Foodie Articles

  I had a foodie friend home from the UK last week and during the many hours that we drove our taste buds to distraction discussing food, the subject of poaching was raised.  We both agreed that poaching has become quite fashionable again and poached pears seem to be popping up on menus across the […]

Since my last column for the paper I appeared on the telly!  I was on the TV3 sofa with Sybil Mulcahy and Martin King.  I can only assume that my diet and fitness regime are working as I was introduced to the viewers as the “the small butcher who’s thinking big”.   I was very […]

  In my student days St Patrick’s Day was really just an excuse for a liquid lunch, a liquid dinner and a liquid evening supper! Several friends included breakfast in that list but even as a carefree student I was never that professional in my drinking habits. Food has always been the greater passion for […]

  Online Butcher Pat Whelan writes on meat and food in general and this week he talks about the humble sausage. It must be our current fascination with all things frugal that every food magazine I’ve come across recently has at least one sausage recipe in it.  Toad in the Hole has been resurrected from […]

  Online Butcher Pat Whelan writes on meat and food in general and this week he talks healthy eating for diabetics. I know you’ll all be thrilled to hear that my new exercise and eating programme are going according to plan and, so far, I have managed to shift close to six pounds in weight […]

  The human condition is a strange one indeed.  We are always on the look out for the next ‘new’ thing; eagerly anticipating its arrival.  It is particularly obvious when it comes to technology.  Once the object of our desire and fascination is procured we adore it for all of five minutes and then quickly […]

  Online Butcher Pat Whelan writes on meat and food in general and this week he talks about his plans to loose weight through exercise and healthy eating. I really felt that the Chinese New Year falling on the 3rd of February was so appropriate.  I’ve always maintained, and even mentioned it here once or […]

  Online Butcher Pat Whelan writes on meat and food in general and this week he talks about healthy eating. I’m always interested in finding new cookbooks and when one comes along that also has an interesting background story then I’m instantly hooked. I particularly like to gather a stack of such books for January […]

  Online Butcher Pat Whelan writes on meat and food in general and this week he talks pastry. When we consider pastry we always think of pies and sweet food as even the desert makers in kitchens are often known as pastry chefs.  Of course the French and the Danish in particular, have made an […]

  Online Butcher Pat Whelan writes on meat and food in general and this week is in a ‘Fowl Mood’. I think there is enough distance between us and Christmas to start talking fowl again.  Normally at this time of year the festive period is a dim and distant memory, the ‘shiny new’ of the […]

  Online Butcher Pat Whelan writes on meat and food in general and this week the Cook Off! There’s nothing quite like a challenge and it keeps us all on our toes. I was recently accused of not really understanding what it was like to try and feed a family on a budget. The main […]