Guilt-free(ish) eggs
An egg a day keeps the doctor away . . . unless your egg of choice this Easter is from Dr Coy’s Health Foods. The family-run business, based in Greystones, Co Wicklow has launched a box of 12 solid chocolate eggs in four flavours – crisp, orange, mint crisp and raspberry crisp.
Gluten-free and made with what Dr Coy’s describe as “low-glycemic, tooth-friendly sugars” (isomaltulose and galactose), the Nutritional Chocolate Egg Collection (€9.99) is on sale in SuperValu, Brown Thomas, Avoca and branches of The Health Store.
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Someone with a good sense of humour (that would be chocolate product developer Katy Patino), has come up with this cute Laid Back Lamb, a milk and white chocolate novelty made for M&S by Lir chocolate in Navan (€22.50).
“Lir can give us the handcrafted finish we need so that the products look really unique and beautiful,” says Patino, who admits the lamb is her favourite of this year’s range because “it makes everyone smile”.
New cream liqueur
There is something very tempting about a cream liqueur made with “cream delivered daily from the famed pastures of Cork’s Golden Vale and locally sourced Irish whiskey”.
Cremór Irish Cream, made in Fermoy by the Avondhu Liqueur Company, sister company to Ireland's largest ice cream producer, Silver Pail Dairy, has the added advantage of floating on hot or cold liquids without any "pour over a spoon" magic, making it ideal for espresso martinis and a take on Irish coffee.
The technology that makes this possible has been patented, and the liqueur comes in original and gingerbread flavours – try the gingerbread as a topping for a shot of Amaretto liqueur. Cremór is on sale in selected SuperValu and Centra stores (€19.99).
Winning young chefs
Andrew Reddan, a second-year student chef at Dundalk Institute of Technology, will be heading to New York to eat at the three Michelin starred Eleven Madison Park and go on a food tour of the city, as his prize for winning the 20th Knorr student chef of the year competition.
At the cook-off at Cork Institute of Technology, Reddan's starter of Irish seabass with Carlingford mussel ragout with lemon curd and mint risotto, and main course tasting plate of beef, with seared sirloin, cheek croquette, bonemarrow crumb and caramelised celeriac puree, impressed guest judge James Devine, himself a previous Euro-Toques young chef winner and reigning UK Craft Guild of Chefs national chef of the year.
The runners-up were Kyle Lynch, Cork Institute of Technology and Daniel Lenihan, Athlone Institute of Technology. Susannah Doupe from Letterkenny Institute of Technology took the hygiene award.
