It was still glorious by the time we got to our first port of call of our foodie road trip of the sunny South East. So last night I took a stroll before dinner around the shoreline of ‘The Island’ which Waterford Castle lords it over. The boggy marsh edges of the isle looked stunning in the late Sunday sunshine. So did the water all around us, and the little boats sitting pretty. The gorse was blazing too; and though it’s still a little early for the scent to really lift it put me in mind of last year’s series of posts about gorse and wild garlic.

Back in the woods I spotted a bed of wild garlic and nettles, both of which are powerhouses of nutrients. Nettles are full of iron and a great spring detox. And as for the garlic, well apart from being super pretty and tasting gorgeous (I had a nibble – potent stuff!) they are also great for the system, as anything that’s had to fight for its life out in the wild tends to be.

Appetite duly earned, I headed back to the hotel, past the open log fire in the Castle’s handsome lobby and joined the gang of Euro-toques Young Chefs for a seven course tasting menu cooked by sous chef Dave Larkin who was running the kitchen while the bossman (head chef Michael Quinn) was away for the night. We kicked off with some brilliant Catalan-style ox-tail croquettes which came with a little dropper of intense cep jus to be squeezed over before devouring. Have a look at Dave’s photo here of the croquette which seem to be a bit of a regular – I can see why: rich yet light, these were meltingly moreish with bag loads of flavour.

Next up some nicely seared scallops from Kilmore Quay served with puy lentils and a deeply savoury scallop cream – and what should be garnishing the plate only a broad leaf of wild garlic, presumably all the way from the adjacent woodlands. The foraging theme continued with the next course, a palate cleanser of gorse flower sorbet and chocolate mint, fresh and clean and about as local as you can get, considering the island is covered with the cheerful stuff.

Wild garlic was put to work again in the next course of local lobster from fisherman Martin Simpson, which was served with ‘liquid peas’ (a nod to molecular gastronomy influences, but in a nicely reined in fashion appropriate to the old school surroundings), sauce Americaine and some lightly carmelised pecan and walnut which worked surprisingly well. More wild food for our mains (no that wasn’t our main) in the form of wild venison wellington, a gorgeous piece of loin tucked up in a pastry wrapping and served with red cabbage jelly and sweet parsnip. Brilliant stuff.

Dessert was a pistachio tart with red bell pepper jelly and a melt-away pistachio powder, and finally a hunk of Crozier Blue sheeps’ cheese drizzled with truffled honey and served with slices of red apple and a glass of port. Ahhhhh. Now that’s what I call a dinner – not to mention a brilliant start to a glorious four days in food heaven.

See the next post for pix, or follow the action live on Twitter (@holymackers, #IrishFoodTrip), and tune in later for all of Monday’s action, including a 9am visit to one of Ireland’s smallest (and cleanest) abattoirs, the home of the blaa, and a trip to the top of the morning on Comeragh Mountains…

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?