Natural entertainer
TV chef and caterer Andrew Rudd puts his flair for entertaining down to being one of a family of nine children and the son of very hospitable parents.
“My parents used to take in foreign students, which meant that we had anything up to 20 for each meal during the summer. Mum embraced the challenge, really letting her creative juices flow and we had some of the most amazing meals.” His parents were also responsible for launching the original Rudd’s brand of sausages and bacon made from their own pork.
Rudd now runs his own business, Medley, from lovely premises on Drury Street in Dublin 2, where he gives cooking classes and stages events. His first book, Entertaining with Andrew Rudd, offers recipes and tips on catering for a variety of occasions from an elegant dinner for two to "the Big Feast". It's available in bookshops and online from dubraybooks.ie (€24.99).
People's choice
An Argentinian-style wood-fired grill on a stone terrace with views of Dublin bay is set to become next summer's hottest eating out ticket.
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In the meantime, there’s lots to admire about the interior of the new Fallon & Byrne restaurant and cafe at the People’s Park in Dún Laoghaire too. The original Victorian pavilion has undergone renovation to become a bright, spacious dining room and cocktail bar with a vaulted glass roof and a glass curtain to bring the gorgeous park setting indoors. Access to the roof terrace has been reinstated.
The restaurant is open from 9am, serving breakfast, lunch, dinner and an afternoon menu, and there is a takeaway cafe bar too. You can check out the menu at fallonandbyrne.com.
Game on at Knockranny
Knockranny House in Westport is preparing a feast of rabbit, hare, teal, mallard, partridge and pheasant for its annual Game Weekend on November 21st and 22nd.
Chef Seamus Commons will be shooting, trapping and catching some of the menu himself, and the highlight of the weekend will be a seven-course game menu in La Fougère restaurant on the Saturday evening, with wine pairings chosen by sommelier Nick Faujours. Packages range from €69 for a game cooking demo, wine tasting and dinner, to €199 per person for two-nights accommodation as well as the cooking and wine-tasting events and Saturday's gala dinner. See knockrannyhousehotel.ie. You might also be in time to snag a table for an eight-course game tasting menu with matched wines at Saison in Dublin 2 tomorrow night (November 16th). Irish game is the theme and chef Graeme Dodrill will be serving wild venison, partridge, mallard and pheasant. It costs €80 including wines, and reservations are being taken at 01-6624800.
Taste of Mexico
A Taste of Mexico (November 18th-23rd) brings that country's cultural and gastronomic highlights to Dublin for a week-long fiesta. There will be a competition to find "The Best Enchilada in Ireland", tequila and mezcal tastings, cookery workshops and music and fashion events too. For a full list see tasteofmexico.ie. At the Instituto Cervantes on Lincoln Place in Dublin 2 on Wednesday, November 19th at 6pm, Helma Honda, a London-based expert in real Mexican food, will give a lecture on the ingredients, cooking methods and presentation of Mexican dishes and José Torres of the Mexican Tequila Regulatory Council will host a tasting and talk. It's free to attend, but first come, first served.
