Christmas cooking demonstration

If anyone would know the best tips and coping strategies for turning out a memorable Christmas dinner, it would be a chef at a five-star hotel who serves it every year to hordes of guests with high expectations.

Chef Philip Brazil from The Falls restaurant at Sheen Falls Lodge in Kenmare will host a Christmas cooking demonstration at the Miele Experience Centre at Citywest Campus, Dublin 24, on Tuesday, November 22nd (7-9pm).

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The menu he will cook will introduce new ingredients to traditional dishes, and there will be wine pairings for each dish.

Guests will also get to take home a gift of the hotel’s smoked salmon, prepared in its own smokehouse, which makes the attendance fee of €25 (€40 for two) seem like very good value. Places must be booked in advance by phoning 01-4610710 or by email at events@miele.ie.

Allen’s mother inspires new cookbook

Rachel Allen's new cookbook has the heartwarming title, Recipes From My Mother (HarperCollins, £20), and given that her mother Hallfridur is Icelandic, you just know there are going to be some really interesting dishes to cook.

Substantial cold weather breakfasts, warming soups, dishes made with hot and cold smoked fish, roasts, casseroles and stews give the book a wintry feel that’s perfect for this time of year. There’s a Scandi meatball recipe, of course, and the baking chapter has pumpernickel and rye breads and an intriguing lemon and liquorice cake.

In a clever move, Allen also asked her friends to contribute recipes inherited from or inspired by their mothers, so there’s a wide geographical spread of family favourites laced through her own recipes.

Noma restaurant chef wins award at touRRoir forum

René Redzepi of Noma restaurant in Copenhagen was one of three recipients of the inaugural Hall of Fame awards presented at the recent touRRoir global food, tourism and culture forum in Dublin.

The awards were made to mark their contribution in these three areas, and the other winners were the Catalan Tourism Agency and Korean film-maker Lee Wook Jung, whose work has included several documentaries marrying historical and cultural narratives with national cuisines.

Whiskey experience in Dingle

Dingle Distillery has joined forces with Castlewood House in Dingle, a boutique B&B that is the last word in comfort and elegance, for its first ever Whiskey Experience event on Saturday, November 19th.

The full-day masterclass marks the distillery’s launch of its first whiskey. The package (€220 per person) includes the masterclass, two nights B&B at Castlewood House, with whiskey on your breakfast porridge to get you in the mood, and a whiskey-themed afternoon tea.