The Slow Food Festival
From 20-22 May, Burren Slow Food, in conjunction with the Burren & Cliffs of Moher Geopark and the Burren Ecotourism Network, will host a festival for food lovers nationwide in Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare.
This year’s festival aims to raise awareness of the GEOfood concept, which is food made sustainably in a unique geographical area – in this case the Burren.
Of course, there will be ample opportunity to try local produce with a festival-favourite being the seafood supper on Inis Oirr.
Tag along to one of the cookery demonstrations by local chefs and attend a range of talks by guest speakers.
The event is all about the interconnectedness between local food, geological heritage and the livelihoods of the people who live in the geopark.
To find out more, visit www.slowfoodclare.com
Sensational Sardines
For the first time ever, Irish-caught sardines will hit the shelves in Ireland, thanks to Killybegs-based company Shines Seafood. Where sardines were once imported form Sardinia, the family-owned company now sources the fish from local fisherman along the Irish cost. The sardines are caught in Killybegs, Galway, Castletownbere, Baltimore, Kinsale, Helvick, Dunmore East, Passage East, Duncannon, St Helen’s and Howth.
The sardines are sold in three different marinades: brine, tomato sauce and sunflower oil. They will be available at all SuperValu stores nationwide as well as selected Dunnes Stores at RRP €2.49.
Shines Seafood also have another project up their sleeve. As they are passionate advocates and supporters of sustainable fishing methods, they are currently working on a tracking system that will allow customers to track exactly which boats their sardines are caught from. The tracking system is expected to go live later this spring.
To find out more, visit www.shinesseafood.ie
ÓR Real Irish Butter
You can’t beat the taste of wholesome Irish butter and now a new certified grass-fed butter brand, ÓR Real Irish Butter, has entered the market.
Launched by one of Ireland’s leading dairy farming co-operatives, North Cork Creameries, they have a proud heritage of excellence in butter making in Kanturk, Co Cork, since 1928.
ÓR Real Irish Butter uses fresh cream in a gradual churning process to deliver a deliciously creamy, rich, smooth and textured butter for spreading and which also melts perfectly for cooking and baking.
All the milk is supplied by local farmers, such as Mairéad Lucey and Morty O’Sullivan from Kanturk, who are pictured below with their family.
Amy Austin restaurant
An intimate atmosphere and mouth-watering food and wine – who doesn’t like the sound of that? Amy Austin, the restaurant on Drury Lane in Dublin 2, has reopened for 2022 and promises to deliver all of the above with its new food menu. It is also dog-friendly, so will be a big hit with pet owners in the city. The wine list has been revamped by award-winning sommelier Morgan Vanderkamer and now includes wines from all corners of the globe. Amy Austin is trying to establish a wine bar and it seems like they are well on track. The new food menu focuses on small, beautifully-presented plates – think wine and tapas. Some of the dishes include roast bone marrow with chilli oil, chimichurri, hazelnuts and sourdough, and black cod fritters with lime leaf dip. We’re hungry just reading about it. Amy Austin is open from Tuesdays to Saturdays.
See the full menu at www.amyaustin.ie
Japanese & Irish whiskey fusion
Single malt aged in Mizunara casks
A new whiskey has hit the market unlike anything else out there. 
Glendalough Distillery has launched a seven-year-old Irish single malt aged in very rare Japanese Mizunara casks sourced from the island of Hokkaido in Japan. Mizunara is hard to source and costs more than 10 times your average cask. But as the whiskey gets deep into the wood, it brings out its wonderfully exotic flavour. This whiskey is vivid but delicate with seamless depth. It is vibrant, fruity and floral on the nose, enjoying a luxuriously smooth mouthfeel with notes of dark chocolate orange, sandalwood and cinnamon synonymous with Mizunara whiskeys. Glendalough’s Mizunara malt benefits from an exceptionally long finish of toasted oak and oriental spices, with the dark chocolate lingering even longer.
Available from www.glendaloughdistillery.com and many off-licences nationwide at €85.
Read more
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The Slow Food Festival
From 20-22 May, Burren Slow Food, in conjunction with the Burren & Cliffs of Moher Geopark and the Burren Ecotourism Network, will host a festival for food lovers nationwide in Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare.
This year’s festival aims to raise awareness of the GEOfood concept, which is food made sustainably in a unique geographical area – in this case the Burren.
Of course, there will be ample opportunity to try local produce with a festival-favourite being the seafood supper on Inis Oirr.
Tag along to one of the cookery demonstrations by local chefs and attend a range of talks by guest speakers.
The event is all about the interconnectedness between local food, geological heritage and the livelihoods of the people who live in the geopark.
To find out more, visit www.slowfoodclare.com
Sensational Sardines
For the first time ever, Irish-caught sardines will hit the shelves in Ireland, thanks to Killybegs-based company Shines Seafood. Where sardines were once imported form Sardinia, the family-owned company now sources the fish from local fisherman along the Irish cost. The sardines are caught in Killybegs, Galway, Castletownbere, Baltimore, Kinsale, Helvick, Dunmore East, Passage East, Duncannon, St Helen’s and Howth.
The sardines are sold in three different marinades: brine, tomato sauce and sunflower oil. They will be available at all SuperValu stores nationwide as well as selected Dunnes Stores at RRP €2.49.
Shines Seafood also have another project up their sleeve. As they are passionate advocates and supporters of sustainable fishing methods, they are currently working on a tracking system that will allow customers to track exactly which boats their sardines are caught from. The tracking system is expected to go live later this spring.
To find out more, visit www.shinesseafood.ie
ÓR Real Irish Butter
You can’t beat the taste of wholesome Irish butter and now a new certified grass-fed butter brand, ÓR Real Irish Butter, has entered the market.
Launched by one of Ireland’s leading dairy farming co-operatives, North Cork Creameries, they have a proud heritage of excellence in butter making in Kanturk, Co Cork, since 1928.
ÓR Real Irish Butter uses fresh cream in a gradual churning process to deliver a deliciously creamy, rich, smooth and textured butter for spreading and which also melts perfectly for cooking and baking.
All the milk is supplied by local farmers, such as Mairéad Lucey and Morty O’Sullivan from Kanturk, who are pictured below with their family.
Amy Austin restaurant
An intimate atmosphere and mouth-watering food and wine – who doesn’t like the sound of that? Amy Austin, the restaurant on Drury Lane in Dublin 2, has reopened for 2022 and promises to deliver all of the above with its new food menu. It is also dog-friendly, so will be a big hit with pet owners in the city. The wine list has been revamped by award-winning sommelier Morgan Vanderkamer and now includes wines from all corners of the globe. Amy Austin is trying to establish a wine bar and it seems like they are well on track. The new food menu focuses on small, beautifully-presented plates – think wine and tapas. Some of the dishes include roast bone marrow with chilli oil, chimichurri, hazelnuts and sourdough, and black cod fritters with lime leaf dip. We’re hungry just reading about it. Amy Austin is open from Tuesdays to Saturdays.
See the full menu at www.amyaustin.ie
Japanese & Irish whiskey fusion
Single malt aged in Mizunara casks
A new whiskey has hit the market unlike anything else out there.
Glendalough Distillery has launched a seven-year-old Irish single malt aged in very rare Japanese Mizunara casks sourced from the island of Hokkaido in Japan. Mizunara is hard to source and costs more than 10 times your average cask. But as the whiskey gets deep into the wood, it brings out its wonderfully exotic flavour. This whiskey is vivid but delicate with seamless depth. It is vibrant, fruity and floral on the nose, enjoying a luxuriously smooth mouthfeel with notes of dark chocolate orange, sandalwood and cinnamon synonymous with Mizunara whiskeys. Glendalough’s Mizunara malt benefits from an exceptionally long finish of toasted oak and oriental spices, with the dark chocolate lingering even longer.
Available from www.glendaloughdistillery.com and many off-licences nationwide at €85.
Read more
Consumer: food prices on the rise
Can we create a food-secure future through gender equality?
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