Celtic Cook Off - foodie fever mounts

 

 

How do you showcase the produce of a region?

Well, if it is as good as that from West Cork - think Caherbeg Free Range, Ummera, Gubbeen, Woodcock Smokery, Irish Atlantic  - you almost don't have to. Great Cheeses, Meat and Charcuterie, Fish and Seafood, Vegetables and some brilliant producers and processors, and a powerful hospitality industry.

So West Cork Week is a celebration of the best produce and producers, as well as a showcase for the region.

But how do you show it off to the best?

Gather a strong selection of chefs and have them cook off against each other using only West Cork produce ( and one "joker" ingredient of their choice).

Then introduce an extra element of competition by selecting one chef from each of the Celtic Nations and Regions, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Cornwall, Brittany and the Isle of Man. The Celtic Cook off is born.

Now in its third year the competition goes from strength to strength and is back on September 11th in the West Cork Hotel Skibbereen.

On the night two sets of three chefs cook off in front of a live audience of over 200 food enthusiasts with commentary and interviews by event compere John McKenna of McKenna's Guides.

Members of the audience will have a glass of sparkling wine, and canapés made by the contestants before settling in to enjoy the evening. A ballot amongst the audience will also produce an audience panel who will have the chance to taste and comment.

Six judges, working in pairs will taste the dishes before retiring to mull over the food and announce the winner.

A wide range of interest and experience is shown by the make up of the Judging Panel which includes Veronica Steele of Milleens Cheese, Virginia Sumison of Loch Fyne Oysters, Aoife Cox editor of The Daily Spud, food writer Joe McNamee and last years winning chef Gary O'Hanlon.

As all of the chefs will be using local produce, an Indoor Market featuring the best of West Cork artisan produce and producers will be held on the evening so the dishes can be replicated at home later.

But it is so much more than a cookery competition, an added theme this year is encouraging new and trainee chefs into the hospitality business. Neil Grant of the organising committee, and West Cork Hotel, explained how this would work, "All of our Celtic Cook Off Chefs have a fantastic ethos of working with local, seasonal produce and we all are passionate about great food. We want more chefs to enter the business with that thought process to help keep up the standards and increase the pool of available, passionate, skilled cooks. So we are involving trainee and commis chefs in a Master Class during the day of the Celtic Cook Off evening.

A large group of them will work with previous competitors Martin Shannahan, Jack Stein, Gary O'Hanlon and Kevin Williams, using West Cork produce to make lunch for the producers themselves, visiting journalists and invited guests. Education has always been an element of the Celtic Cook Off and this year we are bringing it to the fore. We will start the event with the winners of last year's Taste of West Cork Schools Competition working with one of the professionals to cook their signature dish, It should be really exciting.

Neil also highlighted another direct benefit from the interaction that the competition had produced " A direct result of the Celtic Cook Off has been the growth of a virtual Celtic Food Network where we all bond, share ideas, promote good food in the Celtic Regions and keep in touch. There have been some amazing examples of this already where previous competitors have taken part in joint ventures at food festivals all over the Celtic Territories" One example of this is Ondine Restaurant in Edinburgh having a special menu during the Rugby Six Nations where West Cork produce was combined with Scottish to make brilliant dishes.


I am really excited about attending the Celtic Cook Off 2013, and hope that in future years it could become a Culinary Six Nations with each region hosting an event and promoting local food and producers.

Hywel Jones to cook Festival Supper

The super on the evening of the Newport Food Festival is becoming a tradition and a must. This year it will be on 4^th October and back in the Market Hall.

That is just one of the changes as the Supper develops.

So far the three courses have each been made by different local businesses but this year Michelin Starred Hywel Jones of Lucknam Park will produce the entire menu.

 

Hywel is a great friend of the festival and a Newport boy as well.

The supper will consist of a three course meal, created and prepared Hywel  with most of the produce sourced from Newport Market.

 

Not only has Hywel done demonstrations and Masterclasses but he also judges the Teen Chef competition and encourages youngsters to get into catering.

 

The winning team in the competition get to spend a morning in the kitchen at Lucknam Park as part of their prize. Rumour has it that last year’s winners will be involved in the kitchens at the Food Festival prepping part of the supper, a great experience for them.

Most of the prep will be done by Hywel’s own team and whipped over the Severn Bridge in refrigerated transport. Thanks to the Support of Relais and Chateaux, who own Lucknam Park, Hywel will also bring in some of his brigade from the Michelin Starred restaurant.

The exciting menu is reproduced here

 

 

Tickets go on sale on Thursday 22nd August through the Box Office

Mark Sargeant added to Newport Food Festival!

The latest exciting addition to a very strong Chef line up at the Newport Food Festival is Michelin Starred Mark Sargeant!

Kent born and based Mark will be one of the highlights of this year's festival on 5th October and will, I am sure, draw even more to attend.

Running two restaurants in Folkestone, Rocksalt and the Smokehouse Fish and Chips, Mark was previously best known as a mainstay of the Gordon Ramsay group being head chef at Claridges and co-writing some of Ramsay's books, as well as appearing regularly on Hell's Kitchen and advising on Kitchen Nightmares.


This photo of Rocksalt is courtesy of TripAdvisor

 

Mark uses local and seasonal produce as much as possible and has access to two farms for vegetables and eggs as well as having the harbour not just near, but under his cantilevered restaurant! Doesn't get much more local than that!

 





This photo of Rocksalt is courtesy of TripAdvisor

I love the fact that the children's menu at Rocksalt is called Small Fry and features such dishes as Big Strong Mussells, Fish Fingers (and Thumbs) and Grown Up Steak. No pandering to children here with nuggets and curly chips, but a scaled down adult menu presented with an attractive sense of humour.

 

According to some interviews Mark's favourite piece of kitchen equipment is his Sausage Machine and the development of in house charcuterie would bear this out.  Some dishes are very simple but pack real flavour and texture, for example a starter of Radishes with Anchovy Sauce, two ingredients and a little sourdough on the side but the kind of starter that really does act as an appetiser, refreshing the palate and making you crave more.

 

In addition to co-writing Gordon Ramsay's books Mark also has his own, My Kind of Cooking out and it has been one of my well thumbed books for some years.

 

 

Adding Mark to the line up shows how the Newport Food Festival is gaining a strong reputation although only in its third year. With Masterchef finalists Larkin and Dale, rising star Matt Dawkins and Spice Supremo Anand George already confirmed the chef line up goes from strength to strength, and there may well be some more additions to come.

 

Mark will be one of the really hot tickets for this year, and once the box office opens the lines will light up, so get in early or miss out.

 

By visiting the Newport Food Festival website http://www.newportfoodfestival.co.uk/blog/ you can register to get news about the box office opening.



Top Chef line up for Newport Food Festival

Now in its third year Newport Food Festival goes from strength to strength and the line up of chefs for Demos and Masterclasses shows this well.

Unlike Abergavenny which reflects its position on the UK stage and attracts the global chefferati, Newport is firmly based in Wales, and showcases many of our best chefs.

Brilliant Indian chef Anand George will return with his modern take on Indian food and, with the Purple Popadom being voted Wales best, yet again he will have a lot to offer. Last year he showcased his special Deep Blue menu and it is likely that this year's Summer Menu "Ocean" will provide the highlight.

Rapidly rising star Matt Dawkins returns to demonstrate the kind of food that is making the Star Inn Llansoy a destination pub. Matt and I first met some years ago when we competed in the short lived Taste The Nation competition on TV. Still a student then Matt produced our only winning dish as we lost 2-1 in the first round.

Completing his course Matt was soon snapped up by the Star, and heads a team using local and seasonal ingredients to produce the kind of food that has seen him crowned Chef of the Year.

Keeping with the local theme and strong Chefs it is a festival debut for Dale Williams and Larkin Cen, Cardiff's Masterchef finalists. Lawyer Larkin and Recruitment specialist Dale fought off the opposition to reach the final where they were just pipped at the post by Natalie Coleman. Along the way the two Cardiff boys forged a strong friendship and they will soon open a restaurant in Cardiff. Hokkei will specialise in South East Asian food, the kind of dish that served them so well on Masterchef.

Dale and Linton would be a great attraction on the outdoor cooking stage where Bob from the Waterloo Hotel wowed the crowds last year.

As usual there will be demos in the Market Hall both upstairs on the main stage and down on some of the stalls, Masterclasses in the Riverside, and some street demos as well. New for this year are interactive demos.

Using a unit within the Market Hall a number of hands on demos have been arranged where you can try your hand at new skills. Over the last couple of years Lisa Fearn (Pumkin Patch Cookery and Gardening School and chef on S4C's Prwnawn Da) has run very successful children's workshops and this year the adults get their chance.

Teaming up with local chefs and producers a programme of demos have been arranged where you can have a go, whether it is making Pasta, Kneading your own bread dough or making little snack samosas and the like. These events will be ticketed to make the numbers manageable, but tickets will be free from the Box Office.

Though not announced yet I would be surprised not to see Festival Stalwarts Hywel Jones, Stephen Terry, and James Summerin not involved somewhere, and perhaps Newport boy Matt Tebbutt.

More chefs will be added to the line up and I expect at least one major name to be confirmed next week.

Foraged Food and Fun

Last September The Felin Fach Griffin ran an event called Hiraeth, a farm to food day which I missed as I was in Italy. The second will be this September and, once again, I shall miss it as I shall be at Ballymaloe and then the Celtic Cook Off.

But!

The Griffin was the venue for Garden Party Gatecrashers, a day of foraging, fun and food and this time I could make it!

Bringing together two great Foragers, Liz Knight of Forage Fine Foods and Adele Nozedar, with Hedgerow Tea specialists Fine Pluck and the culinary skills of Ross the FF Chef a great time was guaranteed for all, and the weather ensured that it was.

Liz

Adele

Fine Pluck Produce

Ross in Action

The event started with a Forage Hunt. A table covered in empty jars and printed labels confronted us. The challenge was to fill each jar and match each label with foraged items from the area around the pub.

Whilst Janet and others including fellow bloggers @gomezadams and @babettesfest searched out the esoteric and rare, I contented myself with demonstrating that I could identify Cow Parsley and Hogweed (not the Giant type).

The treasure hunt table soon filled, and demonstrated the immense diversity of edible plants that are in any small area.

After a refreshing glass of Rhubarb Shrub, a fermented Rhubarb drink not a small bush, it was time for the serious discussions about foraging so whilst Janet joined the group I decided to sample the delights of the Foraged Bar!

 

All the while Ross had been working away on the barbecue, Lamb and Chicken were rubbed with foraged herbs and flowers and regularly basted with foraged marinades, whilst Yesterdays News ( vegetables cooked in Newspaper Parcels) steamed away on another grill. Even the mops used to baste were foraged plants!

Finally the food was ready and a horde of ravenous foragers descended like Locusts to annihilate the fresh food, now accompanied by salads and fresh potato salad before a summery dessert of fresh Strawberries and Cream. Being allergic to Strawberries I had a lovely Rhubarb brulee and got jealous looks from all.

Whilst, and after eating we had a chance to talk with the foragers and Janet bought a copy of Adele's book The Hedgerow Handbook, a beautifully illustrated tome on foraging and using local wild plants.

 

 

The drive back to Cwmbran was interspersed with regular spotting of ingredients in the hedgerows as we passed and Janet determining that foraged alcohol was the way forward!

 

 

We had been lucky enough to get some recipes at Gardenparty Gatecrashers as well as picking up Afdle's book so Janet had a small arsenal of potential to mine.

 

As our roses were in fine bloom Janet decided that Rose Petal Gin and Vodka would be the first drinks from our homebased distillery and an orgy of petal plucking and separating ensued.

Whilst Janet needed fresh petals for her drinks, I needed then dried for later incorporation into dishes and rubs so mine went into a very low oven overnight.

In the meantime Janet was infusing petals with either Gin or Vodka and leaving them for 24 hours.

 

Removed from the alcohol the petals were discarded (after Janet had taste tested each one individually) and the now flavoured Gin and Vodka bottled. it will be some weeks before it is tasted, though the ones I tried at Garden Party Gatecrashers indicate that will be a pleasant duty!

 

My petals were stored safely and have already made appearences in rubs and garam masalas.

 

 

A cracking day with much learned, good food and good company. I hope that the Felin Fach Griffin repeats the exercise, possibly a winter forage? and I promise I will get to Hiraeth at some stage.



Great Steak comes from great farming and butchery

I love a T-Bone Steak. Pure and simple.

The best I have had in ages came from Clonmel butcher Pat Whelan.

Pat was the subject of an earlier post, a real renaissance man, coming from generations of farmers and butchers, he is a passionate advocate of local foods and a huge supporter of Tipperary farmers and producers. He also wrote my meat bible An Irish Butcher Shop and has a second book dedicated to Beef in production.

I was able to follow the steak from farm to fork on a series of visits to his farm and one of the butcher shops.

On a trip to Tipp we called in to the shop and were immediately invited to visit the nearest of Pat's farms. Too good an invitation to refuse so we piled into his car and set off on a 15 minute ride out of town.

Pat is developing Wagyu in Ireland and was keen to show us his herds. On arrival we went straight to the fields to meet the cows all of whom ran to the gate to meet Pat and receive pats, strokes and kind words. Clearly their love for Pat is as strong as his for them.

"You have to respect the animal" is Pat's credo. "Treat them well, slaughter them without stress, hang the meat well and use every part."

After a while talking about farming - and to the cows - we headed into the small farmyard. "This is the barn where we bring them the night before we slaughter" we were told, "but they come in here in the worst winter weather so they are used to it. We walk them individually around the yard so they are familiar with it and don't panic when we take them to slaughter. If one is skittish in the morning it goes back to the field, I don't want to cause them stress and also adrenalin tightens the meat."

Pat has his slaughterhouse on the farm, one of a dwindling band of farmers to do so though Ireland has many more than Wales where I can only think of two in the South.

Next up we entered the abbatoir, "We slaughter on Wednesday" we were told "so there isn't any killing today". Instead we saw great sides of beef hanging and maturing properly. It was significant that the floors were perfectly dry, the beef was dry hanging and the lack of moisture on the floor showed how well that was proceeding.

"Good hanging and maturing brings out the best of the meat" said Pat "you lose more moisture and weight, but get a better product and that is part of respecting the animal, bringing out the best."

Janet said you could see the love Pat has for his animals in the way that he stroked to hanging sides feeling the beautifully yellow fat and admiring the darkening meat. "He's almost caressing them" she said, just before reminding me that it was our Wedding Anniversary and an abbatoir was the most romantic place she had ever spent the day.

So we saw the cows in the fields and in the slaughterhouse but it takes good butchery to make a good cut of meat so it was back to the shop.

Unlike supermarkets, where meat is pre-packed and the customer has no idea of the processes involved in getting it on the shelves and is totally disconnected,  Pat wants butchery to be at the centre of his shops.

Large Maple butcher blocks are installed and the butchers can be seen at work. Pat also runs butchery demonstrations where his team cut sides of meat and show the resulting joints, ribs etc. Held in the Monkstown, Dublin shop in Avoca Ireland's store you get a good understanding of butchery and get to go home with a cut of meat, a knife and a protective glove so you can try your hand! Pat also posts video demos e.g. sharpening a knife or butterflying a Leg of Lamb on his website
http://www.jameswhelanbutchers.com/

I travelled to Monkstown for the demo.

Over a couple of hours we saw the team in action, cutting meat and explaining the process and answering questions and giving tips.

Later back in Clonmel I stocked up with really good cuts of meat, sausages, bacon and puddings as well as a couple of home made sausage rolls for the trip back to Wales.

An absolute bonus was a brown paper parcel with a couple of T-Bone Steaks, "Well you have seen it in the field, the slaughterhouse and on the block" said Pat, "Now you have to put it on the plate"

Back home the steaks were brought up to room temperature, lightly seasoned and griddled for 3 minutes on either side and rested.

The taste and texture was terrific, the quality shone through and a thoroughly satisfied Janet said "Amazing, the best I have ever eaten".

Pat has a thriving online business and you can order meats to be delivered to home. They come well insulated and refrigerated. Do visit the James Whelan website and, if you are in Ireland head for Monkstown in Dublin, or even better to Clonmel to met Pat. Just tell him I sent you!

Pat is also on Facebook and on Twitter @PatWhelan