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

Free Farmhouse Cheese events for October Month of Cheese 2014

This October, for the second year in succession, Bord Bia and the Discover Farmhouse Cheese campaign, will host up to 200 free farmhouse cheese events across the country for October Month of Cheese. It's a great chance to learn about Irish Cheese, try new types, experience new flavours and textures, pair with craft beers, whiskey or wine and pick of lots of top tips from seasonality to storage.

Throughout the month, retailers across Ireland, big and small, as well as farmers markets and farm shops, restaurants and gastro pubs will host events and tastings, inviting consumers to try a huge variety of styles from the 50 farmhouse cheesemakers in Ireland. Over the month of October, the Discover Farmhouse Cheese campaign aims to boost the trial of farmhouse cheese and get more Irish consumers to taste and discover the huge variety of cheese available on the Irish market.

Speaking about October Month of Farmhouse Cheese, Eimear O'Donnell, Consumer Dairy Sector Manager, Bord Bia said: “Last year was the first year of October Month of Farmhouse Cheese and it was a great success, with events taking place throughout the country. This October, we will have almost 200 events for consumers to choose from and we are really excited about making this year even bigger and better."

"From our recent survey into our cheese-eating habits, we found we are still quite conservative with our choice of cheese. All the activity and sampling around October Month of Cheese gives consumers a great opportunity to find a new variety that they love. Farmhouse cheeses are truly one of the most bespoke, hand-made foods in the entire world!”

Discover Farmhouse Cheese also organise a number of free farm visits – allowing the public to go meet the maker, see the farm where it is produced and learn the story behind the cheese.  Visit one of the farms and experience cheese-making first-hand, from the individual milk and dairy herds, the small batches and commitment to taste and quality, the maturing and dedication to making some of the finest artisan products.

Discover Farmhouse Cheese is an EU co-financed information and promotional campaign.  It is part of a three country, three year campaign in which Ireland, the Netherlands, and Germany are working to increase the consumption of farmhouse cheese with consumers in those markets.

Farm visits are free to attend but you must book your place online.

For more information on events and sampling during October Month of Farmhouse Cheese, farm visits and farmhouse cheese, visit www.discoverfarmhousecheese.ie, check out Facebook for details www.facebook.com/discoverfarmhousecheese or follow them on Twitter on @Cheese_IE.

Zack

take along - gathering for sunday suppers

we were more than happy, when lovely karen from sunday suppers wrote us a mail a few months ago and asked us, if we want to make a small gathering from her new cookbook. we know sunday suppers through instagram and always were big fans of their minimal dinner table decoration and their gorgeous looking gatherings. so of course we said yes!

first of all: karen´s cookbook is amazing!! we have a huge passion for books and i would say i am quite critical, but this cookbook got me the first second, that i was just holding it in my hands. the cover print is very beautiful and when you start to flip pages i´m sure, no one will be disappointed. actually, the first thing i'm always looking at are the pictures and they are so beautiful!! but also the recipes are great! we can´t wait to go for the next one after our small gathering 'take along'.

we choose the 'take along' gathering, because i could imagine it so well to sit somewhere in the forest or at a lake and have a late summer picnic. so we invited our friends Ezgi (she makes amazing portraits you should have a look), Marta (we already told you about her in our last post) and Tomasz and had a great breakfast with a fantastic view over the lake. even the sun was shining for us, it couldn't have been better.

there were 3 recipes, that we had to prepare for the gathering.

the first one was a cinnamon-coffee, then a granola, that we made with walnuts from our garden and the third one was a delicious breakfast bread. it all tasted heavenly and we could easily replace some ingredients to make it glutenfree for laura.

it was such a nice sunday morning and i'm sure we gonna repeat that soon. hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend as much as we did :)

german translation

wir haben uns sehr gefreut, als wir von der wunderbaren karen von sunday suppers vor ein paar monaten eine email im postfach hatten. karen hat uns gefragt, ob wir lust haben ein kleines gathering aus ihrem neuen kochbuch nachzukochen und da waren wir ohne zu zögern sofort begeistert!

wir sind auf sunday suppers durch instagram aufmerksam geworden und haben uns damals schon gleich in ihre minimalistischen dekorationen und überhaupt in die bilder ihrer wunderbaren gatherings verliebt. keine frage also, dass wir sehr gespannt auf ihr kochbuch waren. nora und ich sind ja beide große bücherliebhaber und gerade deshalb auch durchaus kritisch. das sunday suppers kochbuch konnte uns jedoch schon in der ersten sekunde, als wir es nur in der hand hielten, überzeugen, denn allein schon das cover ließ unsere herzen etwas höher schlagen. als ersten schauen wir bei kochbüchern meist auf die fotos und auch hier wird man alles andere als enttäuscht. wunderbar minimalistische und dennoch appetitanregende bilder! auch die rezepte sind sehr ansprechend und wir können es kaum erwarten das nächste gathering auszuprobieren. 

dieses mal haben wir uns für 'take along' entschieden, weil ich es mir schon allein so schön ausgemalt habe irgendwo im wald oder am see an einem schönen spätsommer morgen zu picknicken.

  

 

 

wir haben also unsere freunde ezgi (schaut euch unbedingt ihre wunderbaren portraits an) marta (wir haben euch bereits schon im letzten post von ihr erzählt) und tomasz eingeladen und gemeinsam ein sehr schmackhaftes frühstück mit einem herrlichen blick über den see genossen. und sogar die sonne hat für uns geschienen. besser hätte es nicht sein können.

das gathering bestand aus drei rezepten. einem zimt-kaffee, einem granola, das wir mit walnüssen aus dem garten zubereitet haben und einem sehr leckeren 'breakfast-bread'. alle zutaten konnte man vor allem auch gut ersetzten, sodass auch laura eine glutenfreie variante hatte. 

so in den sonntag-morgen zu starten war jedenfalls eine sehr gute idee und das werden wir sicherlich bald wiederholen.

wir hoffen ihr habt euer wochenende auch in vollen zügen genossen und wünschen euch noch einen schönen sonntag :)

Blast and Wilde Savoury Butters win Supreme Champions at Blas na hEireann 2014

For only the last eight months, Blast & Wilde, based in Monknewtown, Slane, Co Meath, have been working on and building up a range of innovative and gourmet diary products that they believe will delight and tantalize the tastebuds.

They proved to be as true as their word, when they won the Supreme Champion at the finals of this year's Blas na hEireann Irish Food Awards, held today in Dingle!

Operated, from premises at their home near Slane, by Graham & Bernie Canning and their family, Blast & Wilde had earlier in the day scooped the 'Best in Farmers Market Award' for Meath, before going on to collect Gold (Wild Irish Herb & Roast Garlic Pesto Butter), Silver (Black Olive & Sundried Tomato Tapenade) and Bronze (Zesty Lime, Chilli & Coriander) Blas Awards for their butter products,.

Graham and Bernie Canning from Blast & Wilde, Supreme Champions at Blas na hEireann 2014

Their food is all about authentic flavour, made from quality, fresh, locally-sourced seasonal ingredients and created for the food connoisseur and kitchen rookie alike. Graham firmly believes that anyone can become a chef and by using their products they can bring the restaurant into the heart of every family home.

"We are absolutely delighted with the awards today, we knew our products were great but we didn't expect to be Supreme Champions", said Graham. "Our blended-by-hand products are easy to use and extremely versatile as a spread, in soups or casseroles or toppings. Using seasonal ingredients, we can produce a wide variety of flavours for specific occasions".

"As well as giving you a unique variety of choice there are no artificial colours, flavourings or preservatives so you know you are buying a 100% natural Irish product", added Bernie.

Currently on the market they have Wild Garlic and Pesto Butter, Lime, Coriander and Chilli Butter and Black Olive Tapenade Butter but several more varieties are in the pipeline.

For more see www.BlastAndWilde.com and find them on Facebook.
You can email Graham & Bernie at blastandwilde (at) gmail (dot) com

Zack

beetroot cake with pomgranate seeds and almonds

autumn is finally here and we love it!! you can see the coloured leaves on the trees, the air smells fresh and when you are lucky you even get some sun on top of that. also the fruits and vegetables, that are seasonal right now are all our favorites. for example beetroot. seriously, i could eat beetroot with mostly everything at the moment. in the morning on a bread with goat cheese and figs together, for lunch a salad with beetroot and in the evening a delicious soup, for exeample this one we already posted last winter.

but still, having beetroot in a cake was new for us. on the one hand both of us were really sceptical, on the other side we could imagine the taste really well. so we started to look for recipes and got inspired by one from nigel slater. 

and seriously: it was the best vegetable-cake i tried so far! so you should really give it a go and try it. we hope you enjoy!

ingredients

150g fresh beetroot (roughly grated)

250g sugar

180ml sunflower oil

3 eggs

200g buckwheat flour (or rice flour)

1 1/2 tsp tartan baking powder

1 dash of salt

50g pomegranate seeds (+ 10g for decoration)

50g slivered almonds (+ 10g for decoration)

250g icing sugar

a bit beetroot juice for the icing (e.g. cook a bit beetroot and then allow the liquid to reduce for a while)

preheat the oven to 180degrees (top-/bottom-heat). mix the sunflower oil and sugar thorougly. separate the eggs and stir the eggyolks one after the other in the sugar-oil-mix. mix the flour, tartan baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. sieve the mix in 3 parts to the sugar-oil-egg-mix while stirring. 

add first the grated beetroot, then the pomegranate seeds and slivered almonds. mix until everything is well combined. now beat the egg whites until almost stiff and gently fold them in the dough. 

line a loaf pan with baking parchment, fill in the dough and bake the cake for about 1hour (55-65min) at 180degrees (cover the cake with foil after 30min). let the cake rest for 20min until you take it off the loaf pan. let it cool down completely on a cooling rack. 

german translation

endlich ist unsere liebste jahreszeit - der herbst - da!  

die blätter färbern sich langsam in all ihrer pracht, alles riecht viel frischer und wenn man glück hat, scheint in letzter zeit auch noch öfter die sonne. was will man mehr?! außerdem sind all unsere lieblings früchte- und gemüsesorte saisonal, so z.B. auch die rote beete. wir könnten rote beete einfach gerade mit fast allem essen. morgens mit ziegenkäse und feigen auf brot, am mittag einen rote beete salat und abends dann eine leckere suppe, wie z.B. diese hier, die wir bereits im letzten winter gepostet haben. aber rote beete im kuchen, das hatten wir bisher noch nicht probiert. auf der einen seite waren wir beide etwas skeptisch, auf der anderen seite konnten wir uns die kombination total gut vorstellen. auf der suche nach rezepten haben wir uns dann von einem rezept von nigel slater inspirieren lassen.

und ganz im ernst: der rote beete kuchen ist köstlich!! 

all unsere skepsis verflog sofort beim ersten biss. ihr solltet es wirklich ausprobieren. 

zutaten 
150g frische rote beete (grob geraspelt)
250 zucker
180ml sonnenblumenöl
3 eier
200g buchweizenmehl (oder reismehl)
1 1/2 tl weinsteinbackpulver
1 prise salz 
50g granatapfelsamen (+ 10g für deko)
50g mandelstifte (+ 10g für deko)
250g puderzucker
etwas rote beete saft für die glasur (z.b. einfach etwas rote beete kochen und den sud dann einreduzieren lassen)

ofen auf 180grad (ober-unterhitze) vorheizen.
sonnenblumenöl und zucker gut miteinander vermischen. die eier trennen und die eigelbe nach und nach in die zucker-öl-mischung unterrühren. das mehl in einer separaten schüssel mit den weinsteinbackpulver und der prise salz vermischen und anschliessend in 3 teilen zu der zucker-öl-ei-mischung sieben und alles gut verrühren. nun die geraspelte rote beete und danach die granatapfelsamen und mandelstifte untergeben bis alles gut vermengt ist. die eiweiße halbsteif schlagen und unter die teigmischung heben. eine kastenform mit backpapier auslegen, den teig einfüllen und den kuchen bei 180grad (ober-unterhitze) für 1h (55-65min) backen (nach 30min mit alufolie bedecken).

Neven Maguire named Irish Food Producers' Champion

Ireland's favourite chef, Neven Maguire, was last night crowned 'Irish Food Producers' Champion' at a ceremony in Dingle as part of the Blas na hEireann Irish Food Awards.

The award was presented to Neven, by Artie Clifford, chairman and founder member of the Blas na Eireann committee, during the final judging session of the prestigious  Irish food awards.

Neven Maguire receives the Producers' Champion Award

"The ingredient that underpins your inspiration is your own passion", said Mr Clifford at the presentation. "Your passion for Irish food and produce, your passion for cooking wholesome and healthy food, your passion for teaching others and your passion for your family. On behalf of so many people we'd like to thank you for being a fantastic inspiration to others."


"Thank you for this award," said Neven to the packed house. "I am humbled. It's a pleasure to receive it and it will be on display in my restaurant tonight".

Neven also paid tribute to his late mother from whom he learned his craft saying, "I got my love of Irish food from my mother and I'll never forget where it all started. To receive this award is
wonderful because we have great people involved in food now and the next five or ten years are going to be very exciting.

From a young age, Neven learned his trade by watching his mother cook and his pastime became his passion when he began experimenting with ingredients in the home kitchen at the tender age of 10. In 1992, Neven enrolled in Fermanagh College, Enniskillen, to study catering and received the Student of the Year Award.

"Thank you for this award," said Neven to the packed house. "I am humbled. It's a pleasure to receive it and it will be on display in my restaurant tonight".

Neven also payed tribute to his late mother from whom he learned his craft saying, "I got my love of Irish food from my mother and I'll never forget where it all started. To receive this award is wonderful because we have great people involved in food now and the next five or ten years are going to be very exciting

From a young age, Neven learned his trade by watching his mother cook and his pastime became his passion when he began experimenting with ingredients in the home kitchen at the tender age of 10. In 1992, Neven enrolled in Fermanagh College, Enniskillen, to study catering and received the Student of the Year Award.

"I love my job and I love to promote the great people that are involved in food in Ireland" said a delighted Neven. "This is a great time for me, as a chef, to be cooking and to be supporting these wonderful people. We have gone through a very difficult time here in Ireland, with the recession. We're not fully out of it but we're getting there!"

Neven trained in some of the highest profile restaurants in the world including Michelin Star winning Hotels Roscof in Belfast and the Grand Hotel in Berlin, the Lea Linster in Luxembourg (where he cooked for Lady Diana and Tony Blair) and Arzak, San Sebastian.

In 2001, Neven took over the family business and turned a local restaurant into a national phenomenon. Located in the village of Blacklion, Co. Cavan, MacNean House & Restaurant has become one of the most talked about and frequented restaurants in the country.

Known for his genuine approach to cooking and people, Neven is one of Ireland's best celebrated chefs and is also one of the country's best known Irish food ambassadors on the international scene.

This is the 7th year of the Blas na hEireann (Irish Food Awards) and 2014 saw the biggest number of entries to date.

"We want people abroad to recognise Ireland for the great food that we produce here. We have great chefs and hard working food promoters, but it all starts with our amazing food producers," said Neven. "And that's what awards like the Blas na hEireann Irish Food Awards are all about".

Congrats Neven, what a great night in Dingle!

Zack