Wild garlic and nettles in the Waterford Castle woodlands

The potent, fiery flavour of the wild garlic leaves certainly woke my tastebuds up – and proved the perfect palate opener not just for the meal ahead but for the whole trip. Indeed, wild garlic featured in various forms in various meals throughout the trip – and no wonder, considering it is one of the great gifts of springtime and is ready for the foraging all over the country.

Look out for it in shady woodlands, or seek it out in restaurants and delis all over the country. As just one example, anyone up in beautiful Mayo in coming weeks should pop into Rua Deli and/or Cafe Rua where the menu and deli shelves will be full of the wonderful stuff for their Wild Garlic Weekend (13th & 14th April). Expect wild garlic
sausages from Kelly’s of Newport alongside wild garlic flavoured butter to spread on wild garlic soda bread (which you can get a recipe for here). In the cafe you can order wild garlic and potato soup, fritatta with St Tola’s goat’s cheese and wild garlic, and chicken wrapped in Gubbeen bacon and wild garlic.

The weekend will wrap up with a ‘Charity Brunch’ at Café Rua on Sunday from 11am-4pm with all profits raised being donated to Mayo Cancer Support Association. Check out caférua.com for more information and recipes at or call them at +353 (0)94 928 6072.

You can read more on wild garlic at last spring’s post here or download a template from the Wild & Slow website – and keep an eye out for details of this year’s Wild & Slow festival which is due to run in November once again.

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…

Scenic shoreline walk at The Island

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?