THANKFULLY, we in Limerick are blessed with a number of good and great things. A magnificent river that we have been able to incorporate into a wondrous festival that celebrates what is good and great about the city.
We have a love of sport that is second to none. We have an arts, cultural and historic repertoire that is renowned on many a world stage. We are littered with history at every turn and that is celebrated in some of the most picturesque and informative settings that our city can deliver and showcase.
We have a thriving community that is proud to put its best foot forward despite the negativity that sometimes rains on our parade – we have a resilience to dust ourselves down, pick up the pieces and stubborn as you like come back twice as good.
There is much to celebrate and an article that winged its way past my desk recently highlighted some 99 reasons to visit Limerick and while it created much debate about what was included and what was omitted, I hasten to add, it celebrated Limerick.
Number two on the list was the Milk Market and that was only toppled by the May bank holiday festival…… A festival, Parisian in style, European in delivery and family friendly while all the while Limerick to the core. And it is a celebration of food that comes to the fore for both of those top two on the listing.
That is what is great about Limerick. We have a food culture here and it is thriving and the restaurants and eateries the length and breadth of this green county are growing, evolving and enticing as ever.

SOUNDS like a mouthful and then when you see the picture, there isn’t really a whole pile to this dish if you were looking for a good feed, and partial to a good feed I am.
However, and there is always a caveat to what I do, if it’s not deconstructing dishes for the hell of it or trying to emulate Heston at home, I like to try and create and share with you the readers, something that both looks and tastes great, all with as little effort as possible.  The hardest part of this dish is getting the food skid right – and it’s something i am still perfecting.
Anyway, this one is all about the flavour and the look as it is eaten with your eyes first before you get the sweet, sour, citrus or crunch sensations.
Traditionally, scallops are pan fried, but this French style of poaching brings a new approach to cooking scallops and one that might ensure you get it right all the time.
Here’s what I did.

HAVING a slight fondness for carrot cake, I went in search of tackling a recipe that would be a one hit wonder for me. I like things to be easy and having put the research in, I tweaked a few ideas and landed this little delight n the plate – and i have to say, it is one dish that will deliver and punch far and above its weight.
The cake is a take on a classic carrot cake but with the addition and subtraction of a number of ingredients that makes it more like a pudding.
Either way, it is in the presentation and accompaniments when serving this that really elevates it to something much more memorable.
Here’s what I did.

IT WAS with great delight, and I know that sounds lame, that I saw fillets of grey mullet sitting proudly on ice at my local fish mongers last week.
Always known in sporting circles as one of the most combative and hardest fighting fish in Irish waters.
Thick lipped, the grey mullet has a dark silvery skin that fades to silver on its belly.
They can sometimes be confused visually with seabass but they have a distinct flavour of their own.
Make sure you get the scales removed prior to cooking as they have a rich coating of scales.
To this end, I tried to keep it simple and fresh for this great dish.
WHAT YOU NEED
Scaled fillets of grey mullet.

THESE certainly do not have to be served together, it’s just an option for either to be cooked.
It all starts with a basic risotto brought half way through the cooking stage and then it is transformed when the different flavourings are added.

Smoked butternut squash risotto

WHAT YOU NEED
1L of stock
knob of butter
olive oil
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
2 shallots finely sliced
400g risotto rice
splash of white wine (optional)
sea salt flakes
150g Parmesan cheese
50g butter
1/2 a butternut squash roasted with hickory chips
For the garnish
Fresh thyme leaves
Pumpkin seeds – toasted
Cooked bacon pieces

IT’S an area of the kitchen that only a small few can master and one that I have always shied away from so FFT had to find out just what it takes to make those sweet treats.

Janja Kosancoc, pastry chef at Cornstore took some questions.

Q.What was your favourite dessert/pastry as a child?
A.That would have to be the Roulade that my Mam used to make.
Q.What did you want to be when you grew up?
A.It was either a criminal investigator or a pastry chef as I always liked to cook. I guess the pastry chef won in the end!
Q.What was your first job in food?
A.Pastry chef

THESE two dishes and their accompanying pictures are as much focused on the food styling as the taste sensation that both bring. Believe me when I say that both pack a real punch and the dishes are so worth the (little) time and effort. And, as you eat with your eyes as you read this, I thought it better to feed that satisfaction first and then explain the superb tastes that each plate brings. Below, you will find the straight forward recipes for both the loin of spring lamb and lemon curd tart.

I could expand more on these recipes but I am taking a few liberties here on the basis that a number of elements are a given between us cooks/foodies/eaters.