“Youse are looking down at us”. That was the moment the audience on the Late Late Show finally stopped sitting on the fence and burst into a round of applause for Alo. Alo is an intensive chicken farmer, and he was sharing a platform with Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall.
Hugh is the driving force behind an unusual sort of farming reality TV show called the Chicken Run, which features side-by-side comparisons of conventional and free range chicken meat production.  Continue reading »

I’m sure you all know about Google News, but I’ve just discovered it. What fun! I looked up “ice cream,” and here’s what I learned after reviewing the news in the world of ice cream:  
The Top Ten Current Ice Cream Stories
1. Ice cream is just as prone as anything else when it comes to changing tastes.  Continue reading »

I was wondering what to do with the rest of the fabulous crab I got in Devon so I browsed through the selection of cookery books I brought with me and found a crab ravioli recipe from Rick Stein’s Seafood book. I have never been terribly successful at at making ravioli as they are so fiddly and always seem to fall apart on me and I haven’t made fresh pasta in a while so it took me time to get to grips with the pasta machine again.  Continue reading »

While I was in Devon I really wanted to get some fresh crab. Unfortunately crab wasn’t in season but I managed to get nearly half a kilo of frozen claw meat (although it cost me £10). The first time I tried crab I was about 10 years old and I remember not liking it, but for some reason I really wanted to try it again. I had some wonderful crab sandwiches last year in Arran, an island off the west coast of Scotland, which sparked my craving to get some when I was next near the sea.  Continue reading »

Dublin, Ireland, Europe.  Continue reading »

I didnt write a post about Valentines day on the day as that is what every man and their dog seems to do. My logic on the situation is that you should treat your better half with food and surprises all year round instead of when the marketing people deem it right! You could shower people with presents, take them on holidays or splash lots of cash on them but I have never seen people happier than when they receive food unexpectadly as a gift.  Continue reading »

Due to a car battery failure, our Valentine’s treat got put on hold until Saturday night but the fondue was definitely worth waiting for. I didn’t make the traditional Gruyere/Emmental fondue but I did put together a variation of Myrtle Allen’s Ballymaloe Cheese Fondue, using local Hegarty’s Farmhouse Cheddar, a few splashes of Fern Bay Sauvignon Blanc, some garlic and parsley.  Continue reading »

Well here I am with a very little time to do away with at Cork airport, looking through the Rough Guide to see what Montpellier has in store for me; and can you Adam and Eve it? There’s a swing dance festival in that city, the first or second weekend of February. Whoopee – never mind wine, you dancin’?
www.montpellierswing.com/
…until I log on here to have a look at the website referred to, and hey presto, in my honour they’ve been and gone and moved it to May.  Continue reading »

First off the pics…

Now some background for the wine nerds
Grapes: Made from Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Moristel (a local grape, see below).
According to the winery’s website, bodegapirineos.com
Fermentation takes place at controlled temperature( 28ºC) during one week followed by a maceration on the skins for a further 2 weeks.  Continue reading »

If I haven’t replied to your e-mail &c. &c., I apologize. I will be in touch again once I’m back from Vinisud. For those three days I shall not be wearing my techno-trousers if I can help it, but one of my colleagues will put you in touch with me if need be, if you ring the usual numbers.  Continue reading »

                                
                                        
I’m just back from the market, I hadn’t been in ages and every time I go I question why I don’t go more often.  Continue reading »

 The sun has been blazing down in Dingle. Well, sort of. The weather has been stupendous up until today, and that means that farmers have been burning gorse to clear pasture up on the hills before the seasonal ban comes into effect. According to a friend, there were more than 100 fires in the Dingle area yesterday.
The smoke, oddly enough, had no intention of rising and floating away.  Continue reading »

Whilst researching weddings in an attempt to construct the perfect organic wedding hamper I came across this article in the Sunday Business Post archives. 

There are over 12,000 weddings each year in Ireland, each one creating an average of 14.5 tonnes of carbon emissions.  Continue reading »

Whilst researching weddings in an attempt to construct the perfect organic wedding hamper I came across this article in the Sunday Business Post archives. 

There are over 12,000 weddings each year in Ireland, each one creating an average of 14.5 tonnes of carbon emissions.  Continue reading »

Much of my food knowledge is based on comics I read as a child.One theory, presented in Bunty or Judy, I think, is that “marmalade”is derived from the expression “Mare, m’lady?” which was said by a Scottishservant to Mary Queen of Scots. These are the sort of details that wake oneup at breadfast-time and cause one to focus.
It’s years since I set to with a vengeance to make Seville Orange marmaladefrom scratch.  Continue reading »

Congratulations to all bloggers who have been shortlisted for the Irish Blog Awards.Caroline, who has been a tower of strength and source of appetising recipes all year, should have been there too, I think. Many of the commentators on her Bibliocook Blog agree. It makes you take time out from all the pot wallopping to wonder about the why’s and wherefore’s of public acclaim.  Continue reading »

The Technorati Search Engine is one of the best places to find new Food Blogs.The Irish input, due to the Blog Awards on 1st March in Dublin, is increasing there.I was puzzled to see that there are very few photos, if you try a photo search.
It might be worth working on this…
Dublin, Ireland, Europe.  Continue reading »

Irish Blog Awards » 2008 Irish Blog Award Sponsors: “BB Gardens have sponsored Best Designed Blog. BB Gardens is run by Bobby Buckley. BB Gardens will supply planting schemes, design and arrange borders, design and plant woodlands. BB Gardens are environmentally aware and their philosophy is: Gardening not for the moment but for the whole year.”

Dublin, Ireland, Europe.  Continue reading »

Watching Damian Foxall the heroic round the world Irish sailor tonight on the Late Late show made me think of my career sailing the oceans. When I say that I sailed the oceans it is technically true, I did sail across the atlantic and pacific a couple of times but I was lucky enough to do it in the comfort of one of the finest boats ever to be made, the 100 metre Tatoosh.  Continue reading »

One of the first things a business needs is a good business plan and we drew ours up when we launched last summer. We always knew that we would have to follow it to the letter if we wanted to be a success and now it turns out that the business plan itself could be bringing in a nice wad of cash! We are down to the last 3 in the prestigious Bolton Trust award that is taking place this Thursday infront of Venture capitalists, assembled media and business leaders.  Continue reading »