Hey Guys,

So Amsterdam was unreal. Cold but a good experience from a foodie point of view. We went to the restaurant “Senses” by Lars Bertelsen. OMG…!!!! It was out of this world. So we had the 7 course menu, which turned out to be 10 courses. We had an amuse bouche( which was a trio) of Oyster,Burnt Onion and Tomato Baguette, a second amuse of Avocado and Creme Fraiche with Crab ,Starter of Bass ceviche with pickled veg, then Deep Fried Baby Leek with a Smoked Mushroom Foam, followed by Guinea Fowl and Quail egg, then Sweet Breads and a Mushroom Sphere, Then Venison and Black Pudding, a pre-dessert of Jerusalem Artichoke and Apple and too finish was a Lime Frozen Parfait…!! All in all it`s probably one of the best meals i`ve had in a long long time. Here`s a few pictures.

Amazing trip all in all… Thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely go back again.

We also did our chocolate showpiece which was the highlight of the course so far for me. Two days of chocolate was super fun..!! I would love to do one again at some stage. Here`s how it turned out.

I was very happy with the finished product and i got some good feedback from people that seen it. Chuffed 😁

So as we come closer towards the end of the academic year, this will be my last post. I hope ye enjoyed my witty banter and fun insight into the last 6 month`s of my college life.

Who know`s i could be back as a food blogger in the future, only time will tell…!!!

Thanks all so much for reading and until we speak again..

Merry Christmas to you and yours,

The Christmas is upon us and i have neglected to speak about work. I suppose there was so much going on in college that i just by passed it. Christmas is a busy period for anybody working in the hotel industry. We had Christmas parties going Fridays and Saturdays since the 30th of November. That was our first one. As with most Christmas parties numbers are bigger than your average wedding. So it`s been hectic but once you get past the first one it becomes easier after that. The Brian Boru was my baby for the Christmas. Six Christmas parties and four weddings to get through. But the worst is nearly over as we`re down to the last party. Nothing on next weekend the 22nd of December as Christmas is on our doorstep. Here`s the dessert we did for the Christmas in the Brian Boru. Wont post this just yet, will touch base again after the new year.!

Passion Fruit Chiboust, Raspberry Foam, Raspberry Gel, Chocolate soil, Christmas Ice-Cream.

Happy New Year to One and All,

Hope ye had a good new years and didn`t indulge too much. So i was off for Christmas which was great because i havn`t been off at Christmas for years. Unfortunately i had to work for new years last night and again at 7.30 am this morning. I wasn`t bothered going out anyway, it`s always an over busy messy night. I`ll go for a few tomorrow for the Christmas as i`m off to Amsterdam for a few days with my college buddies. Should be a laugh. We are booked into a really nice restaurant so hopefully that will be good. It`s not the first time i`ve been here so i have most of the tourist stuff done. Just the museums left to do which is on the agenda for this trip. It`s time for me to sign off for a few days and i`ll be back soon.

This week we had a chocolate master class with a Belgian chocolatier, Erik Van Der Veken. He is an ambassador for Cocoa Barry and an extremely talented guy. i learned so much in this class and it is by far my most enjoyable few days in college. I do enjoy working with chocolate. Its something that`s kind of rushed in work so it was nice to be able to take your time and actually learn how to temper properly and to make the bon-bon`s themselves from start to finish. He had a really interesting concept with some of his creations. For two of the sweets, one was whiskey and the other tobacco..! Both to be eaten together. A good marriage if i do say so myself.

We started by making our filling`s for the bon-bon`s. I had the tobacco flavour filling made from infusing the inside of a cigar into the liquid before the filling is made and wow does it pack a punch!!. I also did an orange and bergamot filling which was like a gel consistancy.  We then polished our moulds and started to spray with coloured cocoa butters. A black base was on most as it brings out the lighter colours more. Then poured our tempered chocolate into the mould`s and tapped out the air bubbles, poured the chocolate back into the bowl and leave to set.  When set we filled them and capped them and again let the chocolate set once more. After about an hour we tapped them out of the mould`s and the finish on them was unreal as u can see from the pictures below.

Its been a long few days and i`m very tired so i`ll say..

Good night and God bless…..

Yo Yo peeps,

This week in class we were doing fish on Monday. So we all got a piece of Halibut. Two portions each, 60g a portion to be pan-fried and garnished accordingly. I was given the task of Jerusalem artichoke puree, which was not too bad to be fair. I`ve made a lot of puree`s over the years so this was quite easy for me. Pickled artichokes also were on the agenda. Slicing them very fine on the Chinese mandolin and vac pac them in the pickle solution. Again easy enough to do at any level of chef. The foie gras and orange soup was a bit more tricky. To get the balance right is a tough and i`m not entirely convinced that foie gras and orange actually go together.!!! But i made it anyway and it wasn’t a great result to be honest. So i sentenced it to deletion (Buff Egan,2018)  Really enjoying this class though, missed the hot kitchen.!

So on to pastry this week, it was a plated dessert. I had to do a Lime Mousseline, Coconut Crumble, Toasted Sesame Sponge and Ginger Ice-Cream. I have to admit, it was a nice dessert and the flavors and textures went very well. We had free reign on how we were going to plate up. I did it in 2 different styles. Just kinda playing around with the plating. This seems to be where just a little bit of finesse is where i`m lacking. Don`t get me wrong here, i`m not that bad..!! But a few little tweeks here and there will make a huge difference. Below is a few pictures on how i went about it.

Until the next time, Sayonara.

Hey all,

We were out in Adare Manor on the trip for this week. I mean WOW… what a place.. unreal.!! No expense spared here. It`s the creme de la creme of hotels in Ireland at the moment. I actually don`t think there`s anywhere near it in this amazing country. So we arrived and we were brought through the reception area and then we walked through the lounge area where they were serving afternoon tea, looked nice, very well garnished..!! It was brilliant to see first hand myself as i had heard mixed reports for different people. I didn`t get to taste anything but visually the pastries looked amazing. Then we were brought down to the “The Tack Room” which is like a spirits bar and they also serve light bites there. They have over 100 whiskeys here among other spirits. They also make cocktails here.

We proceeded then to the kitchen of the Oak Room. All brand new equipment and there seemed to be a nice buzz in the kitchen as people were working away doing their M.E.P. We didn`t stay there too long, it was just a brief walk through and we could see they were busy. We went from there to the banqueting suite. Again WOW.. the entrance which is away from the main entrance is amazing. It`s quite big so i think it`s used as kind of a reception area for when weddings come in before they are seated. It can hold about 350 guests and the cheapest wedding package for food is €225 per head..!! Crazy expensive but you can see why with all the elegant decor and the brand new kitchens and food.

That was a trip i was looking forward too and it delivered. Just like Ronseal`s quick drying wood stain, It does exactly as it says on the tin.

Catch u guys in the next cartoon…..

 

Its 8am, i`ve a big sleepy head on me and i`m late for the bus by 5 minutes. Not too worry though, i`m not the only one late, thank god.!! So our first stop is in one of the oldest bakery`s in Ireland. Started in 1838 in exactly the same place and handed down through the generations. William Keogh and his wife Anne are running the show down there now. They do a wide range of products from sliced pans to wedding cakes and novelty cakes. Their deliveries are within a 20 mile radius. Interesting to see this bakery as i do love making bread myself. Its still in great order for a bakery around this long.!

Next stop was High Bank Orchard, which have a lot of different products for sale and all from apples.!! Owned and run by Rodney Calder-Potts and his wife they are also part of the slow food movement. So we arrived and onto 2 seated trailers pulled around by a small tractor. Rod brought us down around the orchard and in around where the apples are juiced. For such a small set-up they are very successful. Then is was on to the small distillery that they have there, here they produce apple brandy or otherwise know as Calvados. We then had a little tasting in the reception area and then we had the opportunity to purchase some of their produce. I myself got some apple cider vinegar and some of the apple schnapps. Both are currently unopened.

Lunchtime and the troops are hungry. Aroi (i`ts like Asian Street Food) was our next port of call for a spot of light lunch washed down with a pint of tiger beer. Not my cup of tea to be honest but when in Rome as they say.!! With our bellies full its time to move on to the next visit. The Smithwicks Brewery.

We started the tour and got a good insight of how the business was started, grown and how they made Smithwicks ale itself. So there are 3 types, Blonde Ale, Pale Ale and the one that is know best the Red Ale. The tour took about 20-25 mins and there was a lot of information involved in that time frame. Interesting. And its off for a pint then, possibly the worst pint i`ve ever drank. Now i remember why i hate beer. Cider all the way.

Last stop on the tour is Mount Juliet Estate. Home to a new Michelin star restaurant which they were awarded this year. Head chef John Kelly came to give us a brief talk. What a nice guy, very humble and doesn’t take the credit for getting the star. “I didn`t get this star, the team got the star”. Spoken like a true leader..!! We then had a little walk around, shown the rooms, the bar and the restaurant by Des McGrath. Bubbly chap, very easy to speak too, and has plenty of stories to tell..! That was a nice visit..so its onto the bus and home now so..

Adios Amigos…

So this week is taking off with Entremets. It was meant to be last week but class was cancelled. So this week i am doing a white chocolate and pistachio mousse and the layers inside will be pistachio cremeux, a lemon and champagne jelly, a white chocolate and praline feuilletine and a pistachio sponge. It will be covered in a green mirror glaze and then i`ll garnish with some white chocolate around the bottom and some around the top.. So i was also shown in work how to make pulled sugar so i`m gonna give that a good go.

So i did my best and i`m actually really happy with the finished product. The glazing was good and the pulled sugar worked out really well. A job well done if i do say so myself.

So we also did Rabbit Roulade and Venison in the culinary skills class. again i was happy with both dishes i put up.

The rabbit was :- Rabbit Roulade, Wild Mushroom and Asparagus Farce, Baby spinach, Cocotte Carrot and a herb oil.

The Venison was :- Venison Loin wrapped in Parma Ham, Puy Lentils, Baby Carrot,Bon-Bon, Mushroom Powder, Game Jus.

See y`all next week….. for more insight into the culinary arts….

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL….🎃The Halloween bank holiday weekend has been and gone and all i can say is wowzers that was a busy weekend..!!! There was a few long days over the weekend. Still though its a nice feeling of accomplishment when u see it out and come through the weekend without any hiccups. Afternoon tea was the usual, crazy busy!! 60 Friday, 90 Saturday, 80 Sunday and 60 on the Monday. The afternoon tea M.E.P was low after the Monday set up so it was head down and push to replenish before another busy weekend.

Also there was a wedding on the Saturday in the Brian Boru, 180 pax for Milk Chocolate & Baileys Mousse, Butterscotch, Biscotti, Honeycomb Ice-Cream.Weddings are relatively easy because its just 1 service as opposed to the Earl of Thomand upstairs in the castle. So all starters go, all middle course`s then and so on and so fourth. U get my jist. Timing is key here tho. The temperature rises quite quickly, so i cant put the mousses up too early or they might start to collapse, if i go too late the guests may have to wait an extra 5-10 minutes, but i`ve being doing this for so long i feel like i`ve mastered it. I haven’t had an issues since my very first month in the pastry 8 years ago!!! Where somebody didn’t  put the right amount of gelatin in and about 60% of them collapsed. Then you feel the pressure…!!! So its upstairs and into the back up, which we always keep for Limited Tab menu`s or emergency`s in the freezer, grab a slab and a third which is about 140 portions, back down to the Brian Boru and all hands on deck, one cutting, one glazing, one garnishing and one plating… was very nearly a sh*t show. But that wasn’t the case, it was the usual, he shoots, he scores…!!!!

This week was meant to be our entremet week but due to unforeseen circumstances the pastry class was cancelled. Disappointing but it gives us some time to look at the other projects and assignments. Our research proposal has to be handed in on Friday and im quite happy with the work i`ve done on it so far. Superfoods was not the easiest topic to choose as there is not much literature out there for it. Most of the information is through the internet. So a little bit of time going through whats relevant and not didn’t bother me because its a topic that nobody had picked before. I`ve actually enjoyed doing this assignment, my first in 18 years and i think i`ve done it justice. Lets hope all goes well and i get a decent result from this. It`ll give me a good boost of confidence if i do well so fingers crossed.

Back to work, so we have a celebrity staying with us this week. You might know him as Danny Zuko from Grease or Vincent Vega from Pulp Fiction… the great John Travolta. “Do you know what they call a Big Mac in France? A Royale with cheese”.😂  He visits every year to Dromoland. Fly’s into Shannon himself in his private jet and usually stays for a week. I didn’t meet him this year but i was lucky enough last year to meet him and his family. I even brought him into the kitchen because his son wanted to see the fish he had just caught being filleted. All in all he`s a very nice guy and very humble. If while he was out and about the grounds and someone wanted a photo with him, it wasn’t a problem. Himself and his family are lovely lovely people..!!!

Chat next week.. Same Bat time, Same Bat channel…

Week five has been a good week. I`m really enjoying culinary skills class (Hot Kitchen) as it has been soooo long since i`ve worked in the hot kitchen. Pastry has been my forte for the last 8 years so it was a breath of fresh air to be doing hot kitchen again. Pigeon was the flavour of the week unfortunately i wasn’t able to attend this day. I did however end up with 3 points on my licence this week. 92kph in a 60kph zone..!! Ahhh shur how was i meant to know it was a 60 and i travelling in this road for years and never once looked at the speed signs. Schoolboy error as they say..

I did however make it in for the pastry class. Petit Gateaux`s were the plan for this week. Its something i never really had the time to do in work because its so busy but it was nice to take the time and actually perfect what i was doing. I probably could have been a bit more intricate with the garnish but i wasn’t watching the time as i should have been and ended up with a less garnished gateaux than i could have had. That was an eye opener though and moving forward ill be watching the time a little more closely.

So work the weekend was its usual crazy busy. 90 booked for afternoon tea on Saturday and 70 booked on Sunday!!! The prep takes up most of the morning with garnishing then setting up the plates and then doing the M.E.P for the next day ( cutting more pastries). Evenings have also been busy. Doing the usual 90-110 in the restaurant and maybe doing 50-60 in the gallery on a sat and 60-70 in the restaurant on Sunday night and 30-40 in the gallery. Its go go go at the moment as Christmas looms…..!

Until we chat again….Peace out…✌