The Menu: Terroir awaits those who attend Cork Int'l Film Festival's culinary strand

Plus: soul food; seaside eats; and, of all the chocolates in all in the countries in the world, our columnist had to look into a Belfast chocolatier with a grá for Casablanca

Sat, 05 Nov, 2022 - 02:00

Joe McNamee

Film and food

In another lifetime, The Menu had a long and very happy association with the Cork International Film Festival and has nothing but wonderful things to say about one of the world’s great film festivals which just so happens to take place in Cork and is now in its 67th year.

And, over the years, there have been times when his great passion for film has married to his even greater passion for food and so he is delighted to see that concept once more exemplified with a superb Culinary Cinema Strand, combining films and food events, meaning you not only get to whet your appetite looking at the screen but subsequently get to sate said appetite in a series of exclusive dining opportunities.

For starters, The Menu was never really going to bypass a film titled, The Menu, (November 11, Gate Cinema) this one, a dark comedy starring Ralph Fiennes as a reclusive and globally celebrated chef preparing a lavish tasting menu for a selection of special guests, the tension gradually increasing with each course as violent outbreaks occur and secrets are revealed all leading to a shocking finale. And shortly after the closing credits roll, attendees will then be whisked off to a secret private dining destination in the city for a “Secret Destination Supper” in the city centre.

Terroir to Table (November 12, 12pm, Gate Cinema), a documentary about wine, is paired with a wine tasting at L’Atitude 51, while Come Back Anytime (November 15, 6pm, Gate Cinema) is a joyous documentary about the best ramen house in Tokyo, to be followed by a Miyazaki x L’Atitude 51 pop-up dining experience.

corkfilmfest.org/events

Take me to church

Sea Church in Ballycotton has not only added another very decent and sorely needed live music venue to the local and national circuit but its restaurant has launched a grab-and-go takeaway cafe and coffee shop housed in an upcycled shipping container, selling specialty coffee, in-house baked goods, and a range of freshly made foods including signature sandwiches, homemade pizzas and gourmet salads, and there are even benches outside to sip while you stare at the stunning sea views after a bracing hike along the nearby cliff walk.

www.seachurch.ie

Celebration of soul

Soul food and soul music are two movements The Menu can get right behind, both emerging from the American South, and a Flavour Notes event at On The Pig’s Back (November 12), a collaboration of chefs and musicians offers a winning combination of both in Isabelle Sheridan’s award-winning food production hub and restaurant in Douglas, live music, and eight courses of soul food cooking all for the very reasonable price of €40 per person. Tickets can be booked via Instagram.

@flavournotescork on Instagram

Barnacles: seafood and pub-grub that won't cling to your dinghy

Into the west

The Menu has long held a soft spot for Linnane’s Lobster Bar in New Quay, Co Clare, so news that its proprietors, Mark Commins and Conor Graham, have opened Barnacles Bar and Kitchen in Salthill, in Galway, certainly has The Menu more than intrigued, not least that they will continue to combine their penchant for a traditional Irish pub setting offering a seafood-heavy seasonal and local menu.

Signature dishes will include: Roast whole west coast lobster with dulse seaweed, mint butter potatoes and Celtic salad, and Barnacles fish & chips, as well as Sunday roasts (beef and lamb) for the more carnivorous, along with a range of prohibition-style cocktails.

While we’re on the subject of Galway, much beloved by The Menu, let him also incorporate the City of the Tribes with another much-beloved passion of his, sherry, with news that Galway’s Cava Bodega has a special Tapas & Sherry Tasting (November 10) as part of International Sherry Week (November 7-13). If Galway is a bit of a stretch for those down in the Deep South of Leeside, might The Menu suggest a more achievable stroll into the city, specifically to the very splendid Bradley’s food and drinks emporium on North Main Street, where proprietor Michael Creedon will be more than happy to introduce you to some of the great sherries in his extensive range which includes wines, craft beers, and premium Irish and international spirits.

PB&J Bars: an Irish take on an American sweet-treat

TODAY’S SPECIAL

Lawri Dowie, of Ten Watch Chocolates (a reference to the film, Casablanca, beloved by the Northern Irish chocolatier) produces some very nice chocolates and chocolate confections with winning flavour combinations but all nuance and subtlety goes out the window with his PB&J Bar, winner of Best Artisan Product at the 2022 Blás na hÉireann Irish Food Awards, for PB&J, of course, stands for peanut butter and jelly.

Peanut butter and jelly is a US combo usually to be found in a white bread sandwich, a staple that has raised many an American child to adulthood and beyond and it’s immediate if rather reductionist sweet-and-savoury appeal has long had fans elsewhere around the world.

You’d better be a fan of “sweet” if you’re to fall for the charms of Lawri’s PB&J Bar for it is most definitely that, not least because he adds chocolate to the combo, but at least its fundamentals are top notch. The chocolate is single-origin Madagascan milk chocolate, a fine, almost brittle shell housing a bar of his own house peanut butter and a very nice raspberry jam to great effect and, no matter how sweet you tell yourself it is, you never quite manage to stop eating until every last crumb has vanished.