A Sweet Treat

This was another post that I didn't get around to sharing at the time... I'm sure we're all in need of a little "sweet treat" now.

***

At a glitzy event at Palais Brongniart in Paris in February 2019, Ballymaloe House won Trolley of the Year Award at the inaugural World Restaurant Awards for its iconic ‘Sweet Trolley’ as it’s affectionately known. 

Over 100 chefs from 37 countries made up the panel of judges for 8 different categories of the restaurant experience... Ballymaloe House had first been long-listed, then short-listed, the tension was nail-biting and then at last the announcement. The iconic dessert trolley that Myrtle Allen had introduced at Ballymaloe House, when she opened her own dining room as a restaurant in 1965, had won the top award... super exciting... 

The original timber trolley was made by the late Ballymaloe farm carpenter, Danny Power who was well known for his ‘tasty woodwork’.

Every evening, Myrtle piled it high with an ever changing selection of her favourite seasonal desserts. Always a homemade ice-cream made from the rich Jersey cream of the farm’s pedigree herd. This was, as it still is, served in a bowl of ice that Myrtle created to keep the ice cream chilled throughout the evening. A meringue gateau of some kind, a compote of fresh seasonal fruit from the walled garden. Rhubarb perhaps, or green gooseberry and elderflower followed by currants and berries in Summer and Autumn. Perhaps an orange or silky chocolate mousse, creme brûlée or her favourite carrageen moss pudding with soft brown sugar and cream or Irish Coffee sauce.

Fast forward to now. JR Ryle, the young pastry chef who came to work with Myrtle in 2004 accepted the prestigious award on behalf of Ballymaloe. He continues to work his magic with his equally passionate team in the Ballymaloe pastry kitchens but now he’s also in demand to do Sweet Trolley Pop Ups....

He’s just been to New York to do the first US Ballymaloe Sweet Trolley ‘Pop Up’. King on King Street in Manhattan was the venue; it was a roaring success, totally oversubscribed…

I spoke to co-owner of King, Ballymaloe Cookery School alumni, Claire De Boer who with her friend Jess Shadbolt opened King on King St in September 2016.

“Something magical happened, it felt like a house party, everyone was chatting to the next table and having fun”

The pastry chef at King also trained at the Ballymaloe Cookery School and the River Café. Brian McGin of Netflix flew in from Australia on his way to L.A and Claire Ptak of Violet Cakes came from London, Food Journalist, Christine Muhlke of Bon Appetit, a big fan of King came to the rescue when JR was having difficulty sourcing a trolley in New York.

David Tanis was there from the New York Times, four people from the prestigious Prior Travel Club. Clare De Boer told me that full capacity for Sunday lunch is 40 guests but due to the overwhelming demand they decided to do two sittings and stopped the bookings at 80 plus.

Special Silverwood tartlet tins had been flown out to New York two weeks earlier. Jerpoint glass in Kilkenny was commissioned to make the hand blown glass bowls for the compote and pannacotta... they arrived just two days before the event... nail biting stuff... Stable, that shop in Westbury Mall in Dublin provided the beautiful linen for the trolley but sadly the hand thrown Fermoyle Pottery didn’t arrive from Ballinskelligs until after the event – next time!

Watch this space for news of future Ballymaloe Sweet Trolley Pop Ups.

Hot Spots on The New York Food Scene

I spent a week in New York over the St Patrick's Day festival. Even though the primary reason was to do events and interviews to promote Ireland and my latest book, Darina Allen, Simply Delicious: The Classic Collection, (quite a mouthful!), so it was also a brilliant opportunity to check out the New York and Brooklyn food scene. 

I am regularly asked to share my New York list so here are some of my favourite spots and new finds...

Brooklyn, just over the bridge from Manhattan has many tempting options, one could spend ones entire week checking out different exciting spots. I love Roman’s, Marlow & Sons, The Diner, Hometown Bar B Que and I also hear good things about Ugly Baby but we chose Chez Ma Tante (at 90, Calyer Street) this time, and had a super delicious Sunday brunch, in fact so good that I wished I’d been able to get back for dinner. We particularly loved the oysters with parsley oil and yuyu... 

As well as a 3-inch high kale quiche with a bitter leaf salad, chips with aioli, stracciatella with toasted almonds, raisins, preserved lemons and marjoram with sourdough toast.

Image: https://www.instagram.com/chez_ma_tante/

But the stand out dish was their craggy meltingly rich corn pancakes with maple butter. There are pancakes and there are pancakes but these were by far the best I ever tasted, sweet, salty, crisp and buttery on the outside, soft melting and irresistibly gritty inside. Definitely one of the highlights of the week with pure Vermont maple butter melting over the top.

Image: https://www.instagram.com/chez_ma_tante/

A tiny, Japanese panelled restaurant called Hall is another little gem in the Flatiron. The juicy washu (not wagyu) beef burger served deliciously pink on a brioche bun was particularly delectable and only $5.99.

Image: Superiority Burger Cookbook, Grub Street Press

You also need to know about Superiority Burger, a tiny cult café on 430 East 9^th Street, in the East Village. It’s a veggie burger spot and to quote the forthright chef owner Brooks Headley “occasionally vegan by accident”! In this kitchen the produce is superb, don’t miss the must-get Superiority burger. Different specialities every day including homemade gelato and sorbet. There’s very little seating and often a queue but worth it. Unquestionably one of the best restaurants in lower Manhattan and surprisingly cheap for the quality.

I Sodi and Via Carota in the West Village are two of my enduring favourites. I love the simple rustic but always edgy food that much loved chefs, Rita Sodi and Jody Williams offer. Their version of cacio e pepe, the creamy peppery Roman pasta dish, is the best in New York and here’s the spot to also enjoy  a homey plate of braised tripe. No reservations at Via Carota, it’s open till midnight so is particularly worth remembering for late night dining.

King on King’s Street is wowing New Yorkers with their seasonal Italian menu - homestyle cooking with a daily changing menu. The light is particularly wonderful at lunch time in the chic but cosy dining room with the bonus of beautiful art on the walls.

Image: https://www.lamerceriecafe.com/

La Mercerie Café at the Roman and Williams Guild at 53 Howard Street in Soho and a luxury design store, super chic, expensive but worth checking out.

I also returned to both Café Altro Paradiso and Cervo’s, another favourite with lots of small plates, great salads and cocktails. I particularly loved the tortilla with butter beans and chorizo.

Image: https://www.instagram.com/dailyprov/

Daily Provisions on East 19^th is my all-time favourite breakfast or brunch spot, certainly the very best house-cured bacon and egg sandwich in New York. They serve it in a brioche bun, both the texture and flavour are totally delicious. Don’t miss the gougère filled with mushrooms or spinach scrambled eggs. The lively little Parisian style café, Buvette, on 42 Grove Street is also top of my 

list. Super coffee, viennoiserie and little plates

Image: https://www.instagram.com/maialino_nyc/

 And finally for now, there’s Maialino for many good things but if you haven’t already had their cacio et pepe scrambled eggs with sourdough toast put it on your bucket list.

This time I sat at the counter and had a few little snacks, loved the grilled organic chicken hearts on rosemary skewers and the white bean puree with sage pesto, espelette pepper and carta musica.

There’s lots more but all of the above are favourites of mine that I couldn't resist sharing with you…

Hudson Valley

During my visit to New York I travelled up by train from Penn station to the Hudson Valley. The train runs along by the river bank with a back drop of the sheer wooded cliffs of the Palisades on the other side. I've done this trip once before on my way to Rhinecliff but today it's even more beautiful, the trees are just bursting into leaf, white blossoms of the wild pear and an occasional purple pink crab apple, tangles of old man's beard...

We've passed through Yonkers, Croton Harmon, Poughkeepsie, Rhinecliff and next its Hudson. The train is really comfy and clean with lots of leg room and the bonus of a gracious attendant who tells you where to get off, helps you with your bag... and even puts a little footstool down to help you get out.

I was heading to Hudson to meet Mona Talbott who worked alongside Alice Waters at Chez Panisse for many years. She was the founding Executive Chef of the Rome Sustainable Food Project at the American Academy in Rome, revolutionising the food in the American Academy including establishing a vegetable garden. 

Image: talbottandaring.com

Talbott moved back to the US and has recently established a new shop and take-out Talbott and Arding with her partner Kate Arding, a world authority on cheese, who honed her skills at the Neal's Yard Dairy.

Warren St is lined with antique shops and small boutiques selling beautiful things, Talbott and Arding in their midst is a little gem, with an array of local farmstead cheeses in perfect condition and a selection of good things to take out, a few tempting sandwiches on really good bread, seasonal tarts with ramps and cheese, a couple of gorgeous cakes and just a few irresistible cookies and scones. Perfect for a picnic! How lucky are the people of Hudson to have this in the area - with everything of such superb quality.

Don't miss Alan Gray's Seville orange scotch marmalade, one of the best things I've tasted for years. 

Image: Annie Schlechter 

And a picnic it was. They brought beautiful beef and horseradish sandwiches, egg sandwiches with pea shoots and radishes on a lovely salty foccaia.  It was totally delicious. Gingernut biscuits that I'd kill for the recipe - must ask Mona - they're the best I've ever tasted. We headed for Ironwood Farm where Lauren, Jenny and Aliyah have an organic farm growing fresh sprouts and pea shoots.

Image: ironwoodfarmny - Instagram

These three young women are part of a really interesting growing grassroots movement in the US - small but significant  - of young, well-educated, Green Horn, agrarians moving back to the land and starting to grow or farm. 

Sadly I wasn't able to spend as long there as I'd have liked to on the farm,  I had to rush back to Kennedy airport to catch the plane back to Ireland, but not before I bought the most delicious selection of treats for my picnic on the way home - smoked salmon rillettes with horseradish in a little glass jars, paprika cheese, hard boiled egg with chilli and fennel sea salt, wrapped in a twist of tissue, coconut cookies, a slice of lemon and olive oil cake - can imagine, when I spread all this out on my airline tray I was the envy of all around me.

Union Square Market

Union Square Market is a terrific Farmers Market in the heart of New York city. Held every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, farmers and food producers travel down from upstate New York, and as far away as Pennsylvania, with their wares.

The market has sprung back to life now that the growing season is under way. There were double the number of stalls this time than on my last visit in March. Seasonal produce included young spring garlic, ramps, nettles (at $8 a pound!) chickweed and ground elder. 

They were also selling beautiful eggs and fresh chickens and doing a roaring trade in chicken broth - that people are now realising the value of - at $10 for 24 fluid ounces!

There are several wonderful bread stalls including a not-for-profit enterprise called Hot Bread Kitchen - which makes and sells gorgeous authentic multi ethnic breads including: m'smen - made with white and semolina flour, plain or filled with cheese, kale and onion; nane barbari, a flattish indented oval bread sprinkled with sesame and nigella seeds; quandi, little sweet breads made with butter, milk  and honey; bealys with caramelised onion and poppyseed; Moroccan flatbreads... I wanted to taste everything.

Nane barbari and m'smen

There were lots of stalls selling pickles and ferments - all doing a roaring trade.

I greatly admire the system where local people can bring along their food waste so that it can be composted, and in exchange they get a bag of rich compost to grow some of their own food. In Manhattan this means growing in pots on window ledges and balconies. It's a terrific system, reflecting and encouraging the growing interest in urban gardening and one which could be implemented in so many places around the world with relative ease.

They also have an education station. I was there on a Wednesday and there were lots of teachers bringing school groups of children along to see the various stalls and learn about how food is produced. Now that's what I call real education.

My Hot New York Tables

I was in New York again last week. First as a guest speaker at the 2015 Meet the Culinary Entrepreneurs program at ICE in New York (Institute of Culinary Education). Then two days later at the Glucksman Ireland House, speaking about the role of Ballymaloe in the Irish food renaissance.

It was a great opportunity to see the ICE and meet the students there and see Glucksman Ireland House and the wonderful work the Foundation are doing.

For the Glucksman talk two and a half times the amount they were expecting showed up so they had to move to bigger room. People were delighted to hear that the image of Ireland as the land of corned beef and cabbage, colcannon and champ - delicious as they are - in no way reflects the Irish food scene as it is now.

This trip gave me the opportunity to check out what's happening on the New York food scene, and even though it was only a couple of weeks since my last visit, I made some great new discoveries.

El Rey Coffee Bar and Luncheonette in Stanton Street in Nolita is doing really interesting contemporary American food using superb ingredients. Head Chef Gerardo Gonzalez is really one to watch - friendly, talented and still refreshingly ego-less at this time. 

Image: El Rey website

He does lots of small plates where vegetables take centre stage. The chargrilled radicchio with housemade ricotta, hazelnut, lemon and aleppo honey that I had was truly delicious. As was the flat bread with avocado, pickled onion and chimichurri. Put this on your New York list... but you'll need to get there fast, because New York magazine has just written a super positive piece about him. They also do great pop up curry nights on the weekend - so be sure to check them out.

The hot new opening whilst I was over was the Dominique Ansel Kitchen on 7th Avenue South. Ansel is a hugely talented pastry chef with very little ego, which is rather rare in New York. He shot to fame a couple of years ago when he created the cronut (see my post on it here) in his tiny premises in Spring Street (where they're still queuing round the corner). 

I went along on the day he opened his long anticipated new place and joined his many fans, plus several television crews that were documenting his first day. I was number thirty two in line so I gave up, despite the tempting oohs and ahs from the others sitting around me enjoying his creations like this sticky toffee pudding served like a Christmas cracker!

I also checked out Russ and Daughters - a fifth generation Jewish deli which now has their own cafe serving lox and bagels, pickled herrings, chopped liver, potato latkes, caviar...

I tried a couple of fermented drinks - the beetroot and plum one was thirst quenching and delicious, as well as the halvah ice cream with a salted caramel sauce for which they are famous. 

I met Josh, the fifth generation owner, who told me he's longing to come to Ireland - we're hoping he'll come to LitFest next year.

Another great place is Mission Chinese Food (171 E Broadway). If you haven't already discovered it, then this is definitely another hot spot to add to your list. As long as you don't mind queuing. It opens at 5.30. Like many other restaurants now they don't take bookings - so just resign yourself to standing in line and enjoy the experience - I guarantee it'll be worth it!

And then there's Ristorante Rafele (7th Ave S near Christopher Street), a little Italian gem that Madhur Jaffrey and her husband Sanford introduced me to.

I would never have found it on my own, it's the sort of restaurant you would walk by without a second glance. But it's my very best new discovery - thanks Madhur!

The other place I went to amazingly for the first time is an amazing ingredient shop, Kalustyans on Lexington Avenue, which has floor to ceiling shelves packed with ethnic ingredients from around the world. I bought barberries, Ceylon cinnamon, piment d'esplette and the best Telicherri peppercorns. 

Established since 1944, there were three generations working the shop floor that day - here I am with two! 

Another find was Breads Bakery. They had superb coffee, delicious little sandwiches and gorgeous breads, pastries and chewy, chunky breadsticks with gouda and green olives. I loved the cheese straw split in half filled with cream cheese, cherry tomato, coriander and avocado. 

Don't miss their speciality - chocolate babka - a Polish sweet bread swirled with chocolate and hazelnut that is truly irresistible. They're located just off Union Square and are well worth a visit.

What's Hot? Toast

Toast is having its moment.

Yes, it's true!

Image: Yelp

Posh toast made with handmade artisan breads - natural sourdough, rye, spelt or brioche is all the rage. From San Francisco to New York, gourmet toast is popping up all over the place (pardon the pun!)

But it's not just in the US. At London's Brixton Market, Burnt Toast (@burnttoastcafe) provides diners with their own toaster at the table so they get to make their own toast.

From Flickr

Closeby, Breads Etcetera in Clapham (@BreadsEtc) and Brodys Breakfast Bistro in Exeter are also on trend.

New York Launch

Just back from New York having successfully launched the Kerrygold Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine - on our second attempt!

Believe it or not the sun shone on us this time. There was a change of venue - at Studio 1 on Broadway - and we had even more people than were expected at the original launch. This time some of the guests who were invited first time round sadly couldn't make it, including Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Paschal Donohoe. But many many friends from Kerrygold, Tourism Ireland Board Bia and the Irish Dairy Board were there to cheer us on and celebrate the launch of our third LitFest which promises to be even bigger and better than previous years.

David Lebovitz (who will be speaking at this year's Litfest) was there, as were journalists from Monocle, Saveur, Martha Stewart Living, Food and Wine, Good Housekeeping, The Village Voice, and representatives from Dean & Deluca and the James Beard Foundation.

Before we left we packed up our cases with Ballymaloe brown yeast bread, homemade cheese biscuits and lots of lovely smoked salmon. Sean Hyde of Ballymaloe Country Relish USA was there to meet us with copious amounts of  Ballymaloe Relish and of course we had Kerrygold butter and cheese in abundance.

Here's what we ate...

• Shanagarry Organic Smoked Salmon on Ballymaloe Brown Bread with Kerrygold butter and Pickled Cucumbers
• Kerrygold Cashel Blue Cheese on a Brown Soda Cracker with Spiced Cranberries
• Roast Fillet of Irish Beef on Brown Bread and Kerrygold butter with Horseradish Mayonnaise
• Crudités with Aïoli
• A selection of Kerrygold Cheese (Kerrygold Dubliner, Skellig and Vintage Cheddar) with Pickles and Brown Soda Crackers
• Belvelly Smokehouse Smoked Mackerel and Chive Rillettes on Grilled Sourdough Bread
• Ballymaloe Vanilla Fudge as a goodbye treat.

David Tanis of the NY times (another speaker at this year's Litfest) rolled up his sleeves along with Betsy Klein and helped Rory in the open kitchen - piling cucumber pickle on top of the smoked salmon.

It was just a few days before St Patrick's Day so lots of Irish were over in New York spreading the word about Irish food - including Clodagh McKenna launching her new book Clodagh's Irish Kitchen.

The Irish craft cider producers were in town too: Dan Kelly's, Craigies Cider and Longueville House Cider were introducing their ciders to America, sharing them with our guests and getting a terrific response. Some of the Litfest speakers including Alice Feiring (natural wine) and past Ballymaloe Cookery School students including Malcom Jackson (part-time chef at Fitzcarraldo in Brooklyn) and our very first American and international student Tambra Dillon were all there - which was a lovely surprise. 

We had a very jolly time - we are very grateful for the support of our title sponsor Kerrygold and also to Tourism Ireland for supporting the US press launch.

What's Hot in New York?

So what’s happening on the New York Food scene? Food seems to be an obsession with virtually everyone. Everyone seems to chat endlessly about where they’ve eaten and the new big thing.

Here's a really good place to add to your New York list.

Via Carota is the newest venture of Jody Williams of Buvette and Rita Sodi of I Sodi, both firm favourites of mine, all within a few blocks of each other around Grove Street. It serves simple Italian and French food, gorgeous ingredients and pretty dishes.

With all the snow and blizzard confusion we just managed to have a couple of small plates and a few salads in the long glass-fronted restaurant. I was longing to stay for dinner to taste the fried rabbit with rosemary and garlic toast.

Instead we had their bunless burger made of hand-chopped New York strip steak simply seasoned with salt and pepper, rosemary and garlic, seared on a hot flat top griddle. It comes on the plate without the distraction of a bun or fries, it may just be New York’s best burger in a town where they certainly know how to make a burger.

Snowed In in New York

We packed our bags and headed for the US ready to launch the Kerrygold Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine in New York. We had a terrific guest list of media, speakers, friends and well-wishers.

David Tanis of the New York Times, April Bloomfield of the ‘Spotted Pig’, ‘John Dory Oyster Bar’, ‘The Breslin Bar and Dining Room’ fame, blogger extraordinaire David Lebovitz, Garrett Oliver of the Brooklyn Brewery, Christine Muhlke of Bon Appetit, Niall Gibbons of Tourism Ireland, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Paschal Donohoe and Kerrygold our festival sponsors were all due to attend.

But we hadn't reckoned on the weather taking a sudden turn for the worse. Sunday was crisp beautiful sunny day, but by Monday New York was being whipped into a frenzy of panic by the weather forecasters, who predicted scary blizzards, 24-30 inches of snow by Monday evening.

The city gradually went into lock down, and by mid-afternoon the conditions had certainly worsened, but still only a few inches of snow. By late evening trains had stopped running and roads around the city were closed, as were shops and restaurants. Supermarkets shelves were emptied as people panicked. The serious snow and blizzards were, we were told, to come during the night. 

Well, the prediction turned out to be embarrassingly exaggerated – a mere two to three inches of snow dusted sidewalks in the morning but the city was still at a standstill and it took days for things to get back to normal.

The Flatiron the day of the planned launch - not a person in sight. NY was locked down.

Meanwhile we had held out to the last moment to make a decision, but there was simply no option but to cancel the event. As you can imagine we were thoroughly disappointed, having found a great venue in the Bowery, planned it all, hired all the glassware, great flowers, yummy food... Not to worry. We quickly picked ourselves up, dusted ourselves down and arranged a new date for the New York launch of the  Kerrygold Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine in mid March.