I had a beautiful dinner last night in Hartleys in Dun Laoghaire. (Great new menu highlights include the sesame-seared tuna and pork belly with wasabi slaw, and specials last night included a hunk of spiced swordfish, still juicy and served with soft, sweet strips of fennel and red pepper with saffron aoili – all as good as it sounds.)

Anyways, we were chatting about food memories ahead of this weekend’s Dingle Food Festival, at which I’m hosting a For Food’s Sake event on Sat & Sun avo (skip down below for full line-up). Someone was saying they had an emergency breakfast of fish fingers and beans recently and it brought them right back to being eight years old, sitting tucking into an emergency supper. Sounds like such a bad combo but you know you’d hoover it up if you were presented with it.

One of my favourite memories is of those not too rare but nonetheless treasured back-to-school autumnal evenings when the ma would decide to cook fish and chips for tea. We’d be cosy in the sitting room, the rain pelting against the windows, watching Grange Hill or Blue Peter or Cheggars Plays Pop, and from the kitchen we’d hear the sound of  knives being sharpened, and the cats pattering down from upstairs bedrooms or scratching at the backdoor to get into the kitchen, cos they knew that knives being sharpened meant fish being filleted which meant lots of lovely skin and heads for them to eat. Then you’d hear the steady chopping as lovely spuds got peeled and chopped into lovely chips. Then the deep-fat fryer spitting and hissing as the fat fizzled and danced on the starchy surface in the first fry. The background murmur of drivetime talk radio would still itself as the Angelus peeled out and one of us would get called to set the table.

White fillets gleaming with freshness would be dredged through seasoned flour and into the bubbling butter in the pan, while the drained chips would drop crackling into the deep fat fryer for their second fry. Malt vinegar would take pride of place on the table alongside freshly made tartare sauce. And if I asked nicely, I could mix up some Angel Delight for dessert. We wouldn’t have to be called twice to that dinner table. And there’d be no bickering around it either. Happy days indeed.

What about your worst food memory, the one that makes you feel a little off just thinking about it? Mine is a dinner I cooked about 10 days after landing in Prague in the summer of ’94. We had been out for about nine nights in a row, sampling the world-famous beer (well, at 20p a frothy pint a pair of 20-year-olds would have to take advantage, right?). Anyway on the 10th night we couldn’t face another bar, and I suggested a home-cooked meal.

Off we went to local supermarket, where we bought the closest thing we could find to pasta, tinned tomatoes and tuna. There were no fresh onions or herbs, just a funny looking pale green capsicum yoke which I figured would do. What I served up  would have been an affront to the sturdiest of sensibilities, never mind our delicate states of being after our crash course in Swilling Pivo Like a Local. Skinny sludgy semolina with sweet tomato paste, unidentified oily tinned fish and funny capsicum, anyone?

Between the scars of that dinner (little of which was eaten) and those inflicted by several unwitting meals of unidentified meat and dumplings, very early in that summer in Prague I turned vegetarian – and stayed that way for a good seven years. A local Hare Krishna cafe where you could get seconds or even third servings of delicious nutritious food for just 70p all-in kept us healthy and well fed. Maybe there is a god after all.

Anyway, enough about me and my memories. I’m looking forward to hearing about the food memories of the following food writers, bloggers, producers and chefs down at Dingle Food Festival, to which I’m heading on the train as I write this. If you’re going too, look out for the Big Blue Bus parked up on Orchard Lane, opposite the AIB bank on Main Street. One €2 tasting trial token will get you upstairs on the converted double decker, where I’ll be interviewing these lovely people:

SATURDAY 6TH OCTOBER

Sat 2.00pm Aoife McElwain of Totally Dublin &  icanhascook.com

Sat 2.20pm Birgitta Curtin of Burren Smokehouse

Sat 2.40pm Caroline Byrne of Bridgestone Guides & thedublinfoodie.blogspot.ie

Sat 3.00pm Katy McGuinness of The Gloss & The Sunday Times

Sat 3.20pm – John Desmond of Island Cottage Cookery School, Heir Island

Sat 3.40pm Sharon Greene of Queens of Neon

SUNDAY 7TH OCTOBER

Sun 2.00pm Caroline Hennessy of Irish Food Bloggers Association & Bibliocook.com

Sun 2.20pm A sweet surprise (TBC)

Sun 2.40pm Ollie Moore of Irish Examiner & olivermoore.blogspot.ie

Sun 3.00pm Imen McDonnell of Irish Farmer’s Journal & marriedanirishfarmer.com

Sun 3.20pm Fiona Falconer of Wild About Foods

Sun 3.40pm Jack McCarthy of McCarthy’s of Kanturk

Hope to see you there, but if you can’t make it, follow the action on Twitter at #FFS #foodmemories

View of the Burren from top of Corkscrew Hill

There are places we dream of escaping our daily lives to. One of my favourite fantasies is spinning out the M6 towards Galway, taking a sharp left at Oranmore and hitting the coast road towards the Burren, preferably ending my journey in the beautiful Gregan’s Castle in Ballyvaughan where ex-Tannery head chef David Hurley has taken over the reigns from chef-extraordinaire Mickael Viljanen (who has gone to The Greenhouse in Dublin).

The only drawback about going somewhere like the Burren to completely unwind is that I would feel guilty if I didn’t get out and explore the surrounding landscape. Guilt can be the hardest thing to escape from, even when it’s misplaced.

The gateway leading into Gregan's Castle

Last weekend myself and a couple of friends escaped to guilt-free Longford. Yes, Longford. Or Viewmount House just outside Longford town, to be exact. We had no idea if there were great things to discover on our doorstep and didn’t really care to find out. We were quite happy to make Viewmount House’s reception rooms, suites, restaurant and gorgeous gardens the extent of our world for our short stay there.

(Okay, so I since did find out that Viewmount House is close to Strokestown House, the Famine Museum, Belvedere House, Clonmacnoise and Newgrange – but thankfully not until we had happily wasted many aimless hours.)

We went because I had been hearing great things about the restaurant for a couple of years now. VM Restaurant has been open four years, with head chef Gary O’Hanlon at the helm and a strong team behind him, including Slovakian sous chef Daniel Skukalek, who was named 2011 Knorr Student Chef of the Year, winning a prize of a trip to Noma in Copenhagen.

I was expecting great cooking, but I wasn’t quite expecting the sheer stylishness of the setting. From the balance of period-piece furniture against perfectly pitched dusky pink and teal blue wallpaint to the immaculate lawn, burbling water features and wandering garden paths, the place oozes charm. Owners Beryl and James Kearney told us they’ve been they’ve been living in the 1750s house and lovingly restoring the it since the 1990s. And it shows.

Gardens at Viewmount House, a labour of love

By the time we gathered ourselves in the restaurant bar for a glass of Mount Difficulty Pinot Gris while we perused the four-course menu (€55, with a complimentary fifth course for residents staying in one of the 12 rooms) we felt we had well and truly escaped and were ready to be spoilt. And spoilt we were.

After a little complimentary taster of Thornhill duck breast with powdered curry oil and cherry pepper mayonnaise, and lovely homemade breads with a red pepper hummus dip, we were on to starters proper. I loved my Lissadell mussels cooked in a coconut green curry broth with coriander, scallions, slices of juicy shiitake mushrooms and cubes of pineapple that added great texture and a note of subdued sweetness. As with the rest of the meal to come, an elegant balance proved to be this kitchen’s signature stroke – along with an ability to integrate some unlikely pairings into a cohesive expression.

Mussels in green curry broth with pineapple & shiitake

Opposite me, Clare Island organic salmon had been cured with juniper and pink grapefruit, and served with pickled herb stalk and puffed capers. But it was the starter of star anise and orange-cured duck leg confit that stole the show, with waves of flavours that just kept on coming. Gary told us that the garnish for this dish has changed several times (currently a nicely pitched, blush-pink ragout of beetroot, mushroom, tarragon and sherry) but the cured confit has been a star dish on the menu for several seasons. And long may it remain there.

Taste of Midlands salad with Kelly's organic cream cheese

For our middle course, we went for a Taste of the Midlands Salad, featuring roast pear, Rogan’s whiskey-smoked bacon and Kelly’s organic cream cheese flavoured with eggs yolk, mustard and scallion. Next, a complimentary palate cleansing jelly of Martina Burns’ elderflower & wild strawberry topped with Glenisk organic yoghurt. Martina is the wife of local farmer David Burns, who supplies his legendary sweetcorn to the likes of Chapter One. Gary recently nominated David to win an EirGrid Euro-Toques Food Award 2012.

Wild strawberry and elderflower jelly with Glenisk yoghurt

Then – because we really were being spoilt – another little taster of lobster with charred Malibu-infused baby leek (yep, the booze, and yep, it worked), wild artichoke (teensy and intense) and carrot and lime purée.

Lobster with Malibu-charred leek

For mains, I found the will to look past the first option: Friendly Farmer Chicken (another 2012 EirGrid Euro-Toques Food Awards winner) cooked ‘sous vide’ with 36-month Parmesan cream, garden peas, shallot and chorizo nage and gnocchi. I may have to return for that dish, or for the salt-fried Donald Russell 28-day dry-aged sirloin, served with mac’n'cheese made with Crozier Blue and Glebe Brethan macaroni, and a tomato and piquillo pepper jam. One of my friend’s had the steak – and I can still taste that mac’n'cheese.

Another friend went for the Clare Island salmon, cooked at 60ºC so that it was wobblingly moist but with a glistening crispy skin. Its presentation put me in mind of a summer’s day on which the sun has made a garden explode with colour: bell pepper risotto, avocado, peas and shoots, and little rockets of purple cauliflower ready to lift off the plate. Gorgeous.

60ºC salmon with bell pepper risotto

My main course was my favourite, I’m glad to report. Little moist discs of canon of Roscommon lamb, beautifully seared and pink inside, with a flavour and texture delicate enough to savour but hearty enough to make for an utterly satisfying feed. It came with basil and hickory smoked cherry tomatoes bursting with flavour, wild artichoke paste, pickled oyster mushroom, roast garlic, bone marrow and a bagna couda jus (a Piedmontese classic featuring anchovies, garlic and olive oil). Jaysus it was good.

Roscommon lamb with incredible cherry tomatoes

I’m really not sure how we did it, but we soldiered on and finished the meal with a dessert of crème caramel with various renditions of tangy sea buckthorn, dill and carrot, including a blackened carrot cake crumb.

Crème caramel with sea buckthorn, carrot and dill

If all that sounds like a lot of different flavours to take in over the one meal, well it was. But the over-riding impression was of a judicious balance within each dish, and of an imagination held in check by consideration of what the diner might want rather than what the kitchen can do.

Gary O’Hanlon’s cooking is very different to Mickael Viljanen’s, but experiencing it for the first time last weekend in the surprisingly beautiful Viewmount House reminded me of a very special meal shared on a very special week-long escape to the Burren years ago, looking out from Gregan’s Castle dining room over the lunar landscape sweeping down to Galway Bay.

That outposts of great Irish cooking such as these should exist in the most unlikely of places is another great excuse to go exploring this green island of ours.

p.s. We came home via Kildare Village Outlet where we did a spot of shopping (I picked up a bargain Le Creuset pot which I’ve needing). I’m sorry to say we didn’t have room to sample any of the fantastic food being served up at the Good Food Ireland pop-up food stall. You’ll understand why. But with a choice of Jane Russell’s sausages, Waterford bacon blaas with Boyne Valley Blue cheese, and Country Choice Hereford beef ciabatta, if you’ve been looking for an excuse to visit Kildare Village, the current Chic Summer Festival (until Sunday 29th) might just be it.

Fermanagh is such a surprise to those of us who, like me, had spent years satisfied with the love of the west and the rest of Southern Ireland. Fermanagh is different to the windy wilds which I rated as the best of Ireland’s charms. There’s something more pastoral about it, what with the hundreds of islands and many lakes and rolling wooded hills between them.

It’s totally charming and well worth a trip over the border, should you be one of the many Southern Irish folk who rarely go north except to stock up on cheap booze or for a trip to Belfast city.

The Queen was in Enniskillen yesterday, doing her smiling, nodding thing as consummately as we have come to expect of her. She didn’t get to hang about for too long, which is a shame because there’s lots of great eating and drinking to be done in the area, not to mention sightseeing and outdoorsy activities.

This October there’s what sounds like a great cultural festival taking place. The Fermanagh Live (www.FLive.org.uk) programme includes comedy, children’s competitions and workshops, literature, music of all sorts including classical, brass and folk, theatre, film, visual art exhibitions and much more. Dónal Lunny, Andy Irvine & Ardal O’Hanlon are some of the names that caught my eye.

If any of this has piqued your interest and you’re thinking of  taking a look for yourself, below is a flavour of what the Fermanagh Lakelands (www.fermanaghlakelands.com) have to offer foodwise, written for a recent supplement in The Irish Times.

I didn’t include Neven Maguire’s MacNean House & Restaurant in Blacklion, Co Cavan, but it’s a short drive. Nor did I include the magical Belle Isle Castle which presides over it’s own private island and boasts an excellent cookery school offering residential courses as well as shorter affairs. Nor did I include the new Kitchen Academy cookery school located in Enniskillen town and run by Chef Joe Kelly. But I did include lots of suggestions for eating out, so you can rest assured you won’t go hungry.

1. Eating en masse

Whether you work up an appetite in the water or on the greenway, Fermanagh has plenty of fun choices for feasting with friends.

Franco’s Restaurant, Queen Elizabeth Road, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, Tel: +44 (0)28 6632 4424, www.francosrestaurant.co.uk

This well-run operation delivers quality local food in an upbeat ambience, and its broad food offering makes it a good option for a crowd. Think contemporary pizza toppings, home-made marinades and locally sourced organic vegetables alongside Donegal seafood, Fermanagh lamb and 26-day dry-aged Kettyle beef.

Dollakis, Cross Street, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, Tel: +44 (0)28 66 342616, www.dollakis.co.uk

Locals head to this award-winning Greek bistro when they need a holiday fix – at any time of day. Authentic Greek treats like pikilia platters or cinnamon-scented stifado cooked with local venison sit side by side with crowd-pleasers like mixed grill with Greek salad.

Lusty Beg Island Restaurant, Boa Island, Kesh, Co Fermanagh, Tel: +44 (0)28 6863 3300, www.lustybegisland.com

Work up an appetite from any number of group activities offered on this private island including canoeing, archery and off-road driving, and then work it off with the likes of seafood chowder and smoked wild Irish salmon, beef and Guinness pie or ginger-spiced fishcakes. (Enquire about group bookings for everything from family holidays to hen / stag parties or weddings.)

The Bush Bar, Townhall Street, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, Tel: +44 (0)28 6632 5210, www.thebushbar.com

Whether it’s burgers and beers with the match, wine and nibbles in the rooftop garden with views of the River Erne, or a three-course dinner followed by cocktails and a live band, there’s something for all the gang in this buzzed-up venue.

2. Table for two

Top off a special day exploring the hidden charms of these stunning lakelands with an intimate evening at one of the area’s excellent fine-dining options.

The Catalina Restaurant, Lough Erne Golf Resort, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, Tel: +44 (0)28 6632 3230, www.lougherneresort.com

Talented chef Noel McMeel has long been a passionate champion of local artisan producers. He combines this rooted sense of place with skillful delivery of classic and contemporary dishes in the elegant setting of the Catalina dining room with its impressive lakeviews.

The Terrace Restaurant, Westville Hotel, Tempo Road, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, Tel: +44 (0)28 6632 0333, www.westvillehotel.com

Two brothers have joined forces to put this new culinary destination on the map, with owner Nicky Cassidy leading the friendly front-of-house service while his brother and chef Gavin Cassidy heads up the kitchen. Expect flashes of fine dining inspired by Gavin’s time at MacNean House and l’Ecrivain.

Café Merlot / Restaurant No., Church Street, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, Tel: +44 (0)28 6632 0918, www.russellanddonnelly.com

Two acclaimed food offerings now nestle under the roof of one of Ireland’s great pubs, Blakes of the Hollow. Begin your evening with a drink in the original Victorian front bar before ascending for fine-dining at Restaurant No. 6 – or settle in to the vaulted Café Merlot Wine Bar for classy contemporary cooking.

Watermill Restaurant, Kilmore Quay, Lisnaskea, Co Fermanagh, Tel: +44 (0)28 6772 4369, www.kilmorequayclub.com

Perched on the shores of Lough Erne, boasting water gardens and a 50,000 litre aquarium, it’s no surprise that the likes of warm lobster salad should take pride of place on chef Pascal Brissaud’s menu. Home-grown garden produce also feature alongside extravagant Kettyle dry-aged beef served Rossini-style with truffles and foie gras.

3. Family-friendly feeds

Fermanagh’s lakelands are fertile grounds for family outings, and there are plenty of casual eateries with treats for all ages.

The Sheelin Tea Shop, Derrylin Road, Bellanaleck, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, Tel: +44 (0)28 6634 8232, www.thesheelinteashop-bellanaleck.co.uk

It’s all about attention to detail in these beloved Tea Rooms adjacent to the impressive Sheelin Irish Lace Museum. Artisan baker Julie Snoddy crafts her baked delights from carefully-sourced local produce such as Fivemiletown Creamery butter, cream and cream cheese and local honey. The result is a sweet little piece of heaven.

The Horseshoe & Saddler, Belmore Street, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, Tel: +44 (0)28 6632 6223, www.horseshoeandsaddlers.com

With activity menus and child-friendly cups for younger diners and signature Saddlers steaks for their chaperones, the recently renovated Saddlers bistro is well-tuned to the needs of all its punters. A keenly priced early bird offering runs from the early hour of 5pm.

FiddleSticks Restaurant, Customs House Inn, Main Street, Belcoo, Co Fermanagh, Tel. +44 (0) 28 6638 6285, www.customshouseinn.com

The pretty village of Belcoo lies at the foot of Cuilcagh Mountain overlooking Lough McNean and the Famous Hanging Rock. Here you’ll find the family-run Customs House Inn, an award-winning gastropub whose menu ranges from finger-lickin’ chicken wings to family favourites such as roast chicken with colcannon.

The Thatch Cottage, Main Street, Belleek, Co Fermanagh, Tel: +44 (0)28 6865 8181

Boasting the county’s only original thatched roof, the listed 18th-century building provides a picture-perfect setting for traditional treats such as homemade scones and cakes, hearty soups and freshly made sandwiches. You can even pick up some fishing tackle or hire bikes for the afternoon.

You can download a visitor guide here which includes lots of local restaurants, or visit www.fermanaghlakelands.com.

PANEL A unique flavour of Fermanagh

If you’re looking to sample truly local flavours, you need look no further than Pat O’Doherty’s Black Bacon. As with any true dry-cured bacon, the traditional and natural curing process ensures no shrinkage in the pan and none of the white residue that inferior bacon can leave behind. Pat uses rare-breed pigs such as the all-black Wessex pigs and black and white Saddlebacks alongside Gloucester Old Spots and Tamworths, and takes his time with a three-month curing process.

But it is the fact that these lucky pigs are reared on their very own private island on Upper Lough Erne where they are free to roam and feed on the wild herbs and grasses that gives Black Bacon its truly unique flavour. Visitors can arrange a trip out to see the pigs on their Inishcorkish home, or simply pick up The Fermanagh Black Bacon Cookbook with a packet of black bacon from O’Doherty’s Fine Meats in Enniskillen.

Where to stock up on local and artisan produce

O’Doherty’s Fine Meats, Belmore Street, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, www.blackbacon.com

Pat O’Doherty’s famous butcher shop selling award-winning burgers and bacon

Orchard Acre Farm, Lisnarick, Co Fermanagh, www.orchardacrefarm.com

An open organic farm offering everything from cookery classes and seasonal events to tipi holidays.

Russell & Donnelly Deli, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, www.russellanddonnelly.com

Just the spot to stock up on nibbles, wines and craft beers for an impromptu picnic

Ulster Farmers’ Mart, Tempo Road, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh

Farmers’ Market on the last Saturday of every month

Farmer’s Food Market, Tesco Carpark, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh

Farmers’ Market on the second Saturday of every month

**The gorgeous photos above are courtesy of www.fermanaghlakelands.com which is worth a browse for more ideas.**

FOR FOOD’S SAKE & INISHFOOD ask: What is the future for Irish fish?

2.30pm, Saturday 19 May, 2012

Harry’s Bar & Restaurant, Bridgend, Inishowen, Co Donegal

WHAT? Teaming up with Inishfood (see below for more details), For Food’s Sake are bringing our regular food tasting and discussion event on tour to Donegal’s Inishowen Peninsula, where we’ll be taking inspiration from the spectacular coastal location and exploring the positive opportunities as well as the challenges for the Irish fishing industry.

On hand to kickstart the conversation will be marine biologist Elena Piana of Goatsbridge Trout Farm, Co Kilkenny; fisherman Michael Cavanagh, local skipper with Green Isle and chairperson of Foyle Fishermen’s Co-op, Donegal; and Amy Caviston of A Caviston fishmonger and café, Greystones.

As usual, there will be a chance for the audience to contribute to the debate, as well as to taste some great Irish-caught fish and Irish-produced fish products.

This hour-long session is part of a really exciting full day’s programme which runs from 9.30am with coffeemaking and bread-making sessions in the morning to 5pm with a Twisted Irish Cocktails demo with Hayden Lambert (Merchant Hotel) & Oisin Davis (Sugar Club) showcasing Irish ingredients. But the Saturday daytime sessions are just the start of it – the festival continues with a no-menu meal that evening and a great day’s line-up on Sunday featuring everything from shore foraging with Sally McKenna of the Bridgestone Guides to a mini-agricultural show with Ella McSweeney of Eat to the Ground. See www.irishfoodbloggers.com/2012/04/27/revealed-inishfood-2012-line-up for the full line-up, or read my piece in last weekend’s Sunday Times here.

WHERE? Harry’s Bar and Restaurant, Inishowen, Co Donegal, as part of the second annual Inishfood festival, which runs from 18–20 May 2012.

HOW MUCH? Adm free for the hour-long session, or €20 for Saturday’s All-Day Skills-Sharing Sessions Pass including lunch, tastings & cocktail. Alternatively, all-access weekend tickets costing €75 include Saturday & Sunday Daytime Skill-Sharing Sessions with food, coffee and cocktail tastings; Saturday lunch; Saturday night #NoMenu feast with matching beers; Sunday afternoon Féile Grianán Áiligh in a local fort celebrating ancient culture and traditons, and re-enacting an ancient beer brew.

For more information on Inishfood, see www.irishfoodbloggers.com/2012/04/27/revealed-inishfood-2012-line-up  or www.harrys.ie, follow @inishfood on Twitter, call Harry’s at +353 (0)74 9368 544 or email info@harrys.ie.

Or keep an eye on www.facebook.com/forfoodssakeireland for details on all For Food’s Sake events. We’ve a few more up our sleeves for the coming months!

But if my recent reports from Waterford’s less discovered corners whet your appetite for the charms of the sunny south east, this coming weekend is the time to dive in for yourself. Dungarvan plays host the Waterford Festival of Food (April 12–15), now one of the strongest food festivals in a busy calender. Why so? Thanks to a healthy mix of the family-friendly (biscuit decorating workshops, community picnics and mobile farms) and the high-falutin’ (such as legendary British chef Angela Hartnett taking time out of her Michelin-starred kitchens to come cook with Paul Flynn in The Tannery). There’s also a generous helping of grazing opportunities on offer thanks to the Farmers’ Market Extravaganza in Grattan Square and an inspiring array of educational workshops and classes in everything from baking to cooking with seaweed to health and nutrition.

If you’re looking to get active, you could get yourself on one of the weekend’s foraging trails or Bus Bia Tours (featuring some of the highlights of my recent Irish Food Trip, including Barron’s Bakery, Baldwins Ice-cream and Knockanore Cheese). Or if you’d rather sit back and be entertained there’s lots for you too, from music and food extravaganzas, to Surf’n'Turf demos from TV chefs Martin Shanahan and Paul Flynn, to a fast and furious ‘Ready, Chef, Go’ cookery contest hosted by RTE Radio broadcaster, John Murray and featuring Michael Quinn from Waterford Castle Hotel pitting himself against the local talent.

If you’re based in Dublin like me, we’re talking a drive of less than two hours. The beautiful area is well worth exploring and there’s bits and pieces going on in nearby towns such as Lismore to get you out and about.

See www.waterfordfestivaloffood.com for more details or contact The Tannery on +353 (0)58 45420 to check if there are any places left at their dinner events (which include a traditional Irish dinner with Richard Corrigan).

It’s Galway calling. I’ve been trying to ignore it for days, even weeks, but it won’t stop at me.

The city that’s really a village (in the same way that Dublin’s really a town) is throwing another party this weekend you see. And like all great parties – something this village-city knows a thing or two about – the best action is going to be in the kitchen.

They’re calling this party a food festival, or ‘Galway Food Festival’ to be precise, but of course a party is a party by any other name. Especially when you’ve the likes of Mr Whippy Soundsystem whipping up a soundtrack for the Feast on a Street in Crane Square on Easter Monday afternoon (with roast pig-on-a-spit from Kai & Cava, and a potato-carrying competition to boot). And Maeve Higgins laying on the lunchtime comedy on Saturday and Sunday in The Kings Head. And a whole bevy of great Galway restaurants taking part in the food trail over the weekend.

It’s not all fun and games though. Like any decent party, there’ll be some good meaty arguments for everyone to pick over for weeks to come, such as Saturday’s GM Debate, hosted by Seamus Sheridan (he of the cheesemonger’s fame and Green Party persuasion) at 1pm in the appropriately name Green Room in Galway City Museum.

And it’s not all city-based either, with several food tours taking place over the weekend – including a trip out to the wilds of Connemara to visit the lovely Graham and Saoirse Roberts at Connemara Smoke House and see where the likes of locally caught tuna is transformed into their hot-smoked delicacy.

No self-respecting party (or food festival for that matter) would be complete without a bit of showing off, and there’ll be lots of that in the form of cookery demos, including one of Cooking With Seaweed (Sat, 12pm) with Martin O’ Donnell from West Restaurant at The Twelve in Bearna. Martin picks his own seaweed on Bearna strand, and he cooks a mean mackerel too, so double kudos to him.

Of course, there’ll be a drink or two taken, and even a class in how to taste a glass of wine, should you feel you need a refresher in the matter (Aniar Restaurant, 2pm, Sunday with Febvre Wines) as well as loads of other opportunities to blag some free tasters of fine wine over the weekend. Just have a gander at the full weekend’s listings here to seek out your best time to strike.

But really, it’s not the dancing or the laughing or the detours or the rows or the drinks that draw us to a great party. It’s the chance to meet people: to catch up with old friends and make some new ones. It’s the fact that you don’t know what conversation you’ll stumble upon or who you’ll bump into or what memory you’ll take away with you.

And that’s what makes the draw to Galway so darn hard to ignore right now. Besides the many Meet the Producers sessions peppered throughout the weekend, including one with the dynamic Allen brothers behind the award-winning Castlemine Farm (see my post about their pork which picked up an Irish Food Writers’ Guild Award recently), I know there’s going to be a bunch of the best people gathering in on Galway over the next couple of days.

I’d love to just jump in a car and take the two-hour drive across from Dublin and go see who I might meet at what’s shaping up to be a brilliant Easter weekend.

Regrettably, I’m otherwise engaged. Well okay, when I say regrettably, I’ll be in Paris, so all things considered, non, je ne regrette rien.

But if I wasn’t otherwise engaged, I’d damn sure be answering the call of Galway. What’s your excuse?

What you leave out is just as important. We might have said the same of the four day Irish Food Trip we found ourselves at the end of last Thursday, organised by Failte Ireland for the winner and finalists of the Euro-toques Young Chef of the Year Awards 2011. Our whistlestop tour had been chock-full of visits to exemplary Irish artisan producers and meals at top-class restaurants. But for every producer we visited, there were four or five neighbouring producers equally worthy of our attention which we might have visited. And for each of the three counties of Waterford, Kilkenny and Wexford in which our travels were based, there are a good seven or eight more each to visit in this green food-rich island of ours, each with their own local food stories to discover.

Had we not had to stop eating at some point and return home to jobs and families and the likes, we could have spent another couple of days exploring the Taste Kilkenny food trail alone. I would have loved to have visited Helen Finnegan at Knockdrinna Farmhouse Cheese and pick up some of her award-winning cheese at her farm shop in Stoneyford. Or to check out Truffle Fairy’s production kitchen where chocolate truffles are infused with brilliant flavour combinations such as tequila, lemon and salt. Or to discover firsthand the 17th-century origins of Highbank Organic Orchards where one of my favourite Irish products, Highbank Orchard Syrup is produced and sold in the farm shop. Or meet free-range poultry producer Mary Walsh who leading local chef Garrett Byrne of Campagne speaks of with such respect.

Sadly we didn’t have time to visit all these producers. But we did manage to acquaint ourselves with much of their produce, thanks to a stroll around the farmers’ market and two final meals in Kilkenny city.

The first was enjoyed in Campagne, which is not only Kilkenny’s finest but also one of Ireland’s finest restaurants. Chef-proprietor Garrett Byrne headed up the kitchens at Dublin’s Chapter One for several years before returning to his native city to set up Campagne. His partner Brid Hannon leads the lovely front of house team who looked after us with charm and style from the homemade sourdough bread all the way through to the show-stopping dessert. New to the menu and one of the highlights of our whole trip, this cloud-light cheesecake of rhubarb and white chocolate was served with a gorgeously creamy rhubarb ice-cream and a baton of rhubarb with perfect bite. Clean, light and bang on in its play of flavours and textures – which is pretty much how the preceding six courses of our meal had played out too. The middle course of turbot with broad beans and Hollandaise proved to be one of the most popular dishes of the whole trip amongst the young chefs, which goes to show exactly how impressive good honest cooking can be.

Garrett clearly knows that half the battle is in sourcing great ingredients to begin with, which is perhaps why he began our meal with cured Clare Island salmon, one of Ireland’s few products to enjoy PGI status. He knew too to keep the flavours of the cure simple so that the character of the salmon could shine through. The presentation was far from simple, but a carefully constructed play of colour and form featuring tempura of oyster with forest-green samphire, pink-rimmed radish and purple leaves.

Samphire reappeared later in the meal on a beautiful plate of rump and breast of Comeragh mountain lamb and what were possibly the tastiest carrots I’ve ever enjoyed. It was a fitting final main course in a trip which had begun with Monday morning’s visit to the wilds of the Comeragh mountains to meet the black-faced ewes about to give birth to  next season’s lambs. We also got to taste local cheesemaker Helen Finnegan’s Kilree, a washed rind goats’ milk cheese that wowed the judges at the recent British Cheese Awards into awarding it Supreme Champion.

Our final meal was an Irish tapas-style lunch at Zuni on Thursday. We had just been to see Goatsbridge Trout Farm (see yesterday’s blog post for details) so were delighted to tuck into Goatsbridge smoked trout scotch eggs topped with Goatsbridge trout caviar and horseradish cream as one of the first round of delicious dishes that Euro-toques chef Maria Raftery treated us to. Zuni was a participant in last year’s innovative Blasta trail, which encouraged visitors to graze their way around the city, enjoying small plates, sharing bowls and grazing boards along the way. It’s a great way to take a little mini tour of local flavours. Other hits on Thursday’s menu included a warm chilli chicken salad featuring Mary Byrne’s Shellumsrath free-range chicken with cashews and root veg crisps; and fluffy fresh Knockdrinna goats’ cheese sandwiched between slivers of beetroot with a raspberry dressing and carmelised walnuts. Clever and gorgeous.

Of course, a great meal is about more than the food on the plate and the service supporting it. The company plays an integral part too. The conversation over that final meal of our Irish Food Trip was spent teasing out the journey we had made together, analysing the favourite meal experiences and what made them work, and picking out the highlight dishes of the trip. These included (but were not limited to) Waterford Castle’s oxtail croquette; Ardkeen’s pork-filled blaa; l’Atmosphere’s fresh blood black pudding; The Tannery’s rabbit, wild garlic, turnip and barley stew, and their braised lamb with ribollita; and Campagne’s turbot and Hollandaise, and their rhubarb and white chocolate cheesecake.

Some of the conversations during the trip had clearly made an impression on the five young chefs too, most particularly the characteristically grounded advice dished out by Paul Flynn during his masterclass demo. Remember that there is room in life for all sorts of good food; that a well-made sandwich can be a thing of beauty too; and that many chefs have sacrificed their lives – some literally – in pursuit of the holy Grail of Michelin approval. Don’t forget to ask yourself what food you’d really like to cook; that no-one else is going to plan your life or career for you; and that without a work-life balance you’ll burn yourself out and be left with nothing. He encouraged the young chefs to take the time to go check out what other chefs were doing; to find and follow their own food heroes; and to never lose the freedom and joy to be found in cooking, even under the immense pressure of getting it spot on for 300 plates a night, six or seven nights a week.

All of his advice was aimed at the young chefs for whom the trip had been designed. But much of it was applicable to so many of us. Don’t forget to look up every now and then from the close-up focus on our own lives and have a look at some of the brilliant stuff going on around us, maybe in our very own village or town or county. Take time out to enjoy some of the joy that great food shared with like-minded folk can bring. Remember what an enormous amount of work goes into producing good food, but that fine food is not necessarily about fine dining and a special sandwich can make for a memorable meal experience. What better way to remind yourself of all of that than to jump in a car and go explore what great food your local area is producing.

Failte Ireland wanted to introduce these young chefs to a taster of what local Irish food can offer. The result of the trip is five new disciples who have gone back to their respective kitchens newly inspired. I was blessed to accompany them on this four-day Irish Food Trip but even a few hours is long enough to curate your very own.

See you on that road sometime?

Over my breakfast of apple compote, yoghurt and granola, Crinnaughton apple juice, fresh coffee and fruit muffin, all of which overnight guests at The Tannery can enjoy in the comfort of their own bedrooms, I had time to contemplate the range of food producers, eateries and chefs we had come into contact with since Sunday evening. (You can read back over the last couple of posts for more details on our food-focussed road trip around the sunny South East).

Since hitting the road on Sunday, we had met all sorts of great Irish producers, from butchers, bakers and brewers to farmers, cheesemakers and ice-cream producers. Now it was time to meet some of the people who work with Ireland’s world-class fish and shellfish.

Having spent most of Wednesday and Thursday morning doing just that, I can tell you one thing for sure: the men and women responsible for harvesting and processing the bounty of seafood that comes from our island’s waters sure work hard for their living.

It’s an industry we should and can be proud of. It’s just a shame that so much of what we do produce goes out of the country (some 85%), and mind-boggling that we should import so much fish too (in the case of many hotels and restaurants, 90% of what they sell is imported). Fancy a visit to Ireland’s largest fish market? Just head for Cork airport.

There are many reasons for this odd set-up, from historic decisions to give away our nation’s fishing rights to ever-rising costs of doing business here in Ireland, but the bottom line seems to be that countries such as France and Spain are willing to pay for the premium product they recognise Irish seafood as, whereas we Irish have tended to seek out either cheaper alternatives such as imported salmon or ‘exotic’ foreign species such as tuna or seabass.

Our first stop on Wednesday morning found us in the company of Tommy Hickey of Hook Head Shellfish who talked us through the often “back-breaking” work involved in oyster production at his Bannow Bay aquaculture farm. Tommy is one of several oyster growers based in this picturesque tidal estuary between Hook Head and Carnsore Point. Like a kind of Swiss finishing school for Irish oysters, Bannow Bay is where oysters which were born in French hatcheries and grew up in neighbouring bays at Dungarvan and Woodstown come to shape up before they can be presented to high society at the finest Parisian dining rooms. They do so by feasting on the bay’s particular type of algae which is ideal for putting meat on the little molluscs. How the aqua-farmers such as Tommy work the bags in which the oysters grow is crucial too in helping to shape the all-important deep cup of the gigas or Pacific oyster. Still tucked up in those bags, the oysters finally travel back to France where they are processed and sold on as ‘Speciale’ oysters, one of France’s most sought after classifications. Who knew these super foods could be so well travelled?

Down behind the dunes of Kilmore Quay strand is another exporter of Irish shellfish, albeit on a very different scale. A visit to the processing depot of Sofrimar Seafood provides quite the sensory stimulation. In one hall, the din of thousands of seashells clacking adds an impressive soundscape to the sight of some hundred hard-working women processing scallops with skillful twists of knives. Step into one side room to be wooed by the sweet smell of fresh razor clams and shelled scallops, step into another containing thousands of frozen prawns stored at -15ºC to be greeted by the sight of light snow falling. I was glad to return outside to the sunshine of one of the hottest days of the year, with a newfound appreciation for the people who process our seafood.

It was nearly lunchtime so we headed down to the quayside towards the modest little seaside shack that houses The Crazy Crab, BIM Seafood Circle’s Newcomer of the Year 2012 – but not before stopping in to see the HQ of Saltees Seafood Ltd, a family-run operation headed up by the formidable O’Flaherty clan. You may have seen the delivery trucks of these seafood wholesalers spinning around the country with their bold orders to ‘Eat More Fish’ emblazoned on the side. A family of six brothers, the O’Flahertys have cleverly and carefully developed their business over 25 years so that they now control every aspect of the process from  catching the fish to marketing, selling and distributing it. Those trucks sure do get around, travelling from their Wexford base down to Cork and up to Dublin and even as far as Killybegs, not to mention across the waters and down as far as Madrid and Barcelona. Two thirds of their catch is exported, including their entire catch of certain species such as megrim and witches (or white sole) – both plentiful Irish fish which Michael O’Flaherty describes as great eating. Sadly, even the O’Flahertys can’t control the fact that there is zero demand in Ireland for these native fish, although they would be happy to supply them to customers such as Cavistons in Greystones and Glasthule should you the consumer care to go looking for them.

Michael spends his working days on land heading up the marketing side of the business but he spoke with great respect for his brothers and their crew who work out at sea on the company’s beam trawlers. These guys work non-stop for several days at a time, breaking three or four times in 24 hours to catch an hour or two’s sleep as the nets fill before several hours of hauling and sorting. With the cost of fuel having doubled since 2008, costs such as labour have to squeezed to the absolute minimum without compromising the all-important safety of the crew. It’s a fine balancing act.

Balance is also key to conserving local lobster stocks, as John Hickey from BIM explained to us over a lovely lunch in Crazy Crab Seafood Bistro and Cafe, where everything from local crab and prawns to smoked Union Hall mackerel to freshly landed lemon sole was delicious. Well fed once again, we headed down to the quay to see just how that balance in lobster stocks is achieved. Besides returning any undersized lobsters to the water (the minimum landing size being a 87mm ‘carapace’, which is the main body between the claws and tail) a selection of lucky female lobsters are marked as protected and sent back out into the waters to procreate in peace. I got to clip the iridescent blue tail of one female who was heavy with glistening black eggs – and kept the cut-out v as a little souvenir of the trip.

The final piece in this deliciously fishy puzzle came the next morning, having travelled back inland to Kilkenny city for our final installment of fine Irish eating (see tomorrow’s post for details of dinner in Campagne and Irish tapas in Zuni). We drove out on a sparkling Thursday morning to visit Goatsbridge Trout Farm just outside Thomastown, where Ger Kirwan took us around their small-scale set-up. This second-generation operation has transformed in response to market demands over its 50-odd years of existence, most recently with the addition of an onsite processing hall. Here they can gut, fillet and pin bone whole trout, develop new products such as Ireland’s first trout caviar, and sell products directly to visitors at their factory shop. This is a fish farm worth a visit, even just to see for yourself the quality of the water and the low stocking density (which is below that required for organic certification).

As part of the Taste of Kilkenny food trail, Goatsbridge is well set up for self-guided visits too, with interpretative signs taking you through the lifecycle of the fish from eyed ova in the onsite hatchery to full-sized adults in the aerated earthen ponds. As with most of the producers on the trail, visits are by appointment, as in give them a bell if you’re in the area and let them know you’d like to drop by. They’ll most likely be hard at work – but you’re guaranteed to be made welcome.

It’s like I said. One thing’s for sure: the men and women responsible for harvesting and processing the fish and seafood that comes from our island’s waters sure work hard for their living. They are rightfully proud of what they do and how they do it. It’s worth going out of your way to support them – whether by asking for Irish fish at your supermarket, fishmongers or local restaurant, or by going to visit them on their own surf.

Tune in tomorrow for my last installment about this week’s Irish Food Trip, or you can retrace our route on Twitter (@holymackers) by searching for #IrishFoodTrip.

After a light breakfast in Waterford Castle’s beautiful consevatory with the sun striping in through the wrought iron windows (when I say light breakfast, I mean a mini-croissant filled with sweet ham and artisan cheese) we headed out with the hotel’s head chef Michael Quinn to meet some local food legends.

First stop, one of the regions few remaining small abattoirs run by O’Flynn’s butchers, who finish cows on their farm before slaughtering and butchering – just the thing after breakfast eh? Actually the place was spotless with a pervading scent of salt in the air. Even the words being bandied about were slightly bloodless if a little chilling: the ‘stunning box’ in the ‘killing room’ where the animals are dispatched before being ‘broken’ into various parts. Carcasses of beef hung from hooks beside bundles of offal including a lolling tongue and pointed oxtail (which looked more appetising in Sunday night’s DELICIOUS croquettes, see yesterday’s post for details). In one of the chilled rooms were tubs of pork tails and chuck bones – apparently they’re mad for these value cuts in Waterford, as anyone who has been to a GAA match down here is said to know.

In another room, hunks of ham were transforming into bacon in baths of salted water (no nitrates/nitrites here which means no gooey white gunk on those rashers) and a vac-packed bundle of O’Flynn’s rashers gave us a hint of what we’d be having for our breakfast this morning. Well, it’d be rude not to, Waterford being the original home of the rasher (no, I hadn’t known that either). We also got a preview of last night’s dinner in the form of O’Flynn’s beef which was hanging in all it’s glory – but later would be served up to us in l’Atmosphere in the city.

Then it was off to visit M&D Bakery where Dermot ‘Blaa’ Walsh is one of four producers in Waterford’s blaa producers’ group who are in the final throes of applying to the EU for PGI status (Protected Geographical Status). No-one from anywhere near the river Suir needs an introduction to these local treats, but if you’ve never had one, a blaa is the simplest white bread roll made of just flour, water, yeast, salt and perhaps a touch of sugar. Though it is traditionally filled with ‘red lead’ luncheon sausage or maybe Tayto crisps, we had a gourmet version in the legendary Ardkeen Supermarket a little later in the day, filled with glazed pork and onion gravy (and washed down with Ponaire coffee from Limerick-based artisan coffee roasters). Because it has no preservatives the blaa is traditionally eaten by lunchtime, but freezing now allows Dermot to sell his blaas all over the country. Look out for it at Dublin’s Guinness Storehouse, Café Rua in Castlebar, Mayo or at Jane Russell’s stalls in Naas, Dun Laoghaire and Marlay Park where she fills it with her real pork sausages.

Before we left M&D Bakery we got a glimpse of some ‘Sallylunn’ fruit buns going into the oven. Like the blaa, the Sallylunn was introduced by the Huguenots who took refuge in the port town of Waterford from religious persecution in their native France. The name is a bastardisation of ‘soleil et lune’ (sun and moon) just as ‘blaa’ is a local take on ‘blanc’. Well. There’s poetry in the eating too.

Before lunch we skipped up the mountains to visit Willie Drohan and his fine looking herd of black-faced Comeragh Mountain Lamb. Willie used to sell his lamb for the basic factory price, but he knew he had something special – it’s not every herd that calls the remote, untouched Comeragh ranges home for over half the year. Clambouring up the steep inclines, grazing on heather and wild herbs, rambling up to the blanket bog – all of this makes for a unique animal. Three years ago he gave some to chef Michael Quinn to sample to see if there would be market for it as a premium product; now Willie sells about 20 lambs a week direct to the likes of Ardkeen Supermarket as well Dublin restaurants including Thornton’s, Moloughneys and Restaurant Forty One at Residence. Michael uses nothing else at Waterford Castle where Willie’s milk-fed lamb will be coming on the menu from late May – and he swears you can taste the sheep’s heather diet in the resulting jus.

The ewes are down in the foothills now, ready to lamb, but they once they’re strong enough again they’ll head back up to the heights. Willie couldn’t keep his sheep in such a remote part without the help of his neighbours to bring them in when he needs to – not to mention his trusty sheepdogs (who you can watch in action in a following video post). He also likes to enlist some unusual help at times – if there’s foxes in the area, Willie has been known to blast a little reggae on loud speakers through the night, and says it works for two or three nights anyway!

We had built up a thirst so Michael took us to the brandnew home of Metalman Brewing Co where Grainne (Ireland’s only female craft brewer to the best of my knowledge) gave us a whistlestop tour of the new premises and a taste of their current test-brew (at all of 1.5% ABV). Then it was back to The Island to sit outside Waterford Castle in the fabulous sunshine and down a pint of the real deal, which is now available on tap at the hotel’s bar – and outselling Guinness & Heineken too! It’s a great Pale Ale, with a grapefruit twist that makes it for perfect sunshine drinking.

Like one big happy #IrishFoodTrip family at this stage, we all traipsed off to l’Atmosphere for our dinner which was cooked for us by co-owners, chef Arnaud Mary and pastry chef Patrice Garreau, both of whom have worked for Joel Robuchon in previous lives. It was served up in family style, with three casserole dishes taking pride of place in the meal, featuring three different dishes: a six-hour cooked lamb, a cassoulet with foie gras and a beef cheek bourguignon (from O’Flynn’s butchers of course). Before that two rounds of starters: bite-sized braised beef skirt; a homemade farmhouse terrine with cornichon; and a home-made black pudding that spread like a pate onto gorgeous homemade bread. Round 2 starters were an ode to the amazing seafood in the region: scallops from Kilmore Quay (where we’re off to tomorrow) with a whipped cauliflower cream; morsels of the freshest lobster and seabass; and crab claws with a kick-ass alioli. And at the other end of this rustic feast, a showcase of classic French desserts: including what was introduced as “the original 1981 Joel Robuchon chocolate tart” which was as delicious as its incredible glossy sheen suggested, and a classic Iles Flottants featuring poached meringue so light it dissappears in a puff.

And then it was time to float back to our own island over which Waterford Castle lords it, with a gorgeous new moon in the sky to guide us, and memories of an unforgettable day in the sunny South East to treasure.

For the first day of a four day tour, it wasn’t such a bad start eh?

You can follow the action live on Twitter (@holymackers, #IrishFoodTrip), and tune in tomorrow for all of today’s action, including a two dairy farming neighbours who have put their milk to different uses in Knockanore village; a family business celebrating 125 years in the same premises; a craft brewer reviving the art of bottle-conditioned beers; and a masterclass with the legend that is Paul Flynn of The Tannery…

It’s not often you get to pack your wellies and your favourite high heels for the same trip. But tomorrow’s road trip is no ordinary road trip, taking in everything from farm and fishery visits to some of Ireland’s finest dining in the likes of Kilkenny’s Campagne and Dungarvan’s The Tannery. I’m packing my Berocca too, cos I’ll need all my energy for the busy itinerary lined up which involves three and a half action packed days around Waterford and Kilkenny. I’m packing my laptop so I can blog daily about the visits to bakeries and breweries, meetings with fishermen and cheesemakers, tastings of Ireland’s first caviar and one of it’s few PGI status foods, not to mention the likes of a Nose to Tail masterclass with Michael Quinn of Waterford Castle. And I’m bringing my pen and notebook, dictaphone and camera so I can log all the insights into everything from the growing production of oysters and conservation of lobsters to the History of Food in Ireland’s South East. I’ve even downloaded Instagram to my trusty iPhone4 so I can pretty-up all my amateur photography and share it with anyone who fancies following the Twitteraction on #IrishFoodTrip and a new Facebook page for Holy Mackerel if you want to follow me there.

And how, you might well ask, does it come to be that I have such a delicious week lined up?

In a joint effort by Failte Ireland, BIM and Euro-toques Ireland, this week’s Food Tourism Road Trip in Ireland’s sunny South East was designed to educate a handful of talented young Irish chefs about the availability, range and quality of regional food produce and producers in Ireland. They’ve chosen to bring the six finalists from last year’s Euro-toques Young Chef Competition on this whirlwind feed-fest in order to foster them as food ambassadors within the industry.

And you would be right in thinking that I am neither young (well, not in my early 20s as this crew are) nor a chef nor a finalist of last year’s competition, as are Kamil Dubanik (23) from Knockranny House Hotel, Westport; Aisling Gallagher (24) from Ballynahinch Castle, Co Galway; Kyle Greer (24) from No 27 Talbot Street, Belfast; Micheal Harley (22) from Rathmullan House, Co Donegal; David Magaeen (24) from Restaurant Victoria Belfast and Margaret Roche (23) from The Cellar at The Merrion Hotel, Dublin.

But in their generous wisdom, the brains behind the trip thought they had such a good itinerary lined up that it’d be a shame not to bring a blogger and journalist along to document the experience. I heartily agreed.

And so, as promised yesterday, herein my list of some of the highlights I’m most looking forward to visiting, or Five Foods Worth Travelling The Country In Pursuit Of:

• Waterford Blaa: a simple bread roll with legendary status in the Waterford region to which it is unique. Both grandparents on my maternal side hailed from Waterford city, so it’s slightly alarming that I’ve never tasted one of these bundles of floury fluffiness before. We’ll be visiting both M&D Bakery & Barron’s Bakery both of which are famous for their blaas.
• Goatsbridge Trout: Not all farmed trout can be classified as a gourmet product but not all farmed trout is produced by Margaret Kirwan at Goatsbridge Trout Farm near Thomastown, Co Kilkenny. I love her smoked trout, and can’t wait to try her brand-new trout caviar.
• Dungarvan Brewery: It doesn’t seem like long ago since Dungarvan Brewing Company was the new kid on the block in what was then a very nascent local micro-brewing scene. How much can change in two years – the beers produced by these brothers-in-law and their wives looks positively old guard on the fridge shelves today. Looking forward to seeing where the magic happens in their Dungarvan Brewery.
• Comeragh Mountain Lamb: The general meat-eating Irish public is slowly but surely starting to realise that Irish meat, whether it be beef or lamb, is some of the best in world – and that what makes it so are the 40 shades of green available in their natural grass-fed diet. Some smart producers are a step ahead in further reminding us that if the particular grazing area of a particular herd is unique, the resulting flavours of its meat will be unique too. The place name Comeragh derives from the Gaelic ‘Cumarach’ meaning ‘abounding in hollows and river confluences’. That the land itself is lush and remote and has never been intensively farmed will has a direct influence on the lamb’s particular flavour.
• The Truffle Fairy: I can’t decide which I’m most excited to try – their Guinness truffles or their goji berry, ginger and pink peppercorn truffles… or maybe tequila, salt and lemon will be my favourite? Or chilli, ginger and orange? Ooh, or what about Jameson whiskey, clove and lemon?!? Tell you what, let me go do my research and get back to you on it. (The things I do for you eh?)

Right so. See you on the road?