A few weeks back, I had the pleasure interviewing some visitors to Cork from Europe. Oscar Gonzáles is from Spain and has a great appreciation for craft beer and cider and we had a lovely chat about the Irish craft beer industry. Anyway, when he returned to Spain, he left me a little gift of…
At our March Critic’s outing, we visited El Vino in the Elysian Building and the critics were treated to a five-course tasting menu. At the Q&A afterwards, head chef Patrick Murphy was asked to share the recipe for the butternut squash, coconut and chili soup. Patrick was delighted and obliged. As with all chefs, he…
McKennas Guide 2016 – New Entries from Cork Each year, John & Sally McKenna publish their guide – 100 Best places to eat. Last year saw the guide going from print to App – easy to use, you can search by area or by restaurant. A group of tasters visit all restaurants and the final…
It is always wonderful to see chefs and restaurants being awarded for their hard work and dedication. This year’s Irish Restaurant Awards Munster Regional Heat took place 8th March in Killarney and for the purpose of this post, I concentrate on the Cork winners. There are many categories and one might ask, do we really…
Sometimes you just need a little treat and never more so when two of your closest friends are coming to visit. I love having Sabrina and Derval over for a proper catch up and some afternoon tea. The last time they came was on the morning of my birthday and Mr T and myself were…
Social Media for Chefs & Restaurants Let’s face it, we all are on social media these days. Some are simply looking for distraction, others are doing serious research but we all follow other pages and people. Restaurants and chefs are the most followed after celebrities but as a recent survey revealed, followers do expect more…
I never win anything and I mean anything. Therefore it is not very often that I enter a competition but ain’t I happy that I enter Jacob’s Cracker Guides Competition, giving away Trish Deseine’s latest cookbook ‘HOME – Recipes from Ireland’ (could never resist a cookbook). The book was already on my wishlist so you…
Manchester has more to offer than soccer teams and my first visit to the city last week was proof to that. Although the main point for the visit was a Manchester United match I made sure that food played a big role. Mr T and myself are terrible in planning any trip we have been…
Delicious Pancakes With Pancake Tuesday just around the corner, the shops are full with batter mixes in bottles and even ready made pancakes…. not sure about you but I rather have fresh pancakes made with real eggs and milk rather than dried skimmed milk, dried egg white powder and even palm oil. Making pancakes from…
Sometimes only a warming comforting soup will do and today was one of those days. The wind was howling around the house and I had a load of work to do in the office, so didn’t have much time to cook myself a ‘proper’ lunch. Due to time restraints, I didn’t roast the butternut squash…