Today we launch the 10th year of Food Month at The Irish Times, which will continue until the end of November. You will find expanded coverage of food and drink in the newspaper and online at irishtimes.com, as well as a programme of reader events, dinners and discussions running throughout the month.
On Friday, November 4th, you can pick up a copy of our Winter Food & Drink magazine, distributed with the newspaper. The 52-page glossy magazine will include a useful list of 100 Great Value Places to Eat, as well as interviews, recipes and food features.
We are delighted to welcome chef and restaurateur Gráinne O’Keefe to The Irish Times Magazine food team with her new weekly recipe column. If you’d like to know more about O’Keefe and try her cooking, you can book tickets for a Food Month Meet The Chef dinner at her Mae restaurant in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, on Tuesday, November 8th, at 7.30pm. The Champagne reception, dinner with wine pairings and a Q&A with Irish Times restaurant critic Corinna Hardgrave, is limited to just 20 guests and you can buy tickets (€100 each) at Eventbrite.ie
The reader events kick off on Thursday, November 3rd, at 7pm, when you can join BBC TV presenter, cookbook author and Britain’s Best Home Cook winner Suzie Lee at Asia Market on Drury Street in Dublin 2 for a masterclass that will include ingredients tips and shopping advice, a cookery demonstration and food tastings. A welcome drink is also included and guests will take home a goodie bag. Just 20 tickets (€70) are on sale and they can be booked at Eventbrite.ie
On the evening of November 18th we celebrate Fried Chicken Friday with Sofie Rooney and Garret Fitzgerald as they celebrate the opening of the Terenure branch of Chimac, their Korean fast food restaurant. There will be a selection of Chimac favourites served, plus guests will get to try some new dishes that are being considered for the menu and give their feedback. Two alcoholic drinks are also included in the €50 ticket price, and these go on sale at Chimac.ie
On Saturday, November 12th, Food Month at The Irish Times teams up with Leinster rugby club for a Thai and Vietnamese three-course brunch with drinks at Saba restaurant. There will be two panel discussions covering nutrition and health and a meet-and-greet with some of the team. The action moves to Fire restaurant on Tuesday, November 15th, when Irish Hereford Prime sponsor an evening at Fire restaurant that will include a cookery demo by executive chef Richie Wilson, drinks and dinner. You can join us in The Irish Times building in Dublin 2 on Thursday, November 17th (10am-12.30pm), for a Coffee & Craft morning with Lilly Higgins, sponsored by Tassimo. For ticket information on these three events, see irishtimes.com/events
Later in the month we will have news of a very exciting dinner with Richard Corrigan at his soon to open Park Cafe restaurant in Ballsbridge.
We are also delighted to welcome back The K Club’s novice wine enthusiast competition, with a prize package worth €10,000 including a trip to Bordeaux, with a private visit to the Barton & Guestier Château Magnol, as well as time spent with the hotel’s head sommelier Lisa O’Doherty. This will involve submitting a short essay describing a memorable moment shared over a bottle of wine. The entry page is live at irishtimes.com/events, and entries will be accepted until November 14th.
