Search Results for 'Executive head chef'

This weekend (November 21 to 23), Knockranny House Hotel and Spa are hosting Taste of Knockranny! The event, which caters for hotel guests as well as the public on the Saturday, will showcase all the delicacies the area surrounding the hotel has to offer, with local producers exhibiting at the event, wine tastings, cocktail demonstrations and lots more!

I heard through the grapevine that Stefan Matz, the executive head chef from Ashford Castle, had taken charge of the kitchen at the g Hotel. Stefan was the person who created the excellent value/quality menu at Cullen’s restaurant in the grounds of Ashford Castle and I wondered if he would bring a similar offering to the g Hotel. He is also responsible for all the kitchens at Ashford Castle and has many serious awards to his credit including the Georgina Campbell chef of the year in 2007. Suffice it to say that the g is now a must visit for all food lovers and indeed for anyone who perhaps looked in those glittering windows and thought “I can’t afford to go in there”. The main covers are priced at €19 to €32 and that includes your vegetables. That, my friends, is very, very, competitive, and an example of what is on offer is black sole with crab meat in a velvet crab sauce for €25, and venison with redcurrant cream and crisp venison mousse for €22. Starters range from €6.50 to €15.50 and include inventive dishes to suit every palate.

Renvyle House Hotel has been gathering quite a few awards for its food over the years; the executive head chef Tim O’Sullivan has been the subject of much praise and produced a really good cookery book. All of this seemed a valid reason to spend a weekend there and see if it lives up to the publicity.

As the Midlands’ newest wedding destination, the Sheraton Athlone Hotel has established itself as a leading venue to consider for your wedding day.

This week, I want to cover several smaller bits of news and suggestions for places to visit. I recently found a great place to buy free range eggs and the method of payment is definitely a novel one. Just outside the front door of his house, ‘The Egg Man’ has a crate of fresh newly laid eggs each day. You open the box, select your quantity of eggs (which are wonderfully ungraded, so you can choose massive ones if available), you then calculate the cost at €1.50 per half dozen and put the money in the letterbox. It is called an “honesty box”, and does not give change! The yolks are deep reddish/gold and they taste great, they are also wonderful for cooking. If you want to call to him, take the road across from the water tower in Clarinbridge, drive past Walsh’s Crane Hire and after about one mile on the right hand side you will see a sign outside a bungalow ‘Free Range Eggs’. The Egg Man has also launched a delivery service and guarantees 20 per cent cheaper than retail prices. Call (087) 7682464.

Castlebar businessman and master chocolatier Dirk Schonkeren, who runs Helena Chocolates, the well known Castlebar café, has just been appointed as a World Chocolate Ambassador by the world’s biggest chocolate company, Barry Callebaut. The prestigious Chocolate Ambassador Club has just 70 members and Dirk is the first chocolatier in Ireland to receive the honour. He will attend a two-day seminar in Belgium and will then be called upon to share his master craft with other chocolatiers from around the globe. Dirk also plans to run some practical introduction to chocolate courses locally in the near future.

The Knorr Student Chef of the Year competition is back for a 13th year and this time Knorr has turned up the heat on its competitors with a challenge to reinvent age-old traditional Irish recipes. Old family favourites such as bacon and cabbage, coddle and Irish stew will be given a fresh twist of creative seasoning to produce modern, 21st century Irish recipes that bear the distinguished hallmark of traditional Irish cuisine that Ireland has become famous for.

The House Hotel has welcomed a new executive head chef, Padraic Casserly. The 30-year-old is a Galway native from Mervue with a passion for traditional Irish cooking using fresh, local ingredients. Known for his creativity and professionalism, he has been cooking professionally for 15 years and has already received enthusiastic reviews for his food.

Located in the heart of Galway city centre, Forster Court Hotel strikes the perfect balance between the hectic social scene of Galway’s bars, restaurants, and nightclubs and the laid back and relaxed attitude of the west of Ireland.