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Author of this Post, Jenifer O'Connell is the Editor of TheJournal.ie - Ireland's online community for news. Columnist with The Sunday Business Post and occasional broadcaster.

You can follow Jenifer O'Connell on Twitter: @jenoconnell

Chef Joe Clinton wins the New National Irish Dish Competition

A Donegal Based Chef has Won the 'Failte Ireland' New Irish National Dish Finals

at the So Sligo Food Festival 2011.

In celebration of Irish food and the talent of our people and the glorious ingredients that are natural to us, amateur and professional chefs fought in the kitchens of Sligo today to create a new signature dish for Ireland. 

The aim of this competition was to create a new Irish national dish, suitable for service in all of Ireland's  finest restaurants.

This prestigious competition was open to all chefs and cooks – professional and amateur and the winner of the New Irish National Dish Final was Joe Clinton, who works with his wife Dee, out of the kitchens at Smuggler's Creek Rossnowlagh, in County Donegal.

Chef Joe Clinton

Two hours were allowed to prepare, cook and present an innovative modern Irish dish, two portions of each, of competitor’s choice.

Local produce had be used in the completion of the dishes, proof of ingredients sourced locally had to be submitted prior to the competition with the chef's competition application. Competitors had to provide all ingredients and service plates.

Joe Clinton's dish consisted of Saddle of Venison with a fresh horseradish & prune cheese, marinated Venison Liver with a wild mushroom stew, mustard seed infused celeriac cream

and an orange flavoured roast beetroot.

The Winning New Irish National Dish created with Wild Irish Venison

Marks were given for creativity, plate presentation and proper professional, preparation, presentation and service of the dishes.

Joe, a long time member of the Irish Culinary Team Leader won the World Professional Irish Stew Championships last year and has been a leading, though sometimes controversial, member of the Panel of Chefs of Ireland for over a decade.

He has been a Multi-winning Gold Medal achiever for many years on the International Culinary Championship Circuit and is recognised as one of the world's top competition-level masters of the culinary arts.

Don't forget to feed the fish at the bottom of this post!

The #inishfood Menu in it's Full Glory!

The Saturday evening #inishfood Feast at Harry’s Bar , Donegal, was simply Supreme!

No menu was tendered. Anticipation is an excellent starter!

As the Six Courses of platters were delivered to our tables the serving staff explained, with a wonderfully refreshing enthusiasm, their well-imparted knowledge of the food being provided. (Why all restaurants can't take the few extra minutes that Harry's Bar has done to educate their floor staff on the menu they are serving, I'll never know.) Ultimately, the floor staff is the link between the kitchen and the diner.

We started off with good fresh breads, a rendered porkfat with rosemary and butter.  A tasty selection of four butters was delivered to the table, one of which was hand-made by Imenm with Ella McSweeney as part of a production demonstration earlier in the  day.

First, up came a selection of Pates: A smooth Brawn Terrine, A rough Pork, Prune & Wild Garlic pate and a Chicken Liver Parfait all served with the home baked and toasted brioche & a  cranberry chutney. All delicious and plenty of each to give us all an appetite for what was still to  come.

Harry's Bar has always advocated the use of the fresh fish that comes in off the local fishing boats on a daily basis. The next course was proof of this: Greencastle Scampi in a light  crumb,  Breaded Langoustine on skewers and a Salt Cod Fish Cake with a  simple tartare dip and chunky Lemon wedges. This was accompanied by a little shot glassful of a Langoustine & Cognac Bisque - a wonderful side addition to this sea-to-the-plate course of Donegal Seafood.

This was followed by a Shin of local Beef cooked inside homemade Ravioli and tossed in a celeriac, wild garlic & horseradish cream. Light and lovely, this was a great dish to share with the great company we were in!

Next up in this roll call of #inishfood Honour came the House Dry-Cured Greencastle Pollack served on a lightly spiced sweet Red Pepper sauce and topped with a little dried filo-pastry slice.

With almost 70 food writers, chefs, food-stylists and food producers from all over Ireland in the Restaurant, the style, presentation and delivery of this #inishfood feast was impeccable! 

Our next platter on the table came as a selection of Rare Breed Saddleback Pork from Marshall's Farm in Burt (which is only fifteen minutes from the venue) and Wild locally culled Venison. The Confit of Venison rolled in hazelnut breadcrumbs with amaretto & butternut Squash puree and a beetroot jelly was a melt in the mouth dish combining some distinct flavours into a perfectly balanced mouthful. This was served with a finely sliced carpaccio of Venison Loin, rolled in cumin & cardamon.

The Confit of Shoulder of Pork came with a delicate Cauliflower puree and a slow-roast pork Belly. The most impeccably cooked crackling left most of the diners begging for the secret but Donal's chef Raymond Moran was giving nothing away! To top off this amazing platter of locally farmed meat was some of Jack McCarthy's famous Chocolate, Pistachio & Mint flavoured Black Pudding. The combination of these flavours, through the rich dark pudding, left a taste of true passion on the lips. Genius.

By this stage many of those collected for the event were halfway to Foodie-heaven. The Dessert plate put the icing on this  #inishfood cake! A delicate panacotta flavoured with locally made McDaid's Football Special (a unique fruit-flavoured soft drink) was served with a quenelle of Sligo-based Yeat’s Country Foods cream cheese Cheesecake with white chocolate & Donegal made Tyrconnel Whiskey. Added to this was a Braemar Farm buttermilk Ice cream which rounded the meal and mellowed the palette’s amalgamated flavours.

I have to say congratulations to Donal, Kevin, Raymond, their friends, families and all the extended Harry's Bar and Restaurant Foodie Family for a wonderful evening.

It was certainly one that will be talked about for some time to come!!

Don’t forget to feed the fish at the bottom of this Post!

What a great way to meet some great people! For all of you who couldn't get up to Donegal for the world's first Twitter-based pop-up Food Festival.. don't miss the next one!!

zack.

Irish Stew Poll - Garlic or No Garlic?

A few of us had a wee debate over the weekend about Irish Stew. We agreed on the making of the basic Lamb stew but couldn't agree on the addition (or not) of Garlic.

I always put garlic ( and chopped wild garlic leaves when I can get them ) in my stew so -

How do you make yours ?

Poll Closed on Calorie Count issue - and the winner is...

We had a total of 26 votes (well it was my 1st Poll!!) and surprisingly the results show that in a ratio of 2:1 you voted in favour of menus displaying the calorie count of the food served.

Q: Do you think Restaurants should show a Calorie Count on Menus

Here are the results:

Personally, I don't want to know!

Comments, as always, very welcome...
Don't forget to feed the fish at the bottom of this post!!

A Calorie Counter for Everyone in the Audience!

It Looks like the Calorie Counting Snowball is not going to stop. And so, I found some Calorie Counters that you can stick on your own Blog or Website.


Thanks to...

...for the Calorie Counter Codes

First, here is the Code for a Website or a Blog on Blogger:

<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"

        title="Calorie Counter"

        src="http://www.calobonga.com/widgets/calorie-counter.lz"

        style="width: 255px; height: 420px;">

        <a href="http://www.calobonga.com/%22%3ECalorie Counter</a></iframe>

Highlight the Code, Copy, (in Blogger>Design>Add Gadget>HTML/JavaScript-Add third-party functionality or other code to your blog) Paste>Save.   - Now 'View Blog' and that's you sorted!!

For your website, add the code within the 'body' tags, save the page. FTP up to your website, click 'Refresh' and that's you sorted!

mmmmm... the Wordpress Code seems to have a wee problem- hang on there...

No, not having any joy there. I have contacted the site and will update you on advice recieved.

Ok - In the meantime you can go to http://www.calobonga.com/calorieCounter/food/9003/0/calorie-counter.lz and while there:

Alt>File>Send>Shortcut to Desktop.

This will put a Link on your Desktop to the site that gave me the code widget. Now you have your own Calorie Counter on your Desktop... and that's you sorted!

I have one on the site here at the bottom of this Page.

Enjoy the counting!
z

Crepes, Pancakes & Crepe Suzette!

There really is little difference between Crepes and Pancakes. Traditionally crepes are a lighter mix, made thiner and filled with a variety of sweet and savoury fillings. Irish style Pancakes are a more 'homey' thicker mix, made sometimes with buttermilk, and served with little more than real butter and homemade jam.

After all the discussion about Crepes or Pancakes in recent days, I was outnumbered 3/1 this morning, so crepes were the order of the day. Later I'll make some old fashioned pancakes and post them too!

So, here is this Morning's Recipe for Crepes.

My Ingredients:

200g plain flour

pinch sugar

pinch salt

2 eggs

225ml milk

butter for the pan

My Method:

Put the flour into a mixing bowl and give it a quick whisk to lighten it and smooth any lumps (much handier than sieving).

Add the salt, sugar, milk and eggs

Whisk together until creamy making sure there are no lumps.

Then leave to stand for 10 minutes. Whisk again before you start using the mix.

To cook the pancakes, you will need a good heavy-based non-stick pan. Heat the pan at the 2nd highest setting. A good medium-hot pan and you'll have perfect crepes.

Rub a little butter on the pan. I use the back of a spoon for better control of the spread.

Using a standard sauce ladle, or pouring cup, pour 75ml batter into the centre of the pan. Tilt the pan around in a circular motion until it is completely covered.

Cook for about a minute or until set around the edges. Gently turn the pancake over and cook for about 30 seconds. It should be golden and just starting to brown on both sides.

Flipping the crepe is good fun but takes a little practice. The knack is to loosen it with your spatula and then quickly shake the crepe 'away from yourself' until it sits on the side of the pan opposite you.

Then in one quick flick you toss it one more time in a curling motion so the crepe has no choice but to curl back into the pan!

Catching the crepe is another matter. This also takes a bit of practice!

Place them on a plate with a teatowel on top to keep them warm and repeat until all the batter is gone.

Now spread the crepe with what ever you want: butter, lemon-juice  & sugar, honey, syrup, jam, peanut butter, chocolate spread... the choice is endless.

One of the most (in)famous crepes is the Crepe Suzette with its delicious Orange Liquour Sauce & Ice cream. Here's a quicky version of the Orange sauce...

My Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup water

1 cup pure orange juice

dash Orange Liquour (Grand Marinier, Cointreau etc)

1 tbls Butter

Place 1 cup of sugar in a heavy bottomed pot and add enough water to just cover it. Stir once and bring to the boil. Do not stir the mix again at this stage. Watch carefully as the water evaporates and the boiling sugar mix comes to a slower boil...

As the mix starts to colour golden around the edges pour in 1 cup of pure orange juice, a dash of orange liquour and the butter.

The whole mix will boil up into a terrible mess but that's OK. Let it come back to the boil stirring gently and now turn Off the heat. The sauce will come together into a delicious light, buttery, orangey, liqueury sauce.

Place a scoop of your favourite Ice Cream on a crepe, fold it over and drizzle the Orange sauce over the top. mmmmmmmmmm !

My son Finn simply adores crepes and pancakes