The Menu: A festival of food and drink in West Waterford

And the Examiner food columnist lends his stamp of approval to An Post's celebration of homegrown hospitality

The West Waterford Festival of Food makes a welcome return to Dungarvan in June. Picture: Patrick Browne

Welcome return in Waterford

We all have different means of quantifying what constitutes a return to some class of post-pandemic normality but for The Menu, one of the greatest signifiers to date has been news of the impending return of the West Waterford Festival of Food (June 10-12). Traditionally the April “opener” to his annual culinary calendar of Irish food events as it has, over the years, provided him with well beyond his quota of food-related fun.

This year, set for a summer outing, with an aim to shine the spotlight on sustainable Irish produce, the lovely seaside town of Dungarvan will have its arms wide open to welcome the thousands of visitors who usually turn up for the weekend, with almost 100 events, – free and ticketed (on sale this week) – and a host of top chefs, local and “imported” including Paul Flynn of The Tannery, Greg Harris of 360 Cookhouse, David Larkin of new Menu favourite, The Old Bank, along with Luis Martin, head chef at Mount Juliet’s Hunter’s Yard and renowned Mexican-Irish chef Lily Ramirez-Foran.

The Menu shall revisit the programme closer to time, but highlights worthy of advance booking include the Long Table Feast, for 100 diners, prepared by Paul Flynn and Greg Harris. Chef Tom Walsh cooks at the Walled Garden Dinner at Woodhouse Estate David Larkin join Luis Martin for a seven-course tasting menu centred around The Old Bank’s farm produce, with Larkin also creating a five-course menu for opening night, paired with wines from drinks expert Gerry Gunnigan.

• www.westwaterfordfestivaloffood.com

The Menu’s stamp of approval

One of a splendid series of new stamps from An Post celebrating the Irish breakfast, food tourism and hospitality

The Menu was a very early tech adopter, the first of his peers to acquire an email address – rather pointless when you think about it, until one or two others did likewise – and can still recall the excitement of sending that first digital missive. But after all these years, it will still never match the experience of receiving an old-fashioned handwritten letter and The Menu still endeavours to send several of same each year. And what could be better to address another fresh round of epistles than a gorgeous selection of stamps from An Post celebrating Irish breakfasts, and also supporting and promoting Irish tourism and hospitality and its superb food offering.

Designed by Irish illustrator Ailbhe Phelan, they feature a range of breakfast options and naturally that includes The Full Irish. The set of four comprises two national stamps (€1.25 each) for standard letters within the island of Ireland and two worldwide stamps (€2.20 each) for standard letters worldwide.

City producer opportunity calls

Cork City Council’s City Centre Placemaking Fund aims to support a variety of greening and urban diversity projects with funding available up to €10,000, the idea being to improve the people’s experience of the city centre and The Menu can’t but think with his belly, reckoning this might be an excellent opportunity for urban food growers to spruce up the public space while simultaneously producing zero carbon miles truly local food, perhaps using outdoor areas or rooftops for vertical green walls, growing towers or beehives.

Application forms: email [e-mail]. Closing date for applications is May 30.

Green fingers

Or perhaps there is even scope for an inner-city fruit tree-planting project, in which case a woodland management course from the Organic Centre, Co Leitrim, wouldn’t go astray, which covers native woodland identification, helping trees to cope with challenges and various diseases, good planting practice and maintenance, and basic tools and health & safety measures.

• www.theorganiccentre.ie

Irish kefir

Glenilen’s range of spoonable kefirs are proving very popular with The Menu's children

The Menu was quite horrified to discover some years ago that we imported more yoghurt products than we produced here, a heinous crime indeed when you consider the superior quality of the multiple Irish offerings. 

So, he is very happy to promote Glenilen’s highly nutritious kefir multipacks (raspberry and passion fruit flavours) which are proving very popular with children for school lunch and a current sustainability promotion includes a weekly competition for Eason’s vouchers.

• www.glenilenfarm.com

TODAY’S SPECIAL

It’s still a work in progress from butcher Eoin O’Mahony, of O’Mahony’s Family Butchers, but his efforts as a charcutier are fast evolving, adding yet another very special string to the bow of Cork’s most progressive butchers and purveyors of fine meats. 

Having purchased some time back a maturing cabinet, a class of curing chamber, Eoin has been dry-aging meats to wonderful effect – a 50-day aged rib roast on the bone which The Menu brought to a friend’s house in Dublin for a very special wine dinner will forever remain as one of The Menu’s most favourite meal memories of all. 

But he is now carving out a little time to practice his art as a budding charcutier. The Menu recently relished some divine coppa, sweet fat melting on the palate, greatly enhancing the flavoursome meat. 

He also picked up a pack of little salamis, and though improvements will certainly be made in the future, they were already presenting as most delicious little snacks with a fennel sweetness allied to a warm savoury umami which The Menu nibbled along with some good sourdough, finest extra virgin olive oil and a gorgeous glass of Italian Barbera d’Alba. 

Production is entirely dependent on availability of premium free-range pork and an excess of time, a rare commodity in one of Cork’s busiest butchers, but keep your eye open and snaffle up any available products; and should the charcuterie cupboard be bare, there is always a whole range of superb fresh meats to choose from.

• www.omahonysbutchers.com