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Newspapers and Magazines written for include: The Observer |
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Ring out the bells! For so long a junior partner to the south, the Northern Irish food scene has finally arrived. After years of appearing only as a (rather brief) supplement at the back of Bridgestone's award winning Irish food guides, the foodie's bible has finally devoted a whole book, the first of its kind here, to the fast-developing food culture in Northern Ireland. For those who have worked so hard to bring about the transformation here it's a richly deserved accolade. For those, like myself, who just enjoy its fruits, it's a marvellous help. It really isn't that long ago that local cuisine was still in the doldrums. Now the renaissance that began in Belfast with visionary chefs like Paul Rankin and Michael Deane has spread throughout Northern Ireland, Encompassing not just top restaurants but cafes, pub food, food shops, wine merchants and specialist suppliers too. Allied to the existing areas of excellence like world class butchers, fishmongers and bakers this represents a pretty impressive offering and if there are still enough low spots around to allow the lazy journalist (step forward Kevin Myers) to take cheap swipes at Northern Irish food as a whole, then this book should help turn that around. Now, there is no longer any excuse for not seeking out the best, wherever in Northern Ireland you are. The very best, and more expensive, certainly get their fair share of attention. The likes of Cayenne, Alden's, Deane's, Nick's Warehouse and Robbie Millar's Shanks, are, after all, world class restaurants. But the Book showers praise on other, less well-known gems, too, like the Yellow Door in Portadown, the Oriel in Gilford and the Duke, the restaurant Ciaran Gallagher runs above the pub of the same name in Warrenpoint. It's not just about good restaurants either. Want to know where to find the best chips or ice cream, cafes or pub food, kitchenware or wine merchants? Look no further. The Bridgestone philosophy is to encourage quality, they only include places they rate and there are no spurious league tables of restaurants, pitting one against another. That doesn't mean a total absence of criticism or controversy, when opinions are expressed so passionately and colourfully there's bound to be disagreement. But, what cannot be disputed is the extraordinary depth of research (each of the hundreds of entries have been personally visited) and the undoubted knowledge of the writers, John McKenna and Caroline Workman. The former has been a food guru down south for so long, it's a surprise to discover he's Belfast born and raised (in a pub to be precise, though far from the trendy bars featured here was he reared). Irish News readers will recognise Caroline Workman from her Saturday restaurant reviews. It is remarkable how much they've packed in to what is a fairly compact book. Alongside the restaurants and cafes are a whole range of ethnic shops and supermarkets, good places to stay, suppliers of organic vegetables, useful food web sites and loads of good shopping tips. Did you know, for instance, that the best chefs in Belfast get their fish from Walter Ewing in the Shankhill Road or that you'll find one of Northern Ireland's best kitchenware shops, Vincent McKenna's, in Great Victoria Street (just press the buzzer first, the door is kept shut). Discover where to get the best apple juice or hot chocolate, the finest potatoes, sausages, turkeys, venison burgers or goats cheese, a VG shop that stocks wild salmon, the bacon master of Enniskillen or locally-brewed beers. A local knowledge section that runs through the guide might pick out a local fish van or herb garden, a great bar or B & B. How sharp is this local knowledge? All I can say is that the entry for my own back yard, the Kilbroney Cafe above Kilbroney park in Rostrevor, is spot on - great home-made food and incomparable views. For the native, as McKenna says himself, it might be a shock to discover the riches that abound here. For the visitor, for whom there is no other way to discover the best places to eat and shop for food, the Bridgestone Food Lover's Guide to Northern Ireland is, quite simply, indispensable. The Bridgestone Food Lovers Guide to Northern Ireland, published by Estragon Press, is £6.99 stg. or 10 euros, buy it at Amazon. Caroline Workman's online guide to Northern Irish food can be found at www.foodstuff.com. |
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The following review of The 2003 Bridgestone Food Lover's Guide was published in The Irish News.