Wedding at Manor House Hotel

My family and I attended a wonderful wedding two days ago. The wedding was of a family friend, Tina with Allen. The venue was the superb Manor House Hotel. I have previously visited the hotel for drinks and to hire a boat at the Marine, but this was our first formal visit.

The grounds and location are exquisite and it's easily accessible. On arrival there were snacks and tea/coffee-all provided by the hotel and well received after our 2 hour drive. The Manor House is an award winning hotel and it is very easy to see why.

The wedding ceremony was a traditional Hindu ceremony and was discharged admirably by the Priest Mr Ashok Sharma who went to great detail to explain the ceremony and involved the audience. I must say this was a truly wonderful ceremony.

After the ceremony there was a drinks reception and snacks which again were provided by the hotel and tasted fantastic. There was champagne, juice and lassi and to eat there were fish cakes, chicken skewers, paneer and sweet potato chips as well as sandwiches and pastries.

We then made our way into the main dining hall where John, Maureen and staff looked after approximately 200 guests with Swiss clockwork proficiency and precision . The entertainment was provided by the famous Edinburgh outfit VIP Entertainments along with the two renowned Dholis (drummers). Before the dancing there was the scrumptious five course meal of goats cheese tartlet, butternut squash soup, bacon wrapped chicken with vegetables, fruit crumble and tea/coffee. Kids had sausages and chips and there was a wonderful veggie main choice. The service ran smoothly and the food was absolutely amazing. There was plenty of wine and soft drinks to accompany.

After this feast we were treated to some excellent entertainment by DJ VIPS and the Dholis. We welcomed the newlyweds onto the floor for their first dance and then partied!! We had to drive back home so couldn't dance into the wee hours....have to go back and try the bedrooms soon!!!!

Thanks for the gracious invite, wonderful hospitality and best wishes for you married life.

Halloween Pumpkin

I finally succumbed today and bought an extra large pumpkin from Tesco for £3. I told my two wee girls only 1 this year!! Got home and made bangers and very opulent mash-using bacon, mushroom, onion, garlic and carbonara sauce....ok it was from a jar but hey I was busy!!

I cooked the onions, garlic, carrot, celery and mushrooms in peanut oil. Then added the cut bacon. Meanwhile I boiled 4 sliced spuds and cooked til al aldente.i then layered the veg mix, spuds and carbonara sauce in my oval Le Crueset.I added spinach, kale, rocket and oats before  I placed in oven at 220C for 30 minutes. I then cooked the sausages and dinner was ready!!

After dinner I got the girls to help me scoop out the pumpkin and separate the seeds from the flesh. I started the soup stock with oil, onion, garlic, greens, stick cubes and mushrooms. Whilst carving the pumpkin we added the flesh to the soup mix. Eventually the pumpkin was ready and the soup base was also. I liquidised the soup , seasoned and added cream. This I simmered for 5 minutes whilst we added candles to the pumpkin and hey presto all done.... now who will do the washing up!!

Happy Halloween!!

Happy 20th Birthday Tesco NI

Tesco celebrates 20 years of supporting local suppliers 

When it comes to birthday celebrations, who better to have some tea and birthday cake with than two of your oldest ‘friends’.

 Tesco is 20 years in Northern Ireland this Saturday and invited Ross Thompson from Thompson Family Teas and John Hopkins from Irwin’s Bakery down to the Belfast Metro store to celebrate with store manager, Jim Gough. Thompson and Irwin’s are two of Tesco Northern Ireland’s longest standing suppliers and Jim Gough has been with Tesco since the beginning.

 Sean Largey, commercial manager at Tesco Northern Ireland, said: “Tesco arrived in Northern Ireland on the 29th October, 1996 with a local shopping budget of £50m. Nowadays it spends more than £580m on local food and drink. Cause for celebration itself!”

 

Opening of Seasons Restaurant

I spent a couple of hours with friends old and new at the launch of Seasons Restaurant at The Balmoral Hotel. 

I can remember attending school functions here many moons ago!! My how the place has changed and is still undergoing a metamorphosis. On arrival we were greeted by a singer at the entrance and harpist in the foyer. We also had a choice of champagne, Moctail or sparkling water.

In the newly kitted out 70 plus seater restaurant, we mingled and caught up with old friends and made some new ones. The odd celeb graced us with their presence like Tommy Bowe!! Loved the porcelain plate display depicting deer-in keeping with the "Seasons" theme of the restaurant. There was also a traditional Irish band playing. 

The menu was carefully devised by head chef Dave who hails from Cork. He has had tutelage from Paul Rankin in Roscoff and Michael Deane and now has the reins at Seasons. He had a range of canapés from the starter and main course menu. There was rancini, goats cheese, hake cakes, venison pie-my favourite!!, ham hock, duck and salmon. For dessert there was a selection of chocolate cake, shortbread, toffee sauce and chocolate balls. A perfect sweet selection.

Our very own weather girl Cecelia Daly MC'd the speeches and first Mr Terence Brannigan from Tourism NI spoke then chef said a few words and Mairtin O Muilleoir wound up the formal proceedings. 

The investment in the Hotel is substantial and judging by the facilities and the restaurant and staff I am confident it will be a success. I would highly recommend you book a table in Seasons Restaurant because if the canapés are anything to go by the rest of the food will be of very high standards. Thank you Seasons for the invite!!

Chest Heart Stroke

This year Stroke Awareness Day is 29th October. Stroke can be a killer and disabling if not caught early. Always remember FAST which stands for Face, Arm, Speech and Time an aide memoir in early diagnosis/catching someone with stroke-it could save someone's life.

On a lighter note the wonderful folk over at NI Chest Heart and Stroke, who do a fantastic job, sent me a wee hamper/ kit to make a "stress free" spicy chilli bean dish as part of Stroke Awareness Day. 

My challenge this evening was to turn the above into a meal for the four of us!! I happily took it up and tweeked it a tad. I added some chicken to the chilli bean mix and used less tomato and added a splash of soy sauce and came up with my dish below!!

The four of us polished it off no problems and it went down a real treat-all stress free!! Thanx to NI Chest Heart and Stroke and please all support Stroke Awareness Day on the 29th!!

Zen food and Lehmann wine pairing

I was honoured to attend a wine pairing event at Zen- a truly exquisite Japanese restaurant. The wines were by Peter Lehmann Wines from Australia.  Joe Roberts from Lehmann Wines was our wine aficionado whilst Michael and team from United Wines  facilitated the event.

 

It was fascinating to learn the history behind Lehmann wines. Peter Lehmann was one of the original trilogy of South Australian German wine producers (others being Wolf Blass and Max Hubert of Grange Wines). The Lutheran Germans arrived in Port Adelaide in 1844 and brought with them the original, pre Phylloxera "old vines" so technically speaking these wines are "old" world and not "new" world wines!! Phylloxera decimated European vines in 1853. 

Barista is synonymous with this region and it was named after an area in Cadiz,Spain by Col William. There are two main producing areas being High or Eden Valley for white and the floor for red. The soils and granite all impart their own characteristics.

Peter started the company in 1979 and it was called Masterson until 1983 and then Peter gave his name to the company. The wines are commercial and boutique and drank globally. Sadly Peter is no longer here in body but is in Spirit!!

This brings us on nicely to the food.We tasted five tasting dishes (salmon, sushi, chicken, duck and monkfish) along with the respective wines. On arrival we sampled the Pinot Grigio. With the salmon we had dry Riesling, with sushi there was Sauvignon Blanc. Chardonnay went with the chicken and Shiraz Cabernet with the duck.  I had monkfish instead of beef and Shiraz. The wine pairings were spot on and definitely good matches!!

The ambience of the place, coupled with the efficient and professional service really made this a truly wonderful experience. Suffice to say this is still my favourite Japanese restaurant in Belfast!! The food plates we had really made us all wanting more!!!!

Dinner at the Royal Thai

I brought my two daughters here for dinner last night. They've never been here before. Simon and the staff were very friendly and helpful and seated us near the fish feature-my girls loved it!!

We went for a kids chicken fried rice, kids chicken chow mein, Bangkok seafood (me), chips and curry sauce. We had complimentary prawn crackers and curry sauce to start and the girls loved these as they were warm, crispy and tasty.

The kids dishes came out and I actually had to question whether they were kids or adults as the portion size was big!! They tucked into their meals and then mine arrived followed by chips and sauce. The food was superb, portion sizes amazing and service excellent. 

Definitely worth a trip to Glengormley for good, authentic, Chinese and Thai cuisine and all for £30!!!

Bloggers dinner at Il Gusto

This evening about 18 bloggers and plus ones tried the newest, very authentic, Italian food in the newly opened Il Gusto on the Lisburn Road.

 Il Gusto is the latest restaurant opened by Michael, the first being Solo which he opened in 2014 and Ambrosia in 2015. Michael came to NI from India in 2004 and has worked in Armagh City Hotel and later went on to run restaurants in Ballycastle and Ballintoy before Solo, which incidentally was crowned Best World Cuisine Restaurant 2017 at the recent YesChef awards. He is proud to call NI home!!

Chef (who is genuine Italian) has been very busy perfecting the menu and we got to sample the delights.

For starters I had mussels in tomato sauce with bread which was excellent and a good portion size. Dor mains I had spicy chicken in freshly made tagliatelle in s creamy sauce. The tagliatelle was perfectly cooked and the spicy sauce really lifted the dish. To round it off there was a light fluffy cheese cake and ice cream.

I highly recommend Il Gusto for a romantic meal for two, families or small groups. The staff are excellent. The restaurant is compact with maximum of 34 covers and the food is as authentic as you will get.

Inaugural Good Food Show Belfast

Friday October 14th through Sunday 16th saw the inaugural BBC Good Food Show Belfast debut at the newly extended Waterfront Hall.

I have been to the old Waterfront many times and more recently to the extended section for a show and must admit it's a superb venu, however being held over split levels and lack of car parking is a draw back.

The three day Food extravaganza covered all things Food. From education to science, from cookery demos to interviews with chefs, from established local producers to new producers, from national to international. The great thing was that one could taste and try and buy!!

Above shows where media and buyers could just chill and relax and also our very own Paula McIntyre in charge of the Tasting Theatre.

Below is the Super Theatre where I saw The Hairy Bikers, John Torode and James Martin do cookery Demos, more later. Also in the picture is the formal sit down Restaurant.

On Friday Paul Hollywood was in the house and signing books and our first Michelin starred chef Paul Rankin gave an interview on the interview stage.

I saw the Hairy Bikers do a cookery demo and they are great Northern lads who I've admired for years. The audience also loved them.

Our Antipodean chef John Torode has been to Belfast a few times before and knows the crowd! He gave a fantastic demo and especially of note was his pull apart bread as well as his dry humour!!

James Martin was able to give us an X rated demo and a heart atack three course meal which I have to admit looked delicious!

We had some exceptional old and established brands on display (Thompson Teas/Punjana, Heatherlee Bakers and JN Wines as well as the new kids on the block Donnybrewer butter )

There was a fine selection of meat retailers on display also:

There was plenty on offer for those with a sweet tooth with fudge and cakes and bakes as well as Somerset cheese and gadgets

Great pizzado home making pizza kits were on show and a novel use of tea!!

Tasted our Irish equivalent of Levi Roots African sauces, local and Scottish hot sauces and preserves. Igor the Croatian explained how Prosiutto and Prosecco originated in Croatia!!

Some rising stars and already orbiting stars were also on display 

Bushmills, eels, cheese, gin and chicken-wow. Other local producers like Mash Direct had a strong presence.

All in all a great show and they will be back in 2017!!

St George's Best Market

Belfast’s historic St George’s Market has joined Jamie Oliver in being named the “best in Britain”.

 St George’s last week added to its growing list of accolades when it was named ‘Best Market’ at the annual Observer Food Monthly Awards.

The award was earned by readers’ votes.

The Lord Mayor of Belfast, Alderman Brian Kingston, said:

“This is another terrific and well-deserved award for one of the jewels in Belfast’s crown. It is a fitting tribute to the work of the Market traders and staff in making St George’s the success that it is today.”

Among the other winners at last week's awards ceremony was celebrity chef and healthy eating campaigner Jamie Oliver, who was named ‘Food Personality’.

Launch of Forestside Cookery School

I attended the official launch of Forestside Cookery School last night, along with fellow bloggers and friends old and new and it's main supplier Musgrave Marketplace NI.

Chef Steven Jeffers along with wife  Lisa and daughter Katie have all put lots of hard work into this wonderful venture. The management of Forestside and Musgrave Marketplace NI are very big supporters and have also helped bring to fruition. They also supply some of the products on sale in the shop.

Stephen has cooking in his veins!! From the age of 16 he embarked on his cooking odyssey at Portrush Catering College, then worked in Parliament Buildings in Stormont and then as a chef for the Guinness family for 7 years. He has opened restaurants such as Grace Neills, Jeffers and The Boat House before being instrumental in setting up The Belfast Cookery School. He then opened The Forestside Cookery School last month. Stephen also is a food stylist, consultant and Demo chef-often cooking in Musgrave Marketplace.

What a fantastic location-it's in Forestside Shopping Centre, beside Sainsburys and has its own private lift-big advantage is free car parking. This is located behind the moving walkway and opens straight into the cookery school shop/dining area. 

Through a minor hall is a fully fledged top of the range cookery school, which uses Smeg appliances and induction hobs and has enough stations for 16-20 people. It's ideal for all sorts of events and occasions.

The food was all supplied by Musgrave Marketplace NI and Chef  Steven Jeffers showed us how to make the salmon starter 

then beef (my case chicken) main course, before letting us cook up our own. He is great crack, explains everything well and made our night. The food he made was excellent and the dishes we plated up were wonderful and tasted delicious!! 

Chef then served up some homemade cheesecake. 

Big thanks to all the team and Neil from Musgrave for all the hard work and the wee gift!!

For more details visit

http://www.forestsidecookeryschool.com/

By www.belfastfoodman.com