Compiled by MARIE-CLAIRE DIGBY
Pizza action in Barna
If you’re thinking of heading west from Galway city to the village of Barna, you’d better bring your passport. Passport to Barna is a marketing idea from the Twelve, the boutique hotel in the centre of the village, that offers loyalty rewards to customers patronising restaurants, bars, shops in the village, as well as taking part in leisure activities on offer in the locality.
It is available to residents at the hotel, who can get it stamped in-house at West restaurant, the Pins bar, bistro and bakery, and the recently opened Pizza Dozzina.
O’Grady’s on the Pier, with its unparalleled views of the bay, is also participating, along with Mulberry’s restaurant and wine bar, and Donnelly’s Bar. Local shops Standún and Design House are supporting the initiative, as are Geraldine Foran painting classes, Bearna Golf Club, Rusheen Bay Windsurfing, Moycullen Riding School, Segway Adventures, and Le Petit Spa. Special offers, gifts and treats are offered to those who present the passport.
Gerald Esposito, chef/patron at Capri Bay in Youghal, and a consultant to Pizza Dozzina, travelled to Naples with Fergus O’Halloran, general manager of the hotel, to order the MV Napoliniforni oven – dozzina means 12 in Italian and is also the approximate price of the pizzas on the menu. It was delivered in February, bringing traffic to a standstill in the village as it was unloaded and manoeuvred, with difficulty, into the shop.
The two-and-a-half tonne oven has a stone cooking surface that comes from Mount Vesuvius and can cook a pizza in just 60-90 seconds. Esposito has devised a menu of Italian classics, while the hotel’s head chef Martin O’Donnell presents a locally-inspired pizza menu with a range of toppings that includes turf-smoked chicken, buffalo mozzarella from Cork, Clonakilty black pudding and turf-smoked sausage. “We’re sending out between 200 and 250 pizzas a night at the weekend,” says O’Halloran. And at the moment, the inventive Irish toppings menu is outperforming the Italian classics.
Esposito insists that the dough is made at least a day in advance, so less yeast is required, which makes the pizzas easier to digest. Every one is stretched by hand to order, using a clever technique that involves draping the dough over the counter and allowing gravity to lend a helping hand.
The pizzas would be good partners for the wines from Château Minuty in St Tropez, famous for its rosés but also gaining recognition for its white and red wines, and a favourite on the wine list at the Pins. But make it a lunchtime pizza snack, because on the evening of Thursday, April 26th, winemaker Francois Matton will host a wine dinner at the Twelve's West restaurant, with canapés and five courses designed around the Château Minuty wines. Tickets are €70 each, to include the wines, with a special overnight offer of €40 per person sharing, with breakfast. You can book on 091-597000. See thetwelvehotel.ie.
Blogger hits the big time
Blogger and food writer Imen McDonnell (right) has made the shortlist for the prestigious Saveur magazine 2012 Best Food Blog Awards. There were almost 4,000 entries in 16 categories for the awards, which are in their third year. McDonnell's blog, marriedanirishfarmer.com, is one of six finalists in the regional cuisine category. It charts her experience in words and wonderful images of making the transition from big city girl in the US to farmer's wife and mother in Co Limerick. You can vote for her at saveur.com. McDonnell's blog was also recommended recently in Diner's Journal in the New York Times.
