Want to give local this Christmas? Joe McNamee rounds up the the country's very best food produce
Sating the festive appetite is what Christmas is all about, here takes us through the best culinary delights that are produced right here on our doorstep.
When it comes to making up his list for Santa, The Menu is all about the belly and reckons there is nothing finer to fill said belly than the very best of world class Irish produce.
And neither is it all about the epicurean pleasure for the gift of locally-produced Irish produce is equally a balm for the conscience, especially if you care about this planet and the people who live on it, beginning with friends, family and local community.
Money spent on locally-produced Irish produce benefits the local community far more than money spent abroad or in non-Irish owned stores; as London’s New Economics Foundation found, ‘every £10 spent at a local food business is worth £25 for the local area, compared with just £14 when the same amount is spent in a [foreign-owned] supermarket.
That is, a pound (or euro, dollar, peso, or rupee) spent locally generates twice as much income for the local economy.’ How does that work?
Well, if you go to a non-Irish multiple or even buy non-Irish products, your hard-earned cash goes into the till and then after paying suppliers and wages, profits head off to other climes.
If you go to your local butcher and buy meat, butcher might then go to the local mechanic and pay for car service, mechanic in turn goes to the pub and buys a few pints, publican, in turn goes to…. Well, I’m sure you get the picture. It may cost a little more in the short term but the benefits are immediate and infinitely longer lasting.
Gifts of finest, local Irish produce are also generally far kinder to the environment, having a much lower carbon footprint and, as always, it is usually the specialty food producer movement that leads the way, not just in culinary innovation but also in sourcing more sustainable production options, including packaging.
HAMPERS
The gift to the family of a food hamper was one of the great thrills of The Menu’s childhood Christmases and he still experiences an especially gluttonous frisson to this day if ever lucky enough to receive one, most especially when it is packed full of finest Irish produce.
includes charcuterie, Irish farmhouse cheeses, cheese biscuits, award-winning On the Pig’s Back patés and terrines. .onthepigsback.ie
includes Derry McCarthy Spiced Beef and Nash 19 range, granola, pickles, stunning mince pies and The Menu’s hands-down favourite Christmas pud. nash19.com
superb range of Irish and imported specialty spirits and liqueurs, craft beers, wines along with a cracking offering of Irish specialty food products. bradleysofflicence.ie
the very best range of Irish and imported chocolate available in Ireland including premium single origin chocolate from around the world. chocolate.ie
the English Market’s one-stop shop for a huge range of Irish specialty food products, including condiments, jams, preserves, honeys, sauces, including Crossogue English Market Brandy Butter and Big Red Kitchen Spiced Plum & Port Jam. (Also see the Pure Cork range at the English Market’s pop-up stall for the month of December) facebook.com/TheRoughtyFruitKing
The Menu’s Irish food experiences
If you want to get away entirely from the world of ‘stuff’, why not give an experience and Irish food experiences are some of the very best, generally involving exquisite nosh in a most exquisite part of the world.
Woodcock Smokery Fish Smoking Masterclass from world-renowned fish smoker Sally Barnes, using only natural, non-farmed wild fish. woodcocksmokery.com
K Club Wine Cellar Tour, award winning sommelier Lisa O’Doherty conducts a fun, informal tour of the wine cellar and, yes, there will be wine! kclub.ie
Restaurant Chestnut exclusive cookery classes: maximum of four students per class in the gorgeous and intimate Michelin-starred Ballydehob restaurant as the sublimely gifted Rob Krawczyk teaches dinner party cooking: canapes, starters, mains, dessert and other skills and techniques. Includes coffee/tea/treats on arrival and light lunch with wine. Email info@restaurantchestnutwestcork.ie
Cliff House Hotel, Cliff Townhouse & Cliff at Lyons (& Aimsir): vouchers for a variety of options and offers available in the various Cliff Group venues, including Michelin Star dining at the Cliff House Hotel, in Ardmore, and this year’s fantastic new arrival, Aimsir, near Celbridge. cliff.ie
Good Food Ireland Gourmet Getaways as part of their Good Food Ireland Experiences, offering overnight getaways with a pronounced epicurean angle, includes Indulgent Overnight Escape & Farm to Fork Dinner at Ballymaloe House. goodfoodirelandexperiences.com
for budding cookbook authors and afficionados, hosted near Trish’s new home in Le Perche, Normandy, in France, includes meals and accommodation is available in a beautiful country house restaurant with rooms. trishdeseinefrance.com/post/the-holiday-special
A Greek Culinary Adventure: Legendary Lettercollum Kitchen Project travel to the island of Syros in spring, to lead a residential weeklong culinary workshop in paradise (May 23-30).lettercollum.ie.
The Menu’s coffee shop
The ‘tae-suppin’ Gael is these days as likely to be a dedicated follower of the Way of the Bean and much of this new-found passion is down to the very splendid roasters to be found around the country, not least in the especially well-served county of Cork.
Shane Kelleher’s lovely range, roasted in West Cork currently includes an especially fabulous Burundi. facebook.com/RedStrandCoffee
Tony Speight also offers a coffee subscription club along with an esoteric range of excellent single origin coffees. westcorkcoffee.ie Stone Valley Coffee Roasters: yet another fine West Cork-based outfit, with a retail outlet/coffee shop in Clonakilty, and turning out super very filter-friendly coffees. Also does classes. stonevalleyroasters.com
worth purchasing for the glorious coffee storage ‘can’, a hybrid yellow-lime green affair, this one containing delicious nutty Costa Rican single origin beans. beanindingle.com
excellent single origin beans from Dublin-based outfit. Also Christmas gift box (beans, beanie hat, MiiR premium stainless steel cup), monthly blend & single origin subscriptions. cloudpicker.ie
One of the grand daddies of the Irish roasting scene, Ballymaloe-based Marc Kingston’s sublime single origin roasts remain a real Menu favourite. www.goldenbean.ie
as well as a good range of blends and single origins, Cork-based B&D have teamed up with Eight Degrees for an excellent Christmas Beer’n’Coffee collaboration gift set. (badgeranddodo.ie)
The Menu raises a glass
Bradley’s, in Cork, remains The Menu’s favourite one stop shop for much of his yuletide supping requirements, including plenty of food-friendly craft beers, and he especially likes the Bradley’s Whiskey Refill Hip Flask, an attractive leather-bound flask that you can return to refill with any of a selection of premium whiskies when the cost of a full bottle might be prohibitive. bradleysofflicence.ie
Shelbourne Whiskey Glass: as well as offering regular whiskey experiences and masterclasses, the iconic Dublin hotel offers a special signature whiskey glass incorporating a bullet, recalling the 1916 Rising when they were flying through the hotel’s windows. (Available from the hotel.)
Glendalough Distillery team up with Carton House for a very special treat, a limited edition batch triple barrel Irish Whiskey, aged in American bourbon, Spanish sherry then Madeira casks. cartonhouse.com
miniatures in gift pack, Teeling’s whiskey truffles, and exquisite small batch Teeling’s Whiskey (with two whiskey glasses), all in all, The Menu’s idea of a perfect Christmas ‘selection box’! teelingwhiskey.com
produced in West Cork by Origin Spirits, these two are rated in the top ten vodkas in the world. kalakvodka.com
The Menu’s most favourite gin of all and one of his most favourite spirits, drink it like whiskey, just the tiniest drop of water to open up this glass of liquid silk. ornabrakgin.com
already enormously popular Irish-made alcohol-free gin for the non-drinkers who still want to party. silktreebotanics.com
Gilbert Murphy Hot Friskey and Mulled Apple Juice, another two fine festive non-alcoholic drinks for the designated driver. ballyhouraapplefarm.com Bertha’s Revenge: Sloe Gin (also included in Nash 19 hamper) for a nostalgic sup or two by the fireside. ballyvolanespirits.ie
Sweet Stuff
Ditch the cheap and nasty selection boxes and plastic tubs full of sickly chocolate flavoured sugar and instead relish the real deal and no better place to begin than a trip to The Chocolate Shop, the best place in Ireland for real chocolate.
staggering range of the finest in Irish and world chocolates. www.chocolate.ie Sinead’s Nougat: Very limited edition from Sinead Doran, proprietor of Crawford Gallery Cafe (available directly from the cafe).
Alison Robert’s Clonakilty Chocolate Factory produces this fine range of chocolate bars for those with dairy and gluten intolerances and has just launched a vegan Creamy Oat bar. explodingtree.com Glenstal Abbey liqueurs with Longueville House Apple Brandy. longuevillebeverages.ie
stylish handpainted container from Kashmir for your loose confectioneries,—if they last that long. Available from Brown Thomas Winter Spiced
Noretta ‘The Milklady’ Brosnan’s All Full Up company produces premium organic vegan-friendly products and this sugar-free, vegan granola is quite exquisite though not for the breakfast table but rather for nibbling on when you fancy an entirely guilt-free sweet treat. Also seek out festive nutmeg and cinnamon version. allfullup.ie
healthy peanut-based sweet treats with Ultimate Gift Box including a NutShed Organic Tote, a jar of Original and Crunchy PB, Three Rawbs (peanut butter and raspberry) and a Peanut Caramel Square. nutshed.ie
Deli Counter
Keeping in mind that it’s not just about the big day but also a whole load of other big days that come along before and afterwards so here’s a selection of perishable treats, meats, cheeses and smoked fish that add to the yuletide larder. Some play fast and loose with Christmas culinary traditions, even ditching the turkey and ham, but it’s very hard to enjoy Christmas in Cork without spiced beef.
this local producer has transformed a Leeside traditional treat to an all year round delicacy available throughout the country. tomdurcanmeats.ie
Sally Barnes is one of the finest fish smokers in the country as well as being seriously involved in the international Slow Fish movement so her range of stunning smoked fish is as sustainable as it is possible to get. woodcocksmokery.com
with an multi-award winning of patés and terrines to choose from along with a superb range of Irish and international farmhouse cheeses. onthepigsback.ie
the very singular and very special Cork city-based cheese shop is a wonderful place to assemble a Christmas Cheeseboard. facebook.com/Iago
BOOKS
It’s not just the belly, The Menu’s mind takes equal feeding and he is always partial to a good cookbook—providing he has fed the belly first!
GIY’s Know-It-All Almananac (GIY), by Michael Kelly & Muireann Ní Chíobháin, illustrated by Fatti Burke. Arrives a minted children’s classic, a superb gift for young growers.
The Green Cookbook (Gill), by Tony Keogh, Aoife Carrigy. Excellent vegan cookbook from the iconic Dublin restaurant.
One Pot Feeds All (Kyle), by Darina Allen, yet another very user-friendly tome from the Godmother of Irish food, this one ideal for the time-strapped cook.
From the Oven to the Table (Mitchell Beazly), by Diana Henry, the Co Down-born food writer remains uniquely popular in these islands for her always accessible yet extremely thoughtful dishes, this one, yet another cookbook reflecting the current drive to save time, puts all the onus on the oven when it comes to hard labour.
Ireland The Best (Collins), by John & Sally McKenna: not strictly a cookbook but this highly evocative and wonderfully photographed tome from two of Ireland’s most renowned food writers has more than enough food and dining locations included to warrant inclusion in this list.