The future is wide open for for the craft beer industry if it sticks to its guns, reports Leslie Williams.

ONCE again, it’s that time of the year when I make a ton of New Year resolutions that despite all the evidence to the contrary I’m totally sure I will keep.

The owners of a garden centre in Co Cork are asking the public to be on the look-out for distinctive Christmas items stolen from their premises.

AT 9.30am on a glorious Saturday last year, I paused at the entrance to the Ballymaloe Grainstore; was I really going to pass up a rare blast of Irish summer sunshine to instead sit indoors and listen to two guys talking?

Ahead of his first visit to Ireland next month for the Ballymaloe Litfest, René Redzepi talks to Joe McNamee about his culinary revolution.

NOW that Christmas is over and New Year’s resolutions are still fresh in our minds why don’t we all decide to spend even a couple of extra hours a week having fun in the kitchen with all the family, cooking from scratch and saving money to boot.

Looking for a gourmet getaway? Pól Ó Conghaile tips the world’s top foodie destinations, with a smorgasbord of suggestions on where and what to eat when you get there.

COOKING in Ireland didn’t begin with Myrtle Allen but when it comes to evaluating the very best of modern Irish cuisine, it is near impossible not to establish some link back to the pioneering spirit of this East Cork farmer’s wife who transformed herself into a Michelin star chef.

NEDE Restaurant, Dublin, Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, Dublin; tel: 01-6705372; nede.ie

Running festivals is a roller coaster, white-knuckle ride of a job.

A MONTH after the Literary Festival of Food and Wine at Ballymaloe we’re still getting excited feedback and thank you cards in response to the event, from both participants and those who came along over the May Bank Holiday weekend.

Barack Obama’s pastry chef and the co-founder of the world’s best restaurant are among a galaxy of global culinary giants on the menu for a major national festival next month.

COOKING ‘from scratch’ is the hottest food term in the restaurant world at present, Add seasonal, local, and artisan, and you are right on the button.

Yannick + Louise, Urbun Cafe, Cabinteely Co Dublin; 01 284-8872; urbun.ie

Ferran Adrià’s El Bulli was regarded by many as the greatest restaurant in the world. Food writer Michelle Darmody travels to Barcelona to sample his brand new venture, Tickets.

IT’S RAINING, ‘pull-over-it’s-too-dangerous-to-drive’ rain. Hardly ideal conditions for roaming the forest and hills around Kinnitty Castle Hotel, Co Offaly, foraging for mushrooms.

A TABLE at Noma restaurant in Copenhagen is one of the hottest, most sought after meal slots in the whole world.

BY NOW, we’re used to restaurants talking up local and seasonal ingredients.

HOME of supermodel Helena Christensen, Carlsberg beer and the world’s best restaurant, Copenhagen has a lot to live up to.

CARLSBERG ads say it’s “probably the best beer in the world”. At $400 (€270) a bottle, it’s now the most expensive.