Spring Hamper Offer

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You can place your order online after 24 hours of receipt of code.  Just remember there is only one spring hamper per voucher.  If you have bought more than one voucher, each order will have to be placed separately.

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• Click on view/checkout at the top of the screen
• Click on checkout at the bottom of the screen
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• Click Applied
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• order is now complete 

with Patricia Michelson from La Fromagerie, the highly regarded UK cheese shop, Kevin Sheridan from Sheridans Cheesemongers and master butcher, author and all-round food guru, Pat Whelan.

There will be a big focus on local artisan cheeses and ingredients in the menu, with a section of Patricia’s new book, Cheese (what else!) dedicated to Irish Cheese.

Enjoy a 3 course cheese-themed dinner and wine menu specially designed by Salt head chef, Mark McGillycuddy, with lots of chat about seasonal cooking, sourcing locally and of course, cheese.

Salt Café, Avoca Monkstown on Tues., April 3rd at 7pm
€50 per person – booking is essential, so please call us 01 274 6900 to reserve your place.

Salt Café & Avoca Food Market
The Crescent
Monkstown
County Dublin

While much of what I learned in school is buried deep in the mind’s recesses, probably never to see the light of day again, I still frequently go back to a saying by one of my teachers; “Proper planning prevents poor performance”.  He would refer to it as the 5 Ps.  Leaving aside the clever alliteration I can add to his by saying “Proper planning prevents unnecessary stress” and, of even greater concern these days, “Proper planning saves you money”.  Easter is on the horizon and Confirmation and Holy Communion parties are also in the lens of many right now.  Whether it is a buffet style party for thirty or an Easter Sunday lunch for ten, it can all be accomplished relatively fuss free and without needing to remortgage the house to finance it, with a little forward planning.  How many times have you tried that free style approach only to end up with far too much food left over, a kitchen that looked like it had been hit by an earthquake, and an ulcer inducing level of stress and exhaustion?  If that sounds all too familiar stick with me and the lessons learned can be used at any time of year.

Dinner Party Beef Fillet

Not only should you plan the main event you should also have a plan for the leftovers, even if you never get around to using it.  Professional chefs do it all the time.  What is a main course today becomes a starter tomorrow if it isn’t used entirely.  What isn’t too popular on Tuesday as a side, becomes the soup for lunch on Wednesday.  Isn’t that the old joke, “I never order Soup du jour, it tastes different everywhere I go!”

Planning isn’t rocket science, and all it requires is a pen and paper, (or ipad/computer for the tech savvy) and a few obvious questions:

• a)      How many are coming?
• b)      What time of day will we eat?
• c)      What will I cook- a general Menu outline
• d)     How much of this menu can be done the day before?
• e)      Are there any clashing oven times/temperatures and if so what’s the solution?
• f)       Can I simplify this even more?

Now write down the list of ingredients you need for every dish and then check what you actually have in the cupboard and fridge and mark them off.  Do not go to the shops without doing this check as I guarantee the fear of not having something will make you buy it just in case.  This is where money and food are often wasted.

While a one pot is often the answer for a large crowd, traditional joints are also a great solution.  A roast dinner with beef or lamb as the star of the show rarely disappoints.  A joint of meat also needs adequate time to rest before serving and so that 30 to 40 minutes between coming out of the oven and serving creates the perfect window for finishing off sides and making great gravy.

I love getting everyone around a big table and particularly enjoy the special days such as Christmas and Easter.  I have long since taken the stress out of these events by simplifying as much as I can and remembering why I’m doing it.  It’s not about me and how good or bad my culinary skills are: it is about enjoying the company and sharing great food.  Even if I have discovered some amazingly chef-y way of tying up asparagus bunches with lemongrass strips I’m careful not to try and impress with such overly fanciness if the numbers are too large.  Tying small bunches of greens in dramatic fashion is just about fun for a lunch for four but becomes downright tedious to prepare for a dinner for 12. (That’s assuming of course that you don’t have an army of kitchen staff, in which case there are no limits.)   We are often tempted to show off with some TV cookery programme inspired dessert frippery that needs more attention than a newborn baby, but my advice is, don’t do it!  Choose a popular dessert that can be made the day or night before and left in the fridge ready just to plate up; the same goes for starters if possible.  If you’re super organised you could even prepare them in individual dishes.  Trust me when I say your guests will prefer something common and delicious and an unstressed and present host over a stress inducing frilly dish any day.  Buying the best ingredients you can get your hands on will also remove a great deal of the work.  Good quality meat will need no disguising and fresh, local, in season vegetables will taste great naturally and will create the ‘wow’ for you.

Fresh Carrots

You are also allowed to buy in some of the courses, in part or entirely, if it makes it easier.  I don’t know where we got this idea that unless we do everything ourselves that we are cheating! In Tipperary when there are so many excellent artisan producers on the doorstep we should definitely avail of their help.  I agree entirely with the philosophy of fresh and natural, but that need not be compromised.  From local breads, preserves, cheeses, desserts and sweet treats, herbs and vegetables and meat, there is a world of wonderful local food at your disposal.  If you are in any doubt check out the Tipperary Food Producers network website for a full list of what’s available locally.  I would also encourage you to drop by the James Whelan Butchers site for inspiration and of course, you are always welcome at our shop in the Oakville Shopping Centre in Clonmel.  Planning well is definitely the key to keeping great family occasions ‘great’ and avoiding that awful feeling of being an indentured kitchen slave to a bunch of ungrateful relatives.

This post was written by me, Pat Whelan, owner of James Whelan Butchers and a passionate advocate of local artisan food. My family have been producing quality Irish Angus beef for generations using a traditional dry aging process. This tradition is one that I continue to practice at our abattoir on our family farm in Garrentemple, Clonmel. These posts aim to impart some of the wisdom to readers and help them get the best out of the meat they eat! Our meat is available online here! I welcome your feedback to Pat@jwb.ie

March, without a doubt, is a changeable month.  A bridge from winter to spring; the days are longer and often there is a hint of brightness and warmth that can return overnight to blustery and cold catching us unawares either way.  Rhubarb, purple broccoli and spinach are all in season right now and should be bursting with flavour, while spring lamb would be a traditional favourite for the next while.  March always brings its own festivities and this year is no exception with back to back celebrations of St Patrick’s Day and Mothering Sunday.  It is certainly shaping up to be a busy weekend for families everywhere.

Bacon Eggs and Sausages - James Whelan Butchers

While all mothers should be utterly spoiled at every meal on Mothers’ Day, perhaps the easiest meal to get all the family involved in preparing is breakfast.  There are so many breakfast ideas and indeed, breakfast to lunch suggestions, that the choices are plenty.  With or without meat, from American pancakes to a traditional full Irish, stick the kettle on and break everyone’s fast with some tasty morning treats.  You can satisfy any number of tastes first thing in the morning and with the atmosphere relaxed and informal the potential to create the perfect start to the day is abundant.

Recently I came across a very old book entitled Royal Chef: Recollections of a Life in Royal Households from Queen Victoria to Queen Mary, which was published in 1954.  It was written by a Swiss native Gabriel Tschumi, a chef who served in English royal households for forty years.  In the book he recalls his first day at Windsor Castle around 1900, where, to his great surprise, he found that breakfast was as big a meal there as the main meal of the day was in Switzerland at the time.  In the book he writes, “I had risen about 7am and come to the kitchens expecting that, as lunch and diner were meals of about eight to ten courses, breakfast would be a very light meal indeed.  Instead I found that the coal ranges were red hot and the spits packed with chops, cutlets, steaks, bloaters, sausages, chickens and woodcock.  In other parts of the kitchens cooks were trimming rashers of streaky bacon, a quarter of an inch thick for grilling, and preparing egg dishes.”

Admittedly this was a royal household but even in the great houses of Britain and Ireland breakfast, in its day, was quite a meal.  Bacon, eggs, kidneys and chops were regularly on the menu.  Even the ordinary citizen understood the importance of breakfast with breakfast with porridge followed by some bacon and poached or boiled eggs perhaps.  These days the rituals around breaking the fast have diminished, rather sadly, to a fast scramble for the sugary contents of cardboard boxes at worst or a quick whizzed up cocktail of fruit and yoghurt at best and then out the door and into the day; neither option coming remotely near the nourishment or satisfaction of the five courses enjoyed by the households of Queen Victoria or Queen Mary.

So when we do get a chance for that leisurely breakfast I feel we should embrace it. When it comes to breakfast I have to start with the egg. Without wishing to sound like the Minister for Eggs, a more versatile food is hard to find.  On their own they are quite sufficient but add a herb like chives, a little smoked salmon perhaps, some ham, streaky bacon, cheese or interesting breads and you have some tasty new combinations.   You could of course simply boil them and serve them with traditional soldiers or for a more sophisticated twist, some spears of asparagus, but also try scrambling, poaching or even baking in small ramekins for something special.

The rather carbohydrate heavy American inspired breakfast of pancakes with syrup and bacon is quite the sweet treat and my own little ones are very partial to French Toast topped with the full works of  syrup, sliced banana, pecan nuts and a sprinkling of icing sugar.  If you are in the mood for ‘fancy’ it’s hard to beat the old cream cheese and salmon on bagels and while this might be a nice idea for Mothers’ Day when it comes to our national holiday 24 hours earlier, a full Irish is really the only option.

Healthy Fruity Breakfast Muesli - James Whelan Butchers

In Tipperary we are quite spoiled with the quality of our bacon and the range of artisan sausages and breakfast pudding at our disposal.  Whatever your preference; whether it be a traditional rasher and pork sausage or a sophisticated black pudding and herb sausage, there is something for you.  Add to this some free range eggs, scrambled or fried, along with some home made breads from any of the several local producers and you have a breakfast fit for any royal household.  Another favourite hot breakfast from my own childhood would have to be grilled kidneys with mushrooms cooked in butter.  I know that kidneys aren’t to everyone’s taste, but I’d urge you to give them a try. Interestingly the Europeans always seem to add something sweet to the breakfast table, even after a meaty breakfast feast, and so the rise in popularity of the Danish pastry, the plain or chocolate croissant, brioche or the apple turnover.

Given that Patrick’s Day is falling on a Saturday this year, you could get three days of leisurely breakfasting in if you include Mothers’ Day and Bank Holiday Monday.  Be careful though, you just might get used it.  Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona duit and enjoy Mothering Sunday too if you are one!

This post was written by me, Pat Whelan, owner of James Whelan Butchers and a passionate advocate of local artisan food. My family have been producing quality Irish Angus beef for generations using a traditional dry aging process. This tradition is one that I continue to practice at our abattoir on our family farm in Garrentemple, Clonmel. These posts aim to impart some of the wisdom to readers and help them get the best out of the meat they eat! Our meat is available online here! I welcome your feedback to Pat@jwb.ie

Dry Aged Meat Rotating in Our New Butcher Shop

Our next butchery is course on Tuesday 15th May 2012 at 6.30pm in James Whelan Butchers at the Avoca Food Market, Monkstown, Co. Dublin -€99 per person. 12 places per course. Book now by contacting us by phone or email.

Places are limited to small numbers which helps us to give you the best one to one tuition possible so book one of our classes today. Private Group bookings are becoming more and more popular on the Butchery Classes, we have taken group bookings for a range of things including Corporate events and Staff Parties. To make the class a private event, you will need to book out the full 12 places.

James Whelan butchery courses at our new shop in Monkstown

You’d have to wonder why the Chinese Vice President, Mr Xi Jinping, paid a state visit to our little island recently.  Obviously he’d heard of the good old Irish hospitality and wanted to sample it for himself.  Of course he probably didn’t bank on us being so quick off the mark when he made a casual invitation for a return visit to China.  Enda didn’t miss a beat in accepting the offer before Mr Xi had a chance to think about it or change his mind.   It was like one of those “sure you must come and visit us sometime” remarks by Mr Xi, which was met with a much more enthusiastic Irish, “What date next month would suit you?”  I suppose on the face of it we are quite the fascinating enigma.  Despite our current hiatus, we did achieve a transformation from a relatively poor, agricultural nation to a rich, high tech country in less than 20 years.  I’m sure everyone would like to know our secret but to be honest I’m not sure if it was by design or accident.

Anyway the whole Chinese visit got me thinking about Chinese food.  I thoroughly enjoy a Chinese takeaway and I don’t think you could ever recreate that food at home, but what about some Chinese inspired dishes to shake up the mid week menu?

Bok Choy - Chinese cabbage

There are general Chinese cooking principles that can be applied. I like the fact that you don’t have to stick to the same meat or vegetables.  Many Chinese recipes call for a variety of both. This certainly creates flavour, texture and colour in dishes.  The Chinese also like to use fresh ingredients where possible and when it comes to stir fries my big tip is to prepare everything before you start cooking.  With any Asian dish the preparation is crucial.  Wash drain and cut the vegetables, marinate the meat if necessary and prepare any sauces before you even turn on a hot plate.   It is also good to wash any green leafy vegetables as early as possible as they need time to dry.  If they are too wet when you stir fry the result will be poor.  When stir-frying, cook the toughest and thickest vegetables for a longer period than the softer leafy ones.  Vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, and cabbage need to be cooked longer than bok choy, which in turn is cooked longer than mange tout or bean sprouts.

When it comes to meat a Chinese person told me to always marinate fresh meat.  You can do this from the day before or just a few hours before you use it but the longer the better.  Another tip was to cut the beef across the grain for a more tender meat.   Try to keep the pieces uniform in size as this way they will cook more evenly.  With stir fries you can always cook the meat first and then set it aside returning it the wok with a sauce during the final stages of cooking.  A wok is a traditional high sided Chinese frying pan and while you don’t absolutely need one I think it is the only way to achieve a decent stir fry.  The high sides of the wok allow the heat to distribute evenly and you can whizz the food around without it spilling all over the hob.  In many Chinese restaurants it is the well seasoned hot wok that is part of the secret.

Beef stir fry with noodles

Woks also allow you to deep fry with less oil that you would normally use but still great care is needed here.  Before you put any food into a wok make sure it is good and hot.  Generally speaking the Chinese use peanut oil to cook with, but vegetable oil will work just as well.  Also be aware that peanut oil, once open has a much shorter shelf life than vegetable oil so unless you are planning on doing a lot of Asian cooking I can’t recommend the investment.  When adding the oil drizzle it down the sides of the wok and make sure it is very hot before adding any of the food.

When it comes to sauces and seasoning you might think it is very complicated when in fact the opposite is true.  For flavouring the Chinese tend to stick to a few well known ingredients.  Light Soy Sauce, Oyster Sauce, Sesame Oil, Rice Wine, Tomato Ketchup and plain old sugar are widely used.  Fresh ginger (never powdered), garlic, onion and bean sprouts are the other staples.  After that just think about all the takeaway dishes you’ve eaten; red and green peppers, carrots, cashew nuts, baby corn, spring onion, French beans, mange tout and water chestnuts.  Corn flour is widely used to thicken any sauces and peanut butter is always handy for a satay sauce.  Rice and noodles are the common accompaniment and, another little tip, left over cooked rice makes better fried rice than freshly boiled rice.

If you are expecting your Tuesday Noodle Surprise to taste anything like the local take away’s Chow Mein, then don’t even attempt this.  However if you just want something a little different but still home cooked then try doing it the Chinese way.  How about a little beef or chicken stir-fry, a chicken satay or even a duck breast in a nice oriental sauce?  All of these dishes are easily achieved in our own kitchens without too much fanfare.  Try it this week and see, if nothing else once everything is prepared, Chinese food is relatively quick to cook.

This post was written by me, Pat Whelan, owner of James Whelan Butchers and a passionate advocate of local artisan food. My family have been producing quality Irish Angus beef for generations using a traditional dry aging process. This tradition is one that I continue to practice at our abattoir on our family farm in Garrentemple, Clonmel. These posts aim to impart some of the wisdom to readers and help them get the best out of the meat they eat! Our meat is available online here! I welcome your feedback to Pat@jwb.ie

With the annual pancake fest just behind us and a general feeling of spring in the air it is the perfect time for a little shift in gear and preparation for the lighter days that are now, at least, on the horizon.  The idea behind having pancakes on Shrove Tuesday came from the need to clear out the eggs, fat, flour and sugar just before the start of lent when the consumption of such was traditionally restricted during the associated ritual fasting.  Today Pancake Tuesday is simply about the indulgence in pancakes but I think we should rethink this period and have our own modern day clear out.  Not because you want to go off anything in particular for lent, but because the amount of food we have stashed in the back of cupboards and at the bottom of the freezer is quite remarkable.

At least once a year store cupboards and freezers should be thoroughly purged.  It is a good idea to try eating from the freezer for a week in order to clear out or at least run down the stock.  I understand it could mean a week of pot luck and given that the average house hold freezer always contains at least one or two unlabelled (and probably unidentifiable) items, it is both a challenge and a risk.  This type of ‘shopping your own house’ can dramatically improve imagination with your cooking.  It lends itself to trying new combinations and adding unusual ingredients to standard recipes.  At a time when everyone is conscious of value and cost, the virtuous feeling in using up things from the cupboard is highly rewarding.

A few weeks ago in this column I also mentioned in passing that a new survey suggested the slow economy was also prompting a new found interest in old fashioned gadgets such as pressure cookers and crock pots.  It came as no surprise therefore when I opened the recently published March issue of Good Food that they had devoted a whole page to slow cookers and their merits.   I have always advocated long slow cooking as an ideal way to get the best from the more inexpensive cuts of meat but I’m only a recent convert to the actual electric crock pot.  They are relatively inexpensive gadgets, very elegant in design as the settings are simple and practically fool proof and not only do they work well with cheaper foods they are also very energy efficient.  What’s not to like?  On average to cook a meal in a crock pot uses less than a third of the energy of a traditional oven.  The other good thing is that most slow cooker recipes are very quick to prepare and the units themselves are designed so that you turn them on and leave the house for several hours.

My personal tip with red meat and slow cookers is to brown the meat before putting it in the slow cooker.  This is an extra step but if you don’t, you may have to add gravy browning as food cooked in a slow cooker is usually pale.  Corn flour is the best way to thicken sauces and if you want to add cream or crème fraiche don’t do it until the last minute.  I would also recommend that you buy a slow cooker with a glass lid as removing the lid frequently during the cooking process can slow it down considerably.  With a slow cooker all the preparation is done at the beginning of the day so all that is left to do after a hard day’s work is to serve it up.  The other notable difference with cooking in a slow cooker is that the liquid doesn’t reduce as it does when cooking on a hot plate.  For this reason if you are adapting non slow cooker recipes for the slow cooker always reduce the liquid needed by about a third.  All in all they are great for busy people and they can transform cheaper cuts of meat into something really special.  The other night I cooked a ham in coke with onions.  I left it for 8 hours and the result was melt in the mouth delicious.  Recently I’ve cooked lamb shanks with wine, a slow cooked bolognaise and a spiced butternut squash and sweet potato soup worked out even better than expected.  Okay you have to be a little organised and allow that time in the morning for the preparation before you do anything else but the lack of effort at the other end of the day when energy stocks are depleted make it all very worthwhile.  It’s also quite a healthy way to cook as there is little or no extra fat ever added.  As a general rule of thumb recipes such as casseroles, stews and braises are most suited to slow cookers and the long cooking time really allows the flavours to develop.

This post was written by me, Pat Whelan, owner of James Whelan Butchers and a passionate advocate of local artisan food. My family have been producing quality Irish Angus beef for generations using a traditional dry aging process. This tradition is one that I continue to practice at our abattoir on our family farm in Garrentemple, Clonmel. These posts aim to impart some of the wisdom to readers and help them get the best out of the meat they eat! Our meat is available online here! I welcome your feedback to Pat@jwb.ie

Having a mildly rebellious spirit the idea of Valentines Day leaves me a little cold.  I don’t like being told that on any given day I should be particularly loving or affectionate.  It always seems staged, lacking in spontaneity, and the mere fact that I am expected to do something makes me not want to do it at all.  I like to think of myself as a romantic for the other 364 days a year and then I take a break on the 14^th of February!   Still, that’s probably just the grumpy old man surfacing so this year I am trying to conform.   There is, however, one very good aspect of Valentines Day and that is the amount of cardboard hearts that seem to appear everywhere.  If nothing else it makes me think of that organ and how we really take it for granted.  That little pump in your chest keeps everything going and yet we give it little thought on a day to day basis.  Modern humans are very funny.  We’ll spend time and money having our cars serviced, heating boilers checked, water pumps assessed and yet in the main we pay little attention to our internal pumps and filters, many of which are irreplaceable!

The month of February is a great opportunity to think about the heart and how we treat it.  Obviously heart health is about more than food, but diet definitely plays a part.   We can help our hearts by cutting back on salt and losing the bad fats particularly the man made chemical versions.  It can be a bit of a minefield, but rather than stopping certain things it might be easier to approach it from an adoptive path.  How about becoming a little more Mediterranean in your outlook?  Countless studies suggest that the Mediterranean diet reduces risk of heart disease.    Personally I think the nice weather could have something to do with their overall health as well, but the diet is rich in fruit, vegetables, nuts, olive oil and avocado.  In essence it is a diet very much based on real food; fresh fish, fresh and cured real meat, vegetables, fruits and grains using fresh herbs to add flavour.

Pesto is a basil based Mediterranean concoction that we mainly associate as a partner for pasta, but this bright green sauce is fantastic with so many other things and heart healthy.  You can buy green or red pesto but it is easy to make and you won’t have to worry about it having too much salt.  Pesto is based on five main ingredients; fresh basil, olive oil, parmesan, pine nuts and garlic.  A classic pesto can be whizzed up really quickly in a food processor by using 3 generous handfuls of basil leaves, a handful of pine nuts, a handful of grated good quality parmesan, 5 to 6 tablespoons of olive oil, a clove of garlic, a pinch of Maldon salt, black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Process the lot to a smooth sauce.  You can always play with the basic recipe by using walnuts instead of pine nuts and while basil is traditionally the herb of choice, rocket, parsley or baby spinach make interesting alternatives.  You can also add a little red chilli or even an anchovy for an extra taste kick if you are feeling brave. 

Pesto is not just for pasta.  If you are making a risotto, stir through a few teaspoons of pesto and it really lifts the taste.  Pesto works well on chicken, chops or steak.  It makes a really nice, fresh alternative to calorie laden creamy sauces. From what I can gather chicken breasts seem to be the dieters’ choice, particularly at this time of year.  I often hear women in the shop asking about interesting things to do with chicken breasts.  Pesto will certainly cheer it up.  Slice the breast lengthways, without cutting all the way through.  Fill the pocket with 1 tablespoon of pesto.  Add a little spinach and secure with a skewer.  Bake or grill until the chicken is cooked.  It works equally well on fish.  I often put some white fish on baking paper spread each fillet with a little freshly made pesto, then fold over the paper to make a parcel and bake for about 10 minutes at 180 – 200°C/Gas 6 or until the fish flakes when tested with a fork.   A friend even uses pesto on sandwiches in place of butter and if you have left over potatoes, then this adds something special to potato salad.  Just mix the pesto with some sour cream or mayonnaise, add some chopped spring onions, snipped chives and combine it all with the cold potatoes and serve.  For a super snack thinly slice a French stick then spread each piece with pesto and top with some grated parmesan or mozzarella.  Bake at 180°C/Gas 4 for about 15 minutes.  You can mix it through eggs before you scramble them or add it to white wine vinegar and a little more olive oil in a jar, shake and you have a great Italian style dressing for anything.  I’m sure there are a number of other ways it can be used also and the only limit is the imagination.

 There are many other things we can do for our hearts when it comes to eating well but the best thing is to eat as much fresh, real food as possible.   You won’t go far wrong by eating local food grown and reared in Co. Tipperary.  For more information and recipes on fresh food check out my website, Jameswhelanbutchers.com and the tipperaryfoodproducers.com site as well.

This post was written by me, Pat Whelan, owner of James Whelan Butchers and a passionate advocate of local artisan food. My family have been producing quality Irish Angus beef for generations using a traditional dry aging process. This tradition is one that I continue to practice at our abattoir on our family farm in Garrentemple, Clonmel. These posts aim to impart some of the wisdom to readers and help them get the best out of the meat they eat! Our meat is available online here! I welcome your feedback to Pat@jwb.ie

I have a funny feeling this is going to be my kind of year! I love 2012 already even though it is still but a pup.  My excitement is twofold; first of all Tipperary is starting the year with an award, and a food award at that!  Oh yes, in case you haven’t heard Tipperary has just been given the much coveted accolade of Food County of the Year in the well recognised 2011 Bridgestone Guides Megabytes Awards.  The competition in this category is fierce every year but, according to the well known judges John and Sally McKenna, “Tipperary really has its act together managing to present a pop up shop selling the produce of 14 Tipp producers at Electric Picnic and organising their superb annual Long Table Dinner”. High praise indeed and I am delighted for the multiple Tipperary Food producers involved in both of those events under the umbrella of the Tipperary Food Producers Network.  Lads, when it comes to prizes we’re gaining on the hurlers everyday!

Tipperary is Bridgestone's Food County of the Year 2011

The other reason for my sunny outlook is the predicted food trends for 2012.  Now I’ve never been one to follow fashion and have always believed in doing my own thing but this year I’m in agreement with most of the trends and I seem to find myself on the same page as many of the respected food commentators.

One of my favourite 2012 food predictions is that elimination diets are so last year, if not altogether last century.  Finally the world has come around to the idea of portion control being a better approach.  Instead of bluntly cutting out fat, protein or carbohydrate, all of which the body need, it is instead reverting to the more sensible and healthy route to wellness of ‘a little bit of everything but keeping it all in balance.’  I love this philosophy and it is the perfect diet for someone who loves good food.

I could also hardly contain myself when I read of the emerging and sustainable focus on real, locally grown and produced food.  Yippee – finally the gospel that the Tipperary Food Producers Network has been preaching for many years now, is no longer a voice in the wilderness.  All over the world people have realised that the food produced in their own environment is probably better, fresher and more nutritious and ultimately better for the local economy in these straitened times.  Real food is also seeing a healthy renaissance.  ‘God made’ rather than ‘man tampered’ is having a revival.  Real butter, real sugar, real juice, and ‘real’ everything is finally taking over from the artificial. I’m ecstatic. Actually when you think about it, the mere fact that we were happy to consider something ‘artificial’ could be equal or better than the authentic, is disturbing.  At last our brains have caught up with our senses and we have seen the light.  The real food movement brings with it an increased interest in farmers markets and smaller specialist retailers; alleluia!  Obviously this is great news for independent butchers, bakers and green grocers.  It’s also been discovered that the pre millennium penchant for bigger, busy and impersonal has given way once again to smaller with a more community based spirit.  People want to be recognised as a regular customer and engaged in the pleasant banter that goes with such recognition and familiarity.  People are also more inclined to talk about food.  They are interested in its provenance and in learning from the ‘experts’ inside the counter where it comes from and what best to do with it.

Tipperary Food Producers

The economy is having a huge impact on food trends but it’s not all negative.  People are being careful and frugality is fashionable, but it’s driving a return to home cooking.  Eating out is once again becoming a treat and we are looking for ways to feed our families by doing more with less.    A recent survey from America saw sales of crock pots, pressure cookers and other old fashioned kitchen gadgets go up unexpectedly.  Along with resurgence in such tools and appliances our palates have also gone retro.   Maybe we are craving a taste of the past; creating an emotional connection to a more secure time.  Or maybe we just realised that our parents and grandparents enjoyed good plain food that tasted great and didn’t break the bank!  I’m very fortunate as I’m a fan of those homely one pots and traditional recipes that were common for most of us who enjoyed a 1970s childhood.  Such a trend is no hardship for me and in my opinion those dishes are to be wholly embraced.  With a bit of a modern twist I can’t think of anything nicer that a creamy beef stroganoff, a luscious steak and kidney pie or homemade beef burgers.  Talking of retro and simplicity, steak is also making a ‘Saturday night dish’ comeback.

Eating out has not gone away but people are looking for value so only the best will survive.  For that reason we can expect to see changes in our restaurant menus.  The exotic will no doubt be replaced by pasta and other inexpensive ingredients as restaurants find ways to keep the prices down while still providing an overall experience.

Finally on the dessert front the charts are suggesting that the cupcake has had its moment in the sun, but I personally diverge with general opinion on this point.  To be honest I could never quite get my head around the ‘cupcake’ as an Irish concept as I never saw it as anything other than a big bun with an overly fancy icing hat!  As far as I’m concerned buns, or their more glamourous Irish sister, the fairy cake, never went out of fashion and I don’t think they ever will.  Ditching this new desire for six inches of piped icing on the top might not be such a bad thing, but your basic Irish iced bun with a cuppa, mid morning or afternoon, is hard to beat for sheer, hedonistic pleasure.  Leaving the buns (or cupcakes) aside it looks like being a very good year for those of us who love our food.  Roll on the rest of 2012 and don’t forget to stop by our website or drop into our store in the Oakville Shopping Centre where we will be delighted to help you with new or retro recipe ideas for great family food.  And don’t forget to spread the word that Tipperary is, for the rest of 2012, The Bridgestone Guides Megabytes Food County of the Year!  Hooray!!!

This post was written by me, Pat Whelan, owner of James Whelan Butchers and a passionate advocate of local artisan food. My family have been producing quality Irish Angus beef for generations using a traditional dry aging process. This tradition is one that I continue to practice at our abattoir on our family farm in Garrentemple, Clonmel. These posts aim to impart some of the wisdom to readers and help them get the best out of the meat they eat! Our meat is available online here! I welcome your feedback to Pat@jwb.ie

There is nothing boring about the English language, particularly if you consider how words evolve and grow.  Created to mean one thing specifically, words can quickly catch on and take on whole new explanations with different generations.  These days technology also informs how we use words and I’m very aware that there is a teenage lexicon out there that really sounds like a foreign language to anyone over the age of 30.   Try reading teenage texts or emails (with their permission) and you’ll soon find yourself lost in a crazy mixed up land of abbreviations, acronyms and oxymoron that constitute clear communication in their world!

From our own perspective ‘Junk Food’ has become an all encompassing word that somehow takes little account of just how ‘junky’ the food actually is.  I heard a six year old recently describing a burger as a forbidden ‘junk’ food in his house.  My ears instantly pricked up and I was about to engage this child in the debate about how all burgers are not created equal and then thought better of it.

Junk Food

But how many adults are also quick to slap a negative connotation on many foods that have, essentially been kidnapped by an industry.  I’m talking about burgers, chips, chicken nuggets, pizza, fish fingers, even ice cream, biscuits and sweets!  We might all say that these foods are not good for you.  However if you are prepared to make them yourself then there’s no need to fear them at all as a threat.

Children these days intrigue me.  Some of them have no real knowledge of how real food is made or where it comes from other than the shop or supermarket, but yet you will find amazing adult words like ‘carbohydrate’ and ‘diet’ in a five year old’s vocabulary.  Just like the six year old who spoke of junk food I heard an even younger child say, “I’m not allowed to have too many carbohydrates”, as he barely pronounced the word.  While it is good to educate our children, maybe we need to look at our approach.  Children are literal.  Telling a child a “burger is bad” or, as another child declared to me, “bread makes you fat” is a misguided approach in the extreme.

I love my kids to eat junk food; that is the junk food that I make them myself.  We don’t have it every day, but I love providing the treat of mini homemade burgers with lovely real potatoes sliced into thick crunchy chips.  The only reason the burgers are ‘mini’ is to fit in their little hands.  Pizza is a big hit and while I sometimes concede to a bought pizza base every now and again the toppings are always fresh.  One particularly fun event was lining all the toppings out in little bowls and letting them be their own master chef.  It certainly took the sting out of a wet Saturday afternoon.  I’ve also created pizza on pitta bread and they have always been a triumph as well.

Chicken nuggets seem to be a universally loved children’s food.  There is nothing at all nutritionally wrong with chicken nuggets if they are made of real chicken.  To be honest there is a sensory pleasure in the creation of chicken nuggets.  I like to pan fry the breast quickly just to sear it and make it easier to cut into pieces.  Then I bathe it in seasoned flour, some egg and finally breadcrumbs; creating a little army of breaded pieces that are always delicious.  Of course I can’t leave things alone and so I often experiment with the flour seasoning by adding in a little turmeric spice or cumin; not too hot of course, or other things from time to time.  For a more adult nugget, just slice the chicken in lengths and you’ve created the slightly more glamourous chicken goujon.

I was recently treated to a bowl of homemade ice cream.  Despite the fact that it is still winter and possibly not the most obvious time for ice cream it was an experiment in a recently acquired Christmas gift of an ice cream maker.  The end result was fantastic.  Now it was quite a grown up affair as there was alcohol involved but I’m already looking forward to the possibilities that will no doubt grace my palate from said ice cream maker come the warmer months.

Homemade Ice Cream

Let’s reclaim some of this junk food territory and make sure that popular and culturally fun food isn’t completely lost to us just because some people have exploited recipes to the point of removing the real goodness and substituting chemicals in their place.  We can enjoy junk food and eat it without guilt as long as we make the junk food ourselves.

This post was written by me, Pat Whelan, owner of James Whelan Butchers and a passionate advocate of local artisan food. My family have been producing quality Irish Angus beef for generations using a traditional dry aging process. This tradition is one that I continue to practice at our abattoir on our family farm in Garrentemple, Clonmel. These posts aim to impart some of the wisdom to readers and help them get the best out of the meat they eat! Our meat is available online here! I welcome your feedback to Pat@jwb.ie