The cucumber has to be one of the most common vegetables these days and it is pretty much taken for granted being so unassuming and just making up the numbers in the salad world. Nothing could be further from the truth for this important ingredient in our everyday diet. Ever since it’s Indian subcontinent genesis thousands of years ago then migrating to Europe via ancient Greece and finally transported by the Spanish to the Americas it has become a global favourite. It may be mostly water but it packs a big crunch and surprisingly powerful punch on the goodness front.    First ..read more

MUNCH TIMES The way we eat has changed beyond all recognition in a couple of generations. Some countries are more regimented than others but it seems all bets are off now in the modern era of shift work, TV dinners, takeaways and eating on the go. Fast and cheap food at every turn has meant the temptation of just scoffing nonstop throughout a day meaning our tummies do not get a breather and our system is in a constant process of churning our food and drink, which it is simply not equipped to do.    I recall early Irish visitors returning from Spain in the seventies just not being ..read more

I am always amazed how people who are successful in other fields of business reckon it’s a piece of cake to get a food outlet off the ground. Just because someone has a keen interest in cooking and an ambitious streak never mind plenty of bucks, it does not guarantee whatsoever a success in catering. It has to be one of the most precarious industries to get a foothold in and make a real fist of it. When I get asked to advise or assist in new projects it is always a case of gut feeling for me on the individual behind it which will determine if this operator is going to rise or fall.  &nbs ..read more

I was disappointed to hear from someone lately who had been looking forward to a fine dining celebratory lunch for an anniversary at a starred restaurant abroad and all that was on offer was a tasting menu of numerous mini courses of tasting plates at an exorbitant price with an additional financial splash to have a glass of wine paired for each dish. This has to be the final straw in a culinary trend that is as far away from an eating out experience as you can get but costing three figures per person. Needless to say they went over the road to the competition and had a beautiful th ..read more

As much as I adore France and everything they gave us all gastronomically it is in beverages too that others have also caught up by emulating their genius especially in wine and champagne. I was looking at the protests last year where angry French growers were being quite militant against wine imports from just across the border in Spain not letting wine laden trucks enter. Millions of French bottles also had to be destroyed by their government creating wine lakes again just to keep prices at a level where producers can earn a living.     This is the cost of a global economy an ..read more

I was reminded lately of the amount of times myself or other chefs I knew replaced brandy with whiskey in recipes over the years and how well it was received and often preferred to the original dishes. Brandy is used in many classical recipes and we have the Irish Hennessy’s fleeing to Cognac in France during the 18th century to thank for getting brandy up and running but our own whiskey works pretty much as good if not better sometimes. In Irish we call whiskey Uisce Beatha or water of life in the romantic translation.     I am not a whiskey drinker per se but will have a good ..read more

Sugar gets wrongly lambasted by the medics and dieticians but it really only gives us energy and not any vitamins, mineral, proteins or fat. Brown sugar is perceived as healthier as it contains some protein and minerals but sometimes it is just white sugar with molasses added so it can be less healthy. The targeting of sugar is a bit of a fallacy, an ounce of it gives us around a hundred calories and like everything else if consumed in excess you will expand if the energy is not burned off. We all need sugar but just not so much of it and it is hidden away in so many foods. Animals and plants ..read more

The last few years you may have noticed that some of your favourite brands just feel that little bit lighter in your hand at the supermarket or the amount of portions you normally get from a product just does not stretch as far as it used to before it has run out. Welcome to the world of shrinkflation. This word has been coined a while now to describe what food manufacturers are playing at in order to recover the costs of increased food, energy and labour costs in the last while and not have to pass on these unavoidable increases in the form of higher prices to the consumers.    It ..read more

When people have a crowd around the dinner table for maybe the only time in the year around Christmas it can be stressful enough for the hosts to deal with a big table of maybe a dozen guests but now the additional requirement to factor in any special dietary guests or plain old fussy eaters is something that was not so common in the past. Previously you rocked up and were happy to abstain from the sprouts or whatever did not take your fancy and were gracious for the hospitality and certainly not making a song or dance of your food foibles or intolerances.    It is not like this now ..read more

So it’s another month of food and drink overindulgence and a New Year beckons with all the good intentions we promise ourselves and to those around us after the 31st, which may or may not be honoured. It is not easy being a modern human with all the yummy temptations at festive occasions and the mind and body does take a shock to the system when we literally decide to go into overload and expect our battered and bruised organisms to stand up to the mountain high dinner plate. The price will always be paid a second time the next day as our heads and livers are not cheap dates.   In the pa ..read more