The Battle of Castlebar occurred on August 27 1798 during the Irish Rebellion of that year when the combined force of 2,000 French and Irish routed a force of 6,000 British militia in what would later became known as the ‘Races of Castlebar.’ Rua Café and delicatessen are marking the date by running their third annual French food festival on the last weekend of August.
Their weekend celebration features tastings in the delicatessen, specials in the cafes, pain au chocolat and lots more for breakfast and a French inspired menu at Cafe Rua for dinner on Friday night August 26, bookings for dinner on (094 ) 9023376.
Their café menus will be littered throughout the weekend with some Gallic classics like Duck Confit, Salade Nicoise, tarte au Citron and more. As always, they will be using the best of local produce like Kelly’s beef for their Boeuf Bourguignon, Killary Shellfish for their Moules marniere, vegetables form the Rua poly tunnel for the ratatouille, and fruit from the local rural training scheme to go with the pain perdu — French menus with Mayo produce.
As well as great offers in their shop on their selection of French wine and cheese, they’ve also got classic French cookbooks like Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen Secrets and Richard Onley’s The French Menu Cookbook, the latter recently voted best cookbook of all time by readers of The Observer food magazine.
This year the weekend also features a history tour. On the Saturday afternoon, local historian Brian Hoban will be hosting a guided tour of Castlebar’s historical landmarks connected with the arrival of General Humbert and the French army for the the ‘Races of Castlebar’ in 1798. The tour leaves from Rua on Saturday August 29 at 2pm, and places are limited so call us on (094 ) 9286072 for more information.
