Breakfast at ORSO, Cork

A good brunch is one of the requirements of a girlie night away. The others are dancing, cocktails and lots of gossip - not necessarily in that order! To cure the night before after our day of eating and drinking at the Campo Viejo Tapas Trail and Arthur Maynes, we were gagging for something substantial to tide us over till a late lunch. We were tempted to head back to Arthur Maynes but felt like a change of scene after spending hooours there the day before! We even had a look at the menu but were then enticed into Orso Kitchen and Bar which is right next door. 

We had just missed the 11:30 cutoff for breakfast but the staff happily made an exception for us and let us order of their amazing sounding menu. Orso have a very creative and interesting breakfast menu. Now tell me if I'm wrong but how wonderful does feta, spinach and raisin breakfast pie or warm flatbread with banana, cinnamon and toasted almonds sound! Now we were all craving bacon and eggs so two of us went for the Breakfast Manoushi while the other two went for the Breakfast Moglai.

Breakfast Manoushi

The Blog Awards Ireland & Starting that blog you have been thinking about!

It was a lovely surprise to wake up yesterday morning and discover that The Purple Page had been shortlisted for Best Food/Drink Blog in the Blog Awards Ireland. It’s a case of third time lucky for the blog as I was nominated in 2012 and 2013 but didn’t make it to the next round. There is some tough competition in there and I am up against some of my own favourite blogs too (check out Fiona’s Japanese Cooking, The Dublin Diary and The Beer Nut for starters!) so it is an honour to be included in the list. 

Foraging for Lunch on Girley Bog with Meath Eco Tours

Foraging is something I don't know a lot about. Yes I can identify blackberries, elderflowers and wild garlic but that is about it. I'm lucky enough to have the first two in my garden so I'm not even sure you can call that foraging!! So when Kate from Meath Eco Tours invited me along to Girley Bog for a morning of foraging as part of Boyne Valley Food Series I jumped at the chance to learn more.

 

Arthur Mayne's, Cork City

A few weekends ago, a few of the girls and I made a one night roadtrip to Cork especially for the Campo Viejo Tapas Trail. It was a great afternoon which turned into a great night! We ended up going back to Arthur Mayne's as we were told it had a lovely outdoor area and was open late. In fact it is open till about 2 in the morning and that was on a Sunday night. 

Arthur Mayne's is a 20-year-old chemist turned wine bar. Apart from display cabinets filled with wonderful old merchandise, it also boasts a wine system which allows you to sample 24 different varieties of wines. We decided to keep that though for another trip! Arthur Mayne's merges with Crane Line and between them there is a great outdoor area which is long and narrow and has a good few seats. The sun was gone by the time we were there but it was still lovely and warm where we were sitting. Later on that evening they turned the heaters on and sure we didn’t move till again till about 12.30 that night. 

Photo from Arthur Mayne's Facebook Page

The National Organic Food Fair - Sunday, 14th September

The second National Organic Food Fair will take place on Sunday, 14th September in Marlay Park.  The event is open to all and entry is free! The National Organic Food Fair is a collaboration between the Organic Trust and the Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association, and is supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

The Fair will have lots on offer with face painters, balloon makers, and a pet farm to name just a few attractions. This organic festival will also have lots of outdoor stalls and marquees showcasing Irish organic products. Tempting food stalls will also be there with a host of food from burgers, to soups, yogurt and apple syrups and ciders, all of which are certified organic. It promises to be the largest display of Irish organic food available in a single venue yet.

Clodagh McKenna will also return this year to host a cooking demonstration using excellent organic produce, most of which has been sourced from the stall holders at the event. This is free to the public but please come early to avoid disappointment. Cooking demonstrations take place at 12.30pm and 2pm.

If you have an idea about producing an organic product, a range of selected producers and industry leaders will give practical seminars on the day. Topics such as routes to market, why organic food is important, eating organically on a budget, and also practical tips on growing organic food are all taking place at different times throughout the day. The full schedule will be announced closer to the event.

The aim of this year’s National Organic Food Fair is to strengthen and promote the message that organic, local and seasonal foods offer the best quality ingredients for home cooking, combined with the added advantage of supporting jobs, economic growth and local development. 

Find them on Facebook here. 

Campo Viejo Tapas Trail - Cork Style

Anyone who is a regular reader of the blog will know that I am a big fan of affordable, creative and interesting events that help to showcase a city. One of my favourite yearly events in Dublin is the Campo Viejo Tapas Trail which I have gone on since it started in 2010. You can read all about the fun we had at the 2014 one here. Campo Viejo also started doing a tapas trail in Cork last year and it looked great, so much so, that the girls and I said we might even think about going down especially for it. Surprisingly, we actually managed to get ourselves organised enough this year and made it down to Cork for the last Sunday trail of the season!

Now Cork is a well visited city on my holiday destination list but I had never eaten in any of the restaurants on the trail which made the event all the more exciting. Our guide for the afternoon was George who was a lively and very entertaining Cork woman – a pure born rebel as she called herself! Our first stop was Electric which has the most gorgeous art deco inspired facade. 

 

Boyne Valley Food Series - August Events

The Boyne Valley Food Series is a summer long series of events which aims to highlight Meath and Louth's rich selection of artisan producers, small food businesses and restaurants over five months from May till September. So far I have attended the Brú Brewery Tour, Sheridan's Food Festival, Taste of Meath, the Irish Maritime Festival and the Meath Food Safari. Sunday saw the boyfriend and I head to Girley Bog for a foraging session with Meath Eco Tours. It was pouring out of the heavens but it was a great informative morning and I can't wait to visit the bog again on a sunnier day!

August's Food Events and Festivals

August always feels like the final 'big hurrah' before summer is officially over and it's back to normality for us all. There is loads happening throughout the country, so even if the weather doesn't return to the former glory of July, there is no excuse not to get out and enjoy the long summer days before Autumn kicks in.