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Black pudding, cheese, sour cream crisps and chilli sauce: Experts pick their favourite Irish food and drink for St Patrick’s Day

We asked foodies for their favourite homegrown products to enjoy this weekend

Chef Andy McFadden of Glovers Alley restaurant in The Fitzwilliam Hotel is a big fan of Ballylisk Triple Cream Cheese. Photo: Gerry Mooney

Nori sprinkles, €6, WildIrishSeaweeds.com

Coffee Stout Cask & Keg Series, €60, RoeandCoWhiskey.com

Chef Andy McFadden of Glovers Alley restaurant in The Fitzwilliam Hotel is a big fan of Ballylisk Triple Cream Cheese. Photo: Gerry Mooney

Kelly's of Newport Black Pudding

O'Neills Dry Cure Streaky Bacon

Mic's Chilli Inferno Hot Sauce

Ummera smoked chicken

Ór by Valentia Island Vermouth

9 White Deer Stag Stout

Otofu organic tofu

Comeragh Mountain Lamb

Nori sprinkles, €6, WildIrishSeaweeds.com

Móinéir Irish fruit wine

Straw Boys Poitín

Carrow Cyato coffee

Five Farms Irish cream liqueur

Ballylisk Triple Cream Cheese

Coffee Stout Cask & Keg Series, €60, RoeandCoWhiskey.com

Keogh's Shamrock and Sour Cream crisps

Chef Andy McFadden of Glovers Alley restaurant in The Fitzwilliam Hotel is a big fan of Ballylisk Triple Cream Cheese. Photo: Gerry Mooney

Meadhbh McGrath

March 16 2023 02:30 AM

On March 17, the world will make a toast to all things Irish.

We may be famous for our potatoes and pints of Guinness, but there are many remarkable foods and drinks we produce on this island that are worth celebrating.

The long weekend offers a prime opportunity to enjoy the best Irish products and we asked Irish chefs, mixologists and foodies for their favourite homegrown treats for a St Patrick’s Day feast.

Andy Noonan, Festival Director, Me Auld Flower

“My go-to fry-up has to have Kelly’s of Newport Black Pudding (€2.69 for 280g, SuperValu). It’s the best black pudding you can get off the shelf. It’s got a real boudin noir texture and is much less grainy than others.

Kelly's of Newport Black Pudding

“Mic’s Chilli Hot Sauce (€6, see MicsChilli.com for stockists) is a must with my eggs. I have tried a lot of hot sauces around the world and, for me, this is still the best one — I have it pretty much every day.

Mic's Chilli Inferno Hot Sauce

“For bacon, it’s got to be O’Neills Dry Cure Streaky Bacon (€2.29 for 200g, Dunnes Stores). It’s great value, isn’t full of water and crisps up beautifully.”

Kristin Jensen, Publisher, Blasta Books and Nine Bean Rows

“I’ll be snacking on Keogh’s Shamrock and Sour Cream crisps (€2 for 125g, SuperValu). Crisps are my weakness and these are my favourite all year round, but the addition of shamrock makes them especially perfect at this time of year.

“For something more substantial, Ummera’s smoked chicken (€10.50, see ummera.com for stockists) instantly elevates any dish you add it to, whether it’s a simple sandwich or salad, or stirred into risotto.

Ummera smoked chicken

“For a little sweet bite, Grá Chocolates from Galway (€10 for box of 10 chocolates, GraChocolates.com) are as delicious as they are beautiful.

“And I’ll be sipping Ór by Valentia Island Vermouth (€35, see ValentiaIslandVermouth.ie for stockists). It’s made with plants and herbs foraged along the Wild Atlantic Way and is the best new Irish spirit I’ve had in recent years.”

Ór by Valentia Island Vermouth

Denis Cotter, Chef-patron, Paradiso, Cork

“I’ll be marking St Patrick’s Day with a pint or two of the finest stout in the country, Stag Stout (€3.50 for 500ml, SuperValu) from the 9 White Deer Brewery in Ballyvourney, Co Cork.

9 White Deer Stag Stout

“It’s no surprise that it goes down well with a few slices of aged Coolea Cheese (€4.40 for 150g, Sheridans Cheesemongers) as they come from neighbouring parishes.

“Another West Cork product I’m loving at the moment is the tofu from Otofu (€3.95, see otofu.ie for stockists). And back in the city, I like to make an eye-opening cocktail using Rebel City Distillery’s Maharani gin (€40) and their absinthe (€50, RebelCitydistillery.com).”

Otofu organic tofu

Jenny Flynn, Executive chef, Faithlegg, Waterford

“I’ll be celebrating all things local with a traditional stew made with Willie Drohan’s Comeragh Mountain Lamb (€100 for half lamb, see ComeraghMountainLamb.ie for stockists). The lambs graze on the herbs and heather of the Comeragh Mountains, mingled with the sea air blowing in from Dungarvan.

Comeragh Mountain Lamb

“This brings me to my local beer pairing for the dish: Dungarvan Main Sail (€2.75 for 440ml, off-licences). It has plenty of hops to give it a lively citrus and herbal flavour similar to a pale ale, but it is alcohol-free, so no beer head the next day!”

JP McMahon, Chef-patron, Aniar, Galway

“I roast a Connemara Mountain leg of lamb from Bernard King, sprinkle Nori seaweed (€6, WildIrishSeaweeds.com) on it and serve it with some potatoes or colcannon.

“I think between the two elements, it captures a sense of place — it represents aspects of Irish food that other people may not know as much. We have some of the finest lambs in the world and I think seaweed is one of those underrated things — I’m always trying to champion it as an indigenous foodstuff.

Nori sprinkles, €6, WildIrishSeaweeds.com

“The other one is a crisp sandwich — I think it shows the humour of Irish food, but also the necessity — for the Irish growing up in the 80s, we didn’t have an awful lot of money.

“Having a crisp sandwich with some nice butter, nice bread and nice crisps highlights the quality ingredients, and I think it’s a beautiful dish in itself because it brings different textures together. Definitely use Tayto Cheese and Onion (€1.35 for 42g, Dunnes Stores) with sliced pan and Kerrygold butter.

“Móinéir Irish fruit wine is produced in Wicklow. I like the strawberry wine (€35, Celtic Whiskey Shop) with Durrus cheese (€9.80, Dunnes Stores), which is one of the oldest farmhouse cheeses in Ireland — it has been made since the 1970s in West Cork.”

Móinéir Irish fruit wine

Ciprian Leontin Munteanu, Head mixologist, Ice House Hotel, Ballina

“I would recommend a Poitín Espresso Martini — it’s very easy to do at home. I use one from a local distillery in Ballina called Connacht Distillery, their poitín is called Straw Boys (€37.99, see ConnachtWhiskey.com for stockists).

Straw Boys Poitín

“I like it because it’s very finely distilled; most people associate poitín with a very bad drink from years ago, but it’s not the case anymore. A normal bottle has 40-45pc alcohol, the same as vodka or gin.

“For the coffee, my favourite is on the west coast, it’s called Carrow Coffee and it’s on the Wild Atlantic Way. Try to use the more floral coffees for better flavour and smell in your Espresso Martini (from €14, carrow.ie).

Carrow Cyato coffee

“Instead of a coffee liqueur, I prefer to use Irish cream liqueur in the drink. I use Five Farms (€30, off-licences) — it’s a nice Irish cream liqueur from Cork that got the most points for quality and taste in the world for a cream liqueur at the 2018 Ultimate Spirits Challenge.”

Five Farms Irish cream liqueur

Andy McFadden, Executive Chef, Glovers Alley, Dublin

“Spuds are a must and Ballymakenny Farm offers the best in Ireland — I particularly like their Mayan Gold variety (€1.80 for 1kg, BallmakennyFarm.com) which are beautiful when steamed and then fried.

Other favourites include Ballylisk Triple Cream Cheese (€5.65, see BallyliskofArmagh.com for stockists) and Velvet Cloud Sheep’s Milk Yogurt (€4.75 for 450g, SuperValu), which we’ve been using at Glovers Alley for the past five years.

“For drinks, I’d choose Killahora Orchards’ Rare Apple Ice Wine (€26.95, see KillahoraOrchards.ie for stockists) — stunning.”

Ballylisk Triple Cream Cheese

Cal Byrne, 2021 World Class Champion and Luxury Spirits Ambassador for Diageo

“I will be treating myself to the newest addition to the Roe & Co whiskey family. The Coffee Stout Cask & Keg Series (€60, RoeandCoWhiskey.com) is a real treat — it’s a collaboration between Roe & Co and the Guinness Open Gate Brewery, which sees the whiskey finished in casks that previously held the brewery’s Coffee Stout.

Coffee Stout Cask & Keg Series, €60, RoeandCoWhiskey.com

“When I have a few friends over, I plan on dishing out some super simple hi-ball style drinks, using Roe & Co 106 Blended Irish Whiskey (€38) and fresh apple juice.

"It’s such a simple combination of flavours, but with a beautifully complex finished result. The key is juice straight from the juicer at home so it’s fluffy and appropriately green!”

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Black pudding, cheese, sour cream crisps and chilli sauce: Experts pick their favourite Irish food and drink for St Patrick’s Day

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