Articles

Imported asparagus may be available all year round but there is nothing to beat the treat of having locally grown asparagus in its short spring season, which traditionally begins on 23rd April and ends on Midsummer Day. This feathery-foliaged herbaceous perennial grows to about 1 metre/3ft tall and takes several years to develop enough of the precious stems to allow harvesting; stems are picked when young and tender...
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Where would our producers be without those who sell their foods, and who help them to reach the public in prime condition? Recent weeks have seen unprecedented media interest and public discussion focusing on Irish produce, the people who make it and – most importantly – the places where they sell it.
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Last Saturday we got together in a friends house for a GIY meitheal (pronounced meh-hill). A meitheal is a wonderful Irish term for a working gang – it has its origins in rural Ireland where neighbouring farmers would come together on a farm to help with a time-sensitive task such as harvesting or ploughing.
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Despite everything that has happened here recently, Lucy Madden finds many reasons for optimism in Ireland today. A friend of mine views the world through a prism of joy and optimism; how I wish I was more like her. My inclinations are closer to Nancy Astor’s dictum “If you can’t think of anything good to say about anyone, come and sit next to me.”
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Bord Bia’s new 'Guide to Irish Farmhouse Cheeses' is mainly trade orientated – it is designed to promote and encourage the use of Farmhouse Cheese in restaurants, catering and food service – but it also make a great reference for all interested foodies, and will be an invaluable resource for teachers.
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Since opening in 1994 – well before most restaurateurs in Ireland thought it might be popular or profitable to focus on local produce and traditional dishes – Kay Harte’s café above the English Market has epitomised everything that is best about simple, wholesome, fresh Irish food that has travelled as short a distance as possible to reach the plates of their happy customers.
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My goodness, it’s the end of the world as I know it! Last week my two and half year old granddaughter Amelia Peggy came along clutching an iPhone and told me she wanted to show me how to make a cake! She pressed several buttons in the maddeningly confident way that all kids do and opened and an app called Cake Doodle...
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Homegrown talent, quality & integrity were honoured at the 2011 Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Awards - highlighting the vital work of small, independent Irish food producers, at a time when supporting home-grown industry is of the utmost importance. Those awarded for standards of excellence and for their exceptional contribution to Ireland’s reputation as a top food producing country were...
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The excellent dry-cured bacon and ham produced in Co Wexford by O’Neill Foods was one of the winners at the 2011 Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food (IFWG) Awards. Having been born into a fairly small farm on the slopes of Slieve Bhuidhe, near Ferns in Co Wexford, where the family devoted some of the land to growing strawberries and raspberries that do so well in the sunny South-East, Pat O’Neill was initiated into hands-on high quality food production from an early age.
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At Castlefarm the craziness of spring farming continues this month writes Jenny Young. We have 85 cows to milk twice a day and 32 calves to feed. We are still waiting for our last 16 spring cows to calve. We have 120 hens and 31 ducks to feed and their eggs to collect. We also have to tend to our 15 six month old pullets that seem to be doubling in size every week. The bull and pigs also need to be fed twice a day.
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