More Nationwide foodie items
Nationwide is a thrice-weekly Irish television show which consists of a collection of pieces on life in the country. Covering art, music, photography and – to my delight – food, it’s the kind of programme much loved by grannys and parents who believe that RTÉ is altogether too Dublin-centric. Although I don’t have a television, I keep an eye on the foodie side of things through the Nationwide website as they’ve been particularly good at highlighting artisan producers. I’ve mentioned it before in relation to the Fergusons of Gubbeen and last Friday’s show also had a couple of pieces worth checking out.
Since coming back to Ireland I’ve been hearing a lot about the Good Things Café and Cookery School down in Durrus, West Cork. It crops up in the Bridgestone Guides as well as Georgina Campbell’s The Best of the Best and I’ve also been impressed with owner Carmel Somers’ avowed obsession with local, seasonal, organic and free range ingredients. Being in an area where customers are few and far between in winter, she’s also started a cookery school and that was the focus of last Friday’s interview.
The show also featured Sarah Hehir and Emily Sandford of Cocoabean Artisan Chocolates in Limerick. Despite my post about their chocolates in December, I must admit that I still haven’t got round to trying some of their fabulous-sounding flavour combinations. And it’s not often that I procrastinate about chocolate tasting!
The piece on last Wednesday’s programme about traditional butter-making is also well worth a look, especially as Jean Beattie gives instructions for making your own butter at home in a jam-jar! First making my own bread, then cheese. What’s next? Perhaps butter…
