Stuff We Like

Irish Food Producers and Suppliers

Áine Hand Made Chocolate
We bought three chocolate bars at Sheridans 2011 Food Festival. Really lovely chocolate. Especially the 70% dark which is both intense and fruity.

Burren Smokehouse
Bought both hot and smoked salmon from Burren Smokehouse at the Sheridans Food Fair. Hot smoked salmon is terrific tossed into pasta with cherry tomatoes and garlic. We also chatted with owner Birgitta Curtain. Birgitta is very active in Slow Food Ireland and we had seen her buzzing around the Slow Food Festival we attended in Lisdoonvarna.

Carlow Foods Chicken
Since 2003, Bertram Salter has been producing Free Range Artisan Poultry, alongside his wife Celine, near Fenagh in County Carlow. Bill buys Carlow Chicken at SuperValu. They are so tender and flavorful that Bill emailed Carlow Foods to express his appreciation. They wrote back.

Clare Chocolates
We bought a bag of mixed handmade dark chocolates at the Slow Food Fest. Very nice.

Irish Farmhouse Cheese
Owners Jane and Louis Grubb created the wonderful Cashel Blue in 1984 on their farm in Tipperary. We bought their Crozier Blue at the Sheridans Food fair. Crozier is a sheep’s milk blue, very mild and creamy. Delicious in a Cobb salad.

Llewellyn Orchards
Produced in Lusk North County Dublin by Llewellyn Orchards, Double LL Real Cider contains no added sugar, water or carbonation. Double fermented, the slightly cloudy cider is perfectly dry and perfectly apple-y. Bill ordered a bottle at The Winding Stair; a lovely accompaniment to his mackerel. Cider, like champagne, goes with everything. Now we’ll be looking for Double LL wherever we go.

Update: Double LL Cider now available at Mulligan’s.

Lorge Chocolatier
We bought a bar of Lorge chocolate at the Slow Food festival in Clare. A lovely dark chocolate with nuts. Didn’t like the torrone as much, but I was happy to see Lorge chocolate back in Dublin at Listons.

On the Pig’s Back
On the Pig’s Back sells a variety of fine foods in its shop in Cork’s English Market. They’ve recently started jarring their handmade, family recipe range of coarse terrines. Bill and I brought back the Pork and Plum terrine from the Sheridans Food Fair. We love coarse terrines; the marriage of pork and prune sweetness in this version was delicious. The jar makes a perfect lunch for two along with some leftover lentils and ratatouille, but would also be great with simply dressed greens and crusty bread.

Simply Sourced
UPDATE: Sadly, it appears that Simply Sourced is no longer in operation.
Nigel Cobbe started Simply Sourced in 2009 to offer “the consumer a link to passionate small producers of quality and ethically produced meat throughout this Island.” In its relatively short period of operation, Simply Sourced has expanded to include Irish-produced cheese, sauces and coffee. Bill has ordered several meat boxes from Simple Sourced; they are delivered directly to him at work.

Silver Hill Foods Duck
Founded over 40 years ago by Ronnie and Lyla Steele in County Monaghan,  Silver Hill was the first Irish or U.K. poultry or meat factory given approval for E.U. export in 1973. Through many years of expansion and product development, Silver Hill continues to manage production from egg to final processing. They even make pillows.  We’ve bought Silver Hill Duck Confit several times, most recently at Superquinn. Makes a great dinner along with green lentils. We’ve also bought the Peking duck, a very popular dish here.

St. Tola Goat Cheese
Bill had a starter with St. Tola goat cheese at the Sheedy Hotel in Lisdoonvarna. We picked up several St. Tola cheeses the next day at the Slow Food Fest. The aged, hard cheese was especially nice, with a sharp cheddar like tang.