2012 National Irish Food Awards/Blas na hEireann

I love to read the winners and runners up of the National Irish Food Awards/Blas na hEireann because it takes you into shops you wouldn't normally visit and encourages you to try new foods. One of the things I love is it gets over the 'snob' attitude to the value supermarkets as they have won awards for their own brand foods in the past. (Advance warning- this is a long list; advance at your own peril! You may need to extend your grocery budget with the anticipation of new purchases!)


Awards were given as follows (some omitted);
Grand Champion- Una's Pies; Chicken, Leek & Sweetcorn
Best Artisan Producer-Big Red Kitchen
Best New Product-Ballymooney Foods; Rack of Wild Venison
Best Emerging Kerry Producer- Sasta Sausages
Most Innovative Product- Gallagher's Bakery; Plain Soda Bread (innovative??)
Seafood Innovation- Breizon Teo; Surf n Turf Smoked Scallops and Black Pudding
Best in Farmers Markets- Una's Pies, Skellig Pantry, The Green Apron, Butler's Ice Cream, Sasta     Sausages


In the individual category awards (order gold, silver, bronze);
Chocolates Individual
The Chocolate Garden of Ireland; Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Truffles
Lough Derg Chocolate; Lime Truffles
Gallagher's Chocolates; Mixed Chocolate Box
Chocolate Bars
Gallagher's Chocolate; Cacao Dark 70%
Lough Derg Chocolate; Chocolate and Orange Chocolate Bar
Lorge; Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Bars
Confectionery
The Cake Stand; Chocolate Macaron
The Jelly Bean Factory: 36 Jelly Bean Mix
Blackthorn Foods: Fudge Fondue
Puddings and Desserts
Couverture Desserts; Supreme Desserts Selection for Supervalu
Hunts Bakery; Toblerone Cheesecake
Couverture Desserts; Billionaires Dessert for Supervalu

Sauces and Dips
Big Red Kitchen; Raspberry Dessert Sauce
Bryan Lynch; Sweet Chilli Mayo
BBQ Joes; BBQ Joes Original BBQ Sauce

Yogurts
Irish  Yogurt; Premium Canadian Blueberry for Lidl
Irish Yogurt; PremiumSpanish Lemon Curd fro Lidl
Irish Yogurt; Duneen West Cork Indulgence Toffee for Lidl
Dairy
Irish Yogurts; Creme Fraiche
Milleeven Foods; Trad. Irish Brandy Butter
Glenstal Foods; Glenstal Irish Creamery Butter
Ice Cream
Butlers Ice Cream; Cookie Ice Cream (Supercookies)
Silver Pail; Caramel Fudge for Aldi
Rossmore Farmhouse; Raspberry Sorbet

Cheese Soft
Ardrahan Cheese Simply Better
(joint silver)Fivemiletown Creamery natural Goats Cheese for Supervalu/Gubbeen; Wash Rind Gubbeen for Tesco
Cooleeney; Simply Better Gortnamona
Cheese Hard
(joint gold)Tullyboy farmhouse goats cheese/Coolea mature
Blubell Falls mature orion
Castlemary goats milk cheddar
Cheese Cheddar
Cahills Ballintubber Cheddar with Garlic and herbs
Bandon supreme cheddar for Supervalu
Cahills Balintubber Cheddar with chives
Cheese Blue
Wicklow Farmhouse; Wicklow Blue cheese for Tesco
Glyde; Finest Bellingham Blue cheese for Tesco
J.L.Grubb; Cashel Blue cheese for Tesco

Sausages
AIBP; Jumbo pork sausages for Superquinn
Mallons; Supreme traditional for Supervalu
Mallons; Supreme Cumberland for Supervalu
Black Pudding
Caherbeg Freerange Black Pudding
Sasta Sausages Black Pudding
McCarthy's of Kanturk Queen Style
White Pudding
O'Brien Foods; Simply Better White Pudding for Dunnes Stores
Olhausen White Pudding for Lidl
Granby White pudding 80 year old recipe


Cured meats,charcuterie & bacon
Oakpark; Drycure smoked bacon loin for Aldi
O'Brien; Wiltshire ham on bone for Supervalu
Glenaine; Angus Spice Beef for Horgan's
Bacon
Callan Smoked back bacon joint for Lidl
Callan Unsmoked back bacon joint for Lidl
Ballon Meats bacon steaks
Pork
Kepak; Pork rack with sage and bramley apple butter for Supervalu
Oliver Carty; Smoked Pork Loin Roast for Supervalu
Tendermeats Mexican Pork Chops
Beef
APB; Sup.Qual. Irish Hereford Fillet Steak for Superquinn
APB Cahir; Select cuts fillet steaks for Aldi
Tendermeats ltd; Fillet steak
Poultry
Silver Hill; Crispy roast half duck with pancakes for Lidl
Carton; part boned Chicken breast garlic kievs for Supervalu
Carton; Tendercrunch chicken breast chunks
Lamb
Kepak; Stuffed rack of lamb with redcurrant for Supervalu
Irish Country meats; Wicklow lamb rump steaks for Aldi
(joint bronze)Jerry Kennedy ; Dingle Peninsula rack of lamb/Hilton foods; finest lamb shanks

Seafood
Breizon; Window to the sea cooked and peeled prawn tails
Breizon; Window to the sea whole cooked prawns
Good Fish Co; Monkfish with lemon and garlic marinade for Tesco
Pate
The Smugglers Inn; Chicken liver pate
(joint silver) Skellig Pantry; chicken liver/ Carrygerry House;chicken liver
Ballyhoura; wild and oyster mushrom pate
Savoury Pies
Una's pies; chicken leek and cheese
Una's Pies; roast veg with goat cheese and chorizo
Una's pies; chicken green thai curry
Soups
Carrygerry House; creamy seafood chowder
The Good fish company; seafood chowder
Just Food; organic tomato and basil pesto soup

Sourdough Bread
Cloughjordan bakery; white sourdough boule
Cloughjordan bakery; rosemary and olive oilsourdough
Billy's bakery; wholemeal wheat and rye sourdough
Soda bread
Larkins bakery; Cranberry and orange zest soda
Larkins bakery; apricot,sultana and multiseed wholemeal soda
O hArtagain pure bread;  poppy seed white soda
Yeast Bread
M and D bakery; The Blaa
Ryan Arbutus; Seeded brown yeast bread
Ryan Arbutus; Seeded white yeast bread
Barmbrack
Sean Stafford; Halloween barm brack for Lidl
Larkins bakery; low-fat spelt tea brack
Seery's bakery; tea brack for Lidl
Other breads & Rolls
Panelto; Tuscan bread
Ryans Arbutus; ciabatta pave
Cloughjordan bakery; ciabatta

Ready meals and prepared food-hot
Donnybrook Fair fish pie
Country Crest supreme mash with carrot and turnip for Supervalu
McArdle creamy garlic potatoes
Ready meals and prepared food-cold
Glorious sushi; large mixed platter
Glorious sushi; six maki mix platter
Sushi King; salmon of knowledge

Dietary specific
The foods of Athenry; gluten free flapjack 'the works'
Tasty Parlour; gluten free bakewell slice
Tasty parlour; gluten free coffee and walnut cake
Breakfast cereals
The Different dairy company; rumblers oat clusters with raspberry and yogurt
Sheaffoods; arbo granola
Virginia health; linseed crunch with cranberry and almond for Lidl

Spirits and Liquers
Castlebrand; Clontarf classic blend Irish whiskey triple distilled for Lidl
Terra; Deluxe Irish cream liqueur for Lidl
Robert Merry; Merry's Irish cream Liqueur
Non-alcoholic drinks
Organic for Us; wholemilk
Adare farm; fresh milk
Sunshine Juice; Trad; lemonade for Aldi
Beers
Franciscan Well; Rebel red ale
Carlow Brewing; O'Shea's Irish Stout for Aldi
Carlow brewing; O'Shea's Irish ale for Aldi
Ciders
Dj's juice and cider; Tempted strawberry
Bulmers; Taurus Irish cider for Aldi
Stonewell medium dry cider
Teas
Bewleys original blend
Punjana; Thompson's family teas Titanic
Bewleys Irish afternoon tea

Oils/seasonings/dressings
David Llewellyn Irish balsamic cider vinegar
Newgrange gold; Garden herb cold pressed rapeseed oil
The Green apron Italian butter mix
Pickles and chutney/relish
Follains fire roasted pepper relish
The Scullery; Irish country tomato relish for Lidl
Ballyhoura marinated Shiitake mushrooms
Preserves
The Green apron  apricot, orange and almond conserve
The Green apron chocolate and raspberry preserve
Abbey farm raspberry preserve
Honey/spreads
Big Red kitchen lemon curd
Healy's honey; honey for Supervalu
Chocolate garden of Ireland luxury chocolate and hazelnut spread
Llewellyn's orchard
Cakes
Fusco; Belgian chocolate cake
Just desserts; Raspberry ladyfingers cake
Seerys; luxury lemon cake for Lidl
Christmas cake/puddings
Seerys; supreme pudding for Supervalu
The Foods of Athenry; Luxury pudding for Superquinn
Coffee Domain; Medium rich, very moist Christmas pudding
Biscuits
Cloudberry bakery; luxury Guinness brownie
Gookies Triple choc chip cookie dough
Kooky dough choc chip

Savoury snacks
Christie's celtic kitchen black pepper and salt oat cakes
Just Nuts New York nuts
Detox retox Primal crackers- sea salt
Crisps
Keogh's Shamrock and sour cream
Keogh's Dubliner Irish cheese and onion
(joint bronze) O'Donnell Irish Cider vinegar and sea salt/O'Donnell mature Irish cheese and red onion

Ready-mix cake/bread
Angel foods Chocolate brownie
Cathys spelt for health flapjack spelt mix
Gem pack; Sowans organic gluten free brownie mix
New products
Ballymooney rack of wild venison
Ballyhoura Irish cherries in mulled apple syrup
Tom Durcan cooked sliced spiced beef.

If you've made it this far congratulations! What a list- and  a good number from Supervalu and Lidl. I for one will be trying out a good few of those newly awarded products. Congratulations to all the winners and keep up the good work of producing great Irish food.

Book Launch - 'A Neutron Walks into a Bar'

Congratulations to Aoibhinn Ni Shuilleabhain and her colleagues on the launch of the book A Neutron Walks into a Bar-Random Facts About Our Universe and Everything in it  last night in the Science Gallery in Trinity College Dublin. Published by Hachette Ireland and with all royalties being donated to Cystic Fibrosis research, it is a fun out of the ordinary collection of science based facts, definitions and jokes.


The story of the books genesis is interesting in itself. Originating from a social media project on Twitter called Science 140, co-ordinated by  Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin presenter of RTE's The Science Squad, Maria Delaney, Humphrey Jones and Paul O'Dwyer, thousands of tweets were collected from all over the world on topics ranging from astronomy to zoology that each explained "a scientific principle, fact, joke or biography in 140 characters or less."

A fun approach to learning new scientific facts, this book will appeal to "The  Big Bang Theory" fans out there as well as anyone with an interest in quirky information.

 www.hachette.ie

Book signing: Clodagh McKenna

Now, to top off the book signing excitement in Dublin at the moment, our very own Clodagh McKenna can be added to the list.


Sweet little Clodagh will be at Eason's on O'Connell Street on Saturday 27th October at 1pm to sign copies of her new book Clodagh's Kitchen Diaries. It looks like a lovely book with recipes for pasta dishes, bakes and all the things you'd expect from Clodagh and I'm sure it will make it's way into lots of Christmas stockings.
 
We wish Clodagh best of luck with the launch of this lovely new book.

'My Family and Other Animals'-Book Signing by Clare Balding

If you love dogs and watch Crufts every year as we do or watch the gee gees then you all know Clare Balding. A TV presenter, sports journalist and all round 'good egg', she is the epitome of the jolly hockey sticks brigade and I think she's great. Her mellow voice and obvious passion for her job  make her a pleasure to watch.


She has recently written a book, My Animals and Other Family playing on the well known Gerald Durrell book My Family and Other Animals, which I can remember pinching off my dad's bookshelf and reading when I was about thirteen- and I'm sure Clare did the same.


Clare Balding will be signing copies of her book in Eason's, O'Connell Street on Friday 26th October at 1pm.

'Nigellissima'- Nigella comes to Dublin

Listen up all you Nigella fans! The queen of cooking, naughty Nigella is coming to Dublin for a book signing.


She will be in Dubray Books on Grafton Street on Saturday 3rd November at 10.00am to sign copies of her new book Nigellissima. I'm sure the queues will be long and the area crowded so arrive early if you are interested in seeing the goddess herself.
I'm a great fan of Nigella and have several of her books. They are  a pleasure to read, chatty and humorous. my favourites are How to be a Domestic Goddess which has great baking, savoury bakes, breads etc and Feast which breaks menus down by events and holidays; Easter, dinner party, first date, kiddy party and is one of my most returned to cookbooks.

Irish Publishers-The Blackstaff Press

The Blackstaff Press was founded in 1971 by Jim and Diane Gracey  and is one of Ireland's leading publishers. It publishes on a wide range of subjects embracing fiction and non-fiction including history, politics, cookery, memoir, sport, fiction, poetry and travel. Bought by Michael Burns in 1980, it was in 1992 given the Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Award for ‘producing books which have genuinely added to a greater understanding between the peoples of Ireland and Britain’ and also named UK Small Publisher of the Year by the Sunday Times. In 1995 Blackstaff was acquired by The Baird Group

Recent publications from The Blackstaff Press include; Hooleygan by Terri Hooley and Richard Sullivan, Twisted Root by Patricia Craig, Search Dogs and Me by Neil Powell and Titanic: Icon of an Age by Michael McCaughan.

Hooleygan: Music Mayhem Good Vibrations by Terri Hooley, former record company owner and the man who signed The Undertones, is a book that will appeal to anyone who was aware of the music scene at that time. Owner of a small record shop in Belfast which he opened in 1978 with just £40, he was around just at the start of the emerging music scene. A story about music, it is also a history of trying to run a business in Belfast through its darker days.


A Twisted Root: Ancestral Entanglements in Ireland by Patricia Craig is the history and the stories of her ancestors. Starting with her many-greats grandmother who travelled from Stratford-upon-Avon to Lisburn as part of the Ulster Plantations and childhood escapes from the massacre at Scullabogue to founders of the Orange Order and active members of the the IRA in the 1920s. It is a story that covers all walks of life, creates a picture of an ever changing family and a vivid sense of Irish history.


Everyone loves a good dog story and Search Dogs and Me; One Man and His Life-saving Dogs by Neil Powell is one of those. The author has worked for forty years with  dogs being involved in all aspects of rescue- mountain searches, drown recovery, collapsed building searches and drug detection in Ireland as well as all over the world. But as I know from a lady who has a dog that works in Dublin Airport customs, these dogs are family pets as well, being walked daily and living in the family home and being members of that family with all the emotion that this entails.

Finally, Titanic: Icon of an Age by Michael McCoughan published to coincide with all the anniversary of Titanic's launch is written by an internationally recognised expert on the subject. The book contains over 250 images, some of which have never been published before. These include pictures from the archive of Harland and Wolff such as extracts from newspapers, journals and White Star publicity,postcards, advertisements and letters.

For other books see http://www.blackstaffpress.com/Home.aspx

 

 

James Tait Black Prize-The Best Winner

Following on from the 'Best of the Booker' award given in 2008 to Salman Rushdie for Midnight's Children (a worthy winner),  the James Tait Black Prize is to recognise the best winner of that award over its history as a way of commemorating 250 years of the study of English Literature in the University of Edinburgh.  Given annually by the university it is the oldest literary award in Britain running since 1919. It awards two prizes, for the best work of fiction and the best biography but this 'best of' the James Tait Black is to be for fiction alone.
The shortlist is of six has been chosen by the students of literature which will say something for their timeless quality.
 The University of Edinburgh
I think this is a great idea; getting the young people who are studying these books to make the selection. It is an unexpected list but has great breadth of subject. It is awards like this that can get new books brought into the restricted 'canon' of literature and all the politics that the word carries with literature students. I for one am delighted to see The Road on the list, already considered a modern classic.
The six shortlisted novels are:
The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene (1948)
The Mandelbaum Gate by Muriel Sparks(1965)
Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter(1984)
A Disaffection by James Kelman(1989)
Crossing the River by Caryl Phillips(1993)
The Road by Cormac McCarthy(2006)

The award winner will be announced in December.