GM-free Ireland Network co-ordinator Michael O’Callaghan accused Environment Minister Dick Roche of sabotaging Ireland’s farming future, following his failure to oppose the importation of Monsanto’s genetically modified (GM) GT73 rapeseed for use as animal feed and industrial processing throughout the EU at a Council of Ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday. The patented rapeseed is ...
FoodI’m not claiming total authenticity here, only that it’s a tasty half-way house between grinding your own paste via David Thompson’s book and emptying a jar of gloop into the mix. Unlike Indian curries which take well to long simmering and steeping, Thai ones seem to benefit from being made at the eleventh hour. I ...
RecipesLouden Wainwright III wrote a good song about dining out on your own, called ‘I Eat Out’, in which the Mister Sad Person of the lyrics instructs the waiters “Never mind the menu, take away the candle, forget about the aperitif”; getting to the nub of the matter in noting that people who dine in ...
Restaurant ReviewsWhat’s in a name? My own personal belief is ‘Not a lot’. Many of the world’s ‘must buy’ brands are mundane names reduced to strings of initials – International Business Machines, Bayerische Motoren Werke etc. Others are merely the founder’s surname set in giant type on a factory wall – Hoover, Dyson, Ford, Armani. Would ...
Restaurant ReviewsBudapest as such has only existed since 1873 when the towns of Buda and Óbuda, located on the hilly west bank of the Danube, and Pest, on the flat plain on the other side, merged to form the capital. The new city rapidly expanded – today it houses almost a quarter of Hungary’s total population ...
TravelModern Spain is arguably one of the most significant allies in the wine critic’s fight against the spectre of big brand uniformity. Since Rioja’s fall from grace in the nineties when over-production and unscientific tinkering caused quality to tumble, other regions have emerged, offering exciting wines, frequently made from hitherto unsung grape varieties to titillate ...
Books & EquipmentThe Irish oyster is one of the most significant of our native delicacies and in this absorbing cookbook food writer/broadcaster and home economist Márín Uí Chomáin endows it with love and respect. I know also that Márín – whom I always think of as The Ambassador for The Connemara Gaeltacht – was delighted to be ...
Books & EquipmentBy far the most comprehensive of the welter of hospitality guides on the Irish market and certainly one of the most honest and reliable. Essentially, there are three kinds of guide. Firstly there’s the “If you join our club you are eligible for an entry” category; then there’s the “Give us e100 and we’ll include ...
Books & EquipmentThis book highlights the big weakness of ‘The Restaurant’, suffused as it is with a ‘Dublin Village’ cosiness that would make old Glenroe seem like a Big Brother menage. Chef, Paolo, Guest Critic, Uncle Tom Doorley and all, everyone seems anxious not to offend. Even Helen Lucy Burke seems, these days, viper with drawn fangs. ...
Books & EquipmentHoney-basted roasted quail painted with pomegranate syrup and aniseed myrtle and stuffed with Roquefort cheese; served on a bed of interesting leaves dressed with an extra virgin and aged balsamic vinaigrette 4 quail, unboned 4 heaped tsp Roquefort cheese Pomegranate syrup Australian aniseed myrtle Soft honey for basting ‘Interesting leaves’ could include a mix of: ...
Recipes