All posts tagged: the mcbride guide

The Glasgowist features The Mc Bride Guide

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A dear friend Paul Trainer left our Irish shores for his native Scotland and his latest Guide to the great and good of Glasgow is an absolute must for locals and if you are visiting. He kindly featured me on the website glasgowist.com By Paul Trainer Billy Connolly once said “if you ever want your flagging spirits lifted, go to Ireland” and thousands of Scots take that advice every year, hopping on one of the steady stream of cheap flights linking the two countries or taking the ferry. There is a particular connection between Donegal on Ireland’s wild west coast and Glasgow with cultural and work related links dating back generations. Caitriona McBride chronicles the finer things on the Emerald Isle at the McBride Guide. We caught up with her to talk about Irish restaurants, family ties and cheese. What was the idea behind the McBride Guide? It’s a celebration of the best of Irish food and beautiful things. I think we are living in one of the most exciting eras for Irish cuisine so …

Recipe – Domini Kemp – Ham hock terrine with celeriac remoulade and salsa verde

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The very wonderful, talented and beautiful Domini Kemp shares this fantastic recipe for Ham hock terrine with celeriac remoulade and salsa verde and how she discovered it in The Wild  Honey Inn, Lisdoonvarna. Ham hock terrine with celeriac remoulade and salsa verde A few years ago, I finally made it to The Burren, in Co. Clare, for the first time.  I felt like some crazed tourist, oohing and aahing at the breathtaking views, and was delighted to find plenty of gorgeous places to eat. One of the best was the Wild Honey Inn in Lisdoonvarna, where chef Aidan McGrath’s ham hock terrine was, hands down, the nicest I’ve ever had: moist, unctuous and not too ‘hammy’, and perfect with his celeriac remoulade and salsa verde.  When I left, I asked for the recipe, and true to his word, Aidan sent it up, ready for my grubby paws to test. It really is an absolute winner.  Capers, cornichons, parsley, shallots and English mustard all play their part in lifting this keenly priced meat into something light …

Soulmates

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I was 16 and sitting in my art class. The boy I was madly in love with, in the way your 16 year old giddy heart can only love, leaned across the table and asked ‘So do you actually believe in “The One” Caitríona?’ I was delirious. My pupils dilated, I felt faint, churning sick, beautiful and achingly aware of my Hammerite braces. I wanted to run or else make a Bronte leap into his arms. This was it, he feels it, and he knows he is north-west Donegal’s Burton to my Taylor. He wants to take my hand as we step into my lobster-like vision of us sailing through a cotton cream life where we end up in the kind of home where our kids roll their eyes every time we dance around our grey-haired cosy kitchen to ‘Memories are made of this.’ And we laugh and remember when our joints didn’t hurt as much or when we made love like insatiable, insane creatures or wished we had started saving for our pensions earlier. …

In praise of kindness

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I am always heartened by the kindness that occurs every day if you look for it. Despite the ugly and horrific things we read and see, it is happening all around us. Is it the person who puts their change in the charity box at the till? Is it the person who cancels their plans to be with a friend who is having a rough time? Is it the parent who donates their bone marrow to their sick child? Is it the person who brings you a coffee because you are tired, or sad, or just because it’s Saturday? Is it the locals who rally round a family when they have lost someone they love? It is all of these things. It is one of the single most rewarding and healing connections we can make, or have, with another person. Being kind is being vulnerable, it is forgiveness, sacrifice, selflessness and rewarding. And there can never be enough of it. People will always respond to kindness because if you are treated kindly you are instantly …

Florrie-Jane’s Vintage – Donegal woman’s online vintage store success

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Laura Doherty returned home to Ireland in 2014 after a few years in Australia and New Zealand, and like many others, she had no plan for what was next. All she did know was that her collection of vintage clothing had grown so big, even her boyfriend was concerned. ‘I’ve always loved vintage clothing and would have sold bits and pieces over the years on eBay. While I was travelling in Australia and New Zealand I collected so many bits and pieces of vintage I had to ship a lot of it home.’ Laura (28) started her online vintage store ‘Florrie-Janes’ Vintage’ just over a year ago and she is now listed as a boutique with one of the world’s biggest online stores Asos.com and cannot keep up with the demand for her vintage pieces. She operates her store from her home in Dunfanaghy in north west Donegal. Surprisingly, the majority of her clothing goes to the UK and she’s only sold around 10 pieces in Ireland so far. She trained as a hairdresser initially and then worked for a …