than mendacious attempts to cash in on the growing popularity of all things food-related.
The Georgina Campbell awards, however, are very definitely the real deal for the venerable Georgina, a founding member of the Irish Food Writers’ Guild, has been writing about food in Ireland since the 1970s and her annual awards are always worth following up as they invariably offer a splendid cross-section of a booming Irish hospitality sector, toppermost tips for any discerning diner, including the following from this year’s list: Seafood Restaurant of the Year to Niall Sabongi’s Seafood Café, Dublin; Restaurant of the Year to The Strawberry Tree, at Brooklodge & Macreddin Village, Co Wicklow; Host of the Year to John Edward Joyce at The Mustard Seed, Co Limerick; Ethnic Restaurant of the Year to Ichigo Ichie, Cork; Casual Dining Restaurant of the Year to Nash 19, Cork; B&B of the Year to The Castle, Castletownshend, Co Cork; and Chef of the Year to James Coffey, of the Park Hotel, Kenmare, Co Kerry. www.ireland-guide.com
Such is the proliferation of Irish craft beers, including some pitiful pastiche efforts from the industrial brewers, it can be hard to discern the wheat from the chaff but Mescan Brewery remains one of The Menu’s go-to hallmarks of true independent quality so no surprise and many congratulations to see Mescan partner-brewers Bart Adons and Cillian Ó Moráin were officially ‘knighted’ — nominated by the local brewer’s guild, Gilde Demerdal and inducted into the Confrérie van de Hasseltse Jenever — in the Flemish town of Hasselt, a true honour and accolade in one of the global centres of serious brewing. www.mescanbrewery.com
The Menu greatly supports the call to eat less meat in light of the impact of intensive agriculture on the environment. Nonetheless, The Menu appreciates it may be difficult for fully committed carnivores to imagine suitable alternatives, which is why he highly recommends Co Kerry-based Virginia McKee’s Virgo veggie burger mix. Actually, a class of ‘kit’ containing dry pre-mixed ingredients, including toasted cashew nuts, seeds, organic barley, spelt and oat flakes, and not a trace of any artificial additives, to the mix is added a single grated carrot (or any other fresh, grated vegetable in similar quantities) and boiling water, it then being then left to sit for 20 minutes before being shaped and pan-fried. Rest assured, this is every bit as substantial and satisfying as many a meat burger, a wonderfully textured eating experience, but flavour also deserves mention, enhanced as it is with nori for additional umami flavours rarely encountered in vegetarian burgers. www.virgofoods.ie
