Celebrity chef's new restaurant hit by hiccups

The return of celebrity chef Conrad Gallagher to the world of Irish cooking has been delayed by a day after his new restaurant failed to open on time yesterday.

Due to open at lunchtime yesterday, Salon de Saveurs on Dublin's Aungier Street remained closed to the public last night. However everything at the new eaterie, now rescheduled to open later today, looked in place with tables set out for dinner. It was a testament to the hard work of the 38-year-old chef and his staff because when the Irish Independent called to Salon de Saveurs earlier yesterday, it found the restaurant without furniture and a menu from Darwin's -- the restaurant which previously traded on the premises -- on display outside.

Gallagher himself was friendly and upbeat, vowing to get the job finished. "We've had calls all day from people making reservations. We would hope to have people in here by the end of the day," Gallagher told the Irish Independent. However, it was not to be as the only visitors to the chef's new establishment during what should have been his first day were suppliers delivering food.

A source at the restaurant last night blamed the delay on last minute "hiccups" but promised the restaurant would be open tonight. Ten years ago, Gallagher was the most celebrated chef in Irish cooking with two Michelin stars under his belt at age 27.

There followed a high-profile court case in which he was acquitted on a charge of theft of paintings, and a period in South Africa which ended when he was declared bankrupt there last summer.

Simplicity
Returning to Ireland, Gallagher said he didn't flee South Africa to escape business problems, but decided to move home to put his two children into Irish schools. Gallagher said his previous business problems taught him simplicity is best.

He said: "This new restaurant, I'm going to run it as my own shop. Run it tight and keep everything small, the overheads are low and hopefully creativity and the uniqueness of my cooking will prevail, that's what I'm hoping for."

Chef walking on air at Michelin star success

The House at the Cliff House Hotel in Ardmore, Co Waterford, joins elite of Irish restaurants.

A HOTEL RESTAURANT which has been open less than two years has won a coveted Michelin star. The House at the Cliff House Hotel in Ardmore, Co Waterford, is the only new Irish entrant in this year’s guide which will be published next week. The restaurant’s Dutch-born head chef Martijn Kajuiter said he was “absolutely stunned” to be informed by The Irish Times that The House had joined the elite of Irish restaurants.

“It is a great surprise. I never expected it. It is a new hotel. I just arrived in Ireland in 2007, the hotel opened in 2008, it has been a very rocky road,” he said.

A three-course meal at the hotel costs €65 a head and it has a policy of sourcing its produce locally. Much of it is grown in the restaurant’s own garden in Youghal, Co Cork. The menu includes locally caught sole and cod and game from the nearby Ballynatray Estate. Mr Kajuiter said he took the job as head chef because no Irish chef was up for the challenge of using only local produce. He cited the example of his smoked salmon starter, which is smoked at the table under a glass dome and served with locally grown radish.

“I try to work with 100 per cent Irish produce. In the end they had to look further than Ireland and came up with me,” he said.

The award is also good news for the hotel’s embattled owner Barry O’Callaghan, in a week in which he has said he and fellow investors have lost millions in the Education Media and Publishing Group (EMPG), the US publishing company where he is the chief executive.

Mr O’Callaghan spent years redeveloping the hotel in Ardmore Bay before it reopened in May 2008. “As in any business, it is all about the team. Martijn and his team are super people, highly talented and most deserving of this star,” he said.

The restaurant is closed for most of January and will reopen in February.

The House is one of only six Irish restaurants with a Michelin star. Patrick Guilbaud in Merrion Square remains Ireland’s only two-star restaurant.

Chapter One, L’Ecrivain, Thornton’s and Bon Appetit in Dublin and Deanes in Belfast all retain theirs. Mint in Ranelagh, which had a star, closed last year.

Clontarf Castle Hotel, Dublin, Recognized for Excellence

Clontarf Castle Hotel, Dublin was amongst a group of twenty tourism establishments honoured at the Fáilte Ireland Optimus Awards held today in Galway. Clontarf Castle Hotel received the top level award (European Foundation for Quality Management Award Level 4) for special recognition for its ongoing commitment to continuous improvement and business excellence.
The Optimus programme, developed by Fáilte Ireland, aims to help tourism establishments – including hotels, restaurants and visitor centres - achieve excellence in every aspect of their business by providing a practical approach to improving the quality, value and delight that visitors experience during their stay in Ireland.

Speaking today, Chairman of Fáilte Ireland, Redmond O’Donoghue congratulated the award winners –

“This year we have twenty winners who are receiving recognition for their commitment to quality through the Optimus programme. Today’s recipients are located throughout the country, representing twelve counties in all, and reflect well on the tourism industry’s willingness to embrace change and innovation towards self-improvement. I would like to commend your willingness to take on Optimus at a challenging time for tourism. This demonstrates your ability to embrace challenges and deal with them proactively. For our part, we in Fáilte Ireland are committed to working with you and others in the industry to overcome the challenges posed by the current economic climate. Indeed, 2010 will see us enhancing our level of practical business support offered to tourism enterprises". He continued: - “The EFQM Recognised for Excellence Level 4 award is synonymous with the highest standards of quality management. The evident drive, commitment and achievement of the team at Clontarf Castle Hotel are very clearly demonstrated by this award. They deserve to be proud of the results they have delivered in raising the profile of quality management within the Irish tourism industry.”

The ‘Optimus’ programme is a national quality standard and business improvement tool for the Irish tourism industry with an emphasis on business improvement. The programme helps enterprises understand their performance and then assists them in establishing priorities around making continuous improvement.

Tony Lenehan, Head of Food, Hospitality and Standards at Fáilte Ireland stressed the importance of Optimus in the current trading conditions. “I would like to congratulate all twenty businesses on their achievement. Not just on the accolade that they have received today but on their business acumen which has seen them embrace a management framework that brings tangible business benefits. These twenty achievers have undergone a full assessment based on the Optimus framework. This assessment confirms the performance of these organisations and their ability to embed the principles of continuous improvement across their business while transforming these principles into tangible results.”

Clontarf Castle Receives Optimus Award, pictured were (l. to r.): Redmond O'Donoghue, Chairman, Fáilte Ireland; Deirdre Fitzsimons and Mark Long, Clontarf Castle Hotel

New Waterford drinks company launched

Le Black Coq is a brand of premium vodka designed for today's demanding market and modern tastes. A local Waterford company is behind this exciting brand. A dream has become a reality for Waterford lady Caroline Fitzgerald and her husband Stéphane. They both have spent the last couple of years researching and developing the drinks. Le Black Coq has now launched three of their products on the market: Le Black Coq premium vodka, Le Black Coq – PINK, Le Black Coq – BLUE.

These drinks made their appearance on the Waterford scene this Christmas. They have been promoted at various bars and nightclubs around town including Revolution and Escape John St; Waterford. The company expects the brand to be a huge success. At present the drinks are produced and bottled in France but the company will begin to produce and bottle the products at House Of Donohoe, Waterford in the New Year. Le Black Coq will now focus their attention on the international market. This will be great for the area as employment can hopefully be maintained.

The drinks that Le Black Coq produce are modern and full of attitude. The Pink vodka is a sensual blend of premium vodka bursting with exotic fruits, leaving your taste buds begging for more. A favourite with the ladies. The Blue vodka is the ultimate experience in Blue. Hints of apple, pear and grape, blended with premium vodka. The premium vodka is distilled 5 times from wheat grain and pure spring water. Le Black Coq has skilfully blended this super premium vodka to bring you an exceptional smoothness and taste.

Enjoy these drinks as COQ-Shots, or in your favourite COQ-Tail or straight up on ice mixed with lemonade. But none of the Coq and Bull! Don't make a coq of yourself. Drink responsibly. Visit www.drinkaware.ie.

Food safety breaches rise 17% with 34 closures

There was a 17 per cent increase in food safety breaches by shops and restaurants last year, according to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).

Some 34 businesses were ordered to close for a period because of breaches of food safety legislation, the same number as in 2008. Thirteen businesses were ordered to stop selling certain foodstuffs because of a risk to food safety, more than double the six prohibition orders issued in 2008. The number of improvement orders issued also rose, from six to seven.

In total, 54 enforcement orders of various kinds were issued by environmental health inspectors, up from 46 the previous year. The authority said it was unacceptable that some businesses were continuing to breach food safety laws and warned all food business operators to place robust food safety measures and hygiene practices at the top of their agenda for the new decade.

FSAI chief executive Dr Alan Reilly said the figures were disappointing. “The same recurring, but easily preventable, faults continue to contribute to the closure of food businesses and this must be addressed by food business operators.”

Last month, one closure order was served on Ben Super Food Store, Phibsborough Road, in Dublin 7, and one improvement order was served on Murrays Foodstore and Post Office, Dromina, Charleville, Cork.

The following food businesses were successfully prosecuted: Spar, Pearse Square, Ballyphehane, Cork; East Ocean Restaurant, Main Street, Charleville, Cork; The New Leaf Restaurant, 1-2 High Street, Tallaght, Dublin 24; and Giovanni Take-Away, Main Street, Oranmore, Galway.

Soya drink recalled over iodine fears

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has issued a product recall for a soya drink, which has been found to contain high levels of iodine.

The Japanese manufactured Bonsoy drink is sold in one litre containers, mainly through health stores. The FSAI says it is contacting distributors and suppliers to ensure the product is withdrawn from sale.

The increased iodine levels detected in the drink could affect the function of the thyroid gland and may cause some people to feel unwell. Any consumers who have purchased the product are being advised to dispose of it or return it to the shop where they bought it.

The FSAI says that anyone who has already consumed the drink and is feeling unwell should seek medical advice. Bonsoy has already been recalled by the food safety authorities in Australia and New Zealand.

Hovis Fined Over Loaf With Added Ingredient

The baker of Hovis bread has been fined after a woman found part of an oven glove cooked into a loaf. The loaf of bread was full of shreds of cloth from an oven glove It was not until the hapless victim had begun to toast and eat a slice that she found the surprise ingredient.

On discovering the contamination she bypassed lunch and reported the matter to Omagh District Council in County Tyrone. The loaf, with added hessian-type cloth, had been bought from a local shop just before Christmas 2008. Magistrates in Omagh fined Hovis makers Premier Foods £750 earlier this month and ordered the company to pay court costs of £85.

The council's environmental health chief Barny Heywood said: "Environmental health officers work with food businesses to provide advice on complying with food safety laws. However, when they fail to follow that advice, formal action must be considered."

A spokesman for Premier Foods said: "We go to great lengths to assure the quality of our great British brands but on this isolated occasion we have fallen short of our usual high standards and apologise for any distress caused to the customer."