The Menu: Food and movement take centre-stage at Dublin Gastronomy Symposium
Glamping Salubrious Going And Away A House On Offers Superior At A Ballyvolane For Take Weekend’ ‘camping A Very
The Dublin Gastronomy Symposium (May 31 & June 1) is back post-pandemic as a full-blown real-life 3-D face to face event and all the better for it, as most food-related events.
Granted, as the Symposium is generally more concerned with intellectual fodder rather than the food on the plate, it was able to continue with online options during the various lockdowns but there is no substitute for real human contact when sharing ideas and the sixth biennial Dublin Gastronomy Symposium (Theme: Food and Movement) takes place in TU Dublin Grangegorman Central Quad, but fret not, for if any lessons have been taken from the last few years it is that a blended offering including online further expands the range of participation so anyone unable to travel can still check-in and sample from this smorgasbord of ideas.
The keynote address comes from the internationally renowned Carolyn Steel (author of The Hungry City) who addresses the vital topic of food and movement in the modern city and moves from there in a fascinating blend of the local and global, with academic contributions coming from Irish and international participants. Full programme is available on
Kinsale’s Blue Haven Hotel has certainly upped its game in recent times, its offering infused with entirely new energy and the boutique hotel in the centre of the lovely seaside town has teamed up with Kinsale Food Tours, regularly promoted in this quarter, with a package that begins with check-in before heading off to meet KFT’s Suzanne Burns at picturesque Sandycove just outside the town for a splendid al fresco picnic of finest local fare before embarking on a foraging expedition along the coastline to learn all about shoreline plants, seaweeds and shellfish.
And with an appetite sharpened to a keen edge by all that activity and sea air, it’s back to base for an evening meal cooked by head chef Meeran Manzoor, in Rare 1784, the hotel’s new dining and cocktail space. Picnic & Forage includes two nights B&B plus one evening dinner, allowing the opportunity to sample elsewhere of Kinsale’s very fine hospitality offering.
One of The Menu’s favourite Irish venues for a spot of R&R is Ballyvolane House, sited in the bucolic countryside in Castlelyons, north of Cork city, where a night or two passed in the wonderful gardens, woodlands, lakes and parkland is a tonic for the weariest of souls, most especially when followed by wonderful seasonal dinner and a snifter by the fire or a snooze on a lounger on more clement evenings.
Activities are plentiful for the more vigorous guests including croquet, tennis, badminton, clay pigeon shooting with fly fishing and guided canoeing on the Blackwater also on offer, or you could simply do the right thing, and do absolutely nothing for the weekend, other than eat, drink and make merry, and with breakfast served until 12 noon, indolence is most certainly the order of the day. Luxury glamping accommodation is also available, The Menu’s idea of a truly civilised ‘camping’ experience.
If like The Menu, you pass weekends swanning around this fair isle in search of finest fare then you’ll always be on the lookout for a decent Sunday lunch offering and Savour Sunday afternoons at The Morrison Room at Carton House, in a very sumptuous five-star Georgian estate in Kildare, 1,100 acres of parkland, ancient woodlands, lakes and the meandering River Rye sounds just the ticket, not least if on your way home from Dublin, just 25 minutes drive away.
A lovely luncheon in a most august dining room should while away the afternoon and if you’re anything like The Menu you’d be foolhardy to travel a single inch further than the terrace or the Courtyard Bar for a post-prandial cocktail before making a night of it and checking in for an overnight Sunday sleepover.
Muse Cafe on the grounds of Kilkenny’s Butler Gallery, a contemporary art gallery and museum, has kicked off a Summer Series of outdoor food, drink and health and wellness focused events being hosted in the serene surroundings of the walled garden.
These Yoga + Sunday Brunch sessions sound like a very excellent way to kick out the post-Saturday night jams with an hour of revitalising exercise followed by a delicious and nutritious two-course coffee and food brunch at a communal table on the adjoining terrace, with an edible offering that runs the gamut from vegan to full-blown carnivore. Sessions (weather dependent) run every Sunday until July 31. Individual booking (20 people per session)
Yes, The Menu has once again marked off another culinary Christmas or its edible equivalent, one of the most important dates on his annual epicurean calendar, the consumption or should that even read, ‘consummation’, of new Irish potatoes, right up there as one of his most favourite of all foodstuffs, a bowl of same, served piping hot, with far more butter than is sensible melting on top, some chopped flat-leaf parsley from the garden and a grinding of black pepper.
This year, his first new potatoes were delicious Charlottes that arrived (along with some quite splendid strawberries!) from one of his most favourite local growers, Food For Humans, from Ballygarvan, beyond Cork Airport. He steamed a goodly amount of these tremendous tubers until their gossamer skin was lifting to reveal a golden, waxy flesh that was nutty and sweet and soon swimming in gorgeous melting butter, for one of the greatest of all elemental eating experiences.