On Wednesday evening in Ely CHQ (that’s the one in the IFSC, Dublin 1), The Corkscrew wine merchants are hosting a very special wine dinner with visiting wine-maker Paolo de Marchi from Isole e Olena winery, one of Chianti Classico’s leading lights. A fourth-generation wine-maker and exceptionally charming man, Paolo was one of several wine-makers who helped to put Tuscany back on the map in the 1970s and ’80s by producing wine according to their own rules rather than according to the rules laid down by the local Chianti appellation regulations.

The wine at the picture-pretty estate of Isole e Olena

Following the lead of the makers of ground-breaking Super-Tuscan wines such as Sassicaia and Tignanello (both of which made the bold step of introducing Bordeaux grapes to their blends), Paolo made an international name for himself and his Tuscan estate. But unlike those two genre-defining wines, which looked beyond Tuscany for inspiration, Paolo’s most esteemed wine, Cepparello, is a celebration of the local Sangiovese grape (100%) as well as the soil and climate of the local terroir. He doesn’t restrict himself to local grapes however, with Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay coming centre-stage in other Isole e Olena wines. 

Paola di Marche and his son Luca who now works with him at the Tuscan estate in the heart of Chianti Classico

On Wednesday evening, you’ll have to eat and drink your way through five courses to get to the climactic tasting of the Cepparello, which will be paired with Italian and Irish cheeses. But that won’t be any great hardship, with pairings such as baked bone marrow, herb crust and salsa verde served with with Isole e Olena’s award-winning Chianti Classico 2010; or haunch of venison with braised chicory, celeriac remoulade and chocolate, served with their Collezione de Marchi Syrah 2006. 

The dinner kicks off at 8pm and costs €95 per head, which is more than your average mid-week meal for sure. But considering that, in a wine shop, you would pay on average about half of that for a bottle of any one of the six wines being served, it’s a pretty good deal. Click here to go The Corkscrew’s website and grab one of the last few tickets going.

Last night I attended a free tequila talk & tasting in the Cervantes Institute in Lincoln House, Lincoln Place, off Nassau Street. (The same spot plays host at 7pm tonight to a free mezcal tasting – see more details below for this and other mescal events at the weekend.) We tasted three styles of tequila: fruity and punchy blanco, spiced but soft reposado, and caramel-mellow anejo. Both reposado and anejo tequila have been aged in white oak barrels, for at least two months or one year respectively. We sipped them and scanned the overhead screen to ascertain which of tequila’s many potential aromas and flavours we were getting. It was great fun, and pretty darn delicious too!

Betcha you didn’t get all those subtleties from your last shot of tequila, eh?

Before the tequila talk, a visiting Mexican chef talked us through Mexico’s vast and varied dishes. Helma Honda waxed lyrical about such delights as ant’s eggs and grasshoppers and other Mexican delicacies (some of which are promised at tonight’s mezcal tasting). Then when she had our attention with those curiosities, she explained that in a country that is nine times the size of the UK, containing 30 separate states, each with at least 100 of their own signature local dishes, it is hard to say what might be a ‘typical Mexican dish’. Certainly what is typical are many of the base ingredients which they introduced to the rest of the world, including chocolate, vanilla, tomatoes, chillies and corn. And typically most Mexican cooking takes a sophisticated approach to chillies, mixing three or more types in one dish for subtlety of flavour. It’s not all about subtlety however, as our taster of this tangtastic ‘hot and salted tamarind pulp candy’ proved. Wow! I can still taste it today!

chilli-hot, salted and tangy tamarind – where were you all my life?

All of this talk made us hungry for more authentic Mexican flavours so we hightailed it to 777 on Sth Great George’s St where bartender extraordinaire Leo Molloy whipped us up a sneak preview of two stars from their new margarita menu, one featuring grapefruit and thyme and the other (my favourite) a take on the classic pairing of jalapenos and coriander. Savage, the pair of them.

Sorry for the grainy shot, but it’s pretty dark and moody in 777, innit?

Leo also told us that 777 were neck and neck with their top competitors in the race to claim title of Best Taco in Dublin. (You can still vote here before the final cook-off takes place tomorrow at the Mansion House.)

AND it turns out that Sergio Inurrigarro of the Association for Mezcal Culture will be hosting another mezcal tasting in 777 on Saturday lunchtime at 2pm (€20 including lunch), so if you miss him tonight you have a second chance to catch him. Actually, it’s a third chance, because later tonight he’s hosting another free tasting in Lillie’s Bordello at 10pm (email guestlist@lilliesbordello.ie to book a place).

Wherever you catch him, do try to. The guy is quite the character, and the last time I tasted mezcal with him (two years ago, at a Slow Food ‘Mezcal and Irish farmhouse cheese pairing’ event) he came armed with some really interesting bottles, so be prepared to fall in love with this very traditional Mexican drink.

Because mezcal can be made from any type of agave plant (vs tequila, for which only the Tequila Weber blue agave plant can be used) and because it is for the most part a small-scale artisinal affair (vs the vast commercial scale of many tequila brands), different mezcals really do taste quite different, from smoky to very pure and lots inbetween. According to Sergio, it is a “mystic, magic aphrodisiac and an extraordinary drink”, one that “when drunk with measure… wakes the spirit, tames enmity, stimulates imagination, clears resentments and accompanies solitude.”

You heard it here.

Sergio himself. He’s waiting for you, armed with mezcal.

We’re back!

It’s been awhile but this afternoon I’m down in Ballymaloe at their inaugural Litfest which is going on until Monday, with loads of amazing international and Irish speakers programmed and a whole bevy of free stuff in the Fringe festival. Including this:

FOR FOOD’S SAKE

present

Food Memories:

a taste of personal palate-shaping experiences

When?            Sat 4th & Sun 5th May, 3pm–4pm, with fresh interviews every 20 minutes

Where?           The Big Shed, Ballymaloe Litfest, Ballymaloe House, Shanagarry, Co Cork

What?            Food writer and blogger, Aoife Carrigy of Holymackerel.ie will host a series of short interviews with food writers, bloggers, chef and producers who will remember some of their most treasured palate-shaping experiences, from the recipe or dish tasted that changed their life to the book or conversation that changed their food philosophy.

Who?              Michelle Darmody of Cake Cafe, Denis Cotter of Cafe Paradiso, Fingal Ferguson of Gubbeen Smokehouse, Michael Quinn of Waterford Castle, Paul Flynn of The Tannery and more!

FFS?               For Food’s Sake are a Dublin-based collective of food fans who stage regular food-focussed events including foodie movies and food discussion evenings.

Join in the conversation on Twitter at #foodmemories (and say hi to me at @holymackers!)

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

Wow. It’s been awhile. Apparently I took a bit of an unanticipated, unannounced sabatical from Holy Mackerel.

Things got busy you see. There was a big job for Zagat, who are launching their restaurant guide to Dublin very shortly, and for whom I’m one of the local editors. (Basically, that involves trawling through the good, the bad and the downright rude user-generated Zagat Survey comments written by thousands of Dubliners about hundreds of Dublin restaurants, and writing short pithy little 50 word reviews to reflect the word on the street about said restaurants.) If you haven’t heard of Zagat yet, you will. They’re huge in the States, and having being recently acquired by Google, are set to be huge here too. (They also recently acquired Frommers travel guides too.) You can read up about them here (click it) and I’ll let you know when the updated Dublin site goes live.

But one big job is surely no excuse for leaving my blog high and dry and lonesome?

Well no, but there was also the mammoth task of editing of The ICA Cookbook (that’s the Irish Countrywomen’s Association, for anyone who needs the introduction to this 100-year-old institution of rural Ireland), which features recipes from some 50+ ordinary Guild members as well as a couple of key ICA chefs too. My job was to keep some consistency and flow to such a broad collection of culinary styles. And when I say broad, I mean Cake in a Mug on the one hand (stir eggs, flour, cocoa etc in a mug, cook in a microwave, turn out on a plate: ta da! Cake in a Mug!!) and rabbit pie with homemade puff pastry on the other hand (first, catch your rabbit, à la ICA Bootcamp styley… well not quite, but nearly). The book hits the shelves later this month, and hopefully flies off it.

And there was the new weekly wine column with the Irish Mail on Sunday, which has landed me with the arduous task of tasting a whole bevvy load of wines every single week and writing up what I think of them and telling people where they can find them and what not. I know, tough post.

Then there was a flurry of trips around the country. One involved a two-day spin along Mayo’s Gourmet Greenway and back, kicking off in Castlebar so we could conveniently stock up on baguette, Carrowholly cheese and cake in the delightful Café Rua before hitting the road – and setting up camp 60km later in the stunning setting of Keel on Achill. The next morning, after a pre-brekkie swim on Keel strand, we found ourselves a Country Market where we picked up some potato farls & homemade chutney with which to finish off our Carrowholly (a gorgeous local Gouda-style cheese) before cycling the 60km back to Westport where creamy pints in McGings and a tasty dinner next door in Sage restaurant were the reward for our impressive exertions (if I say so myself). If you ever thought you fancied a cycling holiday I would thoroughly recommend the Greenway – stunning scenery and brilliantly maintained.

Then there was another trip off down to the Electric Picnic to host the ‘Guinea Pig’ readers’ wine tasting for Food&Wine Magazine (check out the November issue for the colourful results) and chair a debate in the Theatre of Food on What’s Hot in Food Right Now (hot potatoes, it seems, GM potatoes to be specific… being trial-grown in Carlow by Teagasc – but that’s another whole post in itself).

And then there was the small matter of hopping down to Gaillimh town to stay over in the inimitable Heron’s Rest boutique B&B on the Long Walk (the prettiest street in town, which overlooks Nimmo’s Pier and the Claddagh Basin) where the ever-charming bean-an-tí (who happens to be a trained nutritional therapist) Sorcha Molloy cooked up an unforgettable morning-after breakfast of scallops and crab risotto cakes for me and my family.

Morning after what you say? Just the best book launch I’ve ever been to, in that it involved delicious Ard Bia food and generous prosecco and the great company of John McKenna of Bridgestone Guides (who helped launch the book) dancing till the wee hours with Manchan Magan (who wrote the foreword), all to celebrate the book I co-wrote with restaurateur Aoibheann MacNamara and her brilliant right-hand-gal Siomha Nee and all the chefs from Ard Bia at Nimmos. That particular book is on the bookshop shelves already, and is packed full of gorgeous recipes typical of the Middle-East-Meets-Out-Whest culinary style that is uniquely Ard Bia. (I’d highly recommend you pick up a copy, but then I would say that wouldn’t I?)

And then the next thing it was back to school time, and I got busy preparing lectures in Feature Writing & Ethics in Journalism for the first year BA in Journalism students at Dublin’s Independent Colleges. And also got busy with a WSET wine course that I’m taking to formalise my wine knowledge and fill in any gaps. The course is run by Cooks Academy and my tutor is none other than the lovely Liam Campbell (who used to be described by his colleagues in The Dubliner Magazine as officially the loveliest man in Dublin, and who is a darn fine wine writer and tutor too). I’ll be blogging here about the course over the coming weeks, and sharing some of Liam’s gems with any readers interested in reading them.

So. Here’s the nub of it.

It all got busy. And I got sick. And something had to give.

Which is all a long way around saying, sorry I haven’t been around. For the longest time. But I have been thinking of you. And now I’m back. And I’ve loads to tell you. (All of the above is just the start of it.)

Such as, I’m off to Dingle Food Festival for the weekend and I’d love you to come too. Here’s a sneak preview of the For Food’s Sake event I’ll be hosting down there. Watch this space for a confirmed line-up and more. Or watch out on Twitter over the weekend for tweets from @holymackers and others (#ffs #foodmemories #dinglefoodfest). Or even better, come to Dingle!

Right, adieu for now. I’ll be back. Promise.

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.

Gorse flower sorbet and chocolate mint

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?

It’s not that I have anything against celebrating what you have, should you have it. One of my favourite animals is the seahorse. Apart from being so pretty, and the fact that the male steps up to the role of chief childminder, I love that seahorse couples rebuild their monogamous bond with a daily ritual of a little dance. It might take a few minutes, or it might go on for some time. But they do it every day.

Rituals are important to bind us to the people we love, whether that’s the extended family ritual of coming together for a Christmas dinner or the courting couples ritual of going out on dinner dates. And I quite like that there’s a day in our communal calenders to remind us of the importance of taking the time out to share a meal or something else intimate.

But having worked in restaurants for years, I know that Valentines ain’t necessarily the most romantic time to rebuild those bonds. I remember one particular restaurateur insisting on seating three separate couples on the one six-top table. That’s a new take on a threesome I suppose.

Anyway, personally I think it’s much more romantic to cook something – even something easy – and concentrate on providing sparkling company. If you haven’t thought of a dinner for tonight yet, there’s still time. Keep it fairly light – you don’t want to rule out other activities by being knocked out by a rich meal. I’d suggest an aromatic, lightly spicy beef noodle soup, followed by something simple but stylish like an affogato (espresso poured over vanilla ice-cream, with or without chocolate sauce).

And if you’ve no-one to cook it for, I’d suggest you cook it for yourself. Who said love has to be shared?

Beef noodle soup

(Serves 2)

• 1 litres stock (beef if possible, or chicken)
• 1 thumbnail-sized piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 star anise (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds (optional)
• 1/2 cinnamon stick
• 125g boneless beef (sirloin or fillet)
• 125g dried flat rice noodles
• 1–2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
• Pinch of white pepper or a generous grind of black pepper
• 50g fresh bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
• 2 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
• 2 chillies, thinly sliced
• Handful each of fresh coriander, basil and mint leaves, roughly chopped
• Lime wedges, to garnish

Bring the stock to the boil together with the flavourings (ginger, star anise, coriander seeds and cinnamon), reduce to a simmer and infuse for 15 minutes.

Cut the beef into very thin slices and set aside. Cook the noodles according to instructions on the packet and set aside. Warm some serving bowls.

Strain the stock, discard the flavourings and return the liquid to the heat. Once simmering, season with fish sauce and pepper.

Divide the noodles between the serving bowls and top each with a handful of beansprouts. Lay out the remaining ingredients in little bowls on the table.

Add the sliced beef to the hot broth, stir briefly, and spoon the broth and beef over each bowl of noodles where the meat will continue to cook.

Serve and help yourselves to the spring onions, herbs and sliced chillies – but don’t forget a squeeze of lime to bring it all together.

And there you have it, hot and spicy, delicious and a bit of fun. Happy Valentine’s!

What? Together with the team from Science Gallery’s EDIBLE  exhibition, For Food’s Sake present a taster of things to come. Expect a smorgasbord of DIY food ideas, cutting-edge kit demos and artisan food tastings, with new food talks on the half hour every half hour so that people can drop in, come and go or stay for the whole event.

When? Thursday 23 February 2012, 6pm–8.30pm

Where? Upstairs @ Science Gallery, The Naughton Institute, Pearse Street, Trinity College, Dublin 2

How much? €5 (tickets available from www.sciencegallery.com or on the door)

Sample menu for the night

6pm: Doors open

Get there early for tastings from artisan producers and the first of the demonstrations of cutting-edge kit and techniques, hosted by Oisin Davis of The Sugar Club and rockcookbook.com. These demos will intersperse the evening and highlights will include Oisin on home-styled molecular mixology techniques (including spherification and home smoking), chef Shaun Hanna of The Oarsman restaurant on dehydration, and Ed Hick on how to skin a rabbit.

6.30pm DIY food talks begin, hosted by Aoife Carrigy of holymackerel.ie

Topics of the short food talks will range from a FIY Taster (Find it Yourself) from part-time forager (and full-time butcher) Ed Hick, to a MIY Taster (Make it Yourself) from bio-hacker Cathal Garvey. Have a read of what the New York Times had to say about Cathal or check out his recent presentation at Ignite.

Keep an eye out here and at facebook.com/ForFoodsSakeIreland where event details will be regularly updated.

And come early to explore the exhibition. Science Gallery’s first foray into food, EDIBLE tackles this vast topic from the perspective of the eater. With the imagination of Willy Wonka and the bite of Jamie’s Dinners, it probes how our actions as eaters shape what is sown, grown, harvested and consumed. EDIBLE runs from 10th February – 5th April 2012. See www.sciencegallery.com/edible for more details.