Cono Sur Food Blogger Competition

Cono Sur, Ireland’s premium Chilean wine brand, is launching a search to find the ultimate dish to match their Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Noir.

The Closing Date Draws Closer for Glenisk & Cloughjordan House National ‘Chef Star’ Competition

Glenisk, Ireland’s award winning organic dairy, is encouraging budding chefs to get busy, and get culinary creations in over the next few weeks to be in with a chance to win the title of Ireland’s best student chef, and a brand new Ipad!

The competition was launched by Sarah Baker of Cloughjordan House to home economics teachers at the national ATHE conference in Athlone, Co. Westmeath and is designed to get the proverbial creative juices flowing, and encourage students to become more confident in the kitchen...before they leave the nest!

Students interested in submitting their own recipe have until 31^st March 2014, and can simply visit the GleniskFacebook Page www.facebook.com/GleniskOrganic where they will be prompted to upload their recipe using a Glenisk product, along with an image of their culinary creation and a few lines on why they should win ‘Chef Star’.

The successful candidate will win an Apple IPad, enabling them to create and document many more delicious recipes, as well as winning a €500 voucher for their respective school to spend on equipment for the Home Economics room.

Hello 2014 - A little competition to cheer you all up

After two weeks holidays, way too much turkey and a fight with my clothes this morning it's back to reality with a bang. I always look forward to the New Year and all the promise and potential it holds. You never know what each year is going to bring and last year was filled with a few unexpected surprises both good and bad but that's what makes it fun!

2013 though was a fantastic year for food. There were lots of new cookbooks to read, restaurants to try and great new products to sample. BBQ finally came to Dublin with the arrival of Bison and Pitt Bros while it became easier to find good sushi with the opening of OCHA and Zakura. 2013 ended with a fantastic meal in Forest Avenue which has really set the bar high or 2014!

So here's to a wonderful 2014 may it be a year to make your dreams come true.

And to kick off 2014 in style and to cheer us all up on what is apparently the most hated day of the year here's a little competition for you all. Up for grabs is a bundle of cookbooks including Rachel's Favourite Food at Home, Masterchef Everyday, Relish BBQ and eatTweet - A Twitter Cookbook.  Hopefully it will provide someone with the inspiration needed to get cooking this year.

How to enter?

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

• Simply leave a comment on the blog post telling me the one thing you would like to achieve in 2014. This one is mandatory and please only do it once!
• For extra entries like The Purple Page on Facebook and follow on Twitter and RT.
• The winner will be selected randomly and announced here on the blog in two weeks time.
• The competition is open to entrants in Ireland and the UK 
• Please do not leave anonymous comments as I would like to be able to contact you if you win!  

National ‘Chef Star’ Competition for Secondary School Students

Glenisk, Ireland’s award winning organic dairy, has teamed up with Cloughjordan House & Cookery School to launch the ‘Chef Star’ competition in a bid to find Ireland’s best student chef!

The nationwide search for Ireland’s next Donal Skehan/Rachel Allen is designed to get the proverbial creative juices flowing, and encourage students to become more confident in the kitchen...before they leave the nest!

Students interested in submitting their own recipe have until 31^st March 2014, and can simply visit the Glenisk Facebook Page www.facebook.com/GleniskOrganic where they will be prompted to upload their recipe using a Glenisk product, along with an image of the culinary creation and a few lines on why they should win ‘Chef Star’.

The successful candidate will win an Apple IPad, enabling them to create and document many more delicious recipes to come, as well as winning a €500 voucher for their respective school to spend on equipment for the Home Economics room.

Cloughjordan is home to Sarah Baker’s award winning cookery school, and offers a range of exciting and inspiring courses for Transition Year and HE students. These dynamic courses offer students the chance to learn valuable cooking skills and develop a deeper understanding of where our food comes from. For further information follow Glenisk on Facebook or on Twitter @Glenisk

A 2013 Wish and a competition to kick start the year!

So I have been a little quiet blogwise over the last month but I expect you were all as busy as I was! December was hectic - lots of events to attend, friends to see, baking to do and helping to send my sister, nephew and her partner off to Australia. They are being missed already!! I love New Years though and the promise and potential that each year brings with it. 

2012 was a fantastic year in which I made the leap and decided to go all out with blogging. It has been a wonderful experience so far and not just in areas that I thought it would be - such as writing about what I love, improving my IT skills, trying out new restaurants and attending new events. Along the way there have been other fantastic outcomes. I have met some wonderful people along the way, been inspired countless times by the imagination and creativity of the food blogging community and been blown away by the sheer volume of events that took place in Ireland during the year. Blogging has also helped me settle into a brand new life in Meath by meeting people who live here and who have offered me great advice throughout the year.

I hope your 2012 was just as much fun but if it wasn't 2013 holds within it the promise of being great. So here's to a wonderful 2013, may all your wishes and dreams come true and remember life is always a work in progress!!

And to kick off 2013 in style here's a little competition for you all. Up for grabs are a copy of Rachel's Favourite Food at Home and Gordon Ramsay's Great Escape. Hopefully it will provide someone with the inspiration needed to get cooking!

How to enter?

• Simply leave a blog post comment telling me your 2013 New Year's resolutions. This one is mandatory and please only do it once!
• You can also like The Purple Page on Facebook and follow on Twitter for extra chances at winning.
• The winner will be selected randomly and announced here on the blog in two weeks time.
• The competition is open to entrants in Ireland and the UK

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations Deborah McCaffrey you are the lucky winner. Debbie said her New Year's resolution is 'to take all of my kitchen gadgets out from their hiding place in my utility room and start using them regularly...already dreaming of the breads, ice creams, casseroles and fresh pasta I'm going to enjoy in 2013!'. I hope the cookbooks help in putting those gadgets to good use!