Valentine’s Day Heavenly food pairing

Dark Chocolate and Blue Cheese is a divine food pairing combination!    It’s an example of one of the many surprises guests have when they dine at the tables of modern Irish Chefs in Ireland.  The first time I tried this taste sensation was at the Lough Erne Resort at the Catalina Restaurant with Chef Noel McMeel. Chef Noel introduced this course as a ‘pre dessert’ to our tour guests, and our sommelier suggested pairing it with a glass of Ruby Port Wine.  Some guests were cautious of the pairing because it sounded unusual,  but it seemed everyone expressed being ‘surprised’ and that’s always such a treat when we experience the ‘unexpected’.

Back in 2014 I had the opportunity to be featured with Chef Noel McMeel and Chef Stephen Holland at the James Beard House in New York; and this is one of the courses we served on the menu.  I can remember the course sending shock waves of tantalizing emotions as some guests tasted a new food pairing taste, sending their taste buds exploding.   We paired it with Irish Cashel Blue Cheese and used Valrhona Dark Chocolate to make the ganache.

Wishing everyone a very Happy Valentines!

Shamrock and Peach

 

Lough Erne Legendary Irish Elegance

Dining with Executive Chef Noel McMcMeel at the award winning Catalina Restaurant!

G 8 at the Lough Erne

G8 Menu

Sunset at the Lough Erne

Chef Noel McMeel and Judith

Irish Seafood

Words cannot fully describe how we were royally treated at the Lough Erne Resort in Co. Fermanagh last week when our Legendary Irish tour.  We got to experience world class dining and accommodation staying at one of Northern Ireland’s most prestigious 5 Star resort.  Executive head chef and friend Noel McMeel rolled out the red carpet for our guests.  One of the most memorable meal experiences was the recreation of the menu served at the G8 summit.  Our guests got to taste the menu experienced by our world leaders, the very best of Irish cuisine.   Our guests were overwhelmed with the Lough Erne Hospitality  and the way we were treated by the restaurant servers and chefs will be a food memory to last a life time.  We feel so humbled and grateful to the team at the Lough Erne including Chef Noel McMeel and Chef Stephen and would like  to send out a personal applause and thankfulness to them.  This this Sunday I will embark on two back to back tours of Southern Ireland, but before we lunch our new venture I wanted to acknowledge our appreciation of the very best of Northern Irish hospitality!

Joy in the journey!

Judie the Irish Foodie

Excited to announce our 2018 Irish Tours!

The Ring of Kerry

Trinity College Dublin

Mount Juliet Estate

Kilkenny Castle

Downpatrick

Irish Whiskey Sauce

For many of us, summer is drawing to a close. Schools are back in session, traffic has resumed it’s daily grind and the memories of our 2017 vacations are behind us – however, we are now giving you something to look forward to! – yes, our plans for next years Irish vacations are complete and we are excited to showcase them to you and our website is ready to accept bookings for our 2018 tours! Who-hoo!

…and we have a brand new tour to announce into the bargain! Yes, after three years of painstaking research we are glad to reveal our ‘ Southern Elegance Ireland Tour’ for 2018. Many of you have been asking whether the Shamrock & Peach will tour Cork and Kerry – well, now we will, but with lot’s of other goodies and luxury touches added for good measure…

Our now famous Legendary Ireland tour will include some of our favorite luxury resorts including the Lodge at Ashford Castle, the Lough Erne Resort and the Slieve Donard Resort. While our accommodations in our Southern Irish tour include Mount Juliet Estate, Hayfield Manor, the beautiful Malton Hotel in Killarney and the one and only Ballymaloe House in Co. Cork. We are seeking to find the best and most unique accommodations in Ireland and are working with our favorite chefs to make our guests feel like each day exceeds beyond all expectations.

Going to Ireland is on the bucket list for many people and that’s why we make each day extraordinary when you tour with us. Please check our our website and email me!

Judith@shamrockandpeach.com

Here is the link to our website for our new Southern Elegance tour:

http://www.shamrockandpeach.com/tour_2__southern_elegance_irish_tour

…and for our Legands tour:

http://www.shamrockandpeach.com/tour_1__legendary_ireland_tour

Joy in the Journey!…and see you in Ireland!…let’s dream!

Judie the Irish foodie

 

Cooking up modern Irish food at the Lough Erne

Raining in Ireland… really?

Plating at the Catalina restaurant at the Lough Erne

Judith and Chef Noel McMeel

Vanilla Panna cotta – Textures of Apple

Breast of Thornhill Duck – Beetroot, Carrot Cream, Wild Mushrooms, Water Cress Puree, Orange Jelly and Duck and Orange reduction

Pastry Chef Stephen and Judith

Pastry Chef Stephen’s morning bakes

The Dream Chef Team

Dinner with Shamrock and Peach tours

This summer I got to spend 8 weeks in Ireland and I am returning to Georgia more inspired than ever to cook modern Irish food.  One of the highlights of my time in Ireland was spending time in the kitchens of the Lough Erne working with the Chefs.

Time after time my tour guests are literally blown away by the flavors, presentation and creativity of Irish cuisine.  Our modern Irish food highlights the main ingredient of each dish with subtle flavors such as “Breast of Duck with Beetroot, Carrot Cream, Wild Mushroom, Water Cress Puree, Orange Jelly and Duck and Orange reduction” or the “Vanilla Pana Cotta with textures of Apple”.

On my return to Ireland I caught up on the past episodes of the Bachelorette and I was so excited to see filming at the Lough Erne Resort.  For those of you who admit watching the show you may have enjoyed the entertaining golfing scene and the couples romantic spin in the golf cart?  It’s really exciting to see Ireland being promoted as a world class cultural and culinary destination.

My thanks to the Noel McMeel and the outstanding chefs at the Lough Erne who continually exceed expectations to guests dining at the resort and are a tribute to the Emerald’s Isles new food revolution.  It’s been a wonderful summer in Ireland but I am glad to be back home to Georgia with fresh legs for the Shamrock and Peach.

Judith the Irish foodie

We had a dream

Judith, Noel and Margaret

Some experiences you cherish forever and last Thursday evening cooking at the James Beard House in NYC will surly go down as a personal dream and life achievement event. Adamantly, we were truly spoiled by having the most amazing help from top culinary students from South West College in Northern Ireland and Farleigh Dickson University in NYC. We were so generously allowed to prep the day before our dinner at Sysco Kitchens just across the Hudson River and yet again worked with the best of the best.

Byron, Stephen, Craig, Nathan, Laura, Regina, Peter, Simon, Shalimar, Judith, Noel and Margaret

We even had the presence of Steven Holland who just one Ireland’s Young restaurant Chef of the year from the Lough Erne and Nathan who no doubt is a young rising star. Thankfully we were all able to communicate between our Irish accents and our new friends from New Jersey.. Well, lets say most of the time!

Noel, Stephen, Peter and Byon in action

Finishing touches with organic micro greens by Koppert Cress

Finally, I wanted to share a photo of my dessert Rhurbarb and Strawberry Cranachan with Valrhona White Chocolate cream and the peach shortbread’s I shared with you last week. The dessert was light and scrumptious and ended up to be the perfect ending to a perfect night!

Perfect ending for a perfect night

For those friends who will be touring with me this summer you will be able to look forward to meeting many of these faces when we visit the Lough Erne Resort this July and August!

Dream of Ireland and go!

Judith the Irish foodie

Irish Pantry cook book is a must buy

I first met Noel McMeel several years ago in New York as one of the Irish chefs invited to represent the very best of the new culinary brilliance that is abundant throughout Northern Ireland today and he so kindly submitted a recipe to the Shamrock and Peach cook book. To my absolute honor and surprise I was given the opportunity to cook with Noel 2 years ago as a guest of Tourism Ireland at the Atlanta Highland Games. Noel was there helping me promote the pre sale of my cook book one month prior to its official launch, and his support and affirmation truly meant the world to me.  Apart from my own family there are few people who I regard more highly than Noel McMeel and now it’s my turn to tell you all about his new and highly acclaimed book the Irish pantry!

The new Irish table

The theme of Noel’s book is about feeding the ones you love and as you flick through each page and read the story description featuring every recipe you can feel the warmth and love.  Please do not feel intimidated about cooking the recipes from a chef who has cooked for the President of the United States and catered Paul McCartney’s wedding.  The recipes are all easy to make and best of all they work for the whole family to enjoy. The photography and images of Ireland are stunning and makes me so proud to be Irish and do what I do.  It’s time for Irish food to take its rightful place on the world’s culinary food stage and few books tell our countries story better than the Irish pantry. If you love good wholesome food and Irish culture you will be inspired by the recipes created by Noel and his new cook book.  The Irish pantry is a classic and the quality of book that will be passed down generation to generation.

The book is available on-line now on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble just hot off the press so please order today and as always enjoy the journey!

Judith the Irish Foodie

The G8 was Gr-reat

The world’s most powerful people, sitting around a table in the most unlikely of places – yes, lowly little Northern Ireland. A generation ago, no-one in the world would have believed that we would be where we are today, but yet here we are!

This photograph was taken today at the Lough Erne resort in County Fermanagh, a wonderful spa resort that I led two tours of 60 folks to just days ago. We basked in the Irish sunshine whilst admiring the views, in the knowledge that we would be followed by the presidents and leaders who control most of the worlds wealth – wow!

I have to say that this is a very proud moment for me, and for all Northern Irish people. We have traveled a very long and difficult road, and in many ways this is a confirmation of all the risks taken. Some commentators in the media today were claiming that we were a ‘blueprint’ for the world- double wow!….

So here we are, and yet the journey continues. Would you like to join us? If so, I still have a few spots open for my August  ‘Shamrock & Peach’ tour, and this magnificent resort is on our itinerary – you could sleep were presidents slept – oh boy!

And now a little about the food, as this was part of the reason for this unique resort being chosen. My friend Chef Noel McMeel is the executive chef there and has the responsibility of serving diner tonight to these extra special guests -what an honour! And Noel is no novice, he is no less than the winner of the Best Chef in Fermanagh 2013 aware, and the Catalina restaurant Winner of the Best hotel restaurant in Fermanagh 2013 by the Restaurant Association of Ireland. I could not be more proud and happy for Noel who continues to soar from strength to strength in all his culinary accomplishments. The buzz in the kitchen must have been electric tonight as the food was carefully prepared and the plates were skillfully presented to the top world leaders.  Of course I am patiently waiting for the actual menu to be unveiled, but my mind wonders to the meal Noel recently prepared for my Shamrock and Peach tour guests and I wonder of some of the items we enjoyed were served tonight!? Culinary delights such as the Roast Crown of Dromoland Estate Quail, or the Salad of Dingle Bay Crab, a Pear and Raspberry Sorbet, Roast Rump of Glenhoy Lamb or baked Blackrock Stone Bass with pickled mushrooms, orange butternut puree, spinach, puff rice, coriander shoots and citrus reduction.  If you mouth is not watering yet how about the Lemon tart with lemon and basil sorbet, raspberry coulis and dairy cram or the Spiced Armagh apple Financier with yellowman and dulse ice cream, clove and mountain honey custard.  A tribute to what is good, wholesome and beautiful about Northern Irish food.

Yeah, for Northern Ireland and Yeah to Noel for raising the bar!

(Hope you liked it Mr. President!)

Jude,

Judith the Irish foodie