FOWL PLAY: Putting your pet in the pot isn't everyone's dream, but if you want to ensure your chicken is truly free-range, there's no better way than to have it running around your garden.
The Ballymaloe Cookery School is taking bookings for its chicken rearing course. Of course, it doesn't all amount to a plucking session: the steady supply of fresh, free-range, organic eggs might be more appealing. Darina Allen has been keeping hens for more than 30 years, and will take the one-day workshop. They say there is very little work and cost involved. A day in Ballymaloe would not be complete without some cooking as well - guess what's on the menu? "How to keep a few chickens in the garden", Friday, May 27th, €145, 9.30 a.m.-5 p.m. at Ballymaloe Cookery School, Shanagarry, Midleton, Co Cork, 021-4646785, www.ballymaloe-cookery-school.ie. Nicoline Greer
QUICK, SALES
At the Mullingar-based mail-order company Wines Direct (1890-579579, www.wines-direct.com), Château Jolys Jurançon Sec 2002, peachy and honeyed with delicious lemony acidity, is a super buy, down from €11.65 to €10.19 a bottle; delivery is a flat rate of €8. Berry Bros & Rudd (01-6773444, www.bbr.ie), on Harry Street in Dublin, has slashed prices on an array of wines, including the luscious white Jean-Louis Denois Grande Cuvée Vin de Pays d'Oc 2001 (down from €14.95 to €11.96), Berrys' Reserve Red Burgundy from Domaine Bertagna (down from €15.95 to €12.76) and, best of all, Champagne Louis Roederer Brut Premier NV (down from €41.95 to €33.56). Mary Dowey
TASTING FOR CONCERN
Findlaters's annual tasting is always worthwhile, with a strong line-up of great wines and visiting winemakers. This year it takes place at the Hilton hotel, Charlemont Place, Dublin, on Monday, February 21st, 6.30-8.30 p.m. Why not make an evening of it? Tickets, €10, are available from Findlaters, 01-6304106, with all proceeds to Concern. Mary Dowey
ALL GOOD THINGS
Carmel Somers worked in some to-notch restaurants such as Sally Clarke's and Bibendum in London and Lous Landes in Paris, before setting up the critically acclaimed Good Things Café in Durrus, Co Cork in 2003. She has just launched a full programme of evening, weekend, and special interest courses, all at very competitive prices. Class numbers are kept small (six pupils and three tutors) to ensure plenty of one-to-one instruction, and it is a hands-on course, so you'll be doing the prepping and cooking rather than watching someone else do it. The five-and-a-half day programme is €850, and comes with a guarantee that at the end of the week you'll have mastered the essentials of good cooking, have a useful repertoire of recipes, and the confidence to tackle any recipe. Shorter courses include vegetarian cooking (February 27-28th); "Of course I made it myself" (March 12-13th), and Good Things Fish Orgy (May 7-8th), all €175. The weekend courses include lots of eating, and a cheese and wine tasting to which you can bring a guest. The Good Things Café, Durrus, west Cork, 027-61426, www.thegoodthingscafe.com. Marie-Claire Digby
BEEF TO YOUR DOOR
James Whelan Butchers in Clonmel, Co Tipperary is just the kind of butcher's shop I wish was right on my doorstep, or at least a bit closer than a two-hour drive away. The Aberdeen Angus and Hereford beef reared on the Whelan family farm is legendary, and now you can try it without diverting to Co Tipperary. The positive reaction from visitors to the food fairs at Farmleigh House in the Phoenix Park convinced Pat Whelan, the current proprietor of the fifth-generation family business, that there was a countrywide market for his beef, which is dry-aged for a minimum of 14 days, rather than vac-packed. So now you can shop on-line at www.jameswhelanbutchers.com, and your ice-packed, polystyrene box of beef, pork, lamb, poultry or bacon will be delivered anywhere in Ireland within 48 hours, with a guarantee that it will have remained below four degrees until you open it. Delivery is free on orders over €50, and the best seller is the offer of two 8oz Angus striploins for €10. The word has spread already - TV chef Rick Stein has a standing order for Whelan's corned beef for his restaurant in Cornwall. Orders can also be placed over the phone: 052-26247. Marie-Claire Digby