Sally's blog

The past twelve months have seen me change career twice, and cover fewer miles than years previous, but the quality of hospitality I enjoyed just keeps improving as Ireland hits its stride once again.

Food highlights of 2016

Alcohol, and plenty of it, seems to be the only answer to the year that we've just put down. Thankfully, 2016 was the year when the quality and variety of Irish-produced beers, ciders and spirits reached a real tipping point, moving from the devoted fringes into a newly clued-in mainstream.

You know that your favourite Irish craft brewer really loves you when they produce a special brew for the season that is in it. Here are some seasonal standouts that should be there beside the big bird on the Xmas table.

Dandelion & Quince
Masterpieces are very, very difficult to make. Happily, however, they are very, very easy to spot. You only need to read a few sentences of Dandelion & Quince, by Michelle McKenzie, to spot that you have a masterpiece in your hands. It’s a work of culinary poetry, rapturous and enraptured. It’s actually thrilling, and who the hell ever heard of a book of recipes being thrilling.

Dandelion and Quince by Michelle McKenzie, published by Roost Books

Ballymaloe Country Relish
A trio of Irish handmade cheeses – Cooleeney, Cashel Blue and Horgan’s vintage cheddar – paired with Ballymaloe relishes and Sheridan’s brown bread crackers is a dote of a food gift and, at just under €20, it’s a steal.
Little Island, Co Cork More Information

Arcadia Delicatessen
Laura and Mark Brown have achieved the unimaginable in offering an artisan cheese selection box (pictured here) composed entirely of artisan cheeses from Northern Ireland. This would have been unthinkable even a couple of years ago, so it's a really special gift. The cheeses, Kearney Blue, Young Buck, Fivemiletown Cheddar and Dart Mountain Dusk come with biscuits and Northern Ireland chutney. The absolute cutting edge gift of the season.

The G Hotel
Time does not diminsh the glam of The G, and every time you walk through the doors you feel a million dollars. So, plonk yourself down in that Andy Warhol chair, order a snipe of bubbly, and get the gossip going in Galway’s ultimate getaway.
Wellpark, Galway City, Co Galway More Details

Stella Maris
We love the quiet, understated charm of this family-run, seaside hotel, especially in winter when the glorious ruggedness of Loop Head is at its most austere and beautiful. Really nice country cooking, too. Basically Stella Maris never closes, so always a good option off season. (Kilkee, Co Clare More Information)

Barry Liscombe is one hell of a cook, and he heads up one hell of a kitchen in Harte’s of Kildare.
It’s the kind of kitchen that never lets up. If you are in Harte’s on a cold November Thursday lunchtime, you might suspect that the kitchen will take it easy. After all: the weekend is coming, and they are going to get hammered on both Friday and Saturday evening.

Here the kind of dude Paul Grealish is.
When he gets a moment to himself – which can’t be too often when you are running a Galway city landmark like The King’s Head – Mr Grealish likes to head northwards and run an Arctic marathon.
A marathon. In the Arctic. Don’t even think about how many degrees below zero the temperature is. Just say those words to yourself one more time: Arctic. Marathon.