Posts in: 'News'
Creu Celta is one of the best Spanish wines in the UK!
Posted: 03 September '10 by Niall and Kelly
New Wave Spanish Wine Awards 2010
We’re sure that everyone at Belfast’s Direct Wine Shipments are over the moon. Their ‘Creu Celta 2006′ wine has been awarded a “Best New Discovery” prize at this years New Wave Spanish Wine Awards 2010.
The ‘Creu Celta’ label produces rich, concentrated reds with pine, chocolate, cherry, plum and currant notes from the DWS vineyard in Priorat, Northern Spain.
Tim Atkin (award-winning wine writer and Master of Wine) led a panel of distinguished judges who had the onerous task of tasting nearly 1000 wines. The 119 wines shortlisted by the panel represent the very best Spanish wines available in the UK right now!
Now in its sixth year, the New Wave Spanish Wine Awards is run by Wines from Spain and Off Licence News (OLN). The awards are designed to showcase the most exciting wines from Spain available in the UK market.
So it’s official – Creu Celta is one of the best Spanish wines in the UK!
Congratulations to everyone at DWS!
Other information
You can find the full list of winning wines at www.winesfromspainuk.com.
You can buy the Creu Celta 2006 online at Direct Wine Shipments – RRP £19.99
You can click here to find out more about Tim Atkin.
Direct Wine Shipments
5-7 Corporation Square,
Belfast
BT1 3AJ
T: 028 9050 8000
E: shop@directwine.co.uk
W: www.directwine.co.uk
You can also find DWS on Google Maps.
Categories: News
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On my command, unleash.. tomatoes!
Posted: 24 August '10 by Niall
La Tomatina, Wednesday 25 August 2010
The world’s biggest food fight starts tomorrow at 11am!
The population of Buñol more than triples each year as thousands descend on the small Valencian town to join in the massive tomato fight, with over 100 tons of over-ripe tomatoes being thrown in an hour of fun and mayhem.
No-one really knows why the event began, just that the original celebration was held around 1945. “La Tomatina” lasts for a full week of festivities, but the food-fight itself takes place on the last Wednesday in August each year.
Trucks carrying tons of ripe tomatoes are driven into the town square and, at the signal to begin, all hell breaks loose! The tomato fight continues until 12 noon when a second rocket is fired to signal the end of messy melee.
There are a few rules so that everyone can enjoy themselves with the least chance of trouble:
- Crush the tomatoes before you throw them;
- Stop throwing tomatoes when you hear the second rocket;
- Don’t carry bottles or hard objects; and
- Diving goggles are a good idea – the acid from the tomatoes hurts your eyes after a while.
And..?
Well, because we can’t make it to Buñol ourselves, we thought that we’d celebrate the Tomato Festival in our own way by making our own Stuffed Tomatoes for dinner tonight – a tasty Spanish recipe which we’ll post tomorrow.
And you never know – Kelly might get more than she’s bargained for when she walks into the kitchen tonight too!
You can see more photos hereImage 2Image 3
Other information
You can find out more information by visiting the official La Tomatina website.
Credits – image 1: Sydney Morning Herald – image 2: http://www.latomatina.es – image 3: http://www.latomatina.es
Categories: News
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All I want for Christmas is….
Posted: 28 July '10 by Kelly
Wagamama - coming to Belfast!
.. for Wagamama to come to town.. And guess what?! It is!! The much-loved Japanese restaurant will be opening in Belfast’s Victoria Square in time for Christmas.
Niall and I are so excited by the news! If you’ve been to a Wagamama resturant then you’ll know why – If not, then you are in for a treat!
I lived in Nottingham for a while and I was lucky enough to have a Wagamama at the bottom of my street – I originally ventured in when I couldn’t face another evening of cooking for one person, but after that I subconsciously found more and more reasons to eat there. I loved everything about the experience: the smells and sounds of the open kitchen when you arrive; being seated at the ‘communal dining’ long benches that replace the traditional table and chairs, creating an authentic Asian dining experience; and the arrival of the food, with steaming bowls of delicious broth and noodles being a specialty.
Wagamama is all about Positive Eating and Positive Living, a philosophy that they explain as “combining fresh and nutritious food in an elegant yet simple setting with helpful, friendly service and value for money”. The food is certainly fresh and you leave the restaurant feeling very virtuous (and satisfied) which is perfect if, like most of us, you love eating out but are worried about putting on weight.
Our favourite meals at Wagamama in Nottingham (and this is hard to pin down as there were many!!) were -
- ebi katsu – deep-fried prawns in panko breadcrumbs, served with a spicy chilli and garlic sauce garnished with lime
- edamame – steamed green soya beans with either salt or chilli and garlic salt
- miso soup and japanese style pickles
- seafood ramen – noodles in a vegetable soup topped with grilled smooth dory, prawns, squid and seasonal greens.
- teriyaki soba-grilled teriyaki beef on a bed of teppan fried soba noodles with curry oil, mangetout, chillies, bok choi and sesame seeds
There was also an amazingly gooey chocolate cake with wasabi.. I could go on and on and on as the menu really is delicious!! And the best thing is that everyone will find something they like – there are lots of chicken and rice dishes for those who aren’t as adventurous or who have a plainer palate. Knives and forks are available but it’s alot of fun trying to master the chopsticks.
Roll on christmas is all I can say!
50 new jobs for Belfast
Wagamama’s opening in the run-up to Christmas means that there will be new jobs in the service industry, including waiters and waitresses, administrative staff, line chefs, managers and supervisors. They’re currently recruiting for a Head Chef and Senior Management positions – CV’s should be submitted with a covering letter to chris@wagamama.ie.
Other information
“Wagamama” means “naughty/wilful child” although it is probably more accurately translated as “selfish”.
You can visit the Wagamama website at www.wagamama.com.
Categories: News
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Just desserts for Niall McKenna
Posted: 30 June '10 by Niall and Kelly
Chef Niall McKenna at James Street South
There are times when you taste something so good that it becomes an event. You just know that it’s special and you’ll be reminiscing about it in years to come. That’s what this was – on Tuesday 29 June 2010 we tasted Chef Niall McKenna’s Poached Rhubarb and Strawberry Jelly with Yellowman and Lavender Ice-cream. It’s a date we’ll remember.
Kelly and I had been invited to a lunch at James Street South to celebrate Niall’s recent success in The Great British Menu. For those not in the know, Niall not only won the Northern Ireland heat of the competition, but his dessert beat all-comers from across the UK to win it’s place at a banquet attended by Prince Charles. To say that we were looking forward to this is an understatement.
With only 25 other people there we got the chance for a good chat with Niall and his wife Joanne, and two nicer, more unassuming people you couldn’t hope to meet. Even as dedicated food-lovers, it was a bit intimidating to talk to Niall – the man clearly lives for food, and his knowledge and enthusiasm seems to know no bounds. Sipping our champers, I think Kelly and I would have been happy if that was our lot – talking with our two hosts about restaurants, the quality of ingredients, the pressure of cooking during The Great British Menu, and anything else that sprang to mind – but in too short a time it was over and the time to eat was upon us.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not glossing over the starter and main course because of any shortcomings: quite the contrary, they were exceptional. The lobster, langoustine and scallop in the starter were sweet and meaty, and complimented perfectly by cucumber and a light sea-weed butter. The main of Shorthorn Beef was tender and perfectly moist, served with sweet little roasted onions and broadbeans and breadcrumbed bone marrow.. Oh, it was so unctious and just exploded with juicy goodness – it has to be one of my favourite things to see on a menu.
Even taking these highlights into account though, the celebrated dessert simply stole the show.
Chef McKenna had joked that it was only jelly and ice-cream, but if that’s the case it’s the best jelly and ice-cream you’ll ever taste. The strawberry jelly was sweet and sharp without over-powering the poached rhubarb – the lavender ice-cream was marvellously delicate and subtle, and a wonderful background flavour as I crunched through the delicate tuile and the Yellowman dust that encrusted the ice-cream. All the flavours seemed so perfectly balanced – a dish that was just full of the best things of Summer. At the first mouthful our table of 8 people slipped into silence – just before a chorus of synchronised moans and the rattle of cutlery on china that comes with some serious tucking-in.
The fact that a local chef and a local restaurant can deliver this sort of quality speaks volumes about the changing food-scene in Northern Ireland – and places Niall McKenna at the very top of his profession.
What made the whole meal even more enjoyable was the knowledge that the ingredients were locally-sourced: from the milk from Glastry in County Down, to the strawberries from Armagh, to the honey from the grounds of Malone Golf Club. We were lucky enough to have Joanne seated at our table and she talked passionately about the importance of fresh, quality ingredients and the need to support our local producers – and after such a fine lunch there certainly wasn’t any disagreement from the diners!
Thanks and congratulations once again to Niall and Joanne McKenna – as we walked out of their restaurant Kelly and I were talking about returning as soon as possible to get our strawberry jelly fix. I can see a new favourite topping our list of the best local restaurants..
Other information
James Street South
21 James Street South,
Belfast
BT2 7GA
Northern Ireland
T: 028 90434310
E: info@jamesstreetsouth.co.uk
W: www.jamesstreetsouth.co.uk
You can follow James Street South on Facebook
You can also find James Street South on Google Maps.
The good news is that Niall is serving these dishes (and more) in his restaurant so you can enjoy the taste of the Great British Menu – you can click here to see the Great British Menu at James Street South.
Categories: News
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Observer Food Monthly Awards 2010
Posted: 22 June '10 by Niall
Observer Food Monthly Awards
We’ve just noticed that voting for the Observer Food Monthly Awards is open. The competition closes at midnight on Friday, June 25th – so get voting now!
The categories include Best Restaurant and Best Food Blog (hint, hint), but we think that Co Couture, those marvellous gourmet chocolatiers located on Chicester Street in Belfast, deserve your vote in the Best independent local shop or online retailer section.
Besides getting to see your favourite local restaurants, shops and blogs getting the recognition you think they deserve, you’ll also be entered into a draw for All reader votes will be entered into a draw to win a foodie weekend in Flanders and a six course dinner at Fifteen, Cornwall – amongst other prizes.
The judges
Judging of the entries will take place in July. The prestigious 12-person panel includes such luminaries as Nigel Slater , Mariella Frostrup and Mark Hix.
Other information
You can click here to vote in the Observer Food Monthly Awards.
Categories: News
