The Menu: Support the people of Palestine with the Empty Bowls initiative
Empty Bowls One Raffle For Next Gaza, Weekend Up Of The For
The Menu is genuinely delighted to support a wonderful Cork-based outing for the Empty Bowls initiative, a global grassroots movement of artists and craft makers to raise money for food-related charities.
Empty Bowls for Gaza, spearheaded by Cork artist/ceramicist Martha Cashman, has already seen members of the public design and make clay bowls, which will be part of a special event (April 13, 2.30-4.30pm) in St Peter’s, North Main St, Cork.
Attendees will buy a raffle ticket to win a bowl, to then fill with very delicious Palestinian-inspired food prepared by chef Orla McAndrew.
Also available will be bowls designed by well-known names — including actor Mary McEvoy, chef Denis Cotter, Darina Allen, and TV architect Róisín Murphy — and splendid creations from superb Irish potters/ceramicists Cormac Boydell and Fermoyle Pottery, and US artist Linda Sawtelle, all up for raffle.
A great old favourite of The Menu’s, the Waterford Festival of Food (April 19-21), in Dungarvan, returns with yet another splendid programme — celebrating the very finest of Déise dining and producers.
Paul and Máire Flynn’s Tannery restaurant is at the heart of proceedings with a Tannery Spanish Feast.
However, The Menu’s highlight of weekend has to be Rowley Leigh at the Tannery, on the following night, as the legendary English chef arrives in West Waterford for a menu laden with his iconic dishes.
Also worth noting are: The Saturday Seafood Lunch at the Cliff House; afternoon teas at both Ballyin House and Woodhouse Estate; dinner at Lismore Castle with Seaneen Sullivan, Santina Kennedy, and Anthony O’Toole.
The Menu’s other top pick for the weekend is Pilgrim’s Waterford Pilgrimage, with Mark and Sadie Jennings — formerly of Pilgrim’s restaurant, in Rosscarbery, West Cork — offering two feasts, dinner on Saturday and lunch on Sunday.
Les Bories Jefferies visits Carpa (April 10) is very special evening in the sublime surroundings of the Carpa dining room, at Inish Beg estate ( inishbeg.com).
The event sees Joe Jefferies, iconic natural wine vigneron of Les Bories Jefferies, in the Languedoc, France, fetch up in West Cork for a magnificent tasting dinner, as Ophelia Keane and team present a menu inspired by Southern France.
Brian’s Wines’ ( brianswines.ie) special guest Joe Jefferies pops the cork on some of his truly singular wines. (Limited accommodation available at Inish Beg.)
Speaking of vino, The Menu has always had a fondness for Dublin’s ELY Wine Bar.
25-years-old this year, The Menu recommends a public wine tasting (April 11, 7-9pm) with winemaker Mireia Pujol-Busquets Guillén of Alta Alella Winery, Barcelona, who will be pouring some of their wonderful Cavas and still wines.
Each will be complemented by small plates from ELY’s new seasonal menu, with a chance to win some great prizes — including the Alta Alella 10 Gran Reserva.
The Menu has been relishing the very splendid rye sourdough breads from Angela Nöthling’s Ryes and Shine micro-bakery, in Mayfield, Cork city. Her most popular loaf is the Mayfield Bloomer, a fine crusty sourdough with moist open crumb.
The Menu also snaffled some of her German/Central/Eastern European style dense rye loaves, including a classic Borodinsky and Therese’s Schwarzbrot — based on Angela’s late mother’s recipe — both chewy, wholesome loaves vibrating with delicious nutty rye and leaving that exquisite post-prandial feeling of contentment and nutritional wellbeing,
Angela also makes fine baked confections, including very good cinnamon buns, but The Menu’s new passion is her crisp Rye Cookies which had The Menu quivering like he’d just experienced his first kiss all over again. Nutty rye harmonising exquisitely with butter and sugar, and a sublimely judged finishing of sea salt crystals to trigger salivation.