SIMON TIERNEYlooks at Irish food on a budget
WHEN I COME out of one of the major supermarkets, I can feel a bit vacuum-packed, rather like one of their food items. Supermarket shopping can be a bland, even blind experience. Convenience often leaves charm behind. Sheridan's Cheesemongers, and Irish food shops like it, offer a guided, local and artisan shopping trip, often at affordable prices. Sheridan's is offering a free goodie bag of its brown bread crackers and three farmhouse cheeses to the first 60 readers to visit any of their six nationwide stores and market stalls next Saturday, October 6th. Simply quote "Experience Over Convenience Offer" to avail. See iti.ms/ONbbcZfor location details.
From the Mad Hatter's Tea party to the Domestic Goddess Bootcamp, the Savour Kilkenny Food Festival (October 25th-29th, savourkilkenny.com) is a buzz of creativity. There are six free pairs of day tickets (normally €15) available for celebrity chef demonstrations, where cooks such as Rory O'Connell from Ballymaloe will be mixing it up. Email info@savourkilkenny.com to avail.
What do bass, skate, eel and perch have in common? They’re all drawn from Irish waters. The Kitchen in the Castle (Howth Castle, Co Dublin, tel: 01 8396182) is hosting a cookery course, Fish from the Irish Coastline, on November 1st at 7pm. There are three free pairs of tickets (worth €60 each) for the first to email info@thekitcheninthecastle.com.
Restaurant Jo'Burger's newest siblings Crackbird and Skinflint both offer tweetseats (just tweet, then eat for free). Check out twitter.com/skinflintDUBLINor twitter.com/crackBIRDdublinfor further details.
Fancy a trip to Dingle? The Dingle Food Festival runs from October 5th to 7th. There are 18 free tickets (€5-€10) for weekend workshops. Email your preference to markmurphy@dinglefood.com, quoting "Dingle Workshops Offer". Preserves and chutneys, home curing and bee-keeping are just some of the workshops available. See dinglefood.com.
Last but not least . . .
Red Ribbons is the debut novel by Irish writer Louise Phillips. If you’re up for a touch of psychological crime drama, head to The Gutter Bookshop (Cow’s Lane, Temple Bar, Dublin 8, tel: 01 6799206). There are 10 free copies for the first readers to quote “Red Ribbons Offer”.
