by Niamh Cooper, Melissa Byrne & Gillian Hegarty

The weather in July has been nothing short of spectacular, and many of us have lived outside for the last few weeks. Even when the weather decides to take a turn – and it will, eventually, because this is Ireland – this is the season for food you can eat with your fingers. And nothing on any picnic blanket, or kitchen table, will be as spectacularly pink as this beetroot dip. It looks like something a unicorn might eat. And it tastes even better.

If you haven’t tried beetroot yet, zapping it into a dip might be one of the best things you’ve done this summer. You can buy beetroot in a packet, or fresh – and you can eat it, leaves and all! Just a note though: don’t use the pickled beetroot as it won’t work in this recipe!

First, a word about the leaves. When you buy fresh beetroot between June and October, it comes with its beautiful stalks and leaves attached, and they are delicious too. Strip the leaves from the stalks and wash everything. Cut the stalks into roughly 2cm pieces and cook in boiling salted water for two minutes, then add the leaves and cook for one minute more. You can also steam them. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Ingredients

• 250g cooked beetroot

• 50g feta cheese

• 2 tbsp roughly chopped fresh mint

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

• Salt and freshly ground pepper

If using fresh beetroot, cut off the stalks, leaving about an inch on the beetroot. Wash gently without damaging the skin, place in a saucepan of cold water, and then ask an adult to help you: Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 to 2 hours, depending on size. The beetroot is cooked when the skin comes off easily and a skewer slides through with no resistance. Remove the skin and stalk, roughly chop, and place in a food processor with all the other ingredients. Blitz until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning; you may like more lemon, salt, pepper or mint. The dip looks beautiful, garnished with marigold petals. One warning: beetroot juice stains everything it touches, including you, so wear old clothes. 

A few ways to eat it:

Serve it on bread, with crackers or on toasted pitta; eat with a rainbow of raw vegetables such as carrot sticks, cucumber and peppers; dollop onto a hot baked potato instead of butter; spread inside a wrap; have on a burger instead of ketchup, or whatever way you fancy eating it.

Turn it into a salad. Cut the cooked beetroot into wedges and place in a bowl, season with salt and pepper, add a few rocket leaves and tear in some mint. Mix the oil and lemon juice together and pour over the beetroot. Transfer to a serving bowl and crumble over the feta. Garnish with edible flowers from the garden if you have them, such as violas, marigolds, borage or cornflowers. Broad beans are a lovely addition as well, and they are fantastic right now – if you can get your hands on them.

So there you have it: a dip (or salad!) that is bursting with goodness, looks amazing and is totally delicious. Make a batch, share it with someone, and see if you can convince them it came from a unicorn. 

Did You Know?

• Beetroot has one of the highest amounts of antioxidants of any vegetable? They help protect the cells in your body.

• The amazing colour comes from natural pigments called ‘betalains’, which scientists are researching for their cancer-protective and other effects.

• Beetroot is packed with nitrates, which widen your blood vessels and help oxygen move around your body more efficiently. That is why athletes drink beetroot juice before races. Scientists are also studying whether it may help lower blood pressure, improve breathing and keep our brains healthy.

• The ancient Greeks ate only the leaves. It took hundreds of years before anyone thought of eating the root!

I have a dream holiday destination, and,  like many dreams,  it can’t be bought, planned or booked online. It just has to happen, out of the blue, and that is a sunny Irish summer. We all remember those legendary ones, like 1995 when we had a small baby and spent a glorious week on the Aran Islands. I come across the photos every so often and they are like scenes from Santorini – the blue sky, deep azure sea and stone walls shining white in the sun. 1989, living in Dublin and cycling out to the Forty Foot every day after work for a swim, a can of beer and a sandwich in my pannier. The rarity is what makes it, and why we value it and treasure it when it comes along. Of course, there is a darker side to the current heatwaves all over the world, but in the moment, basking in the manageable high 20 degrees, I’m making the most of it while it lasts.

West Cork is wonderful at any time of the year, but in the sun, it’s pure magic, with a wild and wide variety of beaches to explore, and plenty of beautiful sea-facing cafés, pubs and restaurants in which to refresh afterwards, shaking sand from our feet. 

Last Sunday, an Instagram post from St. Francis Provisions in Kinsale, telling of a South American food pop-up, was all the encouragement we needed to head eastwards for the day. From her kitchen set up in the little courtyard outside the restaurant, Francisca from La Latina served enpanadas, ceviche and croquetas, with beer, wine and homemade lemonade on hand from the restaurant. Spicy Chilean beef empanadas with Blacks of Kinsale lager was the perfect street food snack, sun filtering through  brightly coloured parasols. 

After a gorgeous swim at the Cove, the holiday feeling in Kinsale needed to be kept going, so we headed for the balcony in All Apologies cocktail bar, overlooking the marina. This is a great spot to watch the comings and goings from the 200-odd yachts moored in the harbour, while sipping a martini infused with hand-foraged botanicals. 

For me, a trip to Kinsale usually revolves around a meal in The Black Pig wine bar. Gavin and Siobhán were among the first of the new generation of Kinsale restaurateurs, opening their stylish restaurant in 2013, and two seats at the bar here had our names on them. There’s a cosseting, cobbled-lane-in-a-warm-city feel to the place,  food which celebrates the best of local ingredients with all kinds of exotic touches, and a wine list with over 100 wines by the glass.  Yes, 100. 

We rounded off the evening in the cool, book-lined interior of Prims. It’s a bookshop by day and wine and sherry bar by night,  with dark wood, sheepskins and chill tunes to go with our nightcap and good coffee. 

Kinsale is a great shopping and browsing town. Mamukko is a personal favourite, making bags from recycled boat and aeroplane materials. I have one of their creations featuring an aeroplane seat buckle, whose satisfying ‘clack’ I used as therapy during the grounded days of a few years ago. 

Many a Sunday morning sees us in OHK, an arty, quirky café, buzzy and full of character with a warm welcome, amazing brunch (maybe a glass of pet-nat) and top-notch coffee. Michelin starred Bastion restaurant is an understated, calm room, in which to treat yourself to a full tasting menu, or just grab a small, delicious bite at the bar with a glass of champagne. Of course, if you’re in the mood for fish and chips, a tasty snack from a food truck by the river, or fresh Italian panini from the Wednesday market, casual, on-the-go dining is sorted too.  

Kinsale has a holiday feel to it all year ’round, and is justly popular with tourists. In the last 15 or so years, I feel it has shed its somewhat stuffy ‘gourmet capital’ label, and is now a place you’ll find really exciting, creative food and drink. 

When this all happens on a sunny Sunday afternoon, spicy, smoky aromas wafting in the warm air, that’s the dream right there.

My mother comes to visit me every year in Clonakilty for a gorgeous week in O’Donovan’s Hotel. The trad session in the bar is one of the highlights for my mam, both for the music and the chats with locals and visitors. It was one of these random encounters, which inspired our recent trip to France. We met a couple from Wexford, celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary, and learned that the husband regularly took off on the boat from Rosslare, to France and back, just for the spin. Tim and I had also met a group of sea- and bird-life watchers on the ferry from Bilbao, who were on an overnight trip, bringing little else but a camera  binoculars, and a toothbrush. 

My mam, Dee, doesn’t fly, has always had a fear of it,  but loves to travel by boat. My family have taken the Brittany Ferries Cork-Roscoff ferry many times, but always en route to the rest of France. It occurred to me that we could make it a trip in itself, and the mammy was game ball.

Roscoff is a small town on the north-west coast of France. It’s very pretty, right on the sea, with ancient granite buildings housing creperies,  bakeries, cafés, shops and small hotels. Everything seemed to be owner-run – it reminded us of Clonakilty, just in French. 

We didn’t take the car, as we were just staying one night in Roscoff, which is a five-minute taxi ride from the ferry port. There was plenty of help available, which you can request when booking, for Dee getting on and off the boat,  as the pedestrian ramp is fairly long and steep. The staff at the Brittany Ferries terminal are well geared up for helping those with mobility challenges, having wheelchairs with designated staff to push them,  elevators and a car to take you on and off in Roscoff,  where the terminal building is a bit further from the boat. 

I had chosen our hotel based on a few criteria: it had to be in the centre of town, easily walkable to everything, a sea view was a must, and we needed a lift. I also wanted a small hotel with a bit of character. The Mercure Hotel fit the bill perfectly, and the friendly, warm staff were the extra the bits you can’t see on the website.

Our trip started on a Wednesday afternoon, with a four o’clock departure from the ferry port in Cork.  Help arrived to wheel Dee on board, with plenty of good-humoured banter. Safely delivered to the door of our cabin, all we had to do was drop our bags and head to the bar for our first taste of France – you’re in Brittany once you board the ferry. This is one of my favourite things about travelling by boat, the holiday starts right away. Sitting in the gorgeous bar on the boat, sea views all around, having a cold glass of Muscadet, I always feel a calmness washing over me. It’s a very different experience from the stress of air travel – longer, more expensive, yes, but definitely calmer.

There is great food on board, the Pont Aven having a particularly beautiful dining room. The food in the more casual setting on the Armorique was varied and tasty, and I went straight in with the cheeseboard and a nice bottle of red. 

There’s entertainment in the bar if you fancy that, with live music and a pub quiz, and activities for the smallies. There’s a cinema and a pool,  playroom and games room, but nothing was taking me away from my cheese. 

We arrived early on Thursday morning, and the hotel had arranged a taxi, so we were having breakfast in Roscoff overlooking the sea, by 9am.

Our hotel was in the middle of town, so, although we couldn’t check in till later, we left our bags and headed out to explore. It’s a beautiful town to wander around, just enough to spend a couple of days in, with a good variety of shops for my retail-loving mammy. 

Checking out the Breton food was a joy: crepes, savoury galettes, all manner of fish and seafood, really good ice cream, and the insanely tasty kougn amann, a Breton pastry soaked in caramel. The most famous wine from this region is Muscadet, just perfect with the oysters and mussels which are served everywhere.  

We just stayed one night,  with two full days on either side, as the ferry left at 11pm on Friday night. A gorgeous dinner, lunches, breakfast watching the seagulls swooping and the tide coming in, ice-cream stops, and coffee and kougn amann mid-morning filled the days easily, with the obligatory shopping in between.

This trip isn’t for everyone, I know. Firstly, you have to like boat travel, and not suffer from sea-sickness. It’s also more expensive than flying, and slower, but for us, the whole trip was the experience, not just the destination. There’s weather to contend with,  which can’t be planned around, but that can affect any holiday plans.  

I am a lover of slow travel, and the overall dropping of tempo which comes with it. For my mother, whose mobility is fine for short walks, planes and airports are hard work. The pleasure and ease of this boat journey gave her the joy of realising that she can still travel to foreign parts, and the journey is all part of the fun.  

• brittany-ferries.ie 

• Hotel Mercure, Roscoff 

by Niamh Cooper, Melissa Byrne & Gillian Hegarty

Salad is so much more than soggy lettuce and a squirt of salad cream. We have three easy, tasty salad recipes, and a secret weapon, just for you: the best salads start in the garden, and growing them is easy-peas-y! 

Grow your own

Lettuce shoots up fast and barely takes up any space. It is not too late to plant your favourite lettuce, in fact, the more varieties the better! Keep your lettuce watered, and most importantly, pick those slugs whenever you see them – unfortunately they love lettuce, too. When it’s ready, just pick the outer leaves (be careful not to tug too hard and take out the root) and the plant will keep growing. 

Why not plant a few radishes in between the rows of lettuce, while you’re at it. Radishes grow quickly and you can slice them straight into your bowl for some lovely colour. You can add some herbs too: parsley, mint, chives and basil all love growing here, and each one gives your salad a completely different taste.

Here are a few great and easy recipes you can try to make at home:

French Green Bean Salad

Ingredients:

• a handful of green beans

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

• 6 tbsp olive oil

• a pinch of salt and pepper

• grated parmesan

• roughly chopped parsley

• a few edible flowers (marigold, viola or cornflower)

• your favourite salad leaves

Method: Boil the beans in salted water for 3 to 4 minutes.

Shake the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper together in a jar until well mixed.

Tip the still-hot beans into a bowl and immediately top with parmesan and toss.

Mix in some of the dressing.

Serve on salad leaves, and decorate with parsley and edible flowers.

If you prefer to try a different dressing, why not give this one a go:

French Salad Dressing

Ingredients:

• 2 fl oz vinegar

• 6 fl oz olive oil

• 1 tsp honey

• half tsp Dijon mustard (opt)

• a pinch of salt and pepper

Method: Put all the ingredients into a clean jar. Make sure you have a close-fitting lid!

Screw the lid on tightly and shake well.

Pour over your beans, or any salad you like.

Tip: Write the date on the jar. It’ll keep in the fridge for up to four weeks.

If you love peas, we know you’re going to adore the next one. It can be made so easily with frozen peas. Give it a try, and why not invite your friends over to help you make it (and eat it!).

Pea Guacamole

Ingredients:

• 450g frozen peas

• 2 tbsp lime juice

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• ½ a red chilli, chopped

• 1 tsp toasted ground cumin

• 2 tbsp coriander

• 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley

• a pinch of salt and pepper

Method: Boil the peas in salted water for 2 to 3 minutes.

Cool them in cold water straight away.

Add in the rest of the ingredients. Blitz everything together in a food processor until smooth.

Taste it and adjust with salt, pepper and lime juice if it needs it.

Did you know?

Peas have been grown in Ireland for hundreds of years

Peas actually are sweetest as soon as they’re harvested, and start losing their sweetness once they’re picked. Frozen peas are frozen as soon as they’ve been picked, which is why they often taste better than fresh ones that have sat in a shop for days.

Parsley is a great source of iron and it has more vitamin C in it than an orange!

Edible flowers like marigolds and violas aren’t just pretty, they’re full of antioxidants that help your body repair itself.

So next time someone asks if you want more salad, say yes. And tell them you know the perfect recipe.

The Kids’ Food Revolution is a community-led initiative. Our recipes are tried and tested with kids. Our Eat! Grow! Cook! pilot is funded by the Lidl Green Fund Community Prize, where the Kids’ Food Revolution won the top prize of €25,000. You can find out more on kidsfoodrevolution.ie. Sign up for our newsletter.

I was sitting at my computer last week watching the clouds move across with hints of blue tucked in and wondering which way the weather would go. No such problem this week, as we’ve had glorious sunshine every day. Just what the doctor ordered for our courgettes, which had been battered by the previous heavy rain  and vicious winds. I had regretted our decision not to put any courgettes into the tunnel, as they were looking yellow, battered and generally worse for wear. Hopefully this good weather is just what the doctor ordered and they’ll pick up and start producing. 

Gardening is a funny thing, so much time spent waiting and then, when everything kicks off, we’re wondering what to do with it all.

Summer Parmigiana is a recipe that will help solve that problem, as it takes quite a lot of tomatoes, courgettes and aubergines to make one dish. This is summer comfort food, which is enjoyed all over Italy and in the many Italian communities around the world. 

Funnily enough – or what I had always assumed, the name Parmigiana doesn’t have anything to do with Parmesan cheese, nor does it come from Parma. The word actually relates to the Sicilian word ‘parmiciana’, which describes the wooden slats of window shutters. This is similar to the overlapping layers of vegetables that make up this dish. 

It is a real crowd-pleaser and a great recipe for entertaining, as not only can it be prepared ahead, set aside ready to bake in a pre-heated oven, it also benefits from resting after coming out of the oven before serving. Molten Parmigiana are not only hazardous to put in our mouths, they are also difficult to serve. Allowing the dish to relax for at least 10-15 minutes makes it much easier to cut and portion. 

The tomato sauce could be from a jar or something you make yourself. The important thing is to not drown the parmigiana in tomato sauce, a scanty spread of sauce between the layers is what’s required. Too much sauce makes a sloppy parmigiana, which makes it difficult to manoeuvre from dish to plate. I always make plenty of sauce as a) I have a fear of running short and b) it’s multipurpose and can be used for many other dishes, just store it covered in the fridge or freeze for another time. The mozzarella can be fresh – just drain it properly otherwise it will be too wet, or it can be the pre-shredded mozzarella bought in packs in the supermarket. My preference is for fresh, as it has a creamier result but both ways work equally well. 

If you would like a crunchy top, scatter with toasted breadcrumbs, or try my dad’s old trick, which was bashed-up cheese and onion crisps, before baking.

This makes a large dish. You could of course halve the recipe or freeze the remainder for another time.

Summer Parmigiana

Ingredients:

• 2-3 large aubergines

• 5-6 courgettes

• Olive oil to fry or grill the aubergines

• 2 balls fresh mozzarella, drained and grated or chopped or 1 bag shredded mozzarella

• 200g parmesan cheese, grated

• Fresh basil

• 1kg fresh ripe tomatoes, chopped or 3 tins tomatoes

• 1-2 onions

• 2-4 cloves garlic

• 100mls olive oil

• Salt and pepper

• Fresh or panko breadcrumbs for the top – optional

Method:

First make the tomato sauce. 

Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Heat a pan with the olive oil then add the chopped onion. Cook gently for about five minutes until the onion melts down then stir in the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes – roughly chop them if they are whole. Rinse out the tins if you are using them with a little water and add to the pan. Season with salt and pepper then bring to the boil then reduce the heat and cook gently for about 30 minutes or until the oil rises to the surface. Check the seasoning.

To prepare the aubergine, slice them into slim 1cm slices, sprinkle with salt then put them aside for at least 10 minutes. Pat dry with a clean t-towel. Do the same with the courgettes

Now you can either pan fry in a little olive oil, grill on a grill pan or bake in the oven. To pan fry take a large frying pan, add enough oil to cover the bottom and load up a single layer of aubergines or courgettes. Drizzle in a little more olive oil if you need it. When golden on one side flip them over, adding more olive oil to the bottom of the pan then fry the other side. Put the fried aubergines/courgettes onto kitchen paper to absorb excess oil. 

To bake or grill the aubergines/courgettes brush the slices with olive oil then lay then on baking trays  and bake in the oven (180°C) for around 20 minutes, until tender or lay the slices on a pre heated grill pan then grill until soft and golden on both sides.

To assemble the parmigiana take large oven proof baking dish or tin (whatever you make lasagne in would be ideal) then spread a ladleful of tomato sauce over the bottom. Not too much, just enough to sit the aubergine onto or it will be too wet. Put a single layer of aubergine on top.

Sprinkle with a little parmesan then scatter some of the mozzarella  and some torn basil leaves on top. Cover this with another scanty layer of tomato sauce then a layer of courgette, mozzarella, parmesan, basil. Repeat this until you have ideally four or five layers.

Scatter the top with breadcrumbs if you are using them.

Put the dish into the oven, then bake for 30-40 minutes until golden on top.

Leave to rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy the sunshine!

There are meals you enjoy and then there are dining experiences that transport you entirely. Mary O’Brien’s recent visit to Terre, the two Michelin-starred restaurant nestled within the historic Manor House at Castlemartyr Resort, was firmly in the latter category.

For a few wonderful hours on a recent rainy Thursday evening, we escaped everyday life and immersed ourselves in a culinary journey that will stay with us for a long time.

Our invitation to dine was to mark the launch of ‘Friends of Terre’, Executive Chef Lewis Barker’s exciting new guest chef collaboration series. Fresh from retaining Terre’s two Michelin stars within his first six months at the restaurant, Barker welcomed his longtime friend Michael Wilson of Singapore’s Michelin-starred Marguerite for a unique collaborative menu showcasing both chefs’ distinctive styles.

From the moment we arrived, every detail was carefully choreographed. Our evening began in the elegant reception room with two exquisite opening bites. Belfego Akami tuna was paired with delicate hints of melon and fennel pollen, while beautifully dry-aged Shanagarry beef delivered a memorable finish of Japanese spice. It was an exciting introduction that hinted at the creativity to come.

Before dinner, Kevin O’Shea, who manages the Terre Kitchen Garden, shared some of the history of Castlemartyr Resort, as we made our way through a beautifully designed passageway, where the backlit shelves lined with preserved foraged ingredients sat opposite Executive Chef Lewis Barker’s collection of Michelin Guides, subtly reinforcing Terre’s philosophy of respecting both tradition and innovation.

One of the evening’s highlights was taking our seats at the Chef’s Table overlooking the striking open kitchen. Softly lit and quietly theatrical, the open kitchen allowed us to watch the calm precision of the team at work. Beside us, a glass cabinet displayed carefully ageing fish and game, offering a glimpse into the craftsmanship behind the menu. We were served an impossibly beautiful Skeaghanore duck creation before being introduced to the exceptional ingredients featured throughout the nine-course tasting menu.

Much of the produce comes from the surrounding area, reflecting Terre’s deep connection to the Irish landscape. Beef sourced from just across the road, specially reared milk-fed lamb from Ladysbridge, Ballycotton blue lobster, vegetables from the restaurant’s own kitchen garden and Skeaghanore duck from Ballydehob all showcased the very best of local provenance. International influences were equally evident through ingredients such as Lough Neagh smoked eel, Australian truffle and citrus-cured Hamachi, demonstrating Chef Lewis Barker’s global culinary experience while never overshadowing the exceptional Irish produce.

A delicate pea tartlet with goat’s cheese perfectly captured the essence of summer in a single bite.

The experience then moved into Terre’s beautifully appointed dining room, where warm wood tones and rich chocolate hues created an intimate yet understated setting. Here, dishes were elegantly finished tableside without unnecessary theatrics, allowing the quality of the ingredients and the technical brilliance of the cooking to take centre stage.

Service throughout the evening was faultless. Every member of the team was warm, knowledgeable and effortlessly professional. Rather than feeling overly formal, the experience felt genuinely personal, as though every detail had been created especially for us.

The wine pairing elevated each course beautifully. The citrus-cured Hamachi was matched with a crisp, juicy Fritz Haag Riesling that perfectly complemented the freshness of the dish.

Lough Neagh smoked eel topped with Kaluga caviar was another first for me on both counts, and an unforgettable combination of richness and refinement. This was followed by a naturally sweet and tender Ballycotton blue lobster dish.

Further pairings included two outstanding white wines: the 2023 Ocampo Listán Blanco from Tenerife and the beautifully mineral 2022 Hatzidakis Aidani from Santorini.

An elegant 2020 Baron de Brane Margaux introduced the rich flavour of beautifully cooked lamb served with local wild asparagus.

Dessert was every bit as memorable as the savoury courses. Accompanied by a fragrant White Tea Chai from Fujian, China, a delicate garden strawberry tart celebrated the season, before the evening concluded with what was perhaps my favourite dish of all – a theatrical chocolate gâteau infused with truffle that delivered indulgence without being too rich. This was served alongside a luscious 2018 Dobogó 6 Puttonyos Tokaji Aszú whose notes of dried apricot, tobacco leaf and dates provided the perfect conclusion. My glass was quietly and discreetly refilled, one of many thoughtful touches that defined the evening.

Finally, we returned to the salon, sinking gratefully into comfortable armchairs to enjoy beautifully crafted petits fours with tea and coffee while reflecting on the remarkable journey we had just experienced.

Chef Barker and Wilson’s shared commitment to precision, ingredients and storytelling was evident throughout the evening, blending Irish provenance with global influences to create something very special at this wonderful restaurant. 

To book go to www.terre.tablepath.com/reservations or email info@terre.ie for more information.

This September people in West Cork will have the opportunity to step back into the 1930s and let loose on the dancefloor with Edwina Guckian and The Big Gralton Band, who will bring their performance ‘The Devil’s in the Dance Hall’ – a powerful, joyous live show celebrating jazz and Irish music from the era – to Bere Island during the island’s annual arts festival. Mary O’Brien hears more about the dances of yore from Edwina Guckian and some of the older generation in West Cork.

“It’s a night for all ages to come and dance and laugh…and nobody gives a hoot what you’re doing because they’re all too busy dancing themselves,” shares dancer and artistic director Edwina Guckian, whose aim is to revive social dancing in Ireland.

“A lot of the younger generation, particularly the under-20s, aren’t dancing. They’ll go to the nightclubs or pubs where the music is blaring but everybody just stands around,” says Edwina.

Her immersive three-hour theatre and dance experience is designed to change that. “It’s music that just makes you want to move,” she says passionately.

 Centred around a fictional 1930s big band, the performance is inspired by the true story of Jimmy Gralton and the suppression of Ireland’s rural dance halls in the early 20th century.

The 1930s brought jazz and swing to Ireland but following the Carrigan Report (1934), which blamed “moral degeneracy” on motorcars, dance halls, and the “creeping in of jazz music”, the Public Dancehall Act of 1935 made unlicensed dancing illegal and was aimed primarily at controlling house dances and crossroads gatherings.

Jimmy Gralton was a socialist who was deported from Ireland for running a community hall on his land that promoted free thinking, music, and dance. Today, Edwina is part of a local committee that has bought the site of Jimmy Gralton’s original hall and is fundraising to rebuild it.

“He was a fighter for the working class people and really stood up to church and state,” she shares.

The dance project grew out of Edwina’s research into women in 1930s-40s Ireland during which she gathered stories from the older generation, including her own grandparents who shared how they cycled to dancehalls. “They’d all meet up at a local crossroads beforehand and there would never be enough bicycles, so people would be carrying, you know, like two or even three people on a bicycle…I have a lovely image of my grandmother on the crossbar holding on to grandad, you know, cycling to a dance,” says Edwina.

Another anecdote recounts how some men would put a dab of petrol on their collar. “As aftershave,” says Edwina. “So when they were dancing with a woman, she’d think that they had a car.”

In West Cork, Tim Joe Whooley started Lisheen Dance Platform near Skibbereen in the early ‘60s, along with John and Timmy Whooley and Jerry Minihane. Up to 350 people, many arriving by bicycle or on foot, would attend the dance sessions on the concrete platform at the side of the road next to Minihan’s pub in Lisheen. Entry was a shilling. Tim Joe recalls with humour a headline in his local paper at the time that read something like ‘Judge cuts short holiday to issue licence to Tim Joe Whooley for Lisheen dance platform’. Other popular dance spots included Crowley’s Hall in Union Hall, The Lilac in Enniskeane and the Town Hall in Skibbereen, where Tim Joe first met his future wife Eileen.

Pascal Hurley, 80, who grew up in Castletownbere, started attending dances in parish halls as a teenager in the 1950s. She met her husband, Danny Hurley, at a dance hall in Glengarriff. She recalls the etiquette in those days was to ask early on in the night if you wanted to dance with someone. She also remembers the excitement of getting dressed up for the dance even though most people just had the one “good dress”, which they would have made or bought locally.

Ninety-seven-year old Eileen Collins lives in Drimoleague and has always loved to dance. She recalls going to the ‘four penny hop’ and ‘Cinderella dance’ in Hannah Gurrane’s hall in Drimoleague every month and attending crossroads dances (known as ‘The Pattern’) west in Inchingerig every Sunday evening in summer. There were also ‘all night’ dances with big show bands that ran until 2am every three months. While working in London in her 20s, she visited the famous Galtymore dance hall.

Her memories include set dancing, waltzes, foxtrots, quicksteps, and dancing the ‘paraglide’ (to the tune of ‘Underneath the Spreading Chestnut Tree’).

“They were good times,” she says nostalgically. “I was often the first in and the last out of the dancehall.”

Eileen bought her first bicycle on hire purchase and cycled to dances in Drinagh.

She recalls how at dances the men would stand on one side of the hall and the women on the other until the music started. “Then the men would fly across the room!” she adds with a smile.

There was the ‘Kiss Me Waltz’ where you’d have to kiss whoever you stopped in front of,” she recalls. “Some people used to run off to the bathroom,” she says laughing.

At Christmastime there were ‘turkey balls’ – dances held in people’s homes where men played cards for turkeys while others danced in the kitchen.

In Summer there were threshing balls with dancing and singing in the house that night and “plenty of porter for the men”. “We’d come home across the fields at two or three in the morning and you’d hear the corncrakes singing.”

Edwina and The Big Gralton Band want to reignite that joy and sense of freedom on the Irish dancefloor. “We’ll also be setting the scene,” she shares “so you’ll come away knowing a lot more about that era.”

Dancers of all ages are encouraged to dress in the style of the 1930s and get ready to be swept up in the frenzy of jazz. There will also be sean nós, shim-shamming, lindy hopping, set-dancing, surprises and scandal. No experience necessary, as Edwina will teach you all the dance moves.

The Bere Island Arts Festival runs from September 17-20. For more information and to book tickets go to www.bereislandartsfestival.ie.

by Niamh Cooper, Melissa Byrne & Gillian Hegarty

We know them as something we get in our local takeaway. But making your own spring rolls is actually so easy – and fun – a four-year-old could do it! It’s actually the perfect food to make at a party.

Spring rolls are one of those dishes that look amazing and are surprisingly simple to put together. They are incredibly nutritious, bursting with nutrients and so full of flavour. Everyone gets to make their own, with ingredients they love. Perfect for a party or playdate. Kids love them and it encourages everyone to try new foods.

Fresh Spring Rolls

You will need:

• 8 rice paper wrappers*

• 1 carrot, peeled, cut into matchsticks

• 1 small red or yellow pepper, thinly sliced

• 2 spring onions, thinly sliced

• 4 leaves of butter-head lettuce, torn

• 1 small cucumber, thinly sliced lengthways

• 1 mango

• 1 avocado

• 100g vermicelli rice noodles, cooked and cooled

• Fresh herbs: mint, basil, coriander, chives 

• Edible flowers: chive flowers, marigold, cornflowers

• 1 chicken breast**, cut into 1cm pieces

• 2 tbsp soy / tamari* sauce

• 2 tbsp mirin*

* Most supermarkets have these in the oriental foods aisle.

** You can use tofu, prawns, beef, or any other meat you fancy, too. 

Place the tofu/meat in a bowl with the soy/tamari sauce and the mirin, and leave to marinate for at least 10 minutes. Cook slowly in a bit of oil in a frying pan or oven until cooked through, then leave to cool completely.

Slice all the vegetables you have chosen to use into thin batons, no longer than the width of the wrapper. Lay them out on a plate.

Fill a large bowl with water. Submerge one rice paper wrapper at a time for a few seconds until it softens and becomes flexible. Lift it out carefully and place it on a damp tea towel.

Lay a few pieces of lettuce horizontally across the centre of the wrapper, leaving about an inch free on each side. Add your chosen fillings on top: a little of everything, or whatever takes your fancy.

To roll: gently lift the bottom of the wrapper up and over the filling, pull it snug, then fold in the two sides and continue rolling until your spring roll is fully wrapped. The tighter you roll, the better it holds together.

Peanut Dipping Sauce

• ½ cup peanut butter

• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

• 1 tbsp soy or tamari sauce

• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce

• 1 small clove garlic, finely grated

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together with one-third cup hot water until smooth. Add a little more water if you prefer a thinner consistency.

Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Cham)

• 3 tbsp lime juice

• 2 tbsp fish sauce

• 2 tbsp caster sugar

• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

• 1 small chilli, sliced (optional)

• ¼ cup water

Stir all ingredients together until the sugar dissolves. Taste and adjust, depending on your taste.

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by Melissa Byrne & Gillian Hegarty

One of the tastes of summer is most definitely that of a fresh strawberry, eaten in the (hopefully!) West Cork sunshine. In West Cork, we are so lucky to have Union Hall and Bushby’s strawberries on our doorstep. What makes our local strawberries special is not just our rich West Cork soil, but the way they are grown. Instead of using harmful pesticides to manage pests that might damage the crop, Bushby’s uses other beneficial insects in a preventative role. This means what ends up on your plate is as clean and natural as it gets. Hotels, restaurants and food lovers across West Cork all make local strawberries their preferred choice, for that exact reason. And if you’ve ever tried them, you’ll know what we mean. 

Strawberries are packed with Vitamin C, so one small bowl gives you more than your daily dose. They are also full of fibre, which is great for your gut, and they have natural sugars that give you energy.

This summer, keep an eye out for the Alpine strawberry, a tiny wild strawberry, which you might know as sú talún fiáin in Irish. It grows in hedgerows, along woodland edges and on grassy banks .These are much smaller than the ones you buy, but the flavour is intense and sweet in a way that is hard to describe until you have tried one. Top tip: you might find some near the playground in Dunmanway! Wild strawberries are perennial, meaning they come back every year in the same spot once established.  

Strawberries are one of the easiest fruits to grow at home: in a garden bed, a pot on a windowsill, or even a hanging basket. They like sunshine and well-drained soil. Plant them in spring and you could be picking your own by June or July. Once the plant finishes fruiting, it sends out runners, which are long thin stems with a baby plant at the end. You can pot those up and they will grow. So one plant can become many.

Strawberry frozen yoghurt pops

We have a tasty – and healthy – recipe for you! These frozen strawberry pops are brilliant on a warm day and they could not be simpler to make. You will need ice lolly moulds, which you can find in most supermarkets or hardware shops.

You will need:

•  250g strawberries

• 120g natural yoghurt

• 1 tablespoon of honey

There are two ways to make these: You can either just blitz the strawberries in a blender and freeze in moulds – these are delicious on their own, and great for teething babies, too.

Or, combine with the ingredients above. If you don’t have fresh strawberries, frozen is fine! Mix in the yoghurt and honey and stir until combined. Pour into your lolly moulds, insert the sticks, and freeze for at least four hours, or overnight. To release, run the outside of the mould briefly under warm water.

Tips: Strawberries freeze beautifully on their own too. Take out the stems, and freeze in a bag. Frozen strawberries are perfect for smoothies, porridge toppings, or blitzing into a quick sauce for pancakes.

Fruit skewers with chocolate dip

Thread chunks of strawberry, banana, apple, and whatever fruit you have, onto wooden skewers. For a dip, melt a bar of good dark or milk chocolate in a bowl set over hot water, stirring gently until smooth. Dip and eat immediately.  

Chocolate-covered strawberries

Wash and dry a punnet of strawberries and set aside. Line a baking tray. Melt good quality dark chocolate (we like 70pc cocoa). Dip strawberries into it and lay out on a baking tray to harden. Pop in the fridge or freezer and enjoy once chocolate has set.

Did you know?

Unlike most fruits, the seeds of the strawberry are on the outside. If you’ve ever bought a packet of strawberry seeds, you’ll know that they are tiny: those tiny yellow specks you see on the skin. A strawberry is not actually a berry at all, in the botanical sense. Bananas and avocados are true berries. The strawberry, meanwhile, belongs to the rose family, which perhaps explains why it smells so good.

We love the surprises Irish holds: ‘sú’ is from Old Irish, meaning juice or berry, and ‘talún’, comes from ‘talamh’, meaning earth or ground. So strawberry means ‘berry of the ground’ or ‘ground berry’.

Fun Facts

• The average strawberry has around 200 seeds.

• Strawberries were used in medieval times to treat everything from fevers to sore throats.

• The world’s heaviest strawberry on record weighed 289g, roughly the same as a small tin of beans.

• In Japan, strawberries are so precious that a single perfect fruit can sell for several euros.

Follow us for more news about our cooking and gardening workshops in West Cork schools: Instagram: @kidsfoodrevolution. Newsletter: kidsfoodrevolution.substack.com. Website: www.kidsfoodrevolution.com.

For me, like many of us, food and wine is an essential element of travel. In my case, wine plays a leading role. Apparently the ancient Romans had a similar outlook, some theorising that their empire extended only to the limits of where wine could be produced. This is not a historical fact, I might need to clarify it with the more qualified historians in this very paper!

Wine provides a perfect route for exploring, though. Our European neighbours have great diversity in their wine styles and regions, a path which leads to discovering more about a country’s food, history, language and culture. 

Travelling by car is the easiest way to explore wine country, as vineyards are usually outside of the main centres. That said, there are always tours into the heart of the wine regions which can be booked for a day trip, or a bike tour, though be careful on that bike after a few samples.

I love to see a hand-painted sign pointing down a farm track. This usually promises a more interesting experience than a swish, glass-fronted building in the centre of town. Here, you’ll meet the winemaker with her husband, sister and grandad, see where the vines grow, smell the fermenting juice in the cellar, and hear the story of the business, often going back generations. Many also offer agri-tourism, or ‘agriturismo’ in Italy – farm stays where you are immersed in the local food and wine, seeing the production all around you, whether vines, olive groves, vegetable gardens or farm animals.

When we’re eating in restaurants on holiday, I always ask for the most local wine, which is generally the best wine to pair with the local food. It also regularly leads us on a journey. Last year, in Bayonne, the wine we were recommended was from Irouleguy, a tiny Basque wine region I had never heard of. I looked up the vineyard and called them, arranging a visit the next day. We travelled up into the foothills of the Pyrenees, to St. Jean Pied de Pont, a town milling with pilgrims starting the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. We tasted their wines surrounded by vines, were given chunks of a sister’s sheep’s cheese, and the spicy local Espellette pepper. We heard of the survival of their own language in the area, the winemaker’s children going to the Basque equivalent of the Gaelscoil in the town. 

In north-east Italy, look out for a ‘Frasca’ sign on the side of the road. This will lead you to a farm which produces wine and serves simple snacks of cheese and salami. You’ll eat and drink outside at a wooden table, and meet the people who are producing your meal. It’s a delicious way to learn about the area, always discovering a new grape variety or method of production. 

In Sardnia, we learned a valuable lesson. We hired bikes to cycle to a famous vineyard a few kilometres outside Alghero. The road was narrow and busy, the vineyard glossy and soulless. When we returned the bikes and told of our experience, the owner told us of a gorgeous small winery he would have recommended, reachable by an off-road cycle track. Now I know – ask the bike shop guy where to go, not Google.  

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the best food is found in the heart of the wine-producing regions. Vallidolid in northern Spain is close to many wine regions, producing a range of styles to please every wine lover. The food in the town is among the best in Spain, whether you graze on tapas or sit down for the works. You’ll drink wines by the glass from the region, and you are always rewarded by asking for a recommendation, rather than playing safe with the name you recognise.

Every region has its own distinct grape varieties, making a style of wine which reflects where it comes from. It is the best wine to drink with the food of the area, as they have grown up together over centuries. Markets are another great way of discovering local wines, as there are often a few local producers showing their wares. They are always keen to talk about the history of their farm, explain the different wine styles they produce, and the ideal food to go with their wine is found close by on the other market stalls.  

Heading off in search of these small vineyards in remote places has led us to discover parts of the country we would otherwise have never found, and met people who gave us an insight into the heart and soul of the region. 

We got ourselves a completely new commission this month, babysitting our grandson in Budapest, all expenses paid. It was an offer impossible to refuse, especially as we’d never been to Hungary before

It’s been a new experience, exploring an unknown city with a four-year-old who does find the city remarkable, but is far more excited by the trams, chasing pigeons and playgrounds. Fortunately our apartment sits on a square with a playground in front, a great bakery just up the road and a corner shop, which makes it the perfect location. 

We’re staying in district VIII, which is  a little run down. Behind the grand boulevards there are beautiful old buildings – ‘huge’ as the four old year notes – with crumbling facades, amazing architecture and trees bursting into leaf and flower. At first it brought to mind Berlin with a touch of Havana, but it’s a city of plenty, so it’s only the crumbling facades that have anything in common with Cuba, and I think that’s particular to the area where we are staying.  According to the playground gossip Victor Orban wasn’t very interested in this district. It’s a lively neighbourhood where the people live and there are many independent and funky shops. Downtown is a lot smarter.

On the food front it’s very meaty, hardly surprising, as Hungary is landlocked – surrounded by seven other countries. The local menus aren’t very appealing or suitable for vegetarians but there are plenty of other choices – Italian, Turkish, Vietnamese, Japanese, Lebanese….  And there are also ‘langos’. 

I’d read about langos, which are a local speciality and, as they are vegetarian, I was keen to try some. I thought they would be available everywhere but they took a little tracking down. The langos shop we found was a one person operation with a fridge full of dough balls, an extra-wide deep fat fryer and a selection of optional toppings. We went for the classic langos; brushed with garlic paste followed by a generous smear of sour cream and lashings of grated cheese. They are ‘huge’ and quite the vampire deterrent – the garlic is full on. 

I had hoped it would be the recipe I would share. I quizzed the young woman who prepared ours and she said they were very simple and could even be prepared at home. All that is needed is the dough, garlic paste, sour cream and grated cheese plus oil to fry them in. The ‘at home’ version requires a deep frying pan with a decent depth of oil. You heat the oil, flatten a portion of dough in your hands, then dip it in the hot oil before stretching it like a pizza. When it’s about 30cm in diameter you need to ‘frisbee it into the oil, jumping back at the same time’ to avoid any splashes. Cook it until it puffs up and is golden on each side before dressing as aforementioned. They really are mighty. We shared one – for breakfast – and couldn’t quite finish it. To tell the truth, it didn’t leave a feel good feeling, landing in a doughy greasy lump in our stomachs. Definitely not a healthy food. They are probably great for drinking and soakage purposes but not so good for breakfast.  

This blew my recipe idea for this month although you have enough information above to give it a go. Instead we have emergency corner shop soup made with a can of lentils and the few veg the shop sold. I added some paprika – which is sold everywhere,  to give it a goulash air, which is of course the Hungarian national dish. 

It’s simple and delicious and, as we’re all waiting for the new season produce to grow, it will fill the ‘hungry gap’.

Emergency
Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 can lentils

• 1 onion

• 100mls olive oil

• 1-2 carrots

• 1 potato

• 2-3  cloves garlic

• 1 bay leaf (found in the cupboard)

• Half can tomatoes or left over pasta sauce

• 1 heaped tsp paprika

• 700mls water

• 1 vegetable stock cube

• Salt and pepper

Method: Peel and chop the onion. Heat a pan, add the olive oil and onion. 

Peel and dice the carrot and add to the pan.

Peel and dice the potato and add to the pan.

Season the vegetables with a little salt and add the bay leaf. Cook everything together for about ten minutes, string regularly so that they don’t stick. This gentle cooking ensures the onions and carrots sweeten and opens up their flavour.

Add the lentils, tomatoes or sauce, paprika and vegetable stock. Bring to the boil then simmer for fifteen minutes until the vegetables are tender.

Check the seasoning, add more salt if needed and a little cracked black pepper. If it’s too thick, thin with a little water or vegetable stock and you are ready to go. Of course if you have any fresh parsley at hand you could serve it chopped and sprinkled on top. Very tasty! 

Looking forwards to a sunny May!

Ten years ago, Simon Kershaw landed in West Cork fresh from a decade of cooking across America – first in Boston, then San Francisco and New Orleans. Time flies when you’re doing something you love and it wasn’t long before the Dublin native branched out on his own with ’Ceapairí’.

After working for a time at Gubbeen, where he dipped his toes into cheesemaking before moving to the smokehouse, the spark to start up his own food business originated from a classic: the Reuben. “It’s still my favourite sandwich,” says Simon. He started curing his own salt beef, baking his own bread, and chasing that perfect toasted sandwich.

With the purchase of a food truck and Simon baking bread, with Liz on the sweet treats, anyone smart enough to seek them out discovered what ‘proper’ toasted sandwiches tasted like. The Reuben was the star: The key ingredient – rye and wholemeal sourdough – was perfected while Simon was working with Ryan at Pike Deli in Clonakilty. That recipe hasn’t changed and Pike Deli still supplies the sourdough bread.

What really sets this small business apart is the sheer amount of work done in-house. Almost everything is made from scratch, and for the few things that aren’t, Simon buys the best he can afford.

The latest chapter has seen ‘Ceapairí’ settle into its first proper home: the Kitchen Stories space on Staball Hill in Ballydehob. It’s a step up from the food truck days, offering room to experiment and grow. Alongside the move came a new online ordering platform at ceapairi.tenvito.com, built with the help of Suz at Tenvito. The system has been a game-changer with less food waste, better organisation, and the peace of mind for customers travelling from afar that their sandwich is waiting for them – no sold-out disappointments.

With a restaurant now under his belt, Simon is looking ahead. The sandwich menu remains the anchor of the business, but nighttime cooking and expanded offerings are on the horizon. “The sky’s the limit,” he says.

Through it all, the local community has been of great support. Joanne, the owner of Kitchen Stories, has been generous with her time and knowledge and the well-wishers and regulars are part of this success story.

For a cook who loves to feed people, there’s no greater gift than doing it in the town you call home.

Keep an eye on Instagram for more updates.