Articles

I have been aware of Pissaladière for as long as I have been cooking, certainly I remember producing large quantities in The Wife of Bath in Kent when I worked there in the seventies. I would have regarded it as a sort of French take on the Pizza, made with a less doughy crust but having the ubiquitous tomato topping.
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Traditionally known as ‘the poor man's meat' onions (allium) are perhaps an undervalued item in our shopping baskets, but indispensable in the kitchen and very nutritious. Irish onions are not seen on supermarket shelves as often as they should be, but they’re coming into season now and should be easily available in shops and markets, so pounce on them when you spot them.
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Recently I was introduced to a new and thrilling world, one that I would never have imagined I would enjoy quite as much as I did - and I have a Texan by the name of Doug Deason to thank for this. Although a native of Arkansas, he now resides in Dallas, Texas. He began flyfishing at the age of ten and has fished all over the world. This was his first time fishing in Ireland and it was their first time visiting Ireland.
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Long Meadow Cider is produced by father and son duo Pat and Peter McKeever in the heart of Ireland’s Orchard County, where their family-run farm has been growing apples for fifty years. Talking to the Portadown Times, Pat said making cider was a natural progression when they decided to diversify back in 2010.
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I own more cookbooks than is sensible, and though I can sometimes be accused of being a little slow on the uptake, I've spotted a trend in them of late – yes my fellow laggards, I bring you astonishing news: to an increasingly large number of our fellow citizens, carbs are bad.
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This month Darina introduces Felicity Cloake’s unusual book, The A-Z of Eating. A for almond, B for blue cheese, C for caramel, D for dumplings, E for eggs, F for fat and so on. The chapters of Felicity Cloake's book, The A-Z of Eating are all themed around Felicity's favourite ingredients.
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Through a picturesque stone archway at Victoria Place in Galway City, not a stone’s throw from the bustle of Eyre Square, a once neglected space is now a culinary oasis - a small, friendly place to enjoy French cuisine, French cheese and French wines. Since opening in 2015, this restaurant owned by Gallic husband and wife team, Philippe and Michèle Renaut, has made a name for itself in the French community and beyond, and is now one of the city's most popular restaurants.
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At the 2016 Euro-Toques EirGrid Food Awards, held at Ballymaloe House, Co Cork, in June, it was pointed out that there are currently over 3,500 small to medium sized food businesses operating in Ireland
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Ballymaloe - A Day in the Life, 24th June 2015, by Daphne Spillane; photography by Joleen Cronin and Leila Aldous (Trijar Publishing, hardback, 96pp; €25)
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Following on the success of her first book, No-Bake Baking, it was only a matter of time before the impossibly talented and retro-stylish Sharon Hearne-Smith topped it with an even better one, and the time has come - enter The No-Cook Cookbook (Quercus Books, €24.99/£20.00; also available in Kindle, £13.99; Foreword by Donal Skehan).
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