Sally's blog

If you plan visiting the Glebe Gardens' Cafe, make sure to make a day of it. There is so much more here than just the food.

The Gallic Kitchen is a Gourmet Cottage. Sophisticated yet simple food is what truly defines its ethos. It's vintage charm fits in with the dated yet timeless town of Abbeyleix.

Let us now praise famous women: for the last two decades Monica Murphy has been one of the key players in the world of Irish wine. Working with the family firm, Febvre, she has been a tireless advocate of good wines, and good companionability. Nearing 70, she has decided to set aside the ISO glasses and take it a little bit easier.

You have to wonder if the Victorian era, when Liss Ard was constructed, could possibly have been as interesting as its more recent history. The estate of Liss Ard is accessed just south of the town of Skibbereen, In West Cork. Right now it has a newly opened casual restaurant, operated by admired Cork-based chef Stephen Canty. It's open for weekend lunches, Fri to Sun, when you can get West Cork fish soup, terrines, fish cakes or sandwiches, and then for dinner, Wed-Mon, where the menu is equally light and friendly.

There is nothing nicer than a gift of Cookie Jar cookies, this video reveals the extensive R&D and consumer satisfaction surveys that make them so good.

John McKenna reviews Deasy’s Harbour Bar & Seafood Restaurant
Ring, Clonakilty, West Cork

Sizing up the Sheep’s Head, by Sally McKenna

Bantry has been given the gift of a Down to Earth Café, says Connie McKenna

If you have three grand sterling in your pocket, you can go online right now and buy a 7-day culinary tour of Bolivia, exploring the best places to eat in La Paz and elsewhere and visiting the wineries of Bolivia.
Yes. Bolivian wineries.
In the 2013 Best Restaurants list, there are several chefs from Brazil, Peru and Mexico in the top 50.
And Maricel E. Presilla’s monumental doorstop book, “Gran Cocina Latina”, has just won the James Beard Award.

Una Muldoon has worked with some of the best people in the business – James Mulchrone of JAM, Emer Murray of Goya’s – so keep an eagle eye out for her fine breads and cakes, sold under the label “Una M’s Home Bakery”. Una converted a room in her house into her bakery and in addition to her breads, sold in O’Meara’s Supervalu in Portumna and Duffy’s in Killimor, Una bakes the most amazing special occasion cakes.