
At the Club Brasserie, Old Chum
Be good. Be Bold. Be There!
Relax at the Club Brasserie, one of Cork’s most gorgeous dining venues. Many of us want to be “good” in January and Beth will help you there. Have you seen her inviting display of salads?
But, if you want to be bold, with a glass of wine or two, well she’ll help you there too, all the way to a delicious dessert. Continue reading »
Published January 24th, 2016

I was a late convert to Instagram, even diligently avoiding it for a long time, for some reason that I now cannot remember. But in early 2015 I created my first account (joanne.cronin), and I started to upload my photos.
As someone with in excess of 4,000 followers on Twitter, I obviously wanted to try to recreate that success on Instagram. Bit by bit, I found myself developing my own posting style for Instagram, and both my Following and Followers counts grew. Continue reading »
Published January 24th, 2016
Published January 24th, 2016
Published January 24th, 2016
They were sitting at the Bar Gaucho, Gerald, Sara, Ernest and Hadley and Pauline. Ernest, Gerald noticed, seemed to know everyone in Pamplona, even the pilgrims and the peasants who’d traveled to the festival. He ordered them pintxos from inside and small plates kept arriving; a dinner of deliciously oil anchovies, cured ham, tortilla de patatas, and stuffed peppers, all atop slices of crusty bread and speared with a toothpick. Continue reading »
Published January 23rd, 2016

I'll be honest with you, I am full of good intentions but sometimes lack the killer instinct to carry them to fruition. Late last year, I was invited to speak at one of the Dream It, Do It events hosted by my friend Fiona Dillon and her friend Nicola Carolan. Nicola is also known as The Naked Blondie and has basically changed her life by documenting her weight loss journey with Slimming World. Continue reading »
Published January 22nd, 2016

Erik Wolf, Executive Director of the World Food Travel Association (WFTA) has announced the largest Food Tourism Study ever conducted. The new global food and drink tourism research breaks new ground and includes global data, beverage tourism and PsychoCulinary profiling. Continue reading »
Published January 21st, 2016

Return of L’Atitude’s CineCafé
Sushi, Saké and Miyazaki
L’Atitude’s CineCafé started its 2016 run with the enthralling Japanese film Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011), the story of an 85 year old chef who runs a 10 seat three star Michelin sushi restaurant in a Tokyo subway station. Not alone do L’Atitude entertain you, they also feed you and, for this occasion, local Japanese chef Takashi Miyazaki was on hand to do matching food, a small plate of big delights. Continue reading »
Published January 21st, 2016

Cabernet Sauvignon
From Both Sides of the Andes
Cono Sur winemaker Adolfo Hurtado in the Opera House last year.
“The Los Cardos wines are readily available and are among the world’s great values.” So says the recently published Wines of South America. Continue reading »
Published January 21st, 2016

Not far from where I spent Christmas in the Shropshire countryside is the Red Lion pub in the village of Longden Common. It’s as pleasant a country inn as you could wish for: ceiling beams, an open fire, hearty food and so on. And there’s the added bonus of The Shropshire Brewer producing beer in an adjoining building.
Sawn Off and The Golden Arrow
Three of the house beers were pouring on cask when I dropped by on the night before Christmas Eve. Continue reading »
Published January 21st, 2016

Cork Coffee Weekend
Cuppa Joe’s On The Rise
Jamie and multi-tasking Theresa
Cloud Picker’s Theresa is a coffee geek. “The more gadgets the better,” she enthused as she welcomed us to their demonstration at Ali’s Kitchen, part of the Cork Coffee Weekend.
The Dublin firm was established in 2013 by Frank Kavanagh & Peter Sztal. “Having worked in graphic design and corporate banking respectively, we took the leap and opened up our own coffee roastery. Continue reading »
Published January 19th, 2016
Published January 19th, 2016
Published January 19th, 2016
Published January 19th, 2016
Published January 19th, 2016
Published January 19th, 2016

Taste of the Week
Hazelnut & White Chocolate Cookies
I’ve never really held cookies in high regard, especially those chocolate chips ones. But West Cork’s Cookies of Character have changed my mind and my favourite (current!) is their Hazelnut & White Chocolate version. Rich and luxurious, these cookies are packed with toasted hazelnuts and creamy milk chocolate and made using vegetable oil in place of butter and are our Taste of the Week! Continue reading »
Published January 19th, 2016
Before I start, just a reminder that the shopping tips that I post are a round up of the fresh food special offers in the top supermarkets in ROI each week. I also include special buy offers if I find them interesting, or if I already have them, and personally recommend them. You are clever enough to make your own shopping basket decisions for yourself, I just do the advance research. This is your shopping basket = your choice. Continue reading »
Published January 18th, 2016
Published January 18th, 2016
Published January 18th, 2016