Spilling the tea with... Maître D’

I’m not crying; YOU’RE crying. We’re so delighted to see ‘our Neven’ walk away with the ultimate honour at this past week’s National Restaurant Awards. He received the organisation’s Outstanding Achievement Award, in recognition of his contribution to Irish food and hospitality. Sure, he is such a genuine soul; he deserves every accolade bestowed upon him. We’re like a bunch of proud mamas over here (sniff). If you see him at Bloom this weekend, be sure to send along your congratulations. Other notable wins on the night include Dede in Baltimore, which won Best Restaurant, and John Kelly at the Lady Helen in Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, who won Best Chef in Ireland.

Now in its 16th year, the Irish Restaurant Awards received a record breaking 165,000 public nominations for restaurants, cafés and venues across the country – the highest in the awards’ history. Entries were submitted by the public.

In the lead-up to the national final, regional awards ceremonies were hosted in Kildare, Cork, Sligo and Monaghan, where county-level winners were revealed across a range of categories. The national winners were selected from these regional champions.

That said, I’ve once again heard rumblings about how expensive it was for small restaurant businesses to attend the awards ceremony in Dublin.

I love a big, steaming bowl of ramen but I haven’t found one in Ireland as good as the ones I’ve had…ahem… in Japan (I know, I know – notions). Which is funny, because in Ireland we have all of the ingredients needed to make a truly great ramen (except maybe miso, but that can be got). We have some of the best quality fish and seaweed in Europe, great pork for making a delicious bone broth, and our own home-grown wheat for making your own noodles – if you’re that ambitious. I may be in luck with finally finding the perfect bowl, though, as I hear Galway restauranteur and all-around food guy, Jp McMahon, is opening a new Japanese-inspired restaurant in Galway called Kombu.

Sure, even the name is promising – kombu being the type of thick seaweed (kelp, really) used to add flavour to Japanese broths. The restaurant is set to focus on, you guessed it, ramen in all its glory as well as deliciously fluffy bao buns (steamed buns filled with meat and a variety of fresh toppings). Jp will also include rice dishes, teriyaki and other Japanese-inspired street food on the menu. Kombu is set to open in June and can be found on Druid’s Lane.

Instagram: @komburamenbaogalway

Danone is a big multinational company and is the main competitor to indigenous Irish yogurt brands, in particular. To be honest, and I know this isn’t the norm because they do really well in Ireland, I tend to avoid buying their products for that very reason. Something tangibly good about Danone Ireland is their work in the community, and it was recently shared that almost half a million meals have been donated through a partnership between Danone Ireland and surplus food charity FoodCloud.

For the past three years, Danone has been providing FoodCloud with expert advice on turning surplus food into nutritious meals. This has led to over 486,000 meals, or the equivalent of 174,030 tonnes of surplus food, redistributed. It has saved 546 tonnes of CO2 emissions from going to waste and creating meaningful social and environmental impact in communities around Ireland.

So while I can’t get on board with Danone’s products, per se, I can 100% get on board with less food going to waste in this country. After all, it is estimated that food waste contributes to up to 10% of global CO2 emissions, which is a pretty stark figure.

In Ireland, we waste up to 146kg of food per person each year. Sometimes the big guys have more of an opportunity to do good in their community, at scale. More of this, please.

I don’t know if you’re familiar with The Old Barracks café and roastery in Bird Hill, Co Tipperary, but it is well-known as a place serving first-rate, in-house roasted coffee using state-of-the-art equipment for consistently perfect cups of Joe. The kicker is, this is all in a child-free environment. Yes, you heard that right – no kids allowed. To be honest, I have several rugrats of my own and this being a child-free environment does not bother me in the least. I also hear it’s where the Munster rugby players like to hang out. I can take my crew almost anywhere, but I actually think child-free zones are sacred.

Anyway, the roastery is taking things one step further with a child-free coffee festival; taking place from 27-29 June and featuring 12 educational classes, six speciality roasters and six guest speakers. The Birdhill Coffee Festival is being held at The Old Barracks location itself. Following the success of last year’s inaugural event, this year’s adult-only festival will also celebrate 10 years of speciality coffee at The Old Barracks and promises a coffee-fuelled lineup of exhibitors, interactive workshops, live barista competitions, guest speakers, educational masterclasses, brewing demos and exclusive tastings of the finest brews.

theoldbarracks.ie

When will the madness end, I ask? Dave’s Hot Chicken, Chick-fil-a, Wendy’s and now Taco Bell will be coming to Ireland? Our friend Garron Noone commented on this lately; saying he didn’t think Irish people would be able for the spice. I’m not sure the spice in Taco Bell products is what we should be worried about. Honestly, I’m not sure any of our digestive systems are ready for what is the Taco Bell onslaught.

Should we be having a serious conversation about this increase in fast food being made available to us? We in the industry are constantly talking about changing the food system for the better and this is all starting to feel just a bit backwards to me. I will take a side of those cheesy fiesta potatoes, though, if you’re heading through the drive thru.