glutenfree caramel fig cake with carnberry jam

time is running this year. i feel like i say this every year but nevertheless, this year went by extra fast. 

we even forgot the birthday of our blog!! 

our very first blog entry was on the 22 of june. but as laura was still studying photography and was preparing her final exhibition we didn´t really had time. so actually, we mark the beginning of our  blog in november 2013, when laura finished her studies and we really had the time to concentrate and work together. 

so HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY dear blog!! 

we made an extra special birthday cake for you (and for ourselves and for our dear friend ezgi, who we spend the weekend with, when i was baking the cake). 

of course the cake is glutenfree and this time also low on histamine. it´s filled with caramel and cranberry-marmelade and it is topped with fresh figs. 

i promise you, this is our new favorite cake, seriously!! the dough is very fluffy, because we made a sponge mixture and even if it contains cream and caramel you don´t feel heavy after eating one (or two) piece(s) of cake. with ezgi we went to the countryside together and as it was the perfect autumn weather we decided to eat the cake outside just a few minutes away from our house. i think we went out a little bit too late that day, because when we finally started photographing the cake, it was quite dark at once (we forgot about the time change) but still it was totally worth it! 

enjoying these last sunny and even a little bit warm days of autumn and being still able to sit outside feels always special. a delicious cake on top of it makes it even better. 

we hope you have a lovely weekend guys! 

ingredients (for a 18cm-ø springform pan)

dough

4 eggs

100g sugar

80g rice flour

50g starch

1 tl tartan baking powder

1 dash of salt

dulce-leche-creme

1 can sweetened condensed milk (gives 400g dulce leche - you will need 200g for the cake)

200g heavy cream

cranberry-jam (alternatively you can buy it or use another jam, which is a bit sourly)

125g cranberries

75g sugar

125ml water

1 small piece ginger (who wants)

additionally

300ml heavy cream

dulce leche creme:

(cook the condensed milk can for 3 hours in a big pot filled with water, so the can is completeley covered, let the can afterwards cool down for least 1hour, before opening up).

cranberry jam:

wash cranberries, put them in a pot together with the water, sugar and the ginger and bring to boil. then let simmer for 10min. take off the ginger and fill into a jam glass.

dough:

preheat oven to 175degrees fan function (or 180degrees top/bottom heat). separate eggs.

first stir 35g of the sugar into the eggyolks, then whisk the eggwhites with the remaining sugar until stiff. gently fold the beaten egg whites in the eggyolks. mix the flour, baking powder, salt and starch in a separate bowl and sieve to the egg-mix. stir all ingredients carefully by using a wooden spoon. 

line the springform pan completely with parchment paper - a bit higher then the springform pan sides, because the dough could grow a bit higher. fill the dough into the springform pan and bake for 25min at 175 degrees. then switch off the oven, leave the cake base inside for a while, so it can cool down slowly. take it out and leave it rest for 10min before you take off the springform pan and the parchment paper. let it cool down now completely on a cooling rack. 

divide the base, when it cooled down. use a long (bread)knife and make a few marks at the sides, where you want to cut it. then cut slowly along your marks.

built the cake:

stir out the cooled off dulce leche until it gets a creamy consistence (we used the dough hook). 

beat 200ml heavy cream to whipped cream and fold the dulce leche gently in the whipped cream (dulce leche must not be warm!). spread one layer of creme on the cake bottom (not to close to the edge to prevent the creme from running out at the sides). place the second layer of the base on top and put the cake so far (also the remaining creme) in the fridge for 1hour. then spread some cranberry-jam on the second base, beat the 300ml heavy cream and spread a layer of whipped cream on top. place the third cake base on top and put again for 1h in the fridge. subsequently add a another layer of dulce-leche-creme on top and arrange the last base on top. after one more hour in the fridge spread a thick layer of whipped cream on top and garnish with quartered figs.

the cremes are a bit temperature-sensitive, so leave the cake in the fridge before serving. 

german translation

die zeit ist dieses jahr schon wieder so wahnsinnig schnell vergangen. ich habe das gefühl ich sage das jedes jahr, aber in diesem ist die wirklich wie an uns vorbei gerast. 

wir haben sogar den geburtstag von unserem blog vergessen!!

den ersten blogbeitrag haben wir am 22. juni geschrieben aber weil laura zu dem zeitpunkt noch fotografie studiert hat und gerade dabei war ihre abschlussausstellung vorzubereiten sehen wir unseren richtigen blogbeginn erst im november 2013, als wir beide wirklich zeit hatten auch gemeinsam zu arbeiten.

also HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY lieber blog!!

wir haben einen extra special geburtsagskuchen für dich zubereitet (und natürlich auch für uns und auch für ezgi, mit der wir das wochenende verbracht haben als ich den kuchen gebacken habe).

natürlich ist der kuchen glutenfrei und auch histaminarm. er ist mit karamell und selbstgemachter cranberry-marmelade gefüllt hat frische feigen on top.

ganz im ernst: das ist unser neuer lieblingskuchen!!

der teig ist schön fluffig, weil wir ihn aus biskuitboden gebacken haben und auch wenn karamell und sogar schlagsahne im spiel sind fühlt man sich nach einem (oder auch zwei) stück(en) nicht gleich so als würde man platzen.

zusammen mit ezgi sind wir wieder mal aufs land gefahren und weil es das perfekte herbstwetter war haben wir uns entschieden den kuchen darußen zu essen, nur ein paar meter von unserem haus entfernt. leider sind wir ein bisschen zu spät rausgegangen (wir haben die zweitumstellung leicht verdrängt) aber es hat sich trozdem gelohnt!

einen der letzten sonnigen und sogar noch etwas warmen herbsttage zu genießen und dabei sogar im freien zu sitzen ist immer besonders. wenn man dazu noch einen köstlich (bloggeburtstags-) kuchen verspeisen kann umso besser, dämmerung hin oder her.

wir wünschen euch ein wunderbares wochenende ihr lieben!

zutaten (für eine 18cm-ø springform)

boden

4eier

100g zucker

80g reismehl

50g speisestärke

1 tl weinsteinbackpulver

1 prise salz

dulce-leche-creme

1 dose gezuckerte kondensmilch (daraus wird 400g dulce leche - benötigt werden 200g)

200g schlagsahne 

cranberry-marmelade (ersatzweise gekaufte oder eine andere säuerliche marmelade)

125g cranberries

75g zucker

125ml wasser

1 kleines stück ingwer (wer möchte)

zusätzlich

300ml schlagsahne

dulce leche creme:

(die dose exakt 3h lang in einem großen topf komplett mit wasser bedeckt köcheln lassen, min. 1h abkühlen lassen, bevor man die dose öffnet)  

cranberry-marmelade:

cranberries waschen, in einen topf mit dem wasser, zucker und dem ingwer aufkochen und für 10min eindicken lassen. ingwerstück entfernen und in ein heiß ausgespültes einweckglas füllen. 

teig:

ofen auf 175grad umluft (oder 180grad ober/unterhitze) vorheizen. eier trennen. das eigelb mit 35g des zuckers verrühren und leicht aufschlagen. dann das eiweiß mit dem restlichen zucker zu eischnee aufschlagen. den eischnee vorsichtig unter das eigelb geben. in einer separaten schüssel das mehl mit der speisestärke, dem backpulver und einer prise salz vermischen, dann zu dem eigemisch sieben und vorsichtig mit einem holzlöffel unterheben. eine springform komplett mit backpapier auskleiden - am besten einen etwas höheren backpapierrand lassen, da der teig etwas höher als die springform-höhe wird. den teig in die springform füllen und bei 175grad umluft 25min backen, dann den backofen ausschalten, aber den boden noch etwas im ofen lassen, sodass er langsam abkühlt, dann erst herausnehmen, 10min abkühlen lassen, die springform und das backpapier entfernen und auf einem kuchengitter abkühlen lassen. den boden erst zerteilen, wenn er eine weile abgekühlt ist. ein langes (brot)messer benutzen und vorher markierungen mit dem messer machen, wo der boden geteilt werden soll. dann entlang dieser markierungen langsam schneiden.

torte zusammensetzen:

abgekühlte dulce leche mit knethaken zu einer cremigen masse verrühren. 200ml schlagsahne aufschlagen und vorsichtig die dulce leche unterheben (dulce leche darf nicht warm sein!). eine schicht creme auf dem boden verteilen und den zweiten teil des bodens darauflegen (nicht ganz bis zum rand um ein herauslaufen der creme am rand zu verhindern) und für 1h im kühlschrank kühlen (restliche creme ebenfalls in den kühlschrank stellen). dann cranberry-marmelade auf dem zweiten boden verteilen, schlagsahne aufschlagen und darüber verstreichen. mit dem dritten boden bedecken und wieder für 1h in den kühlschrank. anschliessend nochmals dulce-leche-creme auftragen und die bodendecke darüber legen. nach einer weiteren stunde im kühlschrank nun eine dicke schicht schlagsahne oben verteilen und geviertelte feigen arrangieren. 

da die creme und schlagsahne etwas temperaturempfindlich ist, sollte die torte bis kurz vor dem verzehr im kühlschrank stehen.

Opportunity to Purchase the last batch of Ireland's Glebe Brethan Artisan Cheese

If you’re looking for something special for your cheeseboard this Christmas, this is the year to give pride of place to one very special Irish cheese: the Comte-style Glebe Brethan Irish Artisan Cheese, made from the unpasteurised milk of a herd of Montbeliarde cows in Co Louth. 

The cheese was a Winner of the Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Award in 2012 (http://www.irishfoodwritersguild.ie/2012-awards.html) and for good reason: it’s creamy yet complex, with a nutty character coming to the fore as the cheese matures.

Other Awards for Glebe Brethan Cheese include:
• 2010 Gold Medal at Irish Cheese Awards
• 2006 Gold Medal at World Cheese Awards
• 2006 Gold Medal and Award for Best New Cheese at British Cheese Awards
• 2006 Euto-Toques Cavan Crystal Food Award
• 2006 Bridgestone Guides Megabytes Award
• 2005 Double Gold medal winner at International Food and Wine Exhibition

Sadly, its maker David Tiernan passed away in February 2013 and the cheese is no longer being produced. However the last of this precious cheese is still being sold in the lead up to Christmas, through Sheridans Cheesemongers, from La Rousse Foods (trade only) and directly from the Tiernan family farm.

The late David Tiernan, creator of Glebe Brethan Cheese

Glebe Brethan is a versatile cheese that is as happy on a mixed cheeseboard as it is in a sourdough sandwich (perhaps with some slices of smoked venison from Coopershill House, another IFWG Food Award winner), grated into a potato rosti or cubed onto salads. 

At the 2012 IFWG awards ceremony, Derry Clarke of l’Ecrivain choose to press it into a potato terrine and serve it with a cream of onion soup (see www.irishfoodwritersguild.ie/2012.html for menu). A nice idea for a Christmas starter perhaps? 

Irish farmhouse cheese is a sector that simply did not exist 40 years ago, and yet – thanks to the pioneering spirit of many single-minded cheese-makers – it has grown to become one of the leading lights of today’s Irish food story. David Tiernan will be remembered as having played a significant role in recent chapters of that story. And in a country that now boasts more types of farmhouse cheese per capita than our French neighbours, there is no other Irish cheese quite like Glebe Brethan. Savour some of this great cheese, while you still can!

More information on David Tiernan’s contribution to Irish food can be found at www.irishfoodwritersguild.ie/april-2013.html, and on Glebe Brethan cheese at www.glebebrethan.com.

To order Glebe Brethan directly, contact Mairead Tiernan at tiernans (at) glebebrethan (dot) com on www.glebebrethan.com/contact.htm or Telephone on 087 693 6107. 

Zack

DINNER-STORIES: with ilenia martini

whooo! we are so excited to start our new series "dinner stories" on the blog now. as we love to share our food with other people, family and friends we want to start the series dinner stories. the tought behind this series is to show people (who are not used to eat glutenfree) how easy and delicious it is, to prepare glutenfree meals and that you don't have to eat alone, if you have to follow a certain diet. and of course, it's also nice to have a glimpse in other kitchens, right?! :) this new series is so much fun! you meet lovely people, see new places and even get a delicious dinner on top of that. what could be better?!

this time we visited our friend ilenia, her boyfriend chris and not forget about their cute little dog andy.

they live really close to our apartment so actually you could even say we are neighbours. 

ilenia and chris just moved to berlin 5 month ago and we are so happy to have them here. they are both originally from italy, but have lived in new york the last seven years.

chris is working as a video editor and ilenia who studied direction of photography, is a photographer. we already worked together for this project and for sure there will be more common projects in the future. take a look at her instagram-feed and facebookpage - she is so talented.

like laura, ilenia can´t tolerate gluten as well, so she cooked a delicious pumpkin risotto for us. on some plates we put mushrooms on top, so add them if you like it. 

we hope you enjoy our new series and have a lovely sunday guys!

pumpkin risotto 
ingredients: (serves 4)

400g rice
2 yellow onions
350g pumpkin
1.5 l vegetable stock (I used home made one)
50 gr butter
olive oil
* add parmigiano reggiano if you like and if you are not histamine intolerante

preheat a pan or pot with some olive oil, cut the onions in very small cubes, and as soon as the oil is hot enough, add the onions and stir until golden. In the meantime warm up your vegetable stock and keep it simmering on low heat. add some vegetable stock to the onions (you can repeat this step until the pumpkin is ready) clean up the pumpkin, if there are seeds, remove them and cut it in very small cubes, approximately 1 cm. add the pumpkin to the pan and, stir and leave it for 5 minutes on lower temperature. add some vegetable stock and as soon as the pumpkin is well moist add the rice. (at this point there shouldn’t be a lot of liquid in the pot) keep stirring everything for about 10 minutes. this step is important because it gives the rice more flavor. Start gradually adding the vegetable stock and stirring. from the moment in which you add the stock, it will take approximately 40 minutes for the rice to be perfectly cooked. keep stirring, and adding the stock throughout the process, it’s very easy to burn a risotto! whenever the rice is ready, turn off the heat, remove the pan from the heat and add the butter. in this step you could also add parmesan cheese if you’d like. stir and serve when it’s still hot.

along with the risotto we had some mushroom, a bit parsley and a dash of truffle oil.

german translation

whooo! unsere zweite dinner-story ist heute online. wir haben so viel vergnügen an dieser neuen serie! man verbringt eine gute zeit mit herrlichen menschen, sieht neue wohnungen und bekommt auch noch ein köstliches dinner serviert. was könnte es besseres geben?!

dieses mal haben wir unsere freundin ilenia, ihren freund chris und nicht zu vergessen ihren süßen hund andy besucht.

wir wohnen so nah beieinander, dass man eigentlich fast sagen könnte wir sind nachbarn.

ilenia und chris sind erst vor 5 monaten nach berlin gezogen und wir freuen uns sehr sie hier zu haben!

ursprünglich stammen die beiden aus italien und haben die letzten sieben jahre in new york gelebt.

chris arbeitet als video editor und ilenia, die direction of photography studiert hat, ist fotografin. wir haben schon gemeinsam an diesem projekt gearbeitet und in zukunft wird es sicherlich noch mehrere gemeinsame projekte geben.

schaut euch unbedingt ilenia's instagram-feed und ihre facebook-page an - sie ist so talentiert!

genau wie laura, verträgt auch ilenia kein gluten und hat ein leckeres kürbisrisotto für uns gekocht.alle die konnten haben noch ein paar pilze dazugegessen, wenn ihr mögt macht also noch ein paar dazu.

wir hoffen euch gefällt unsere neue serie. habt noch einen schönen sonntag ihr lieben!

kürbis risotto 

zutaten:(für 4 portionen)

400g risotto reis

2 zwiebeln

350 g kürbis

1.5 liter gemüsebrühe (ilenia hat hausgemachte verwendet)
50g butter

oliven öl

* wer nicht histaminintolerant ist, kann gerne parmesankäse hinzufügen

etwas olivenöl in einem topf oder einer tiefen pfanne erwärmen, die zwiebeln in kleine würfel hacken, und wenn das öl heiß genug ist, die zwiebelwürfel dazugeben und rühren bis sie goldbraun werden. währenddessen die gemüsebrühe erwärmen und auf kleiner flamme köcheln lassen. etwas gemüsebrühe zu den zwiebeln geben (diesen schritt wiederholen bis der kürbis durch ist), den 

kürbis putzen (kerne mit einem löffel entfernen) und in etwa 1cm kleine würfel schneiden. den kürbis in den topf geben, umrühen und für 5min auf kleiner flamme lassen. etwas gemüsebrühe hinzufügen und sobald der kürbis schön saftig ist, den reis hinzufügen (zu diesem zeitpunkt sollte nicht viel flüssigkeit im topf sein). für etwa 10min regelmäßig rühren. dieser schritt ist wichtig damit der reis mehr geschmack bekommt. nun hin und wieder etwas brühe hinzugeben und rühren. zu dem zeitpunkt, wenn du nun

anfängst die brühe hinzuzufügen, wird es ca. 40min dauern bis der reis fertig ist. immer wieder rühren und brühe während dieses prozesses dazufügen – es ist nämlich sehr leicht ein risotto anbrennen zu lassen. wenn der reis fertig ist, den topf vom herd nehmen und die butter hinzufügen. das wäre auch ein guter zeitpunkt um parmesan hinzuzufügen. umrühren und heiß servieren.

als beilage gab es ein paar pilze, etwas petersilie und einen schuss trüffelöl.

Dublin Beekeepers’ Association to host Dublin Honey Show on 8th November

The Dublin Honey Show, the highlight of the beekeeper's calendar, will be held on Saturday 8th November 2014 at Christ Church, Rathgar. As well as competitions for beekeepers there will be best quality natural Co Dublin honey for sale, free lectures, a craft fair and refreshments.

The County Dublin Beekeepers’ Association is one of the largest and oldest beekeepers’ associations in Ireland. It runs a popular beekeeping beginners’ course every year and hosts a number of activities for members.

The Dublin Honey Show is the highlight in the Dublin beekeeper’s calendar. Beekeepers compete for awards for different honeys, wax, mead, cakes, candles and other hive products.

• At 12:00 noon, senior Dublin beekeeper Keith Pierce will give a talk on ‘Beginning with bees’. This will prove an excellent introduction to the craft for aspiring beekeepers.
• At 2pm, ecologist and former TD Mary White will speak on the topic ‘Bees Work for Man but Does Man Work for Bees?’

The day will also include an Artisan Craft Fair in the hall where you can come any buy your Christmas gifts.

The Dublin Honey Show runs from from 10:30am to 4pm on Saturday 8th November and the entry charge on the door of only €2 goes to their chosen charity, the Royal Hospital Donnybrook.

For more see: www.dublinbees.org 

glutenfree banana-bread with cranberries and pomgranate seeds

there can be never enough banana-bread recipes, right?! at least thats what we thought when we were creating this new combination. dried pomgranate seeds are our new addiction. we could eat them with mostly everything right now, so of course they are part of this recipe too. 

nora made this banana-bread last weekend when we were at the countryside with our friends ezgi and thomas. it was a lovely weekend with lots of food and we also went to the woods collecting mushrooms. such a nice experience. but more on that later. so the banana bread was actually already half eaten when we photographed it, just in case if you wonder why it is so small on the pictures :D 

if you follow us on instagram you might have already seen our new plates from broste cph. it´s the first time that we show them on the blog today and we are so in love! as you all know we can´t get enough of scandinavian design so we gonna show you more products from broste cph soon, thats for sure. but first of all here you go for the recipe!

ingredients

4 ripe bananas

75g soft butter

1 egg

170g buckwheat flour

170g cane sugar

1,5tl tartan baking powder

1 dash of salt

1 vanilla bean

40g dried cranberries

40g dried pomegranate seeds

200-250g icing sugar

a few banana chips for decoration

preheat oven to 180degrees (top-/bottom heat). 

beat butter and sugar, then add the egg and stir under. mix buckwheat flour, salt and baking powder and sift in 3parts to the mixture and stir everything together. purée the bananas and add them to the dough plus the vanilla pulp, stir again. fold cranberries and pomegranate seeds in the dough. line a loaf pan with baking parchment and fill in the dough. bake the banana bread for 60-70min at 180degrees. let it cool down before you separate it from the loaf pan and let it completely cool down on a cooling rack. add a bit milk to the icing sugar and stir with a teaspoon until icing sugar and milk is well combined - we took few milk to get a stiff icing consistence, which cannot run down the edges. 

spread the icing with a knife, break some banana chips to smaller pieces and place them n the top.

german transation

man kann nie genug banana-bread rezepte haben, oder?! das dachten wir uns jedenfalls als wir dieses rezept kreiert haben. 

getrocknete granatapfelsamen sind momentan unsere größte sucht und in kombination mit banane machen sie sich wirklich gut.

nora hat das banana-bread letztes wochenende gebacken als wir mit unseren freunden ezgi und thomas auf dem land waren.

ein wunderbares wochenende mit viel gutem essen und einer pilz-such-aktion in den wäldern. aber dazu ein anderes mal mehr.

das banana-bread war jedenfalls schon halb aufgegessen als wir es fotografiert haben, nur falls sich jemand wundert das es so klein ist :D

wer uns auf instagram folgt hat vielleicht schon unser neues geschirr von broste cph entdeckt. es ist das erste mal, dass wir es heute auf dem blog zeigen und wir erfreuen uns so sehr an den schönen tellern. die meisten von euch wissen ja sicher, dass wir nicht genug von skandinavischem design bekommen können und wir werden euch in den nächsten wochen sicher noch das ein oder andere teil von broste cph zeigen. jetzt aber erstmal nichts wie los zum rezept!

 

zutaten

4 reife bananen

75g weiche butter

1 ei

170g reismehl

170g rohrzucker

1,5tl backpulver

1 prise salz

1 vanilleschote

40g getrocknete cranberries

40g getrocknete granatapfelsamen

200-250g puderzucker

ein paar bananen-chips für die dekoration

ofen auf 180grad (ober-/unterhitze) vorheizen. butter und zucker aufschlagen, das ei anschliessend unterrühren. buchweizenmehl, salz und backpulver vermischen und in 3 teilen dazusieben und unterrühren. dann die bananen pürieren und zusammen mit dem mark der vanilleschote zum teig dazugeben und alles gut verrühren. cranberries und granatapfelsamen unter den teig heben. 

eine kastenform mit backpapier auskleiden und mit dem teig befüllen. bei 180grad 60-70min backen. 10min abkühlen lassen, aus der form lösen und auf einem kuchengitter vollständig abkühlen lassen. dem puderzucker etwas milch hinzufügen und mit einem teelöffel gut verrühren - wir haben nur wenig milch hinzugefügt, dadurch hat der zuckerguß eine festere konsistenz und kann nicht an den kuchenseiten herunterlaufen. zuckerguss mit einem messer auf dem kuchen verteilen. zum schluss noch einige bananenchips zerbrechen und auf dem zuckerguss dekorieren.

 

Specially Signed copies of Celebrity Cookbooks go under the hammer for Charity

Mark Bevin, Head Chef at the Maldron Hotel, is hosting a really unique charity event this Friday night, the 17th October, at the Europa Hotel in Belfast - a Charity Celebrity Cookbook Auction!

The Charity Celebrity Cookbook Auction is to raise funds for the Northern Ireland Rare Disease Partnership charity (NIRDP) and Mark has received hundreds of donations of specially signed copies of Cookbooks from Celebrity Chefs, Bloggers and TV Cooks from all over the UK and Ireland!

Mark Bevin, Head Chef at the Maldron, who has organised the Charity Cook Book Sale

"The whole idea started when I asked head chef Noel McMeel at County Fermanagh's Lough Erne Resort, to send me a couple of copies of his new book signed for a special book auction I was planning," said Mark. 

Chef Noel McMeel from Lough Erne Resort

"Noel arrived at the hotel and handed me two signed copies. I was so taken back by the generosity of the man I decided to ask Twitter followers to help gather some more and the flood gates just opened up!"

Neven Maguire's MacNean Restaurant Cookbook

The charity NIRDP are a not-for-profit organisation, bringing together those living with a rare disease and organisations representing them: clinicians and other health professionals; researchers and producers of specialist medicines and equipment; health policy makers and academics.

Marcus Wareing, currently Chef Patron of Marcus in Knightsbridge

The NIRDP work with similar bodies all over the Uk and Ireland including Genetic and Rare Disorders Organisation (GRDO).

Katy McGuinness with Pat Whelan, The Irish Beef Book

Mark has called in the help of his many friends over the last few months to build up a staggering collection of books for the charity auction and his catering collegues rallied around, calling in favours from chefs, bloggers, food critics, butchers, bakers and just about every other realm of the celebrity kitchen and restaurant!

Atul Kochhar's Atul's Curries of the World

Signed cookbooks from chefs Will Torrent, Atul Kochhar, Marcus Waring, Richard Corrigan,  Michael Roux Jr, Noel McMeel, Nigel Slater, Ching He Chuang, Theo Randall, Gok Wan, Tony Singh & Cyrus Todiwala and Mark Hix and many others, are up for auction on the night.

Derry Clarke's Keeping it Simple

Chefs Peter Clifford, Neven Maguire, Ross Lewis, Derry Clarke, Kevin Dundon,  Conrad Gallagher, Catherine Fulvio, Gary O Hanlon, Paul Flynn, Rozanne Stevens, Domini Kemp, Edward Hayden, Clodagh McKenna and more, have all pitched in with signed copies of their cookbooks for the charity auction.

Jean Christophe Novelli's Simply Novelli

Others who signed special editions of their cookbooks include TV Chefs Ed Baines, Franck Pontais, Jay Rayner, Antonio Carluccio, Tom Kerridge and Jean Christophe Novelli.

Paul Callaghan's Calso Cooks

Bloggers, butchers and food writers who have their cookbooks in the auction include Cathriona Redmond, Susan Jane White, Sheila Kiely, Paul Callaghan, Sharon Hearne Smith, Lily Higgins, Rosanne Hewitt Cromwell, Fiona Dillon, Pat Whelan & Katy McGuinness. 

Chef Mark is simply thrilled with the response saying, "People have been very generous and in the last two weeks more specially signed cookbooks keep arriving at the hotel every day! It should be a great night."

Will Torrent author of Patisseire at Home

The Charity Cookbook Auction  takes place this Friday night, the 17th October, at the Europa Hotel in Belfast at 8pm. Get up there and help out while having a great night out!

If you want to help out, in any way, you can contact Chef Mark Bevin on Twitter at @Robuchon1 

Great idea Mark, best of Success!

Zack

The Tasty Tart Cookery School to Host a Craft Beer and Food Pairing Demonstration

On Saturday 8 November at 7pm, Tara Walker, owner of The Tasty Tart Cookery School in Termonfeckin, Co. Louth, will team up with food writer Kristin Jensen to host a craft beer and food pairing demonstration.

Kristin is a freelance editor and writer and has worked with many of Ireland’s top food writers and chefs. She has just released a book with Caroline Hennessy called Sláinte: The Complete Guide to Irish Craft Beer and Cider, published by New Island.

Tara Walker with Kristin Jensen,
 co-author of "Slainte - The Complete Guide to Irish Craft Beer & Cider"

“The interest in craft beer has grown steadily over the last few years and I have noticed students at my cookery school asking about it quite a lot and wanting to know more,” said Tara Walker. “I wanted to introduce a craft beer and food demonstration that informs people on what beers to drink and what foods to accompany them. There is no one better than Kristin on the subject of craft beer and we are really excited about doing this demonstration together.”

Kristin will provide attendees with information on her picks of some of the best Irish craft beers available while Tara will cook several dishes to complement the beers. Attendees will enjoy a meal and a few glasses of beer and will leave with a recipe pack and some beer and food matching tips that they can try out at home.

Tara Walker learned about food from a very early age from her father who worked in the restaurant business. She attended cookery courses at Ballymaloe and Fairyhouse Cookery School. It was there she realised how much she would love to teach cooking. Tara left the family business to study professionally at the world famous Cordon Bleu in Paris to hone her cookery skills. Finally she completed a stage at the Michelin starred Chapter One restaurant in Dublin.

Tara with students at her "Tasty Tart Cookery School"

In 2010 Tara opened "The Tasty Tart" which is located in Termonfeckin in Co.Louth. The Tasty Tart offers a wide range of cookery classes which include "Foods of North Africa and the Middle East", "Healthy, Wholesome and Hasty Cooking" and "A Taste of Asia- Thailand & Vietnam". Classes can be hands on or demo only but either way participants get a chance to sit down, enjoy the dishes prepared and have a chat and a bit of fun! Tara also has a regular TV slot on The Late Lunch on TV3 and writes for various magazines and newspapers.

The cost of the Craft Beer and Food Pairing Demonstration is €45 per person. 

For bookings contact Tara at The Tasty Tart, Sandpit, Termonfeckin, Co Louth.

Mobile: 087 98 93871 - email: tara(at)thetastytart.com and check out her website at www.thetastytart.ie

Zack