Traditional Punjabi wedding fayre

We attended a fantastic family friends wedding and reception yesterday in Bradford. I could talk at length about the lovely ceremony, the clothes, the venues and the entertainment but I would be writing for hours....so I'm concentrating on the food. This was traditional Punjabi (North Indian) food.

On arrival at the venue we were treated to refreshing fresh fruit juices and mango or strawberry lassi. I opted for lassi and it was sweet, creamy and went down well. There was a fruit station and traditional street snacks called gol guppa. These are spherical puffed fried flour balls which are hollow and contain mini cubes of cold spiced potato and chick peas. The idea is that you add a shot of the liquid (pani-spiced tangy water) into the ball and consume whole. Takes a bit of practice but is so worth it!!!

For starters there were bowls/platters served to our table and accompanied by chutneys and salad. It was all very sociable and everyone helped themselves. Vegetarian selection was chilli and garlic paneer, palak (spinach) rolls and Polti samosa (like a dumpling). The non veg option was chicken tikka, fish massala and gloati kebab (lamb). We filled our plates and bellies and then had a great dance!!!!

For mains it was buffet service and the veggie options were tarka  daal and aubergines, for the non veg there was chicken masala and Karahi lamb. To go with it was rice, nan and raita. I had a bit of everything and all was very good but my favourite was the lamb!!

The dessert was different- chocolate cake, ice cream, gulab jaman, cheese cake and chocolate samosas, yes you read right chocolate samosas and they were soooo good!! 

Back on the dance floor to burn it off and then it was homesky! The venue, Cedar Court Hotel is well versed in Indian weddings-my wife and I got married here and had our reception in this very room 11 years ago on 10th July 2005!! The caterers then were the same ones as now,Apna Khana and their food then was just as tasty!! Looking forward to attending another one soon!!

Mr Singh's chilli sauce

Been visiting family in England and came across this fantastic hot sauce "Mr Singh's Hot Punjabi chilli sauce". It was mind blowing!!! Full of flavour, colour and taste.....very versatile as a dipping sauce or marinade. The secret you may ask is.............the brown sugar, red Chillies and soy sauce. I'm looking forward to cooking with it!!

Punjana wins awards

PUNJANA BAGS TOP ACCOLADE

Local Company Wins Top 3-Star Award for NI’s Favourite Tea

 Belfast based Thompson’s Family Teas, has won the maximum three stars for its hero brand, Punjana, Northern Ireland’s best-selling tea, at the prestigious UK Great Taste Awards 2016. Three stars is the highest achievement a product can win and is normally reserved for exclusive and specialised products rather than an affordable everyday product.  

 In this year alone, the family-owned business amassed a record breaking total of 23 Star Awards. Another blend, Thompson’s Irish Breakfast tea bags also achieved top honours with the maximum 3 Stars.

 Punjana tea bags now stand alone in their category - winning more Great Taste Awards than any other blended teabag in the UK and ROI over the past 10 years.

 Cousins, Ross and David Thompson, who blend all of their company’s teas, have long held a passion for blending. Ross comments: “I feel that with this latest endorsement, we have come one giant step closer to our ultimate goal of blending the perfect everyday cuppa.”

 The recently aired television advert, which features Ross and David on their tea journey, finishes with the line, “Punjana is everyday tea, but when the Thompson’s make it, everyday is special.” This award comes as a timely endorsement to their lofty claim.

 Other winning tea products include Thompson’s Signature Blend tea bags, Thompson’s Everyday tea bags, Thompson’s Decaf tea bags, and even Punjana’s brand leading loose tea which was accredited with 2 Stars.

 The Thompson’s recent development into the luxury loose tea sector, serving the growing demand for special tea drinking occasions, was rewarded with a raft of awards for their exotic infusions, including Hedgerow Heaven, Scent of a Rose and Rhubarb Spritzer.

 The Great Taste Awards are commonly referred to as the ‘Oscars’ of the food and drink world and are run annually by the Guild of Fine Foods in England. Food and drink entries are blind tasted by up to 40 judges in six different locations across the UK with less than 2% of all entries making it to the hallowed 3 Star status.

 All Thompson’s Family Teas are imported into their state-of-the-art blending and packing facility in Belfast, before being distributed to outlets across the province and beyond to markets stretching from the United States to Australia.

 David Thompson concludes: “Our factory has achieved BRC Grade A accreditation and is equipped with some of the world’s most advanced tea packaging and blending machinery, indeed our factory now produces tea for over a third of the country’s tea drinkers, equating to more than 1 million tea bags every day, in Northern Ireland alone.”

 To find out more, visit www.punjana.com or like us on facebook at The Official Punjana Tea.

Latitude review Sunday Life

Hi all

My very first article published in The Sunday Life today 24/7/16 page 48 on Latitude Restaurant!!! 

Lunch at Piggly Wiggly

I treated myself to a spot of lunch today at the Ballyhack favourite Piggly Wiggly. 

Vic and Sid took over the place last February and have some amazing plans. These include:
launching a new menu in September- to possibly include more pork dishes-so please everyone suggest to the guys your favourite pork dishes, competitions to win a meal for two,
birthday/ Halloween parties,
steak night Thursdays,
Bollywood night,
to name but a few!!!!

Vic cooked me a mouth watering 4 chicken goujon stack topped with bacon and cheese, drizzled with BBQ sauce and served up with garlic potato cubes and all for under £8. Signature dish is the club sandwich which looked fab!! Vic said that the frys are to die for and are the best seller, with many regulars coming in just for these 7 days a week!!

Get down to Piggly Wigglys and tuck in.....it's a BYO also.

Frankie and Benny's Dine in the Dome

Tonight was date night with the missus at Frankie and Benny's Dine in the Dome at Victoria Square!! We arrived at Frankie and Benny's around 6.45 this evening and relaxed over a drink whilst we looked at the 3 course menu for our special Evening meal in the Done at Victoria Square. 

We were escorted to the Dome by Justin the manager. On arrival there was a glass of Prosecco each, which we passed as we were both driving. We shared the starters of garlic mushrooms and Calamari. For mains we had the salmon and haddock fish cakes with fries and peas and chicken parmigiana which was served with garlic fries and spaghetti. The meals were tasty and portion sizes were big but I felt the chicken batter was a touch salty. For dessert we shared the banoffee basket and cinnamon waffle crunch. These were rich, creamy and sweet......

The Dome was elegantly decorated and there was entertainment provided by a DJ spinning some chilled out tracks and songs from yesterday year. There were nine other couples enjoying the evening. The staff were fantastic and very courteous. What a fantastic experience in a truly remarkable venue!!! Well done Frankie and Benny's and Victoria Square.

Dalriada Festival at Glenarm Castle

My two daughters and I spent a wonderful day out at the Dalriada festival in the beautiful setting of Glenarm Castle Grounds. 

This was our first time at the festival. Armed with a picnic rug, wellies (which thankfully we didn't need) and enough snacks to keep us going for a week, we arrived around 11am. Car parking was plentiful but beware the cow pats and be prepared to walk!! There was camping facilities also. 

Once inside there was lots to do. Plenty of military stalls, even a spitfire! There were bands playing, dancers dancing and singers singing. There was also a super Cossack horse rider who performed excellent stunts.

My kids were very keen to see Paw Patrol and were duly obliged by high 5's from Marshall and Chase!!

We rested in the Walled garden and had a cuppa and snacks before heading off to the Food area.  

The Fine Foods included Shortcross gin, Burren Balsamics, Armagh cider and PEPPUP to name but a few.

The BBQ anchor was The Stove Yard doing cookery demos with The Big Green Egg BBQ. I tried the jerk chicken wings which were exactly how I had em in the Caribbean!! 

My two girls became Maestro Pizzaioli's courtesy of Frankie and Bennies. They got to make their own pizzas and eat them!!

There was a big craft marquee in which were all sorts from pens to soaps to onions to ceramics, jams and football items. 

There was also a fabulous authentic Indian Henna or Mehndi stand which was very busy and the artist was Binder Tohani.

Please follow her on www.facebook/bindertohani Binder is available for weddings, parties, events and bespoke henna courses.

More blogs to follow on tasting of samples of bacon, onions and Peppup sauce I received to follow.....

After a packed day it was home time as my girls  were pretty tired! Pity as I would have loved to have unwound and enjoy the evening entertainment with a drink or two!! Saturday headline was Andrew Strong from The Commitments and Sunday looks good......might have to leave the girls and go check it out.....will you?!

Opening of Sanjha Restaurant

This brand new Indian Restaurant is definitely worth the trip to Ballymena. I had the pleasure of attending the official launch of Sanjha last night.

 This truly authentic Indian restaurant is the brainchild of Head Chef Sanjay and Front of House Manager Pawan. The team have put a lot of effort into this place. It is ideally located and has plenty of car parking and seats 85 people. 

The ribbon was cut by the landlord and then Sanjha opened for business. 

There was a Prosecco aperitif on arrival, followed by popadoms and chutneys. Starter for me was a mixed platter of chicken, salmon, shami kebab, aloo tikki and onion bhaji served with spaghetti salad and chutneys (mint and mango). The starters were amazing and set the bar high for the mains. 

The main course duly arrived and consisted of butter chicken, Rogan josh, saffron rice and nan. The taste was so real it was as if I was sitting in India and eating it!!!! 

There is an extensive wine and cocktail list- which looked very appealing!! The staff and owners have really got a winner here.....I would thoroughly recommend paying a visit, I know I shall!!

Fusion Wrap

My wife and I made dinner for the girls and my cousin last night. We put together a real United Nations Fusion Wrap. 

Ok from clockwise from bottom left an Italian cherry tomato and cucumber salad, boiled  Indian Basmati rice, grated Irish cheddar,Punjabi (North Indian) Spiced potatoes, freshly made Mexican Guacamole, Chinese stir fry pepper, celery and carrot batons, Keralan (South Indian) chicken, seeded whole meal wrap and diced red onion.

This was all layered and built up on the wrap and freshly chopped Chillies placed on top before closing and toasted in the panini maker. The chicken, rice, potatoes and veg were warmed through before assembly. They looked like below:

They tasted fabulous, so easy to make and they were well put away. If you want the recipe of the chicken,stir fry,potatoes or guacamole please get in touch, Twitter @belfastfoodman            Em: belfastfoodman@hotmail.com 

Daughters 8th birthday at Buskers

Last night my wife and I took our two girls out for dinner to celebrate my eldest daughters 8th birthday. The venue was Buskers, which used to be Beatrice Kennedys. Jim, the owner/chef, took over the reigns of BK and rebranded as Buskers in November 2015. The theme is music and Jim wants it to be a live music venue....you never know he may even play a tune as he can play the banjo well!!

The decor is vintage/retro and I must say it looks fantastic-love the murals and lighting and it really is a great concept. It's open for breakfast, lunch and dinners!!

The menu itself is contained on a single card, again a big plus and it's not too extensive. Jim has really put effort into selecting a very appealing selection. We had drinks first (large sparkling water, ginger beer and a vanilla shake split into two for the girls). Whilst we looked at the menu the girls coloured in on the kiddies menu. We picked chowder and tomato and basil soup, whilst the girls had bangers sausage and mash and fresh chicken nuggets and skinny fries. The chowder was great- loved the mussels and crab claws and the soup was creamy and had the basil (in oil) on top. The freshly baked wheaten was so light and fluffy and was just like a muffin!! The chicken nuggets were the best we've had anywhere-freshly cut chicken breast coated in Panko breadcrumbs and the 4 pieces were big and juicy. Kids loved them.

For mains my wife had the mushroom tagliatelle with garlic baguette and I had the Thai chicken and prawn curry with rice. The tagliatelle was cooked very well and the dish was big and filling and tasted great. The Thai curry had a twist ie it had small cubes of pineapple, sweet potato and tomato, which is a great touch by Jim on a lovely dish. There were 5 meaty prawns and plenty of chicken. I would have like a touch more seasoning which would have really enhanced my curry.

The service was absolutely fantastic-Kerry and Kevin were amazing!! I've been to Beatrice Kennedy in the past and was bowled over by the quality and it's great to see that it's been maintained in Buskers. Definitely worth a visit. 

Dinner at the Coq and Bull

My wife and I were invited to the Coq & Bull restaurant at The Clandeboye Lodge Hotel last night. We gladly accepted and celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary!! 

The Clandeboye is set in lovely surrounds. I can remember attending here in the past for a wedding and it was good then.....but it's even better now!! The reception area of the hotel and restaurant were modern in decour and really welcoming. As we entered the restaurant the first thing we were drawn to was the massive window at the far end and the high ceiling. There were bottles of wine in a line on one wall and opposite there were booths of varying sizes (in which we sat). The table setting was elegant and simple. The lighting was soft and all in all created a wonderful cosy ambience. Pim and his wife Mandy refurbished the restaurant in January 2014 and Pim (from Holland) has had the hotel complex for a quarter of a century!! This really is a true labour of love. 

Once seated we were offered water in a lovely bottle with a longitudinal sliver of cucumber which was very refreshing. I ordered sparkling water (designated driver) whilst my wife went for the Zinfandel. We were presented the menus which I must admit looked very busy, but is how I like a menu ie all the dishes written on a single menu card. Ian (head chef-who I met after our meal) and Kim spent a great deal of time putting it together and they change it four times a year, to reflect local seasonal produce. Emma the restaurant manager paired wines with every single dish which I thought was tremendous. 

For starters I chose the smoked salmon with wheaten. My wife chose the squid. Suffice to say we shared and really enjoyed both. The squid was piping hot and tasted so fresh and the aioli and cabbage accompanied it perfectly. My salmon was perfectly smoked and accompanied by black wheaten (not too stodgy), butter, horseradish, Creme fraiche and capers. The dishes were well thought out and perfectly matched. Portion sizes were just right.

For main course I chose the pork belly, my wife chose the salmon and we had champ, thick cut chips and onion rings. My pork belly was crispy on top and the fat was rendered so well that it was almost not detectable, the meat broke down with ease and was so soft. It came on a bed of sage mash and with some apple compote. This is how Pork belly - European style should be (of course the Chinese are masters at cooking pork belly and the Americans aren't too bad either!!). The salmon fillet was served in a cream sauce with sorrel and was succulent, flaky and really good also. The thick chips tasted so good as did the mash and onion rings (not greasy!!).

The desserts were also exceptional. We opted for the sticky toffee pudding and Creme brûlée. The pudding was so light and fluffy with a lovely banana toffee and lush vanilla ice cream. The Creme brûlée was sweet and crisp at top and light and UN sweetened cream below which worked well with the tart rhubarb compote and biscuit. I had coffee to finish.

The service was how service should be- not too obtrusive, watchful and always visible and of course professional and knowledgable...so full marks and then some!! A true asset to the establishment. 

After dinner we took a stroll in the gardens of the 43 roomed hotel and wedding venue complex and marvelled at the carefully tended flower beds and the herb garden. We also saw the Coq & Bull sculpture (the Bull came from a BBQ belonging to Heston Blumenthal!!). My one point of note would be the different coloured plates and slates that the food was served on detracted a touch from the exceptional food, my suggestion would be to use plain white crockery- just a suggestion!

The story of Coq & Bull is quite simple.... it's all about  telling a story and we really thought our story was well told last night.... what will your story be?

Irish Quality Food and Drinks Awards Judging

I have just completed my two days of judging at the Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards (IQFDA) 2016 held at the Dublin Institute of Technology  (DIT). It was held in The School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology in Cathal Bruga Street (off O'Connell Street). This campus is celebrating 75 years-so happy birthday guys!!

Yesterday (day 1) I, along with five others, were in the Private Dining Room and we sampled 48 offerings. There were four categories being Meat- Pork, Salad- prepared, Vegetables- prepared and Side dishes. For confidentiality reasons I can not mention any products, suffice to say the vast majority were superb, a couple were not and a few were exceptional!!! The samples were representative of the producers and retailers associated with the Irish High Street and food service sectors.

Day 2 was held in the more spacious Green Room, where I was joined by 8 other judges. It was rather a meat fest today and we sampled 41 products from the categories of Meat- poultry and game and Deli- pre cooked meats. The meats we tried were chicken, turkey, duck, goose, ham and beef (the others did). It's truly amazing how many different types of ham there are and all the chemicals that are used in its production!!!! 

Again there were some fantastic products, the majority were fair to middling and there were some not so good ones also!! These two days were very educational as We really got a good taste and feel for what's  in our shops North and South. 

The IQFDA is in its fourth year here and the grand finale will be 8th September at a gala Black Tie do at Dublin Castle. The parent company has been running awards in the UK for 40 years.

IQFDA 2016

I'm thrilled to announce that I shall be taking part, as a judge, in the 2016 Irish Quality Food and Drinks Awards 2016 Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th July. 

Judging starts at 09.00 and finishes at 16.30 on both days. The venue is The Green Room Restaurant and Private Dining Room at Dublin Institute of Technology, Cathal Brugha Street, Dublin 1.

 This will be my second stint at judging and I must say it's an honour to be invited as a guest judge. The venue is superb and it's a great opportunity......I shall post again after my two days.

 

Irish curry awards

The FIRST EVER Irish Curry Awards, in association with Cobra, is now open...nominate your favourite chef, takeaway, restaurant, newcomer, young chef and best front of house via http://irishcurryawards.com/nominate/. Closing 31st July 2016.

Freeze food

NORTHERN IRISH FAMILIES URGED TO “FACE FREEZER FEARS” IN A BID TO TACKLE FOOD WASTE

 

Monday 4^th July, Belfast: To help kick start Food Safety Week (4^th-10^th July) in Northern Ireland, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has released new research about the misconceptions around freezing food safely and how these misconceptions are contributing to food waste in Northern Ireland.

 

The research identified a number of freezing ‘myths’ that are preventing people in Northern Ireland from using their freezers to make food go further. Below are some of the key findings:

 

MYTH: 42% of those interviewed think that food should only be frozen on the day of purchase.

TRUTH: Food is still safe to freeze right up to the ‘use by date’ rather than the date of purchase.

 

MYTH: 38% incorrectly said it is dangerous to re-freeze meat after it has been cooked.

TRUTH: You can safely cook defrosted meat and then re-freeze for use on another day. Simply defrost overnight in the fridge, use within 24 hours and cook until steaming hot.

 

MYTH: 40% wrongly believe that food can become unsafe to eat while in the freezer.

TRUTH: Foods can be stored safely in a correctly functioning freezer for years without going off. The freezer is like a pause button, so you can put food in the freezer foods safely right up to the “use by” date. 

 

Three quarters (75%) of people surveyed in Northern Ireland have thrown food away in the past month, with bread (49%), fruit (39%), vegetables (31%) and leftover meals (25%) topping the list. The most common reason given for throwing food away is that it is past its ‘use by’ day. 36% admit to throwing food away as they had bought too much and didn’t eat it and well over half (59%) say they feel guilty when they throw food away. The research also found that 95% of people in Northern Ireland say there are foods they would never freeze. However, despite the reasons given, they can all be avoided by making better use of the freezer.

 

In response, the FSA is focusing this year’s Food Safety Week on helping people to understand how to waste less food safely by making more of their freezers. The FSA has announced that it will be launching a review of the guidance provided to the food industry on date marking food. This will include reviewing whether the remit of the guidance should be expanded to cover food storage and freezing advice for consumers.  

Michael Jackson, Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland, said: “Every year, we throw away seven million tonnes of food and drink from our homes – that’s about six meals a week. Much of this waste is unnecessary, and it’s imperative that we educate people about how to freeze food safely.

 

“Our research shows that many of the fears people have about freezing food are unfounded. 31% of Northern Irish people said that more information about how to safely freeze food would help them to reduce their food waste.”

 

For more information on how to reduce waste and freeze food safely, visit www.food.gov.uk/useby or follow @FSAinNI #EatitCookitFreezeit on Twitter for tips and advice throughout Food Safety Week.