The Irish Times Saturday 5th Feb 2011

FOOD FILE | Marie-Claire Digby talks about food

The G hotel in Galway, with its Philip Treacy designed interiors, isn’t just a stylish place to stay, it is also a earning a reputation as gourmet destination. Regis Herviaux, head chef, and Stefan Matz (below), who is executive chef here and at sister hotel Ashford Castle, aim to source much of the restaurant’s produce from within an hour’s drive. Luckily for them Galway and Connemara produce a rich variety of fish, shellfish, meat, cheese and vegetables. A recent gala dinner they staged featured shellfish from Stephane Griesbach’s Gannet Fishmongers which has a stall at the Galway food market, smoked tuna from the Roberts family’s Connemara Smokehouse in Ballyconneely, abalone farmed by Cindy O’Brien in Rossaveel, Connemara hill lamb and wonderful air-dried meats from artisan butcher James McGeough, and Bluebell Falls goats’ cheese made by Paul Keane in Co Clare.

The line-caught tuna, which was then smoked, was served three ways: as a chilled gateau with pears , in a tuna and leek crumble, and as a crisp tuile on a creamy cabbage soup. Frank Kinneen of The Vineyard wine shop in Quay Street supplied wine pairings, and a smokey Staete Landt New Zealand Pinot Noir 2006 made an outstanding partner to the tuna. The abalone came deep-fried as a crispy tempura with basil and poached with creamy barley, risotto-style. The Connemara lamb was served four ways – braised, chargrilled, roasted and as an olive-crusted rack. The kitchen team also took a multi-faceted approach to show the versatility of Paul Keane’s Bluebell Falls goats’ cheese, serving it as a cheesecake and a soufflé as well as in a crème brûlée and a chocolate mousse.

You can meet some of these dedicated artisan suppliers and pick up some cooking tips in the kitchens at the G hotel at a two-night “g is for gourmet” event on Thursday and Friday, March 3rd and 4th. It costs from from €225 per person sharing, to include a five-course dinner with wine pairings, two nights’ B&B, a cooking class and a guided tour of some the region’s food producers.

MERIAN IRLAND|DIE LUST AM REISSEN

ESSEN UND TRINKEN

Graham Roberts Räucherei in Connemara

View from Connemara Smokehouse by Laura Fyfe

First off, Connemara Smokehouse. A family run business sourcing, curing and smoking the finest fish they can find.  It’s in a beautiful location so well worth a visit for that alone, but obviously above all is their incredibly high standard of fish smokery.  They use beechwood which seems to give a more delicate smoke than the tradiitional oak – they were using ash for a while, but it is hard to come by as it’s used to make hurley sticks… They control everything manually, they hand fillet the fish, dry salt it rather than inject with brine and most importantly they remove the fish from the smokers when it’s ready not when a timer goes off.  It’s all done in the traditional way and you can tell.  The smoked mackerel was particularly good - softer than most and not dried out like a lot of the smoked mackerel that is readily available in shops.  We also got some smoked salmon which was brilliant and moreish and some smoked tuna which I was most excited about but was sadly the least impressive of them all.  All in all though it’s an incredibly high standard of smoked fish.

Connemara Smokehouse by Laura Fyfe

Connemara Smokehouse Products Laura Fyfe

DPD only deliver to mainland addresses, if you live on an island, please use airfreight….

SPECIAL AIRFREIGHT RATES WITH UPS FOR NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 2010

Zone 1 – UK Isle of Man

1st kg €22, next 4kg €1.75/kg, €1.25/kg thereafter

Zone 2 – Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg,(Corsica supplement €5)

1^st kg €22, next 4 kg €3.00/kg, €2.00/kg thereafter

Zone 3 – Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Sweden

1^st kg €24, next 4kg 4.50/ kg, € 3.50/kg thereafter

Zone 4 – Andorra, Guernsey, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland

1^st kg €32, next 4kg €6.00/kg, €4.50/kg thereafter

Zone 5 – USA, Canada

1^st kg €30, next 4kg €6.50/kg, €5.50 thereafter

By Lola-Lu’s Kitchen

False Bay

The world of Lola-lu’s Kitchen has been quiet online of late, but having been busy this summer with work (both of us) we’ve been taking our holidays late. Lola was off on a Las Vegas California adventure – while I headed to the Wild West (of Ireland!)

Here’a few food highlights from my travels in the van with Delo from around Connemara and Mayo. We’d the most amazing time, staying in some beautiful remote spots with the most incredible views. Travelling in September found some of the more popular spots quite deserted.

We caught and cooked some fish (not the tastiest fish, but we caught it, so by god we ate it!) We gained some fishing advice from an old fisherman on the pier, which gave us the boost we needed after fishing fruitlessly for several hours.

The Old Fishing Hole

Success!

Getting accustomed to cooking in the dark!

The Connemara Smokehouse – sitting on the farthest reaches of Ballyconnelly. Populated with a healthy population of seagulls. They can tasting tours with advance notice. The place has a puzzling small chimney for a ‘smoke’ house! We just called in on Monday morning and bought some fresh organic smoked salmon, which we had for breakfast on brown bread with coffee. It was divine – a lovely subtle smoked salmon that melts in the mouth. They also have a special smoked tuna – maybe not ideal for breakfast but I’ll pick some up next time I’m there.

Breakfast is served

Smokehouse View and the Sea After a long cycle the following day we bumped into the old fisherman unloading a small currach on the pier, having spent several hours at sea that morning.  I asked him if he’s had a good day and his response was “ah everyday is a good day for me now’ which was just such a wonderful sentiment – expressed so genuinely. After a little chat he asked would we like some crab claws. Of course we said yes and he produced a large crate of crabs and gave us a huge pot full of claws for our dinner, and looked for nothing in return. So happily we set off from the pier and off to False Bay – a spot where my mum used to take us to play in the waves, with huge basket of tuna and egg sandwiches!

False Bay – Ballyconnelly

Clab Claws by Day

Clab Claws by Night

Then as part of Clifden Arts week there was a performance, with glass seahorses suspended from a crane, and about a hundred kids all dressed in costumes of lights dancing, fire juggling, fire hula-hooping, a fire breathing horse, and then a parade of multi-coloured castle towers! An amazing night for a birthday.

Cliften Arts Week

Detail of Glowing Castle Tower

Master of Ceremonies

What a fantastic weekend at the Leenane Food Festival. We were greeted by James & Catherine O’Neill’s extra mature organic lamb roasting on a spit. Moules Marinière cooking beside us for sampling, oysters to be eaten. Lots of fresh baked breads, pies and buns. A great array of chutneys, jams, pickles and jellies.
Demo with Graham Roberts-Connemara Smokehouse on Albacore Tuna, Eamonn Hoult cooking Soup and Lamb with native seaweed, Jonathan Keane Mill Times Hotel with desserts of fruits, Sushi making with Elisabeth Foyle with children from Leenane N.S., Oran Daly of Portfinn Lodge & Fjord Restaurant cooks lobster & crab claws. Derry Clarke cooked up a storm and more and more and more…..

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