Welcome to the first Irish Times Food & Drink Club digest, and thanks for joining us.
We’ve lots of tasty features to sink your teeth into this month, and every month, plus some exclusive competitions for Food and Drink Club members (details below).
November is our busiest month here in The Irish Times Food & Drink department, as we celebrate Food Month. Now in its sixth year, it's the perfect excuse to look at food and drink from all angles; from how we produce it, to how we buy, sell and consume it, plus this year we'll be taking an in-depth look at food waste and sustainability in Ireland.
We've lots of fun additions this year, including our new Irish Times Food Tours, with writers Catherine Cleary, Marie Claire Digby, John Wilson and Lilly Higgins taking readers to some of their favourite foodie haunts in Dublin and Cork throughout the month,.
We've also introduced a new food columnist, Jess Murphy, in our Saturday Magazine. Originally from New Zealand and now living in Galway, Jess owns Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant Kai, and was named Best Chef in Ireland at the 2018 RAI awards. She got things rolling with a meat pie inspired by her homeland, and you can find the recipe below.
Winter has well and truly set in, so we find ourselves returning to some comforting old favourites in the kitchen. Each month we'll select a seasonal ingredient to put the spotlight on, and Marie-Claire Digby will explore its possibilities through recipes from our archive and beyond. This month, it's time to consider cauliflower.
Don’t forget to check out tomorrow’s Magazine for more great food features, including a chat with Breandán Kearney, an Irish brewer who is beating the Belgians at the their own game, and Catherine Cleary’s latest restaurant review, where she eats at La Dame de Pic, a must-visit Michelin-starred restaurant in Paris, that garners an impressive score of 9/10.
So tuck in, and happy reading,
Rachel Collins
