Month: February 2017

No. 21 off licence

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Primitivo

If you want fruit-forward, ripe, red wine for a good price, look no further than Puglia. Some of the best values in Italian wine come from this sunny, dry region. Most Puglia wine is red, full-bodied and will pair well with a wide variety of foods. Producers in Puglia have focused on making great red wines and local grapes like Negroamaro, Primitivo, and Bombino Nero make for delicious drinking.

If you’re searching for a richer, fuller-bodied red with abundant weight look towards Puglian Primitivo. Primitivo tastes of dark fruit like fresh figs, blueberries and baked blackberries. There’s a distinct dried fruit-leather character to it as well. The word Primitivo doesn’t mean primitive in Italian, but actually means early ripening since these grapes accumulate a lot of sugar early in the season. The early ripening means resulting wines are big, luscious and full of fruit. However, what’s fascinating about Primitivo is that sometimes the grape bunches ripen unevenly, so green grapes will get harvested along with the ripe ones.

If this type of wine takes your fancy, then why not try Italia Primitivo, on offer at Number 21 Off Licence this week.

Follow number 21 on facebook and twitter

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James onkids meals

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Now as bad as that teaching was on food I went to an all boys secondary school which had no subject on food I had zero knowledge of basic of prepearing a dinner for myself one of life’s most importing things and we where never taught about it in a place where they are teaching you  to help you become adults but yet in a maths class we can now finds x is the number 2 what good is that to me .then your been tuaght  all this stuff so you can go to college .so now I’m in college I have to stay up in college for a week away from home no mommy to feed me now I ask the question am how do I cook a simple piece of chicken what tempature dose the oven need to be at. how do I know when its cooked.and all of sudden stutends in college are getting takeaways most night and the government talking about obesity

It all starts from an early age getting cooking with yours kids as young as you can the more they know about food the bitter chance they have to mind them self’s

Follow james on twitter @boilingjames

Perriwinkle foraging with paul

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 Ocean forage

I had a few days off this week and was asked to give a fella a life out to the beach to collect periwinkles. I decided sure why not I go with you give you a hand to see what else is out there as you never know, with the Irish coastline can range from golden sand to rocks stones and silt.
So off we went at low tide, today was to turn at 11.20am so we were there for 9am out in the shore plenty of seaweed and stone. I think to myself this is going to be a long day. Right so straight out do you see that black bit way out there that’s where we are going (oh here goes). From this point on I’m in completely uncharted territory I don’t wander too far from shore usually. However that black bit was a bank of mussels, clams, periwinkles, and oysters. (Jackpot) as I turn around to look back I think anyone who does this deserves to get paid. We returned day 2 for more winkles I took the excess mussels and clams as my payment for my days labour. (First time for everything).
Getting all these into bags is the easy part getting all bags back to shore when you are half a mile out. That’s the hard part.
Cutting a long story very shortly all bags arrived to shore and were left over night to be rinsed by the incoming tide, to be taken the following morning to a place to be washed and sorted. I was given plenty mussels and clams for my troubles just to sort through what was usable and not anything small goes back so it can continue growing. These however get dropped somewhere I can get them without getting covered in silt sand and muck. In a year or so I will put them on a plate provided birds don’t get to them 1st.
Follow my adventures @chefpaulc on Instagram and Twitter  also like and share the Tralee culinary gangsters.com page on Facebook for more information recipes all things local seasonal and food related topics

Diarmuid on hotel management

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I thought I’d do a blog on front of house management of a hotel and the formula(s) involved in a successful operation.

1 Customer satisfaction

2 Guest experience

3a Consilidation of business & 3b repeat business.

4 Enhancing Profitability.

 

For me I’m blessed to have had a genuine love of sport…all sport. I can readily hold a conversation with a complete stranger at the drop of a hat in the hotel when a game is on. It can be an indedidious sport English Prem league Golf Baseball Tennis and of course Rugby. Immediately all barriers disolve between me a GM!! and the now customer/sports buddy; man woman and child ( particularly like that I recognise their club jersey) I have had many a spectacular success through my own bars in my time. Building up relationships with community’s of ppl emersing myself into their enviornment thru my love & knowledge of the games. Heineken Cup victories World Cups Both rugby & soccer. Champions league The ally pally darts world championships. Olympics yes Olympics Grand nationals All Ireland Finals Ryder Cups the list is endless. I think you get my point.

I have a few secrets when I’m out front operating no more than the talented chefs here on TCG  however I don’t have the lovely pictures you guys posess to post on Facebook. I have my touch and my memories and my successes tho.

 

So back to the top.1 Customer satisfaction is paramount. Tv’s are in good view. Volume is adjusted accordingly atmosphere is set. I’m on the floor behind the bar and even tho it’s generic to my guests to sit and watch and listen in fact I’m running the show. I’m mentaly prepared I know the teams competing and I know when to give the odd “come on lads” the tv is not for my pleasure it’s for the customer. I never side with a team or a customer I never let on I know the score after all they want to tell me It’s there team after all and I never show emotion to any particular side I’m balanced but deep down inside I’m bursting with my own emotions.

2 Guest experience Firstly I never run full hotel/bar menus it’s a big game after all who wants their head stuck in a plate just at the time their team gets that all important score.. It’s a finger food it’s tasty it’s served right to their seat it’s served stratigitaly and at the right times It’s served before during and after. Keep it going. It’s fast and fouruius like the game itself. If I  could bring these guys the bathroom during the game I would. 3a It’s not just a once off I’m sure most of you by now are saying it’s a big game it’s perhaps a final customers will be out anyway. Yes of course they are but I’m building relationships accross the board of sport teams and customers from a long way out. I’m not putting all my eggs in one basket I’m spreading the net wide and far. My key is I’m always going to be there I’m there from the start of the campaign and right to the end. I know what to say when your team looses I know how to celebrate when they win. After its your journey your day your team. 3b I guess and I’m sure you can understand the business will repeat; naturaly it will repeat for the games but the knock on effect is I see my customers come back for Sunday lunch with their families I see them come back for their celebrations I see them come back for their office parties then its full menu full service full comolienent of staff in rooms in restaurant in bars and I see them come back for their pint just to say hello and and recall the game again. And I enjoy that and I always listen like I had never heard or saw the game before after all its their club their team their time.

4 Yes it’s profitable of course it is but I firmly believe I profit most as does the customer You can’t put a price on a special moment in a game you can’t put a price on emotion you can’t put a price on the roar of a victory or the composite consoling hug of the un-victorious. It’s a marriage sport has its peaks and it’s lows but spprt unifies I’m just their because I love it I’m just there because it’s more than my job it’s my life. For the love of sport. Diarmuid