Everyday dinners:Fancy having your own personal cook to cater to your every whim? Emma Fleetwood (right), a Ballymaloe-trained chef, has identified a niche in the market for wholesome food made to order and chilled or frozen for future use by busy people who want to eat well, without cooking.
Fleetwood's USP is that she does all the cooking in your own kitchen, after extensive consultation on your likes and dislikes, and dietary requirements. The shopping is done, meals prepared and the kitchen left spick and span, with re-heating instructions left on your worktop the only visible sign that the food fairy has visited. Sounds like a great way of filling the freezer with casseroles, bakes and pies in anticipation of a hectic Christmas. Fleetwood can be contacted on 086-3852522 or e-mail emma@bonbia.ie Marie-Claire Digby
Everyday dinners . . . part two
Humdrum cooking is not high on anyone's fun-list at this time of
year. Dún Laoghaire-based Julieanne Walsh, who also trained at
Ballymaloe, has set up a small business making dinners for people
on the go. We're talking healthy, nourishing food, not fancy
cuisine. "I send out an e-mail on Sunday night each
week with a menu, clients reply before Monday evening and
then I deliver their order, fresh or frozen, by Tuesday or
Wednesday." The cost is ¤8 per meal, including delivery to the
south Dublin region. Contact her at
julieanne.walsh@gmail.com.
Eoin Lyons
Deli by post
Anne Kennedy, a publisher with a consuming passion for cookery
books - she has almost 2,000 in her collection - has recently been
channelling her energies into a website,
www.greatfood.ie, which has
spawned a retailing arm,
www.greatfood2buy.com.
Kennedy dispatches orders from her Rathfarnham base for gourmet
treats such as Moo Goo chocolate and hazelnut sauce (made by
Cecile, a Parisian now living in Warrenpoint, Co Down); Castle
Leslie's award-winning balsamic reductions, and walnut and fig
preserve, made for greatfood.ie by Irish company, En-Place. Not all
of us are fortunate enough to have a well-stocked deli on our
doorstop, so this venture deserves support. The prices are fair,
and
delivery costs €7.95. Check it out at
www.greatfood.ie, or if you
are in Dublin tomorrow between noon and 6pm, drop in to the Italian
School of Cooking at 175a Rathgar Road, Dublin 6, where the
company's produce will be on offer at a Christmas artisan food
fair.
Marie-Claire Digby
Good food ireland
If just the thought of organising dinner for family and extended family on December 25th is enough to send you screaming for the hills, Good Food Ireland, a food tourism marketing group with 130 members countrywide, can tailor-make an escape-from-it-all holiday break, book a restaurant for Christmas lunch, or direct you to specialist food shops that can help with preparations for the big day. County-by-county listings of some of the best places to eat, shop, stay and cook are detailed on the website, www.goodfoodireland.ie, and reservations can be made by calling 053-9158693, or by e-mailing reservations@goodfoodireland.ie. Good Food Ireland also produces a touring map with all of its members pinpointed - a handy resource for travellers. Marie-Claire Digby