Westport native Aoife O’Neill is the owner of The Creel, an all-day kitchen eatery and deli overlooking Westport Harbour and Clew Bay. Aoife left a career in the HSE as a Medical Scientist to open the new food experience in 2016 and says she is very happy to be part of the thriving business community in the small town. Her... Read More
So you’ve read my article about things to do in Monaghan and you’re considering visiting. You’re nearly ready to book but you’re wondering what the food situation is like. The last post was quite generic in terms of food so I thought I’d delve into it a little bit more. Food is what I’m all about after all so let’s... Read More
I could go on an on about the stories I’ve heard about Jessica Kelly, you see, I’m friends with her mam. Sarah Kelly may well be known to you as one face of the Village Butcher in Ranelagh, but since Jessica Kelly came home early on in the pandemic, she has become just as familiar a face. For me, who... Read More
You think now that Easter has come and gone, you won’t hear about chocolate for a wee while? Well let me tell you how wrong ye are, because not only are we talking about chocolate, we’re also talking about chocolatiers. If you’ve ever bitten into a Bean and Goose sharing bar (perfectly fine to share with you, yourself and you... Read More
I like baking but I’m not great at it. Sorry, let me rephrase that…. I love eating cake and so I’ve learned to make a few simple ones. I’ll sometimes even go and look for new recipes but they must be, and I stress this, they must be easy. If I want fancy cakes I’ll go buy one. If there’s... Read More
Darina Brennan is the executive chef for Dalata Group, the single largest hotel group in Ireland, now fast expanding in the UK and Europe. If you’ve stayed in a Clayton or a Maldron, you’ve stayed in a Dalata and have sampled Darina’s work. I’m fascinated by careers where people go from the bottom to the top. It’s not the case... Read More
“I’ve got forty-eight hours to kill so let’s book a trip to Monaghan” said no one ever. As it happens I was told that Monaghan is the second least visited county in Ireland so I took it as a bit of a personal challenge. Will I bring the masses to Monaghan and single-handedly bring it into the limelight? Probably not!... Read More
This is a back of the press and left-over kind of soup. The goodness comes from the warmth of the spices and the comforting chewiness of the dumplings. The added pleasure of the warm, juicy chicken slivers is just an added bonus. It was my first time making dumplings and based on this one experience, it won’t be my last... Read More
Fiona Staunton is a Chef and Home Economics teacher and owner of Fiona’s Food For Life. She presents live cookery classes in the workplace, as well as online classes. Her philosophy is Cook, Eat, Nourish – she will teach you to cook from scratch, nourish yourself and those around you while reducing time spent in the kitchen. Her recipes are... Read More
Pauline Cox is the Managing Director of Gather & Gather Ireland who are essentially a workplace catering group. Born in Birmingham to Irish parents (from Down and Roscommon respectively) she moved back to Ireland when she was 13 when her parents decided to buy a pub just outside Strokestown. She worked in a local hotel during her final years in... Read More