FoodFight.ie - Food and Drink in Ireland - The tastiest content from around the Irish blogosphere

What is the most dominant life form on earth? Ostensibly, it’s us humans.  We can play music, be ironic, send rockets to the moon, and, more darkly, consciously choose to kill entire species at a whim. In fact, we can, through nuclear weapons, wipe out all life. Indeed we are careering towards run away climate change, and devastating consequences, if we carry on regardless.

So by virtue of that sort of dark power, it seems obvious that we humans are dominant – we’re in change.  Continue reading »

Franciscan Well Easter Beer Festival

Made an early visit to the Franciscan Well Beer Festival this Saturday afternoon and took my chance to sample some of the newer brews before the crowds started to roll in on this sunny day.

Last year, the Lynch brothers from Mayfield’s Cotton Ball were on the outside of the ring; this time, Eoin and Humphrey were serving their own beers including their latest.  Continue reading »

Hi all. I am off enjoying the sights (and food!) in Prague this Easter weekend. As Easter is synonymous with chocolate, which is one of my very favourite things, I must share with you one of the most glorious chocolate desserts – Nigella’s instant chocolate mousse. Mmm! You can check out and try the recipe for yourself here. It would make a perfect Easter Sunday dessert. It is luscious and indulgent but the big home baker bonus is how easy it is to make.  Continue reading »

This year my Easter menu is a wonderful combination of exciting new tastes, vibrant Irish ingredients and rich and indulgent flavours.  When you are creating a celebration menu, I think it’s important to simplify the starters, my beetroot hummus with homemade flatbreads is perfect as it is easy to make ahead and if you prefer you can cheat by using shop bought flat breads.  Best of all it can be placed on the table as soon as guests arrive, making an informal starter, which they can dig in to.  Continue reading »

Things were really kicking off a hundred years ago. As if the excitement of a front row seat to World War I wasn’t enough, some in Ireland chose the war years to violently oppose British rule. A limited uprising was succeeded by a successful war of independence and then a civil war. We’ll be commemorating blood-soaked centenaries for years to come.
That same period also feels like the birth of the modern era.  Continue reading »

This delicately spiced apple and almond cake is gluten-free and totally delicious. Almonds make a great base for a rich and nutty cake and the touch of ginger and cinnamon add a subtle spiced flavor. This cake is scrumptious served warm with crème fraiche or whipped cream. It’s a simple cake to put together and looks pretty with the fresh apples and powdered sugar on top.  Continue reading »

I’ve been getting a great reaction to the recipe videos I’ve been posting on my youtube channel lately and it’s a really buzzing food community.  If you haven’t seen it yet make sure to head over and click subscribe to my page as you’ll be the first to know when I upload a new video.  I’ve just posted up my latest recipe video for probably the best chocolate cake you will taste this Easter and best of all it’s gluten free!  Continue reading »

Kimchi

Kimchi

Kimchi is a traditional fermented Korean side dish made of vegetables with a variety of seasonings. In traditional preparation kimchi is often allowed to ferment underground in jars for months at a time.
It is Korea’s national dish, with hundreds of varieties made from napa cabbage, radish, scallion, or cucumber as a main ingredient. Kimchi also has many different kinds depends on the main ingredients.  Continue reading »

Easter Sunday was always a big occasion in our house when I was growing up as Lent was finally over and we hadn’t eaten a sweet thing for the last 40 days! The smell of a roasting spring lamb with garlic is one of those meals that can take your mind back to your childhood and make your mouth water at the thought of it!

The history of the Easter Sunday roast Lamb goes back to the biblical Passover of the Jewish people.  Continue reading »

Electric Fish Bar Celebrates

Congratulations to Electric on the South Mall who celebrated the first birthday of their upstairs Fish Bar with quite a party last Wednesday night. Great too to meet and have a chat with Denis O’Mullane and Ernest Cantillon, the men behind the Electric enterprise. Neither seems to know where the past 12 months vanished to, but then they’ve been working hard!  Continue reading »

I’ve had such a lovely reaction to the new issue of FEAST: A Dinner Journal.  The best part of shooting the magazine is learning more about Irish ingredients and the story behind them.  In our last issue I traveled to Kilkenny to shoot with Helen Finnegan who makes the ridiculously delicious Knockdrinna Cheese which provided the inspiration for the cheese souffles which featured as part of our cheese course.  You can read about her story below.  Continue reading »

These soufflés make a very elegant cheese course and are quite easy to prepare. You can make them ahead of time and they’ll puff up again when you place them back in the oven.  Continue reading »

I was introduced to Mic’s Chilli last year but only got around to picking up my first bottle last night. I’m not surprised in any way that it says it’s made in a secret dungeon in Wicklow.
This will bring the fire you want in your food.
I may have overdosed slightly, using it as a liberal dip with some fresh grilled chicken last night but my God is it good.
Pay heed to the three chilli mark on the front of the awesome Steve Simpson designed branding and packaging.  Continue reading »

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“If wine were to disappear from human production, I believe it would cause an absence, a breakdown in health and intellect, a void much more dreadful than all the excesses and deviations for which wine is thought to be responsible.” 
– Charles Baudelaire, from the Michelin Green Guide: Wine Regions of France.  Continue reading »

If you haven’t come across Grace & Saviour’s amazing work before you are in for a real treat! Specialising in event and wedding styling, Grace is a dab hand at setting a beautiful tablescape. Grace’s fantastic designs were put to great use when she agreed to collaborate with the team on our latest FEAST: A Dinner Journal which is out now. You can pick up a copy in all Eason stores and speciality shops or download our free app to see her work in action.  Continue reading »

Blossom Walks – Open Day at Irish Apple Farms Nationwide
~ Bord Bia and Irish Apple Grower Association to host series of Blossom Walks ~
Twitter: @Bordbia

Con Traas of The Apple Farm, Cahir.

 Bord Bia, in conjunction with the Irish Apple Growers Association, is delighted to announce details of the inaugural ‘Blossom Walk’ which will take place on Saturday, 3rd May.  Continue reading »

Following on from Monday’s post on the Italian beers I found last month in Rome, this one is about the foreign selection. I did try to drink local as much as possible, but some things were just too interesting to pass up.

My reasoning behind choosing Lervig’s Johnny Low in Il Maltese is that I had a whole evening of talking ahead of me and wanted something I could sip safely while waiting for the event to start. A Norwegian IPA at 2.5% ABV seemed like just the ticket.  Continue reading »

Sometimes, less is more and simplicity is the way forward. When it comes to cakes, as much as I adore triple chocolate lusciousness from time to time, or the stunning aesthetic of a rainbow cake, I very often return, with much joy, to the good old sponge! This recipe for Victoria sponge is taken from Lorraine Pascale’s ‘Baking Made Easy’. To me, it is perfectly simple and the result is a cake that rises beautifully and is springlike and light to eat.  Continue reading »