The Bear, ping pong and the most expensive whiskey I've ever had
I promised you this week would be bumper and it is...
I’m writing up today’s newsletter from the stunning reading room at the National Library on Kildare Street - it’s my de facto office when I’m in town and have to get some work done and today was one of those days. I started very early this morning at Radio Nova talking about my book, A Compendium of Irish Pints, with PJ Gallagher and Jim McCabe. They wanted me to cook so I made a toastie in the air fryer (my first time using one!) and brought them some crisps and for pints Guinness 0.0. The toastie must have been good as Jim said I was ‘his favourite guest ever’ or maybe they are just easily impressed 😂 Then later today I’ll be in Merrion Square chatting more about pints this time with a bit of literature too as it’s part of the International Literature Festival Dublin. I’ll be joined by two people who know far more about this than me - Aoife Carrigy & Donal Fallon and there are still a few tickets left, see more here. Now I suppose you’ll be wanting some other people’s news too? Here we go…
Fresh ingredients:
News & stuff I’m excited about
The All-Ireland Finale of the Irish Restaurant Awards or the ‘Food Oscars’ as they’ve dubbed themselves happened this week in Dublin and there were plenty of worthy winners. I was delighted to see Aishling Moore from Goldie in Cork taking home the Best Chef award and Dede at the Custom House in Baltimore named Best Restaurant. You can see the full list of winners here.
There is always a mixed reaction to IRA awards and indeed many other restaurant awards. Plenty of people consider them nothing more than a money-making racket and when tickets to attend cost about €200 per person for what is usually a very average meal and badly lit evening you can sort of understand. I sit on some judging panels for other awards and for the most part I can see the merits in them and I think many restaurants (who receive accolades) do also but I’m always interested in what people inside and outside the industry think. Do let me know… When I get around to writing more for substack this will definitely be a subject I’ll explore…
Do Filipino pop-up favourites Bahay finally have a permanent home? I think this is the closest so far. They announced this week they are moving into Hen’s Teeth from May 25th! PS - if you’re coming to Beyond The Pale check out Bahay’s first festival dining experience and book here.
Guinness’ Open Gate Brewery is back open with a brand new look. It’s a great spot for beers in summer. Another PS - I might be announcing something very fun here soon… #pints
Junior’s on Bath Avenue is back open for dinner from May 31st with some old classics returning. I used to live around the corner from here and still miss it :(
Any ping pong fans out there? Bounce, which operates ping-pong concept bars across the UK, are said to be opening in the newly refurbished Central Plaza in Dublin. Expect bites, pizza and bottomless brunches…with balls.
Happy Birthday to Lilliput Stores! Celebrating 17 years in Stoneybatter 🎈
Summer was in the air before the miserable rain today but it will be back soon we hope and I for one will have some of Dubin Cocktail Lab’s new canned cocktails ready to go. There are three flavours and they sound delicious - An Irish whiskey Hi-Ball with Wild Wicklow Pine & Organic Yuzu, Chilli Rita, a wild Lemongrass & Habanero Spritz and Purple Haze, a laid back Gin Spritz with Coconut & Cardamom. All cans are 330ml, rrp €6.50 and 5% abv.
Grow HQ and GIY Ireland in Waterford have a brand new refill store called Larder where you can buy household essentials including organic cereals, nuts, seeds, rice, sugar, pasta, oils, herbs, spices, dried fruits and vegetables, flours, chocolate, purees and sauces in refillable containers. These will be joined shortly by organically grown seasonal fruit and veg grown by GIY at its market garden on the Curraghmore Estate and sold loose or via a weekly veg box order. More of this around the country, please.
Are we all excited for the return of The Bear in June? Season 3 lands on Disney+ Thursday 27th and I can’t wait to see the gang back together. If you didn’t know, I’m a bit of a fan and have talked about how much I love The Bear and other food TV on RTÉ Radio 1.
If you fancy a taste of The Bear before then the Crudo crew have teamed up with Disney+ for Taste of Dublin this year and will be running The Bear-themed ‘ interactive visitor experience’ serving iconic dishes made popular by the show. There’s not much detail announced about it yet but I’m hopeful it will be good.
How about this for a tangent? Did you know that Lionel Boyce, who stars as the endearing pastry chef Marcus on The Bear, spent two weeks observing the kitchen at bakery Hart Bageri to get grips with baking more for that brilliant Copenhagen episode? Well Richard Hart, the co-founder of Hart Bageri, has just released his new book for pre-order and it’s an absolute must-read for anyone interested in baking as he says it's pretty much everything he’s learned to date about bread.
Did you spot Dermot O’Leary in town? He was filming for a new ITV series, Dermot's Taste of Ireland. He popped into Mae in Ballsbridge for dinner and how great is this photo 🤩
I’m going to be honest here and say I’ve only really started to think about accessibility in cafes, restaurants and pubs etc very recently. I’m probably not alone in this, not knowing much or thinking much about it, despite working in a world where I’m always in these places. If you’re the same consider subscribing to Louise Bruton’s substack Legless in Dublin. Louise is a music and culture journalist and DJ but here she writes about access and disability. This week she’s shared a link for a new Night-Time Economy Accessibility Survey, essential reading especially if you work in hospitality.
Are you a food producer or chef looking for kitchen space? The SPADE Centre, Smithfield, Dublin 7, have new production kitchens available to hire for a few hours, or days or you can become a regular member with ongoing access. See more here: https://www.spade.ie/shared-kitchen-space
There’s a new permanent exhibition launched at Strokestown Park House, in the last preserved 18th-century gallery kitchen in Ireland. Titled “Food, Feasts and Footmen" the exhibition sheds light on servant life through displays and informative narratives highlighting kitchen workspaces, food preparation and serving, in addition to the contrasting existences of the gentry in the dining room.
In Cork, the gorgeous Dunmore House outside Clonakilty has opened Boatshed Pizza for the summer season. I’ve not had the pizza here but the food in the hotel is always great so I reckon this should be good and the views are stunning.
Over West, Little Fish are back open for the summer from Friday 31st but this weekend you’ll find them outside the Station House Hotel this Saturday 25th for Tour De Connemara.
Higgins Butchers is hosting a charity BBQ event Block Party, 20th of July in the grounds of The Marine Hotel, Sutton Cross raising money for The Alzheimer Society of Ireland. A great cause with great food - what’s not to love?
Macroom Buffalo Mozzarella have launched a new Natural Buffalo Yogurt and Buffalo Burrata in shops now.
Midlands Ireland have launched a new food and drink directory of food producers and markets in the Midlands check it out here.
There was a lot of talk this week about a new Safefood study on using smartphones in the kitchen. Eww. Wash your hands, please.
Great news for my UK readers (hiya!) - my publisher Kristin Jensen who owns Nine Bean Rows and Blasta Books has signed a deal with Abrams & Chronicle Books to distribute all her books in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa. So hopefully A Compendium of Irish Pints and the rest of her great catalogue will be on a bookshelf near you soon! For any UK sales inquiries please contact info@abramsandchronicle.co.uk
Table Talk:
Where and what I’ve eaten this week
A little tipple to share this week because I got to taste the most expensive whiskey I’ve ever had, Redbreast Dream Cask Zenith Edition. This 38-year-old single pot still Irish whiskey crafted by Master Blender Dave McCabe and Master Blender Emeritus Billy Leighton sells for a whopping €1000 a bottle RRP. It was very good, all the delicious things I love about Redbreast but more refined. I’ve been talking a lot about Irish whiskey lately, I love it and I want to know more, and as I’ve started delving into it I’ve realised there are many incredible women in the industry, making the whiskey, blending, selling it but not very many women at whiskey events or writing or talking about on socials on in the media. I know more of us are drinking it though! Are you a whiskey drinker? Let me know. (The Redbreast Tasting was a PR event).
I wanted to share the dinner I had last week at Ballymaloe Festival of Food last because it reminded me how much I love to eat like this - in a shed, totally relaxed, with great people and great food. Dinner was cooked by Lee and Kate Tiernan from F.K.A.B.A.M (Black Axe Mangal) in London and the legendary Fingal Ferguson of Gubbeen with Pascal from Le Caveau on wines. We started with a Borscht Back - a shot of vodka, then borscht and some Gubbeen wild venison salami - v on brand for this kitchen team. Next up was a divine salad of octopus, ham hock & cucumber with black bean sauce. One of F.K.A.B.A.M signature dishes is their flatbreads and this one was stellar topped with trout roe, egg yolks and hot quid ink butter. Big bowls of smoked brisket, melted Gubbeen and roast spuds were devoured along with vvv moreish cabbage. We finished with ginger loaf and banana choc chip ice cream. I’ve not been to F.K.A.B.A.M in ages and this reminded me to add it to the top of my London list for my next visit.
Dates for the Diary:
Tasty things to book ahead
TU Dublin’s biennial Dublin Gastronomy Symposium is happening next week on 28th & 29th May. They say it’s a forum for those interested in gastronomy research to come together, network and engage in academic discourse regarding “all things food”. Expect two days packed with super interesting talks and presentations of papers on the theme Food and Memory: Traces, Trauma and Tradition. I’ve been many times and it’s always eye-opening to hear such academic takes on Irish food. If you fancy attending tickets are €230 that includes attendance at the symposium on both days, two conference lunches (which are always great), refreshments throughout and a very impressive gala dinner at the Kings' Inns on Wednesday evening.
It might give you a taster for TU Dublin’s MA in Gastronomy and Food Studies - they are now taking applications for September 2024.
Next week it’s also time for Bloom, there’s loads of great food events, demos, talks and tastings happening across the weekend. I’ll be hosting a panel on Friday - 60 years of Irish Food with Regina Sexton, Santina Kennedy and Dee Laffan.
Blanco Nino and Chimac are having a Taco Throwdown on May 30th.
The brilliant Ursa Minor in Ballycastle, Co. Down have announced the chefs for their latest pop-up series and it’s a great lineup. Looks like the Jess Murphy dinner is already sold out so act fast for the rest!
Whitestown House near The Naul in North County Dublin are hosting a foraging walk and wild food lunch on Saturday, June 1st.
Sprout are celebrating the launch of their new book Saladology with a cookery demo in Avoca Kilmacanouge on Tuesday 28th May.
Want to know more about wild food sea-foraging? Max Jones has some dates available for his Upcoming FOODS OF THE FORESHORE sea-picking courses in Cork.
Speaking of Cork, Cork on a Fork has started to announce its first events for the 2024 programme, there’s foraging, champagne afternoon teas, dinners, tours, beers and loads more - see the lineup so far here.
I’ve always wanted to attend this festival and this year might be it… #watchthispace 🙂
The Big Grill announced their Dublin lineup (did you know they are also headed to London in June? https://www.biggrillfestival.com/london ) and it’s a scorcher - some favourites are back like Brad Leone and Genevieve Taylor and some great new names like Melissa McCabe and Erica Paredes (from Paris). I’ll be hosting on the Bastecamp stage on the Sunday, can’t wait!
Sevgi Tüzel-Conghaile, better known as A Wine Idea is on a mission to end the ‘jargon and stuffiness’ around wine. She’s hosting a summer tasting series across five evenings between May and September at Bewleys on Grafton Street.
Petit Fours:
Sweet bits to watch, listen, read or obsess over etc.
If you’re not sick of listening to me yet check out my chat with The Beer Ladies Podcast.
And this very fun chat about pub and pint flop with Fionnuala Jones.
An extra shot of angst, please.
Thank you for reading & subscribing! If you fancy reading more of my work my debut book A Compendium of Irish Pints is out now, available from bookshops nationwide and from Nine Bean Rows.