Do you Review?
Catch yourself on
I noticed the Horse Chestnut down by the river was already turning; mum always says it’s one of the first, leaves changing to a rusty orange. The Rowan is dripping with berries, Hawthorn too, blackberries are hanging heavy and even the first apples are here. The recent windy weather blew lots of fresh hazels off the trees. Don’t tell me it’s not autumn. And yet there’s still hope for some late summer sun, a boost of heat before we retreat to quiet evening candlelight and still, dewy morning mists. The transition. My favourite time of year…I think, though non-committal, I may say this again in April.
Last week my friend and I nipped off to beautiful County Clare for a couple of days, a much overdue treat for us and we made the most of every minute. We had an itinerary with specific places to visit which made for a delicious and relaxing break (see recs below). When I go out for food and drink it’ll very likely be a planned visit, I’ll usually have had a look online beforehand so I know what to expect and sometimes I’ll get in touch to say I’d love to chat to the bakers or have a look around.*
I visit for the joy of the experience, the happiness of food; I trust that the cook/chef/baker has sourced delicious, local produce. I am led by their creativity and menu deisign (don’t change it!) and feel the staff will deliver service to a standard which reflects the overall establishment; sometimes super casual, sometimes extra slick, sometimes with an efficiency bordering on curt, ALL good. If I visit somewhere and a staff member is a bit off or they’ve run out of some options then I’m thinking; I hope that staff member is ok and that their bad day is resolved, I will be kind to them and isn’t that so cool that they’ve been busy, it must be a great place, I’m happy with alternative options.
Being a decent human involves a basic understanding of the trials and tribulations of life. I had already written this when I read about the shocking behaviour that Darcie Maher experienced this week at her beautiful, newly opened bakery, Lannan. Is there is a bizarre assumption amongst the general public that hospitality staff should be robotic, ever-happy, here to serve no matter what? We are real people. If I had a desk job I don’t imagine sitting all day with a smile on my face. Here’s an example to tip the perspective scales. The day after I found out I had a missed miscarriage, I decided to go to work; who knows why, psychology isn’t my strong point. It was extremely busy in the cafe space, a woman demanded I bring her some water, pushing the jug towards me. I was probably less friendly than usual saying I would try when I got a chance and she said, ‘do you realise you’re being very rude?’ I had to run off down the stairs blinking back stingy tears, had I failed in being professional?
A sense of entitlement is not a flattering trait and I take exception at the phrase ‘the customer is always right.’ Last Saturday I paused the queue during the busy morning to get the front of house team a coffee as they hadn’t stopped, we all had a laugh, customers included! Take a breath, a step back, talk, it’s so important to enjoy the human social interactions of your day, not the transactions. Yes we are here to serve you, to cook for you, to give you the best we can but we have expectations too…that our customers will be dead on.
Don’t worry mum, no one has annoyed me this week it’s just an observation!
RECIPIES
Do you ever start by thinking you’ll make a specific thing then realise you don’t have the ingredients you need so it ends up as a kind of ‘not quite but sort of inspired by, with a nod to, almost’ ….I’ve been doing that a lot recently and this week was no different, I had beautiful green beans and thought about gorgeous niçoise, it ended up delicious but unrecognisable!
Blackberry Salad for 2
Two medium new potatoes, cooked and chopped
Green Beans, cooked/steamed
Big Handful Blackberries
Fresh hazels, shelled
2 tablespoons yoghurt
herbs; I used chives, fennel and coriander
A few thin slices of red onion
Salad leaves
Half teaspoon Chilli flakes
Quarter of a lemon
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
The main part of this recipe is the blackberry dressing which involves blitzing a handful of berries (save a few whole for the salad) with chilli flakes, a tablespoon olive oil, lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sieve to get rid of the seeds.
Now just assemble with the above! Remember this was based on what I happened to have so feel free to alter.
I thought I’d give you a double recipe this week because you are absolutely wonderful for reading all the way through my rant and you MUST make the most of the blackberries.
Blackberry Buckle
This cake is made with Irish Spelt flour in the sponge and Barley flour in the streusel/crumble and it’s flavoured with fennel pollen and blackberries. It’s based on the beautiful Buckle cake recipe from Blue Bottle Coffee.
Grease and line a 9inch loose bottomed cake tin, heat oven to 180 degrees
For the streusel
85g cold butter
130g barley flour
80g sugar
lemon zest
pinch salt
100g flaked almonds
Mix the butter and flour together with your fingertips until breadcrumby then add the rest of the ingredients, keep it crumbly not clumpy.
For the Cake
140g caster sugar-quickly blitzed with a heaped teaspoon fennel pollen/tops of the flowers
160g soft butter
2 eggs
140g Spelt Flour
pinch salt
tsp Baking powder
140g blackberries
Cream the butter and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer, add the eggs and mix thoroughly. Scrape the bowl and add rest of the ingredients and mix briefly. Spoon into the tin, top with the streusel. Bake for 40-45 mins.
*I love it when fellow hospitality folk come to us, I love to have the craic chatting and the relatable moaning!
Get these on your list if you’re headed to North West Clare.
Morans for a pint of Guinness and buttery garlic crab claws. (It’s actually south Galway)
Pot Duggans for casual food by the river and the cool indoor seating area
Eugenes for a nightcap, eccentric but quiet bar
Falls Hotel, pure old school charm, a real Irish country hotel in a great location
Hugos Bakery for pastries and coffee
Homestead for the totally gorgeous experience of food, atmosphere and hospitality; great drinks
Monks for a pint on the wall in Ballyvaughan
The Wild Honey Inn for very special food and a beautiful, comfortable relaxing setting.
Near Clahane shore
