This month Darina focuses on authenticity and labelling – this was one of the main themes at the recent TASTE Council Annual Summer School at BrookLodge Hotel, Co Wicklow, where she chaired one of the main sessions. more...
There is nothing like the colour or flavour of home grown beetroot. One of my friends grows several varieties, all various shades of pink and magenta. I discovered Llewellyn’s apple balsamic vinegar this year, the sweet acidity of the vinegar is a perfect foil to the earthy beetroot... more...
It may not have been the best of summers but there’s a pleasing seasonal abundance of most foods nevertheless. And there’s even an over-abundance of some, particularly tunnel-grown crops, presenting the annual challenge to time and ingenuity if you want to avoid waste and enjoy them over the coming months. more...
Author: Special Irish Foods & People Who Make Them
Guanciale (pronounced gwan-chalie) is an unsmoked Italian bacon prepared with pig's jowl or cheeks. Its name is derived from guancia, Italian for cheek, and it is a delicacy of central Italy, particularly Umbria and Lazio. more...
In his foreword to the Ard Bia Cookbook, travel writer Manchán Magan ponders, “If Druid is the mind of Galway, Salthill its lungs and Tigh Neachtain’s its kidneys, might Ard Bia be its soul?” more...
Sweetcorn (Zea mays convar. saccharata var. rugosa; also known as Indian corn, sugar corn, and pole corn) is a variety of maize with a high sugar content and antioxidant health benefits. Picked when immature, while the kernels are still milky, it is mainly used in Europe as a vegetable rather than a grain... more...
Lucy Madden considers the advantages – and the perils – of the internet, especially in relation to a subject dear to our own hearts: ‘impartial’ online reviews... more...
If you are looking for inspiration for your growing endeavours, it can often be found in the gardens of other GIYers. I always find that walking around another grower’s garden leaves me with renewed inspiration and several useful tips to take back to my own vegetable patch. I guess this is why the garden visit and meitheal are such important parts of the GIY group experience. more...
The River Restaurant at The Strand Hotel, Co. Limerick has been awarded Bord Bia’s Just Ask! Restaurant of the Month for August. In receiving the award the restaurant which is open to guests of the hotel and general public, is being acknowledged for its commitment to sourcing ingredients locally. more...
A selective companion guide to our famous broad-based online collection, the ‘glovebox bible’ includes a uniquely diverse range of Ireland's greatest places to ...