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PROUDLY SPONSORED BY TIME FOR TEA WITH PUGIN FOOD
OSCARS SCOOP There were celebrations aplenty in the townland of Kerlogue in Co. Wexford earlier this month following news that local artisan producers Siobhan and Willie Devereux had scooped Ireland’s prestigious Great Taste Golden Fork at the 2022 awards ceremony in London. The enterprising mother and son who founded Scúp Gelato in 2014, bagged themselves one of the coveted ‘Oscars’ of the food world for their handmade Natural Yoghurt, having convincingly beaten off stiff competition from over 14,000 entries and 110 countries in order to be shortlisted in the final sixteen of the competition. Organised by the Guild of Fine Food, and judged by a savvy and experienced panel of over five hundred food experts, the Golden Forks event is the culmination of the annual Great Taste awards, generally regarded as the world’s most trusted food accreditation scheme. “In other words, it’s a huge deal”, the duo confirmed via social media, adding, “Words can’t begin to described how delighted and truly honoured we feel.” We are told that their award-winning Scúp Gelato Natural Yogurt made an impression at every stage of the blind-tasted judging process, which took place over ninety days of rigorous testing. Made in small hand-made batches from high quality raw materials including Irish cream and milk, the Irish made product garnered praise for the ‘freshness and vibrancy’ of its flavours alongside its ‘pretty pale lemon colour and enticing crumbled edge’. Keep an eye out for it on the menus of discerning hotels, restaurants and cafés. @scupgelato AUTUMN WINE TASTINGS The always informative folk at Green Man Wines are currently facilitating a salubrious series of Wednesday evening events aimed at oenophiles looking to taste and learn more about what’s in store from some of Europe’s most interesting wine producers. The specialist indie wine store has a sold out grower champagne tasting in the diary for early November, while the evening of October 19th sees winemaker and importer Charles Derain leading an event focused on wines from the Rhone Valley. The popular and knowledgeable former sommelier at Patrick Guibaud’s has been busy making wine for over a decade now, and is currently the co-owner of the eight hectare Domaine des Deux Cols in the Gard. He’ll be sharing some fascinating insights on the journey of the grape from vine to bottle, while uncorking some nice examples from his vineyard. Light supper and nibbles provided. 7pm - 9pm. €40, booking essential. For further details see @green_man_wines SOEARTH PROJECTS X THE SALT PROJECT Soearth Projects has joined forces with chef Caomhán de Brí of the Salt Project for what promises to be a uniquely restorative foraging and dining experience in the grounds of beautiful Hartwell farm in the plains of Kildare. They will be kicking off proceedings on September 24th with a walking tour through the three hundred acre bio-diverse organic farm, with opportunities to unearth the bounties of this rural idyll in the company of farmer and forager Stephen Morison. Afterwards, they’ll be heading back to Soearth studios for a demo showing how to create a delicious meal from what’s been foraged, followed by a three course menu created from the farm’s wild lands, alongside some terrific foraged and organic produce, cooked by Caomhán de Brí and served by candlelight. Saturday September 24th, 3pm – 9pm. Limited spaces available. Book via Eventbrite or at soearthprojects.com/events @thesaltproject.ie The inventive folk at the Lismore Food Company have always exhibited a keen eye for design, as evidenced by the tasteful attention to detail to be found in the beautiful packaging on all their products and hat boxes. They recently launched a selection of gorgeous new tea tins, featuring designs inspired by the influential Augustus Pugin, one of the many illustrious visitors to Lismore over the years. Co-founder Ken Madden tells us that when the ‘Master of Gothic’ arrived in the Co. Waterford village in the late 1840’s, he quickly set about designing installations, panels and much of the furniture at Lismore Castle, including a magnificent chandelier, a copy of which also hangs in the Palace of Westminster. Agreeing with Pugin’s maxim that, ’In pure architecture the smallest detail should have a meaning or serve a purpose’, Ken says, “We hope that he would be flattered by the design, colour and detail in our new tins and as a tea lover like us - we’re sure he would enjoy all three!” Lismore’s premium Earl Grey Loose Leaf Tea and Irish Breakfast Tea offerings feature contrasting panels of colour with a disc of gold on a wraparound classic Pugin design. Their delicate, restful new Peppermint Infusion comes encased in stunning greens and gold, all of which Ken suggests, “help to create a fabulous triad to light up your larder or kitchen counter, and to delight your taste buds this season.” Perfect for pressies too! The Lismore Food Company ‘Pugin’ Three Tea Collection (RRP €20) is available via thelismorefoodcompany.com 39