May 18, 2012

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Meet The Buyer Forum in Kilkenny Tomorrow

April 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Knockdrinna Cheese Awards

Awards and praise for Knockdrinna Cheese - just one of the local food companies represented at the Meet The Buyers forum in Kilkenny this Wednesday.

Food producers in the South East will seek out new business opportunities at a “Meet the Buyer” forum in Kilkenny tomorrow (Wednesday, April 25th) aimed at helping them generate thousands of euros in new sales orders and to explore export markets. The event takes place at the Lyrath Estate Hotel on the Carlow Road.

More than 20 producers from counties Kilkenny, Carlow, Wexford, Waterford and Tipperary will meet national and international buyers at the first-ever South East Regional Buyer/Producer Networking event in the Lyrath Hotel – a new initiative which will provide a boost to the regions developing agri-food sector. The producers will showcase their food to the buyers, who will meet them individually to review their product ranges and offer advice on making deals, packaging and presentation.

Among the big buyers with international links attending the event are Sodexo Ireland, Compass Group PLC & Breaks Ireland who between them have a combined annual spend of €100m.

Food producers attending locally here in Kilkenny will include Highbank Orchards, Kells Wholemeal, Knockdrinna Farmhouse Cheese, and Oldtown Hill Bakehouse.

The “Meet the Buyer” event is a Southeast Regional Inter-agency Food Initiative, aimed at developing the agri-food sector in the region in line with the Irish Government’s Food Harvest 20/20strategy. It involves Invest Kilkenny, LEADER Rural Development Programmes, and Enterprise Boards from counties Carlow, Kilkenny, South Tipperary, Waterford City, Waterford County and Wexford.

Kilkenny County Council and Barrow Nore Suir Rural Development have also contributed towards the costs of organising and hosting the event. [Read more...]

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A Taste Of… Le Caveau Wines

March 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Anna Berry will host a tasting of wines from Le Caveau, Market Yard, Kilkenny at the recently re-opened Kilkenny Design Centre Food Hall this Saturday from 12.30pm to 3.30pm.

This is the second weekend tasting session that the Food Hall has held since re-opening last month. The fest in the series was a honey tasting with Sarah Gough of Mileeven Foods and this weekend’s wine tasting won’t be the last either if the list in front of me is anything to go by.

Between here and June there will be tastings on chutneys, relishes, cheese, chocolate, sausages and much more.

Keep an eye on the Food Hall’s new Facebook page for more details.

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Winter Wine Fair in Kilkenny

November 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Winter Wine fair

Winter Wine Fair in Kilkenny in air of the Lions Club, November 18th at Newpark Hotel

I paid a visit to The Wine Centre in town at the weekend to pick up a few bottles of red for a family meal and got tipped towards their Winter Wine Fair being organised at Newpark Hotel in Kilkenny (same venue as Foodcamp over the Bank Holiday weekend) on November 18th coming.

At €15 a ticket, all money raised on the night will help less fortunate people in Kilkenny this Christmas.

The night gets underway at 7pm with mulled wine on arrival, over 15 wine and beer tasting tables, live music from Three Notes, tasty nibbles, cheeses from Knockdrinna Farm House Cheese, wine tasting tips from Mary Gaynor and more.

For tickets and more details, find The Wine Centre on Facebook or on John Street, Kilkenny, or give them a call on 056-7722907.

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Anne Neary To Launch Food For Sharing

October 6, 2011 By 2 Comments

Anne Neary - Food For Sharing

Anne Neary - Food For Sharing: Launches tonight at Set Theatre, Kilkenny, 7.30pm

Kilkenny chef, cookery teacher, operator of Ryeland House Cookery School and long-serving committee member of the Savour Kilkenny Food Festival, Anne Neary launches her latest cook book Food For Sharing tonight at Set Theatre in Kilkenny. The book is a followup to her sold-out debut publication, A Country Kitchen.

If you can’t wait for the books to hit the shops, make your way to Set Theatre tonight for 7.30pm where the book is being launched by RTE’s John Murray.

If you can’t make it to the book launch, you’ll also find Anne on stage with Edward Hayden over the Savour Kilkenny Festival at the end of the month. On Saturday October 29th they combine to present Made In Kilkenny: Tapas, Kilkenny Style, taking a selection of locally grown and produced ingredients and transforming them in a series of delicious and easy to prepare tapas style dishes. On Sunday, they’re back on stage to reignite the fire of home baking by whipping up the most sinful and delicious desserts.

Best of luck to Anne with her new book!

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Savour Kilkenny Food Festival Launched

September 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Savour Kilkenny Launch

The programme of events for the 2011 Savour Kilkenny Food Festival has been launched. This year's festival runs October 27-31st in Kilkenny City & County.

THE 2011 Savour Kilkenny Food Festival has been officially launched. Sitting at the desk after attending this evening’s launch at the National Craft Gallery (and dodging enough rain drops on the way home) I’ve got the programme in my hand and I’m looking at around 80 different events taking place over the October Bank Holiday weekend, starting with a movie night on Wednesday the 26th (pre-festival) and finishing with a vintage tea party on the bank holiday Monday.

The big draws for folk this year should be the open air food market on The Parade and now extending into the Design Yard opposite Kilkenny Castle (it being the Year of Craft and all) but there’s loads of new additions to this year’s festival.

Set Theatre, a newcomer in terms of a festival venue but no stranger to holding other festival events in Kilkenny, will play home to the majority of cooking demos and workshops as Donal Skehan, Catherine Fulvio, Edward Hayden and Anne Neary will showcase their wares and talents at Set over the weekend. Catherine Fulvio’s return will be most welcome, her demos last year on the back of releasing Catherine’s Italian Kitchen should have people filing into Set for more while Donal Skehan (Kitchen Hero) makes a festival debut as he hosts A Taste Of Craft demonstration in association with the Crafts Council of Ireland and Year of Craft 2011.

On the Saturday, Mrs. Any Given Food-to-be takes to the stage in Set for the Avonmore Live Celebrity Cook-off alongside Ann Phelan TD, John Walsh (KCLR96FM) and an all-star hurler (who we figure will be from Kilkenny – anyone want to see what Tommy Walsh or Henry Shefflin can do in the kitchen?)

Tickets For This Year’s Festival

Ticketing has changed over last year’s festival. Where there was a charge for the tented village on The Parade this year (with a day pass or weekend pass), the food village will now be free and is extended from The Parade into the Design Yard. A charge will apply, however, for certain talks, seminars and cookery demos, all of which will be covered by a Festival Wristband, on sale from this weekend for €10. The wristband covers every event marked WB in the programme (such as Donal Skehan and Catherine Fulvio’s demos) though the events are offered on a maximum capacity venue. Set Theatre will hold a few hundred people at a time but arriving early for events to grab a seat is recommended.

Tickets are also required for the Know Your Wines (€10) evening at The Pembroke Hotel and the Dame Alice Medieval Banquet (€50) at Kilkenny Castle on the Sunday night. Tickets and wristbands for all events will be available to buy online from SavourKilkenny.com, from local tourist offices around the country and via the Savour Kilkenny festival office after the weekend.

Festival Hightlights

  • The Great Irish Food Fight – Is traditional Irish cuisine and embarrassment of riches – or just an embarrassment?
    Replacing the panel discussion from last year’s Foodcamp, this debate chaired by John McKenna should be a good one on the Friday afternoon at Newpark Hotel
  • The Dame Alice Medieval Banquet on Sunday October 31st at Kilkenny Castle Kitchens.
  • A Feast of Chefs – 5 of Kilkenny’s top chefs cook up 5 courses at Campagne on Thursday October 27th. Tickets €50 with proceeds to The O’Neill Centre.
  • Seafood Workshops – Taking place at The Fishman’s Market Stand at The Parade food market, six Kilkenny chefs give you an insight into prepping and cooking different seafood dishes.
  • Young Producers’ Market – Held at MacDonagh Junction
  • A pop-up allotment over Saturday and Sunday at Canal Square
  • A Taste of Kilkenny Food Trail Tour (two tours over two days)
  • A Nutrition for Sport and a Healthy Lifestyle seminar

While I missed out on it last year, I’m hoping to catch the Sensory Dining night at the Clubhouse Hotel over the weekend (eating your food blindfolded, sure why not) but there’s loads of events taking place over the course of the festival that should ensure there’s something for everyone. If you are looking for me on the Friday, I’ll be at Foodcamp at the Newpark Hotel and if you haven’t registered yet you can sign up for Foodcamp (for free) here.

You can get the full rundown of events at SavourKilkenny.com or browse through the programme online here.

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Chef Mob for Savour Kilkenny this Saturday

September 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Not your average chef

Not your average chef - One of the chef's spotted at Savour Kilkenny in 2010. If you want to line out for a fun photo in Kilkenny on Saturday, come dressed in whites or grab a chef's hat from festival organisers for Chef Mob.

SAVOUR KILKENNY is almost upon us once more, the 2011 festival launching this Friday evening at 6pm in the National Craft Gallery at the Castle Yard in Kilkenny (nice tie-in for the Year Of Craft).

As part of the launch weekend, a chef mob is being organised for a photocall on The Parade in Kilkenny this Saturday afternoon. Kick off is 3pm and local Kilkenny chefs are invited to The Parade to take part in an event aimed, ultimately, at boosting the awareness of the festival. But it’s not only chefs that are being called out. The event is open to members of the public to get into the cooking spirit as organisers pass out chef hats and more to get into the swing of things.

If you’re a local food producer or in the food business, organisers are also interested in hearing from you ahead of Saturday afternoon with oppotunities available to promote your business on The Parade on Saturday.

You can find out more at SavourKilkenny.com and keep an eye on the website from Friday for full details from the launch as well as the unveiling of the full programme of events.

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New Vegetarian Menu for Cafe Sol Kilkenny?

September 20, 2011 By 3 Comments

Warm Chick Pea & Bok Choy Fresh Herb Salad @ Cafe Sol

Warm Chick Pea & Bok Choy Fresh Herb Salad @ Cafe Sol (Photo by Ken McGuire on Foodspotting.com)

THIS SUNDAY night sees Cafe Sol in Kilkenny run a vegetarian tasting menu which could be an indicator to greater changes on their main menu and greater vegetarian options on a whole. On a night out there in January of this year I had been advised that changes were coming that could put as many as six vegetarian main courses on the menu, which would be a great help when dining out on home soil (considering Herself is vegetarian, amongst other things).

So, the restaurant have announced a tasting menu for their new vegetarian options, in association with Vegetarian Kilkenny, a local group who meet on the first Sunday of every month to catch up and share their own vegetarian dishes and delights. The tasting menu this Sunday September 25th at 7pm and will cost €30 per person.

Read on to find out what’s on the menu… [Read more...]

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Lunching at Boats Bistro, Graiguenamanagh

September 18, 2011 By 2 Comments

Boats Bistro

The menu at Boats Bistro certainly follows a nautical theme.

THIS WEEKEND in Graiguenamanagh, Co. Kilkenny, was all about the Town Of Books Festival and with herself broadcasting from their on Friday afternoon, we ended up spending Friday night and Saturday in Graigue to take in some food, theatre and all the book trail had to offer. Having spent Saturday morning strolling around the pop-up bookshops (and adding seven new books to the kitchen in the process), we picked Boats Bistro on the Tinnahinch side of Graigue for lunch.

Boats Bistro Menu

Boats Bistro, featured in the 2010 and 2011 Bridgestone Guide

We’d made two trips to the restaurant, which has been in the Bridgestone selection the past two years. On the first occasion we spotted the restaurant was full downstairs and started the trek back towards Coffee On High but spying a couple strolling out of the restaurant, managed to get the only free table downstairs (upstairs was being prepped for the evening servings).

It’s an airy and bright space with friendly staff and a pretty comprehensive lunch and dinner menu, with vegetarian options available for the non-seafood lover. Which is pretty much where I come in.

Carrot & Coriander soup at Boats Bistro

The Carrot & Coriander soup at Boats Bistro

The vegetarian of the group loved the soup, Carrot & Coriander the flavour of the day served with two hunks of fresh bread for under a fiver. I think the phrase “I love chunky soup in a chunky bowl” may have been uttered over lunch. With soups, wraps, houmous, scallops, chicken and chorizo and fresh salmon with pesto among the lunchtime options, the winner for me was the Seafood Tapas Plate at a tenner even (pictured below).

Seafood Tapas Plate at Boats Bistro

Seafood Tapas Plate at Boats Bistro - Calmari, mussels, prawns, crab crumble and a tasty salad.

The tastes across the plate are quite different, moving clockwise from the right we’ve got mussels in a chilli tomato sauce, prawns with an avocado sauce, crab crumble (possibly my favourite on the dish), and deep-fried calamari. As I’ve suggested though, I’m not a massive seafood lover. It’s taken me *years* to get around to ordering fish dishes off the menu. Having seen my folks tuck into bowls of mussels on holidays as a kid, it took me until my fourth year in college to try my hand at cooking and eating them but since moving back to Kilkenny I’ve been a bit more adventurous in the fish department. For someone who’s looking to do a bit of exploring in the same area, this is an ideal way to do it, all of the fish on the plate quite tasty.

Add in a coffee (you’ll spot the restaurant from the big Illy sign visible over the bridge) and the whole lunch experience was ours for under €20.

As more and more restaurants continue to list their suppliers, Boats Bistro does exactly the same, with a lot of their food sourced around the South East. The fish is sourced from the Duncannon Fish Company and Gone Fishing (Dunmore East. All beef on the menu is Irish and grass fed, chickens are farmed in Glin Valley and vegetables are sourced from Farrell’s in Kilkenny. Their cheeses are all available at the Cheese Stall from Carlow Farmer’s Market, ice-cream is also sourced in Kilkenny from Nigel & Carol Harper’s dairy herd and the wines come through Febvre wines, an Irish-owned wine importer.

There is a bit of a crossover with the dinner and lunch menu (pricing remains the same) but we’ve already decided that we’ll be back to try it out and see what their upstairs evening dining has to offer. There’s loads more you can find out about the restaurant, the owners, the building and more by visiting BoatsBistro.com.

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Savour Kilkenny Call For Junior Chefs

September 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Tara's Cupcakes at Savour Kilkenny 2010

Tara's Cupcakes at Savour Kilkenny 2010. This year's festival runs October 28th-31st in various venues across Kilkenny City & County.

YOUNG FOOD LOVERS are being sought by the Savour Kilkenny Food Festival, running here in Kilkenny across the October Bank Holiday weekend.

First up is the Young Chefs Cooking Competition which runs with a ‘trick or treat’ theme (goulish recipes wanted). If you (as a junior cook) or your young ones in the kitchen have a goulish recipe to share, the recipe should be emailed to info@savourkilkenny.com or by post to the Savour Kilkenny Office at The Maltings, James St. Kilkenny before October 14th. Finalists will be asked to prepare the dish and submit it to a judging panel where the winner can look forward to a first prize of €100.

Also taking place on Saturday October 29th will be a Young Producers’ Market at MacDonagh Junction shopping centre from 2pm to 5pm (top of John Street, just next to the train / bus station). Last year saw the first young producers’ market in Ireland and organisers hope to repeat the success of the first outing this October. The afternoon gives young producers a chance to create and sell their homemade produce in “a buzzing market environment”.

Those interested in participating in the young producers’ market should call Lucy Smyth on 086-4126801.

This year’s festival kicks off on October 28th, running to October 31st. For more details visit SavourKilkenny.com.

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Time To Register For Foodcamp

August 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Foodcamp Kilkenny Lunch

Some of the offerings at lunchtime during the inaugural Foodcamp at Savour Kilkenny in 2010

It’s that time of year again. Foodcamp had it’s first Irish airing at the Savour Kilkenny Food Festival last October and was the catalyst for me in starting Any Given Food. Well, it’s back for another stint in Kilkenny and confirmation was made yesterday that it will run at the Newpark Hotel on Friday October 28th from 9.30am to 4.30pm.

In all honesty, last year was great craic. The people were great, the venue worked very well, the talks were great and extremely informative and the whole day managed to stay rather informal, just the way it should be. These types of events aren’t all suit and tie. You arrive, you listen, you talk if you like, you share if you like. You can take nothing from the day or everything from the day, me, I went with the latter.

What Is Foodcamp?

Foodcamp is “a day where food professionals (chefs, producers) mix with foodies (journalists, bloggers, consumers) and agencies learn and share with each other”. Over the course of the day there will be 24 speakers between 9.30am and 3.30pm, the day concluding at 4.30pm following an hour long panel discussion

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