What We're Reading, Eating & Watching | November 2023
Can we tempt your spirit to some sips at Samhain in Kells? | A delicious digest of satisfying suggestions
November knocked at the door but we’re not quite ready to wave goodbye to the time of harvest and bid adieu to the season of spirits… Here’s another edition of our free monthly digest shining a light on some of the best things we’ve eaten, cooked, listened to, watched/streamed or read recently that we hope will inspire you.
Yes, we’re still hanging onto the spooky season for just a weekend longer as it’s Samhain time once again! Our premier local food festival in the beautiful Boyne Valley region, Samhain returns this weekend with us part of the headline billing once again! Check out the stunning photos Kirsty Lyons shot in our venue a few weeks back!
Samhain is really the precursor to modern-day Hallowe’en and in an area rich with 5,000 years of history, heritage and culture it feels like the most fitting to be held at this time of year in these surrounds –– when the harvest concludes and we all take stock for the long, cold winter as well as the period of the year where the door between the realms of the living and the dead is left open. In the spirit of embracing the spirits, we’re shaking up Cocktails of the Boyne Valley in the stunning setting of Kells’ Red Chapel!
Tickets are a steal at €30pp and a very limited number have been added (as we’ve increased capacity from last year due to demand) so don’t delay BOOK HERE. Across an hour or so we’ll take your hand through three different cocktails using Boyne Valley drinks producers while encouraging conversation, camaraderie and cosy craic. A sell-out last year with incredible feedback, we’re so excited to do it all again with a dash of difference. This is also the last event before the headline Long Table Supper, which is being led by chef Enda McEvoy of the much-missed Michelin-starred spot Loam in Galway.
There’s a whole host of amazing names in the mix too across the weekend in Kells: Paul Flynn, Kevin Dundon, Darina Allen, Conor Spacey, John & Sally McKenna, Max Jones, Mairtin Mac Con Iomaire, Graham Herterich, Devin O’Sullivan and many more! Line up and information here.
Watching
Not ashamed to say: we’ve been severely taken in by the return of Big Brother UK to screens, now via ITV (it first started on Channel 4, then went to Channel 5). It’s been SUCH a great revival of a format that we grew up with and were always massive fans of until it fizzled out five years ago. The original reality TV social experiment, how can you not be fascinated by it? Also, y’all already know we’re big fans of competitive reality TV shows so this won’t be a surprise! We’re very much team Yinrun, Trish, Jordan and Henry.
Don’t even mention Under Bench Staples…. we’ve been travelling SO much in September and October (Lisbon, San Sebastian, a Mediterranean cruise, Dingle, Chicago) that we haven’t even caught up on the MasterChef Australia episodes we missed let alone recorded our thoughts. Promise we’ll conclude this series in a definitive and meaningful way. You may have noticed there’s been an announcement of a major shake-up of the judging panel for 2024 following Jock Zonfrillo’s untimely death. Melissa Leong has departed while Andy Allen remains and three new judges have been announced to join him –– including a fellow former contestant…
Eating: Ireland
Over in our Sunday Times Ireland restaurant review column, here’s what you might have missed in the last eight weeks: Polka Polish Cuisine and Pota in Galway | Hawksmoor, Korean Table and Volpe Nera in Dublin | Grá Pizza in Kildare, The Fish Box in Kerry and Bramley in Laois. For Russell’s Dublin Delish escapades on 98FM (every Tuesday on-air 10:30am) he’s featured Sheridan’s, The Bakery Rialto, Sprout & Co., Griolladh Temple Bar, Hawksmoor, Janet’s, Lisboa, Mad Yolks and Ger’s Deli.
Don’t forget –– Paid subscribers have access to our exclusive map of restaurants we’ve written about around Ireland, there’s over 150 inclusions now 👀
Reading: ‘I Know The Perfect Place’, Expert Travel Guides
We’ve been penning prolifically this last few months. Patrick has kicked off a new column, I Know The Perfect Place, weekly in the Sunday Times Ireland profiling notable personalities with hidden travel expertise. The first couple are already published and live: Declan Maxwell (Spitalfields) on Rome; Majken Bech-Bailey (former AIMSIR) on Oslo; Trudy Brolly (Chef/owner, Ocho) on Palma de Mallorca and Killian Crowley on Luxembourg City. So excited to share the next few…
Keep an eye out every Sunday for this page in the Home supplement, whilst if you’re also planning end of year getaways across Ireland Patrick helped compile this feature on 60 Winter Escapes across Ireland, everything from cosy catch-ups to glam stays.
As ever, a little “Thanks!”
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