Compiled by MARIE-CLAIRE DIGBY
It shouldn't work but it does
Food combinations that shouldn't work but do will be explored by chefs from Pichet, Campagne, Locks Brasserie and Tankardstown House at A Curious Feast for the Senses, a four-night food and wine event in the Sugar Club, Dublin 2, from March 5th-8th. Brancott Estate wines will be paired with the three-course sampling menus prepared by the chefs, who will each have one night on stage. Set dressing, visual and aural effects will all have a part to play in challenging guests' perception of food. Interested? You can register for a chance to win two tickets by logging on to brancottestatestaycurious.comand facebook.com/brancottestateireland. You can enter until next Tuesday, February 28th and winners will be notified that day.
These cute cake or bread baking moulds by Kalasform are from The White Door, 14 Exchequer Street, Dublin 2 and Dunleer, Co Louth. They cost €5.90 for a pack of four and are oven- and freezer-proof. There are bun cases and napkins in the range too.
Pretty pictures, tasty family food
You'll probably recognise Lisa Faulkner from her acting roles in TV dramas, including Holby Cityand Spooks, but these days she is more likely to be found behind a stove than in front of a camera. The 2010 Celebrity MasterChef winner does regular stints at in the kitchens at Smith's of Smithfield, the restaurant run by MasterChef presenter John Torode, who has become her mentor and friend. She has also just published her first cookery book, Recipes from my Mother for my Daughter, named for Julie, the mother she lost to cancer as a 16-year-old, and Billie, the daughter she fostered then adopted after three failed IVF attempts.
Classics and family favourites are the backbone of Faulkner’s debut, but high production values and excellent photography keep it from being mundane. There may be a few too many gratuitous decorative photographs of the former model (and it’s the first time I’ve seen Clinique, Bobby Brown and Dermalogica listed in an author’s thank you postscript), but it is a book that will make you want to get into the kitchen and start cooking. And Faulkner’s personal and lively writing style makes for a really good read.
Recipes from my Mother for my Daughter,by Lisa Faulkner, is published by Simon Schuster (£20/€24)
The buzz
rigbys deli @rigbysdeli: Tables still available for this Thursday if my wife gives birth on Thursday all meals will be free that evening
Susie Mesure @susiemesure: Most surprising thing Ive read in a paper all week? Most borrowed cookbook from a Scottish library last yr was @ottolenghis veggie book Plenty
Valentine Warner @ValentineWarner: My kick arse steak sauce 3 tbls Hendersons relish, 1 ketchup,Tabasco, tsp Eng mustard powd, 1 grtd hrd boil egg, fc shallot, parsley and gherkin
There are some great prizes, including a Thermomix worth more than €1,000; dinner and BB at The Cliff House Hotel; €200 to spend at Chapter One; and a masterclass for two with Kevin Thornton at the Great Irish Foodie Quiz, which takes place next Thursday, March 1st, at 7.30pm in the Circle Club at Grand Canal Theatre. You can enter (€80 for a team of four) at mycharity.ie/event/thegreatirishfoodiequiz2012.
All proceeds will go to Down Syndrome Ireland
Arun Kapil of Green Saffron, Oliver Dunne of Bon Appétit and Louise Lennon, pastry chef on The Restaurant, have been announced as guest chef teachers, along with Marie McGuirk of the Irish Countrywoman’s Association, at the cookery school at the Village at Lyons. Clodagh McKenna previously ran the school, but is stepping down from the end of March to concentrate on other commitments. For class details and dates, see villageatlyons.com
A good chip is a thing of beauty, whether it comes vinegar-soaked and newspaper-wrapped from a chipper, or triple-cooked, truffle-annointed in an upscale restaurant. Maybe you think you make the best chips in the world? We are inviting readers to tell us where they think Ireland’s best chips are made, and why they are so superior. Send your suggestions to chips@irishtimes.com. Don’t forget to tell us where the chips can be bought. Or, if you think yours are peerless, tell us how you make them.
