All about food with MARIE-CLAIRE DIGBY
It’s Mothers’ Day next Sunday, and if you’re looking for inspiration here are a few ideas. At Art Tea at Dublin’s Merrion Hotel, the fanciful cakes are inspired by the hotel’s impressive art collection (€36, including a copy of the art catalogue). Tea at the Radisson Blu St Helen’s in Dublin 4 is another elegant choice, and on Mondays, the afternoon tea menu includes luscious Sicilian pastries called cannoli, made in-house by Giancarlo Anselmi (€21). Afternoon tea (€20) at Longueville House in Mallow, Co Cork is a nice way to enjoy the comfortable surroundings of the hotel’s drawing room and Mount Hillary room. In all cases vouchers are available and advance reservations are recommended.
TV3 chef Andrew Rudd’s Diva Dinner at the Sugar Club in Dublin on Mothers’ Day (5.30pm until late) sounds like a livelier alternative to afternoon tea. Prosecco and canapes, a sit-down three-course dinner with wine, cookery demonstrations, and live cabaret with Kristin Kapelli sounds like great value at €55 per person. Book at andrewrudd.ie.
One of the advantages of using the internet to learn about food is that you have a virtual army of co-researchers (and fellow Twitter and blog addicts) sharing information about their exciting new discoveries. PR director and food lover Sinéad Ryan, who masterminded the clever online campaign for Crackbird, the pop-up fried chicken restaurant in Dublin, recently directed her Twitter followers to a food blog written by Kay Bax, and it’s a great one to bookmark. Bax, who lives in Gouda in the Netherlands, specialises in creating step-by-step visual story boards, relying on her excellent photographic skills to bring her recipes to life. “Two years after my son was born I started blogging, mainly to help out a handful of friends who wanted to learn to cook,” she explains. “The step-by-step photos were useful in showing them what to do and what the food was supposed to look like at any given time during the cooking process.
“Before I knew it, my hobby got out of hand, my blog traffic went through the roof and I was published in Reader’s Digest, and Dutch magazines, and was working on an online food magazine with a Belgian TV company. Kayotic Kitchen reached a million page views per month. It’s been a crazy but wonderful ride,” she says.
This is Bax’s photo of a versatile and delicious Moroccan saffron salsa called Tanane, the recipe for which you’ll find at kayotickitchen.com.
mcdigby@irishtimes.com
The small but well-stocked food hall at Harvey Nichols in Dundrum, Dublin 14 is a treasure trove of stylish gifts, and new and innovative food products. On a recent visit I was delighted to find the Easy Tasty Magic collection of beautifully packaged spice rubs and finishing salts designed by Laura Santtini, who also created the Taste No5 Umami Paste that became an internet sensation when she launched it last year. The Easy Tasty Magic collection includes an Alchemical Larder (right, €28.95), which Santtini describes as “16 magical ingredients and some notions for potions”. So, there’s a little bit of whimsy going on here, but underpinned by meticulous attention to quality – the spices are sourced from top-notch UK company Steenbergs, and the heavy, jewel-coloured glass packing is really beautiful. The spice rubs (€7.95), which you can use wet or dry or as a marinade, include White Mischief, a wonderful blend of jasmine, orange flower, chilli, sichuan pepper and smoky Chinese tea, and Carnal Sin, which has Persian rose petals, pink salt, pink peppercorns and tangy sumac. If Harvey Niks isn’t your stomping ground, you can order them for delivery by post or courier (tel: 01-2910420).
