On Tuesday, November 13th, the Tipperary Food Producers group is taking over Salt restaurant in the Avoca Foodmarket in Monkstown, Co Dublin for a dinner created with produce from the county – matched with wines from a bit further afield, chosen and supplied by Red Nose Wine in Clonmel.
James Whelan Butcher, with premises in Clonmel as well as at Avoca, will be supplying dry-aged beef fillet, and there will also be Crowe's farm pig cheek in a Middle Eastern pastilla dish; Gornamona goats' cheese and Inch black pudding beignet; Apple Farm crème brûlée, a Tipperary cheeseboard and chocolates and petits fours. The suppliers and menu are online at tipperaryfoodproducers.com. Tickets, €75, can be booked with James Whelan Butchers in Monkstown (01-6638924) or Clonmel (052-6182477).
Skehan hits the big time
You might think you’re seeing double next week if you’re a food TV enthusiast, as Donal Skehan makes his debut as co-host, with John Torode, on Junior MasterChef on BBC1 on Sunday, November 5th at 4.30pm and then pops up on RTÉ One two days later at 7.30pm with a new series of Kitchen Hero. “Working with John Torode was an incredible opportunity. I never imagined when I started my food blog five years ago that I would be standing on the set of one of the biggest food shows in the world,” says Skehan who moved to London for the duration of filming this summer.
Britain's national dish
If you’re wondering how Madhur Jaffrey could have conjured up the contents of another curry book so soon after her previous one, Curry Easy, the answer is she didn’t. Jaffrey’s new book, Curry Nation is a collection of recipes billed as “Britain’s 100 favourite curries”, and gathered by Jaffrey from Indian and other South Asian communties – from restaurants and from home cooks – across the UK. When a fellow cook directs you to a recipe “that really works” it’s a poweful endorsement, and this selection each recipe is credited, for the most part to the person who created, or adapted it, so you can be sure they’re thoroughly tried and tested.
Although she now lives in upstate New York, Jaffrey retains strong ties and obvious affection for “the curry nation that welcomed me all those many years ago” when she arrived in the UK as a student.
Madhur Jaffrey’s Curry Nation is published by Ebury, £20
Hilton hotel takes on Irish flavour
“Let the food flow” is a nice remark on the menu of a restaurant called Uisce. What’s surprising, however, is that the restaurant is in a big international hotel chain. The Hilton in Charlemont Place in Dublin 2 has adpted a modern Irish theme for its food offering, using local ingredients where possible, and offering diners a choice of small plates and tasting menus. It’s an approach that is winning a following for head chef Gareth Carberry (left), who recently won a gold medal for his dish of lamb shoulder fillet served with stuffed Savoy cabbage, romanesco puree, heirloom baby vegetables and potato mousseline, at a Hilton worldwide Food and Beverage Masters grand final. The Charlemont Place hotel is on a roll recently, as its Dutch general manager Erwin Verhoog is the Hilton 2012 hotel manager of the year. Three-course tasting menus at Uisce start from €19.95.
The buzz
Ottolenghi@ottolenghi: American coffee! It ain't easy, I tell you. @Samitamimi found perfect solution: double shot latte in childrens cup.
Aoife Ryan@babaduck71: Did you know that Ireland exports €40m worth of cheese to Algeria annually? Me neither!
Caroline Workman@mrshederman: Our fishcakes now available at OKeeffes, St Lukes Cross. They think theyre great value at €5.50 a brace. English market also insatiable
