Finnerty’s champion craft butchers and Corry’s Loughrea

Thu, Dec 08, 2011

Finnerty’s butchers, which is located on the ground floor of the Eyre Square Shopping Centre and in Oughterard, has just scooped a top award at the All Ireland Craft Butcher Product competitions. It won supreme champion in the sausages and puddings section, quite an achievement when you think that there are about 500 butchers in the association and about 300 in the competition. Nevin Maguire was the main judge at the event so we can assume that the winners were all pretty impressive. I had often passed by the shop but never shopped there, so I decided to call in and try some of the award winning products. The main shop is in Oughterard and it has been supplying locally sourced meat for the last 50 years and supplies many of the main Connemara hotels like the Abbeyglen, Renvyle House, and Cashel House.

Your health is your wealth

Thu, Dec 08, 2011

Are you still thinking about what kind of gift you could give to your family members or friends for Christmas? Why not give them a healthy and relaxing gift -- a treatments gift voucher for traditional Chinese medicine?

Traditional Chinese therapies such as acupuncture, acupressure/massage, and herbs, which have been practised for thousands of years in the Orient, have become well known as a medical treatment for pain relief and many other conditions including sinus, headache, frozen shoulder, weight loss, arthritis, IBS, and women’s and men’s health problems. Some of the benefits include immune enhancement, an increase in energy, and an overall feeling of wellbeing. Traditional Chinese medicine and herbal medicine are proven to be among the gentlest therapies and are free of side effects.

Going nuts about your diet

Thu, Nov 24, 2011

Nuts can be a healthy addition to everyone’s diet. Although nuts are fairly high in calories, eating some nuts in your diet is associated with reductions in heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.

Coeliac Society to host gluten-free festive lunch

Thu, Nov 24, 2011

The western branch of the Coeliac Society of Ireland will hold a festive Christmas lunch on Sunday December 12 in The Twelve Hotel, Barna (www.thetwelvehotel.ie).

Lunch and lyrics at Ashford Castle

Thu, Nov 24, 2011

Ashford Castle has introduced a new monthly Sunday lunch musical event.

The Prom Restaurant, some advice about treats to sample at the McCambridge’s Food Fair, and Woodberry’s wine tasting tonight

Thu, Nov 24, 2011

The Prom Restaurant in the Salthill Hotel brought back some happy memories of my very first experiences of really fine foods.

The Prom Restaurant, some advice about treats to sample at the McCambridge’s Food Fair, and Woodberry’s wine tasting tonight

Thu, Nov 24, 2011

The Prom Restaurant in the Salthill Hotel brought back some happy memories of my very first experiences of really fine foods.

The Prom Restaurant, some advice about treats to sample at the McCambridge’s Food Fair, and Woodberry’s wine tasting tonight

Thu, Nov 24, 2011

The Prom Restaurant in the Salthill Hotel brought back some happy memories of my very first experiences of really fine foods.

McCambridge’s food fair tonight

Thu, Nov 24, 2011

As this is going to be McCambridge’s biggest ever fair, I thought it might be worthwhile to suggest some producers for you to seek out. The problem when visiting a large fair can be, where do you start?

There will be many names you know but some you may not, and they are also ones that I reckon are best in class.

Fat Freddy’s, Quay Street, and some wines to seek out

Thu, Nov 17, 2011

Fat Freddy’s restaurant has been a long-time member of the Quay Street restaurants, and I thought it would be a good idea to see if it has kept its menu and service ‘fresh up to date’. The menu is mainly pizza with a few alternates like chimichanga (toasted tortilla), enchiladas, quesadillas, and lasagne, various pastas, plus four or five different salads. My dining guest for the evening was my son, who has a big appetite, and he had already decided to have the sticky creole chicken wings for starter; alas that was not to be, none available, perhaps a good sign as the dish is apparently very good.

New safefood campaign calls on consumers to make a clean break in the kitchen

Thu, Nov 17, 2011

Food safety body safefood has launched an awareness campaign to highlight how germs that cause food poisoning can easily spread in the kitchen.

Get a taste of Christmas at Goya’s

Thu, Nov 17, 2011

Twenty two years ago Emer Murray had a tasting in The Ardilaun to launch her Christmas goodies, it was a great success so she is using the same formula again.

Stock up your snow cupboard now

Thu, Nov 17, 2011

If the rumours are true then we are in for an even worse ‘big freeze’ this winter – a thought that will sends shivers down the spine even if you like the snow. We all remember the ice-rink roads that became impossible to navigate; only the toughest of Army vehicles could make safe progress on them. This made getting to the shops for even the most basic supplies very difficult for some, and food ran short during those cold weeks. So the message this year is to be prepared.

Battle of the chefs on November 16

Thu, Nov 10, 2011

This is an event which promises to be great fun and a great culinary experience while helping four worthy charities. The charities to benefit are Console, Down Syndrome Ireland, Cancer Care West and The Galway Lions Club. The event will take place in The Salthill Hotel on Wednesday November 16. Tickets cost €50 and are available from The Salthill Hotel on 091 548808, and also from the designated charities above.

Mauritian Creole Restaurant, Forster Street

Thu, Nov 03, 2011

I had passed the sign for this restaurant a couple of times and wondered what exactly is a Mauritian Creole restaurant and also wondered about the significance of the bird on the signage that looked a bit like a fat turkey. First of all the Mauritian part of the title indicates that the owners and chef are from Mauritius and the Creole part of the name comes from the fact that the French created a huge plantation business in Mauritius during the 1700s and the language that developed among the slaves was a version of the French that was called creole. The slaves were from Africa, Madagascar and India, so as you can imagine the food has many influences. Finally the picture of the fat bird is a dodo, which became extinct in Mauritius around the end of the 1600s.

The restaurant is located upstairs in Forster Street, roughly across from Park House. They have a Facebook page, if you would like to see some pictures. The food is indeed a mixture of influences, somewhat like a cross between Indian, Chinese and Indonesian. The menu is 98 per cent coeliac friendly and the only oil they use is olive oil. They do not use any dairy products and all spices are selected for their ayurvedic qualities, the most popular being cumin, fenugreek, mustard seeds, saffron, cardamon, salt, sesame and turmeric. Careful use of these in their preparation of any dish should create a good balance for the body.

Goats Lane, Clarinbridge, and Péarla na Mara, Oranmore

Thu, Oct 27, 2011

Goats Lane Café, what a great name for a café and so easy to remember. It is apparently the original name for the road down by the side of Kelly’s post office and shop in Clarinbridge. This new venture has just been opened in the last couple of weeks by Deirdre and Phyllis Flanagan and is an oasis of home cooked treats. Previously I have bought cakes, brownies, and breads from Deirdre and Phyllis at various markets in Kinvara, Oranmore, Clarinbridge, and Ardrahan, and often times, with the rain pouring down around them, I thought, fair play to them. No more setting up their tent and perhaps getting drenched while trying to bring their goodies to their customers.

Authors to visit Galway tomorrow to celebrate Irish cheese

Thu, Oct 27, 2011

Enthusiastic foodies Glynn Anderson and John McLaughlin have written the definitive guide to the farmhouse cheeses of Ireland, a celebration of cheese and cheesemakers. During Bord Bia's Farmhouse Cheese and Craft Beer Weekend, taking place from today (Thursday) to Monday, they will be out and about, taking part in events and signing copies of their very tasty book. Tomorrow (Friday) from 4.30pm they will be in the Oslo Bar and Microbrewery in Upper Salthill.

Farmhouse Cheeses of Ireland – A Celebration (The Collins Press, price €24.99) is the first book to feature every locally produced farmhouse cheese in Ireland. It contains detailed descriptions of each cheese and the cheesemakers along with extra information on cheesemaking and the Irish cheese industry. There are fantastic photographs throughout to accompany the text.

Eat launches at Massimo

Thu, Oct 13, 2011

Eat, the new gastropub experience, will launch this week at Massimo on William Street.

Lunch at the Clarion Hotel, good deals at Mama Bia, Gerry Galvin the author, and Cases Christmas wine fair

Thu, Oct 13, 2011

The Clarion Hotel
During the week I called in to the Clarion Hotel (previously Days Hotel/Galway Ryan) for a spot of lunch. It was a very wet day so one of the things that appealed to me was being able to park at the front door, and of course no parking charges. Ever since the wall and railings were erected I always feel it is slightly ‘out of sight, out of mind’, hence I had never had lunch there before. It is a very convenient place to meet and have a coffee or lunch as there is a lot of space between tables to make it private and comfortable.

Things to celebrate about Irish food

Thu, Sep 29, 2011

It would have been hard to live anywhere in Ireland this past week and not know that the National Ploughing Championships were taking place in Athy, Co Kildare. Several radio stations even moved their entire broadcasting base to Athy for the three days. Going to the ploughing is a bit like going to the oyster festival for many people, ie, the main attraction is no longer the centre of attention. Many people I met there this week had absolutely no intention of looking at any ploughing; most were there for a ‘day out’ with no agenda.

The big headline story of the ploughing was that our President, Mary McAleese, stated that farming is the new champion of our economy, bringing the whole food production section firmly centre stage, and why not? We do not have to attract any foreign investors and they do not shut shop and move to India, for example. So why have we not realised this before? Perhaps it was that our psyche said to us that food is something you eat to stay alive, not something to celebrate. But all this is changing, and changing rapidly. One caller to the radio station, Newstalk, at the ploughing said that he was at the launch of a new Ferrari in Italy (wow, someone out there still has loads of loot), and the gala dinner for 600 guests had Irish beef as the main course.

E-paper

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