Category Archives: Food

The Taste of Dublin 2014

I hadn’t been to Taste of Dublin before so was excited to pop along and see what all the fuss was about. It had pretty much been advertised to death in every possible way so it was impossible not to know it was on.

Ticket

As luck would have it I managed to get a couple of free passes for the Sunday lunch session between 1.00 p.m and 4 p.m. Normally the ticket price for this would have been €23.00 excluding booking fee. Personally I thought it was a bit on the expensive side just for entry to the event. I would have liked to see perhaps a complimentary drink included in the price.

I have to say I couldn’t have picked a better day to visit. The sun was literally splitting the sky and the Iveagh Gardens were in full swing with eager visitors.

Eager Visitors

Podology

There were a number of areas which had live performers playing a mix of music as well as a DJs spinning Summer anthems. The whole area had the feel of an upmarket festival.

Live Performance

The gardens are quite big and every inch of them were utilised to house the huge number of exhibitors. There were numerous bars offering everything from specialised spirits, craft beers and champagne.

World Beer Bar

Beefeater Gin

Gin Gin & More Gin

Teeling Whiskey

Creans

Tattinger Champagne

Prosecco Truck

There was also plenty of food on offer. Some great restaurants like The Exchequer, The Green Hen, Clodaghs Kitchen, Saba, Chapter One and Jaipur were all offering their signature dishes to hungry visitors. There were also plenty of smaller stands offering a mix of treats.

Manuka Honey

Pink Lady Apples

Empire Donuts

Freshly Baked Apple Tarts

The Cupcake Bloke

Keoghs

Throughout the few days there were also a number of demonstrations from various celebrity and restaurant chefs such as Rachel Allen, Kevin Dundon, Darina Allen, Clodagh McKenna, Chef Stuart and Linda Booth.

Chefs Skillery

Taste Theatre

There was a great vibe to the event and plenty on offer in terms of food and drink. While there was some good value to be had I did think many of the stands were slightly overpriced especially considering the cost of the entry ticket and the size of the portions they were offering. Then again it is quite a special event so you are paying for something a little out of the ordinary.

My visit was relatively short and I don’t think I had enough time to explore and certainly not enough florins in my pocket to judge it fairly, so I will return next year full of renewed enthusiasm. There is no denying however that it is a great event for the city. It creates a fantastic opportunity for a variety of vendors to showcase their produce and equally for food and drink lovers to sample a little of everything in the stunning setting of the Iveagh Gardens.

Fountain

Essential Cookery – A Week In Cooks Academy

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Back in May last year I took it upon myself to improve my cooking skills. I wouldn’t exactly starve in the kitchen but I wouldn’t blow your mind either. I had some holidays to use up from work so I decided to take a week off and embark on Cooks Academy Essential Cookery Course.

The course runs for five days from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. each day and is described as follows:

‘Spend a wonderful week cooking and learning here at Cooks Academy. Because we stream participants of different abilities, this course will suit you either as a total beginner or as a cook with experience. You will learn the basics of classical cooking along with a concise discovery of cooking methods and techniques giving you the background to enable your skills to mushroom in the future. A great course if you’re taking a break from your hectic work for a week’ (from Cooks Academy website)

The first day we got to meet the team from Cooks Academy. All very professional and personable. There were about 15 of us taking part for the week so over a batch of freshly baked scones and mugs of tea we started chatting and began to get to know each other.

Demo Kitchen Area

We were given a book of recipies and a plan for the week broken down by day of what dishes we would cook. It averaged about 8 differant meals a day including everything from soups to mains to desserts. The first morning also included some of the basics like knife skills, a tour of the kitchen and actually showing us various kitchen untensils and how to correctly use them. It was surprisingly helpful that bit.

After the introduction we were asked to get ourselves into pairs as we would be working together for many of the recipies. It was all a bit like being picked for teams in PE. A little bit of shuffling about. A bit of looking at the ground and then a few ‘will you work with me’ in hushed tones. Everyone managed to find a friend and I was paired up with an excitable young lad who was rearing to go.

The format was the same for each day. One of the chefs would demonstrate the dish right in front of us and talk us through the process while giving us tips on how to improve our cooking and answering our never ending stream of questions which I’m sure they had heard a million times. Once that was done we were let loose in the kitchen to recreate it ourselves.

Kitchen Area

For all of the dishes the staff had already set out all the ingredients at our work stations. This was really just so we could fit all the dishes in and didn’t have to waste time measuring out ingredients. I’m going to go out on a limb and assume they figured we would be able to do that ourselves at home. Maybe they gave us too much credit!

Throughout the week we made a great mix of dishes and usually after we made a dish we went back to the seating area and sat down and ate. It was cook eat, cook eat, cook eat, roll home. Not a bad way to spend a day. Some of the dishes we made are coming up below. Yes they were all made from scratch and all made by me. I was kinda impressed with myself.

Freshly Baked Brown Bread

Rib Eye Steak with Peppercorn Sauce and Fondant Potato

Spicey Chicken, Cucumber and Cashew Salad

Lamb with Rosemary Jus

Chocolate Souffle

Eclairs

On the final day of the course we spent the afternoon preparing just one dish which was a very tasty apple tart. After that the staff had organised an end of course graduation for us which was a really great touch. Everyone was called up by name to receive their certificate and shake hands with the chef, while enjoying canapes accompanied by prosecco. It was a really nice way to finish off the week.

Apple Tart

It’s not a great picture, bit fuzzy but was great to take a picture with the entire class, and of course our apple tarts.

The Class

Certificate

The course is currently priced at €450 which equates to €90 a day. Given that every single ingredient is supplied for you, all of which are of excellent quality I personally think it’s great value.

Contact Details:

19 South William Street

Dublin 2

Ph: 01 6111 666

Web: http://www.cooksacademy.com/

Petite Patisserie – Dublin Cookery School

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I’ve always had a passing interest in baking. Even when I was a child I remember being in the kitchen with my mother making fairy (sign of things to come) cakes, or my own culiniary delight which was Rice Krispie buns. At one point I even got a place to study Culinary Arts in DIT. Alas it was not to be and like many others I ended up getting a job and getting used to having money. From time to time I still try my hand at a bit of baking with moderate degrees of success. It’s finding the time to practice that seems to let me down.

Another buddy of mine (lets call him Baking Boy) also likes to dabble with flour and eggs from time to time. Being the good chap he is, he organised for us to head to Dublin Cookery School in Blackrock for their Petite Patisserie class. Basically its an excuse to eat fattie food and a competition to see who makes the best ones. Nothing like a bit of (un)friendly rivalry to keep things interesting.

Ready for Battle

So we arrived for class at 7 p.m. and joined the group which was mostly made up of ladies and we were promptly served a glass of wine and some food.

Wine

Pate

The set up for the class was pretty standard. We got to sit back and relax and drink wine while Linda done all the hard work right in front of us. Linda is like a female Willy Wonka but without that creepy element he has. She is great fun. She knows her stuff, is passionate about her chocolate masterpieces and that enthusiasm makes the class a great place to be. We had about five differant recipes to get through in about two hours. The first couple were demonstrated with ease by Linda while we supped our wine.

Kitchen Demo Area

She made mini versions of everything using some very handy silicon moulds. I’ll definately be using them when I get around to recreating some of these mouth watering treats. Linda actually made a birthday cake for Robert De Niro (which kinda makes her a bit of a hero) when she worked in Vancouver and shared the recipie in miniature version with us. It was a chocolate hazelnut cake and if it’s good enough for Mr. De Niro it’s good enough for me.

Robert De Niro’s Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

She also made mini frozen tiramisu and chocolate mousse encased in glazed chocolate boxes. Droooooooooooool

Selection of Desserts

Glazed Chocolate Box in the Middle

Perfect Presentation

After beguiling us with her skills Linda let us loose in the kitchen area to have a go at something a little less intricate.

Busy Class

We made Chocolate Madeleines first. Lets just say that they didn’t quite work out. Some key ingredients might have been forgotten then added in the wrong order and bascially I blame the wine because the very simple recipie suddenly turned into something written in latin and the Chocolate Madeleines didn’t quite make it but we still had fun trying. Few pictures below of the steps involved.

Take Ingredients

Mix Them Together

Pour into Trays

Unfortunately there is no finished product picture because they were far too tragic to be photographed. The Lime and Coconut Friands however were a roaring success.

Ingredients for Friands

Mixed Together

Ready for Baking

Ta Dah – Masterpieces – Well Edible & Tasty

Cooking with Linda is great fun I have to say and I laughed as much as I learned so thats what I call a recipie for success. Dublin Cookery School has a whole host of classes coming up so take a look here.

Dublin Cookery School
2 Brookfield Terrace
Blackrock
Co. Dublin

Phone: 353 (0)1 2100 555

Email: info@dublincookeryschool.ie

A Most Peculiar Afternoon Tea At The Westin Hotel

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Ruby Laine, one of the girls I work with was leaving us. She is a wonderfully vintage girl dropped into a modern world and loves anything with a touch of old style charm. She doesn’t like too much of a fuss so rather than the usual leaving drinks I organised an Afternoon Tea farewell for her.

The venue of choice was the Atrium Lounge in The Westin Hotel. They have two differant afternoon teas on offer. The first the standard afternoon tea that everyone knows and loves with pots of tea and fresh scones and mini cakes. Ruby went for that one. She is a coeliac and I’m delighted to say that they were happy to cater for her needs without compromising on taste. The second was entitled A Most Peculiar Afternoon Tea which I went for. A racy little number this one. (Laura from The Dublin Diary gave me that word)

A Most Peculiar Afternoon Tea

It was a Hendricks Gin infused twist on a classic Afternoon Tea and came complete with a tea pot full of Victorian Mojito.

Teapot of Victorian Mojito

The Atrium Lounge is quite a nice little spot with a large glass roof that lets you look up at the sky. It was a little warm however and I imagine on a hot Summers day you might down extra Mojitos just to stay cool. They also had a lady playing a harp and she played a little intro every time someone walked up the stairs which was quite fun.

Atrium Roof

I’ve never really had afternoon tea as such but always imagined you would be starving after it as everything is miniature. I was happy to be proved wrong however. Despite the size the three tiers of mini treats were suprisingly filling and it was a struggle to finish. A struggle yes, but I did finish and then started sampling some of Rubys too.

Feast your eyes on these!

Black olive, tomato tapenade and goats cheese dipper

Almond and redcurrant frangipane tart

Banana Bread

Spiced roast beef, spinach, red onion and horseradish involtine

Confit of pork cheek, stilton and honey aioli

Popcorn panna cotta, toffee popcorn crumble

Cream & Jam For Scones

Oak smoked Irish salmon, caviar, cream cheese blini

Naturally enough they also had an extensive range of teas and coffees available to suit all tastes. Ruby went for the Green Tea to accompany her coeliac friendly selection.

Green Tea

Some of the Coeliac Friendly treats

I of course was being all sorts of classy with my teapot full of booze!!

So Refined

All in all an enjoyable afternoon was had. Both versions of afternoon tea are available for €26 per person which I did find good value. It’s served Monday to Friday and Sunday from 2.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m. and on Saturdays between 1.00 p.m. and 6.00 p.m.

Link to the menu here

The Green Hen – Best Value Lunch In Dublin

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I had been hearing great things about The Green Hen for ages. A friend had raved about it, but he is a vegetarian so I’m always a little suspicious of non meat eaters. Can you really trust someone who is part of the Quron movement (I joke). It was however on my list of places to try. As luck would have it a buddy had organised lunch there for me as an early birthday treat.

I’ll do my very best to be balanced in my review but quite frankly I was under its spell the second I walked up to it. It has that wonderful charm of a Parisian Cafe and makes you feel like you are stepping back in time. Just inside the door is a small bar area, perfect for a glass of wine or cup of coffee and some window watching.

Bar Area Inside The Door

The bar is followed by a narrow section which opens wider towards the back. Upstairs there is another dining space which is filled with light and in constrast to downstairs which is darker. Personally I prefer the look and feel of downstairs.

Stairs to well Upstairs

Every inch of the walls are adorned with framed movie posters from an era long gone by.

Movie Posters

Movie Poster

It was lunch time on a busy Saturday when we visited so we decided to try out the set lunch menu, which let me tell you is amazing value at 1 course for €14, 2 courses for €17 or 3 courses for €19.

Set Lunch Menu

While salivating over the menu we got a couple of glasses of prosecco to kick start. Light refreshing and crips with an underlying hint of fruits. There is just never enough in one glass though! Although if I do have more than one I start that really awkward flirting with the wait staff where they roll their eyes and say to themselves ‘great another tipsy fool thinking he is hilarious’. I do genuinely feel sorry for staff sometimes, having been on the receiving end of it myself!

Prosecco

For starters I went for the Braised Pork Cheek with a Pigs Head Croquette, Chicory, Pear and Calvadas Jus. The Pigs Head bit kinda threw me a little and I was a bit aprehensive about what would appear on the plate. It was bloody gorgeous. The Pork Cheek was tender and fell apart and the Croquette was crisp on the outside with soft and creamy potato and bacon on the inside. I literally licked the Jus off the plate, classy guy that I am.

Pork Cheek

My buddy had the Hot and Cold Goats Cheese and Beetroot Salad. A plentiful helping it was too. I’m not a big fan of goats cheese but I’m told it was quite tasty and he ate it all despite the fact he is usally a ‘salad dodger’.

Hot Cold Goats Cheese Beetroot Salad

For mains the following culinary successes were served up. Mine was the catch of the day which was pan fried Seabass on a bed of creamed potato with fried samphire. It also came with a delightfully tasty garlic sauce which was really mild and not overpowering with such a delicate fish. When I first looked at the plate I thought to myself, well this won’t fill me. Coming from a farming background I like spuds with me spuds so was thinking a little bit of creamed mash ain’t going to cut it. Happy to be proved wrong, it was suprisingly filling. The fish was perfectly cooked and only lightly seasoned. It was my first time trying fried samphire and I can safely say I’d eat a whole plate of it. Gorgeous!

Seabass

The other dish was traditional fish and chips which is a fairly safe option. It was beer battered to perfection and served with chips, pea puree, rocket and a basil aioli on the side. Cooked and presented correctly a dish as simple as fish and chips can hit all the right spots and this one did. Let’s just say the ‘salad dodger’ cleared the plate.

Fish n Chips

Completely stuffed after two fantastic courses we needed a pre dessert breather which was filled nicely by a bottle of Domaine Mont Auriol which is a Viognier. A delicious French white with hints of apricot and lemon.

I also had a wander around the restaurant looking at all the framed posters of which there are many. Even the gents have their walls covered in classic black and white photographs of leading men. I can only assume the ladies is similar. Yes I took a picture. Yes it might seem odd to many but I thought it was quite stylish and am contemplating recreating this look (minus urinals) in my own bathroom at home.

I don’t usually have dessert unless it really appeals to me. However when the description reads Hazelenut and Caramel Cheesecake, Toffee Popcorn and Caramel Sauce my first thoughts are GET IN ME. The picture doesn’t do it justice at all. The presentation was perfect and had I not taken the picture before tasting it, lets just say there would be no picture because I pretty much inhaled the dessert it went that fast.

Cheescake

The other dessert equally appealing to the eye was also a treat for the palette. Creme Brulee with shortbread biscuit. There were also three dark chocolate truffles on a somewhat odd and flavourless bit of jelly accompanying it. Might be a case of style over taste on that choice. While I didn’t get to taste the Creme Brulee I’m assured it was delicious. I did however manage to grab a truffle and wasn’t disappointed.

Creme Brulee

For my first visit to The Green Hen, I have to admit, it was a pure feast for the senses in every meaning of the words. The staff were friendly and efficient. The good was tasty and plentiful and I’m still amazed that they were only charging €19 for three courses. It was incredible value. They even sent us on our way with a complimentary shot which left a nice warm feeling in our bellies as we rolled ourselves out of the restaurant.

The Green Hen

33 Exchequer Street

Dublin 2

Ph: 01 6707238

http://www.greenhen.ie

The Brick House – Tapas At Skerries Harbour

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Located along the harbour in Skerries The Brick House is a tapas bar and restaurant with stunning views of the harbour. I recently seen it advertised on GrabOne with an offer of four tapas and two glasses of wine for €19. Seeing as I live in the town I figured it was the perfect excuse to try it out.

The restaurant is split over two floors of what was once a residential building. Downstairs there is a small bar to the left as you walk in and to the right is an bright open dining space. There is also an open fire which I can only imagine is the perfect place to sit on a cold day looking out to the sea. As it turned out it was a fairly mild day when I visited but they had the fire roaring anyway. Upstairs is split into three sections. A large dining space to the front by the windows and two smaller sections either side of the stairs towards the back.

Downstairs with Open Fire

Bar Area Downstairs

Myself and himself were promptly seated by a friendly waitress at a table by the window. To be honest I don’t know a lot about tapas (despite owning a still in its wrapper tapas cookbook for about 3 years) but I do know they are of Spanish origin. You can find out a bit more about tapas here. The tapas menu was quite extensive and dishes ranged from €4 for the simplest such as Sundried Tomatoes up to €11 for Pil Pil Prawns.

We ordered four of the dishes to share. The Pil Pil Prawns, Steak Bites with Pepper Sauce, Chips N’ Dips ( Jalapeno, Ranchero, Tomato Salsa and Cheese Sauce) and Spicy Chicken Wings with Blue Cheese Dip. Although the voucher didn’t specify it, it turned out that some of the dishes had a supplement charge on them. Typically it included two of the dishes I chose. A supplement of €1 on the Steak Bites and €3 on The Pil Pil Prawns. We also went for a side order of bread with garlic mayo and a glass of house white (sav blanc) and house red (merlot).

The bread was light and tasty and obviously freshly baked and the accompanying dip was probably one of the best garlic mayos I ever tried.

Bread with Garlic Mayo

I wasn’t sure what to expect with the Chips N’ Dips being a tapas novice but it was of course Tortilla chips with dips and a sizeable portion at that too.

Chips ‘n’ Dips

The Steak Bites were tender and cooked to a light pink. The pepper sauce however which came with it lacked flavour and was actually quite bland. The portion size again was quite good.

Steak Bites

The Pil Pil Prawns were served with garlic and chili and cooked to perfection.

Pil Pil Prawns

The Spicy Chicken Wings were heavy on a taste of vinegar but light on the taste of spice. They were the only disappointment of the meal.

Chicken Wings

The two inclusive glasses of wine washed everything down nicely. The white crisp and fruity and the red smooth and full bodied. Including the supplements on two dishes and the cost of the voucher the overall bill came to €24 which to my mind was great value.

On a sunny day this is one great spot!

The Brick House

24 Harbour Road

Skerries

Ph: (01) 849 4122

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Brick-House/190839821090360?fref=ts

Le Bon Crubeen – Talbot Street

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I had seen the name Le Bon Crubeen crop up in reviews in newspapers and magazines and once or twice it came up on a groupon site. To be honest I’ve never really thought of Talbot Street as a dining destination. When I think of Talbot Street I think of when I was a kid going to buy wallpaper with my mother in Gerry Keanes, or should I say going to carry wallpaper home. And of course not forgetting the shopping highlight that is Michael Guineys.

From Le Bon Crubeen Website

The interior of the restaurant is nothing like you would expect. It is warm and inviting with a large bar running down one side. It’s also divided into sections which afford you a bit of privacy. Off the main dining area there is another room and then another section upstairs. It’s comfortable and well laid out, well apart from the toilets which are a bit of a trek down towards the kitchen, but then again, when you do get to them, they are quite fancy indeed. Hand lotions and little towels to dry your hands and spotless clean.

From Le Bon Crubeen Website

It as about 5.30 on a Saturday evening when we stopped by to try it out. Although we didn’t have a booking they were happy to seat us with the proviso we vacate the table by 7.30. Menu’s were promptly given and the staff were efficient and friendly. We had a great little corner just to the left of the door, perfect for when you want to have a bit of time to yourself.

Getting priorities right we put in a drink order. I drink white and he drinks red so the only solution is a bottle each, so thats exactly what we ordered. To be honest we were both gasping for a drink and weren’t overly bothered about what it was. The white, a French Sav Blanc was fresh and fruity at €26. The red, an Argentinian Malbec I’m told was smooth with hints of blackcurrant at €26.

Red & White Wine

We opted for the Early Bird/Pre Theatre Menu which was two courses for €19.95 or three courses for €21.95.

Early Bird Menu

For mains I went with Lemon and Thyme Infused Chicken Supreme served with Bubble and Squeak and Sweetcorn Puree with green beans. The chicken was moist and tender but maybe a little dull to the tastebuds. The Bubble and Squeak however was a bit on the dry side but still edible. The beans and puree were a good match and I cleaned my plate.

Lemon & Thyme Infused Chicken Supreme

Himself went for the Dry Aged 8oz Steak ‘Au Poivre’ (€5 supplement) with Slow Roasted Tomato, Watercress, Chunky Chips and Peppercorn Sauce. Now that all sounds quite appealing to me. The delivery of it however was very disappointing, as you can see from the picture below. The Slow Roasted Tomato and Watercress were a little limp to say the least. The steak was all quite fatty, but was cooked as requested which was blue. Overall it didn’t quite hit the mark.

Dry Aged Steak

Desserts I’m happy to report faired out much better. Mine, White Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake with Tequila and Lime ice-cream. Three words to describe it. DELISH – PLATE CLEANED.

Cheesecake

His was the Choc Chip Bread and Butter Pudding with Creme Anglaise. Also a winner and the plate was cleaned.

Bread & Butter Pudding

As it turned out, himself knew the manager Mark (quite a character, in a good way) so we were treated to a complimentary cheese platter and delicious cocktails. A perfect end to the evening. I won’t lie we were slightly tipsy leaving. All in all the bill came to about €98 which when you consider half of it was made up of bottles of wine it’s not too bad.

Cocktails

Cheese Platter

Le Bon Crubeen

81-82 Talbot Street,
Dublin 1
01 704 0126
info@leboncrubeen.ie
www.leboncrubeen.ie

The Bakehouse – Bachelors Walk

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Having heard lots of good things about The Bakehouse I decided to make it my business to take a visit. A no booze Saturday night led to an early start on Sunday morning with a ten o’clock showing of The Wolf of Wall Street (excellent). Suitably starved after three hours of a movie myself and himself (him indoors) headed for brunch. The Bakehouse on Bachelors Walk is a pleasure to behold from first sight. The interior is surprisingly spacious with many a hint of pink. While there were only one or two fellow diners when we arrived, within ten minutes the place was filling with a mix of young and old.

The staff in The Bakehouse are some of the nicest I have ever met. The three girls as it turned out were related to the owner and she will be pleased to know they were doing a great job.

The menu is big enough for choice and small enough that you know the chef’s are adept at creating each dish. The soup of the day you will find written on a large mirror running down one side of the cafe. Without hesitation I opted for the Beef Stew which I was advised is served in a bread bowl. Picture a circular loaf of bread hallowed out and filled with stew and that is pretty much it.

I also ordered a glass of the New Zealand Vicars Choice Sav Blanc, which my helpful waitress advised was gorgeous. You just know she had tried it many times herself and that’s the kind of recommendation I like. As it turned out she wasn’t wrong. It was light and crispy and a perfect relaxer.

My Beef Stew was everything I wanted it to be. It had large tender chunks of beef which melted in my mouth and gave me that warm comfort food feel. The stew it swam in was full of flavour and right amount of ‘thick’. Despite my best efforts I was far too full to attempt to eat the bread bowl itself.

Himself had the Bakehouse Grill. He is notoriously difficult to please but was quite taken with the grill and despite the ample amount of food on the plate (bacon, egg, sausage, pudding and toast) he managed to eat most of it. The homemade Bakehouse tomato relish I’m told is particularly good.

He opted for the more sensible option of a pot of tea to wash it down. The tea incidentally is loose leaf and comes with one of those dainty little strainers which transform the experience of pouring tea into something more akin to a traditional tea ceremony. It’s these little touches that give The Bakehouse that something extra.

The staff alone would make me come running back but luckily the food was well able to speak for itself and stood its ground just fine. Oh I should also mention that The Bakehouse is also a bakery and for just €10 they will box up four cakes of your choosing to take away. It took all the will in the world I had to walk away from the counter.

The Bakehouse

6 Bachelors Walk

Dublin

Ph: 01 873-4279

www.the-bakehouse.ie

Twitter: @BakehouseIRL

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