The Menu: Ireland's Blue Book celebrates the country house on its 50th anniversary

Plus: the end of Dry January; Ballymaloe's Dairy Quinn; a RNLI fundraising hoedown; and the return of Rossmore Oysters

Sat, 27 Jan, 2024 - 02:00

Joe McNamee

A little bit lost in the pre-Christmas frenzy was the launch of the 50th edition of Ireland’s Blue Book, a remarkable achievement for the bible of a very special arm of Irish hospitality.

The unique collection that is the Irish country house experience includes the likes of the luxurious Ballyfin Demesne to the more homely charms of the wonderful Mustard Seed, in Co Limerick; the impressively made-over Liss Ard Estate, outside Skibbereen, and two of The Menu’s favourite Irish hotels, Gregan’s Castle Hotel, in the Burren, and No 1 Pery Square Hotel & Spa, in Limerick City.

Granted, the bulk of the offerings may be of the “old-school” variety, short on hirsute and heavily tattooed young Turks dishing out whatever is currently on trend, and while The Menu is most Catholic and wide-ranging in his appetites (literal and otherwise) he will always remain especially partial to the bucolic charms of the Irish country house and it is no coincidence to find Ballymaloe on the front cover of the latest edition, for it was the wonderful Myrtle Allen who kickstarted both the concept and the Blue Book way back when even The Menu was but a young ‘un!

irelands-blue-book.ie

Ending dry January with finesse

As patron saint of babies, dairy workers, farmers, midwives, nuns, poets, printers, sailors, beer, and Ireland, while you’re at it, you’d imagine St Brigid has more than enough going on but, hung for a sheep as a lamb, The Menu suggests that she tack “falling off the wagon” on to that list as the new bank holiday at the start of February in her honour has already become a fine excuse for ending “dry January” in style.

The K Club, in Co Kildare, hosts a special feast (February 2) in partnership with Wicklow’s Powerscourt Distillery, an exclusive and intimate dinner in the resort’s acclaimed Barton Restaurant, beginning with a special ‘St Brigid’s Cloak’ cocktail and then on to a delectable three-courser with special Bordeaux pairings. Overnight packages are also available.

kclub.ie

Making life beautiful

The Menu highly recommends anything at all that Maria ‘The Dairy Queen’ Walsh, of Ballymaloe Cookery School puts her hand to — and the list extends far beyond her work with milk and various dairy byproducts, along with fermented foods and beverages.

Her upcoming St Brigid’s Day Wellness course perfectly encapsulates her holistic approach to food and nutrition and their importance in overall wellbeing.

The day-long course covers various aspects of health including diet, meditation, self-care hacks and treating oneself with love. To quote Maria: “It is the simple things that make a life beautiful!”

ballymaloecookeryschool.ie/courses

Wild West in East Cork

Writing as yet another tempest batters the turrets of Menu Towers, it is no great stretch to think of those poor souls caught at sea in such conditions, so The Menu is delighted to mention the Wild West fundraiser (February 9) in aid of Ballycotton RNLI, to be held in the ever splendid Blackbird pub in the lovely East Cork clifftop village.

Complimentary cocktail on arrival is followed by a hearty ranch-style menu from local food heroes, The Trawler Boyz Ballycotton, to be then followed by live music from country/folk band Rag Order and a set from DJ Mossie.

Tickets/donations: eventbrite.ie/e/ballycotton-rnli-wild-west-fundraiser

TODAY’S SPECIAL

In such straitened times for the food world, The Menu will take any and all good-news stories going, and he is especially delighted with the continuing and increasingly successful re-emergence of Rossmore Oysters, in East Cork. David Hugh-Jones first established his oyster farm in Cork Harbour in 1969 and it is now run by his sons Tristan and Rupert.

One recent and bitterly bracing Saturday morning, The Menu visited the Rossmore Oysters stall at Douglas Farmers’ Market (which, along with Mahon Point Farmers’ Market is run by Rupert) where he “breakfasted” on their very fine native Irish oysters which, when as good as these, are extremely hard to beat.

In a flatter shell than more common gigas, natives present with a delicate blushing coral pink but there is nothing fey about the flavour: Plump, tender, and succulent flesh sporting a perfectly poised salty-sweet nuttiness with just the faintest hint of cucumber.

The Menu took away a boxful to savour later that evening, intent on deep-frying them in tempura batter, a favourite method of cooking oysters, but, upon opening a delicious crisp white from the Loire, and sampling a raw oyster, the remaining contents of said box followed directly into The Menu’s gob, as raw, naked, and uncooked as nature intended.