Neven Maguire: Home Chef

Ring of Kerry Lamb is a very new brand, started in 2009 by 35 sheep farmers in Kerry who realised that drastic action had to be taken to avoid the disappearance of their hill farming and shepherding traditions, and to remain in business. They now produce lamb 12 months of the year to meet the year-round demand for ‘spring’ lamb. Neven meets Denis Carroll, one of the farmers, on his farm near Killarney. Neven then cooks Lamb Rogan Josh and Raita and Pilau Rice in front of a small crowd in Avoca’s store in Rathcoole. Uniquely, Murphy’s uses only Irish barley and in part two of this first programme of his new series, Neven learns about how stout is made in the Kiln Bar at their Cork brewery. Despite owning a restaurant with its own bar, Neven has never pulled a pint, so he learns how to pull the perfect pint, and discovers why the ‘two part pour’ is just for show. In his kitchen in Blacklion, Neven cooks two pork dishes – Grilled Loin of Pork and Caramelised Shoulder of Pork.

Cadburys have been making chocolate in Ireland since 1933 and many of their products are made exclusively in Ireland for the Irish consumer. It is the only large scale chocolate maker to use fresh milk, hence the name of its most popular bar, Dairy Milk. All of the milk comes from Kerry and Cork where it goes to make chocolate ‘crumb’, the base ingredient for the bars. Neven is given a tour of the factory in Coolock to see how Dairy Milk is made. In this second episode Neven makes Chocolate Truffle Caramel Cake and Chocolate Biscuit Cake This week Neven also visits Glenisk which is Ireland’s largest consumer of organic milk, used to make a wide variety of organic dairy products. A relative newcomer, this award-winning company has established itself as a respected brand in a very competitive field. Neven meets the owner and is given a tour of the factory. He also makes a delicious Butternut Squash and Pasta Bake, followed by Baked Pears with Walnuts and Double Cream.

This third programme in the brand new series of Home Chef features two household names which use Irish grain – wheat for Odlums and barley for Jameson. Neven meets one of the wheat farmers who grows for Odlums and then visits the mill where the company has been milling flour in Ireland for 165 years. John Jameson began distilling whiskey in the 1780s when whiskey production turned from being an illicit, rural activity to a legal, urbanised one. Jameson is now by far the most successful Irish whiskey, selling more than 3 million cases a year overseas and is produced in Midleton, Co. Cork where Neven goes to meet two of the master blenders and learn how whiskey is made. This week Neven cooks Seared Sirloin Steak with Mushrooms and Whiskey Sauce and also Pasta with Smoked Salmon and Whiskey in front of a small crowd in Avoca’s store in Rathcoole. And back home in Cavan he makes a delicious French Apple Tart and shows viewers how to make a very quick Quick recipe Cheddar Sables with Feta and Sun-dried Tomatoes.

Two well known companies use vast amounts of Irish fruit – Bulmers and Follain Jam. Neven travels to Clonmel to see how cider is made and find out about new methods of growing apple trees: the ‘fruit wall’ is similar to a vineyard and contains 10 times as many trees per acre as the traditional orchard. On location in the Avoca store, Neven cooks chicken thighs wrapped in bacon and cooked in cider. Most of the raspberries used in Follain’s jam come from Keeling’s farm beside Dublin airport. Neven meets MD David Keeling to learn about the new variety of raspberries they grow and to find out more about the farm which employs 1,600 people at peak time. Neven then meets the owner of Follain in the factory in Co Cork to see how homemade recipes can be ‘scaled – up’ to produce jam in much larger quantities. Follain is by far the largest jam maker in Ireland. In his kitchen in Cavan, Neven cooks Queen of Puddings with raspberry jam and homemade custard and also Roasted Confit of Duck with marmalade jus and cider and served with pak choy, beech mushrooms and red onion.

Tayto is arguably Ireland’s best-loved brand and the history is fascinating. Started by Joe Murphy in 1954, the company started with Joe cooking hand cut crisps on a stall in Moore Street. The company was bought and sold, on a number of occasions, most recently by entrepreneur Ray Coyle who began his working life as a farmer supplying potatoes to Tayto. Having bought the brand, Ray took four years to create Tayto Park, following the example of Hershey’s in the US and Cadbury’s in Bournville. Neven meets Ray at the Park in Ashbourne, Co. Meath. Neven also meets a farmer who supplies Tayto with potatoes and learns how crisps are made. Within six hours, a potato in the ground can be turned into a crisp, bagged and ready for dispatch. This week’s dishes include pan boxty pizza and a delicious cheese and onion potato gratin with smokey bacon. Neven also cooks roast beef with garlic & thyme roast potatoes -showing viewers how to make the perfect roast potato using duck fat and rapeseed oil.

Coffee and liqueur are a natural fit and Neven starts this week’s programme by chatting to Patrick Bewley, grandson of the man who founded Bewley’s Cafe on Grafton Street in 1927. Patrick is the last remaining Bewley in the business. Neven then visits Bewley’s roasting plant in north Dublin where he is shown how to taste coffee by the master blender who tells Neven which beans are used in Ireland’s best-selling coffee, but not the exact proportions of the different beans in the blend, which remains a secret. Baileys invented the cream liqueur category and is by far the most successful brand in terms of sales. But there are other cream liqueurs in the market, and one of them is Cavan-based Coole Swan which includes Belgian white chocolate and Madagascan vanilla in its recipe. Neven meets the CEO Mary Sadlier to find out how Coole Swan competes in a market dominated by one brand. Neven’s delicious dishes this week include chocolate and hazelnut roulade with raspberries, a coffee & cardamon cake with pistachio cream, and frozen coffee mikshake

This week Neven visits two more Irish family firms with distinguished histories. Wrights of Howth began as a general merchants in the late 19th century and started smoking salmon in the 1940s. Their smoked salmon is exported worldwide and introduces the company to overseas buyers seeking to import live Irish shellfish. Neven meets Mark Wright in Howth and is shown how the salmon is smoked, starting with Wright’s fishmongers who can each fillet 1,000 salmon a day. McCambridges also started by supplying food to grocers but now it concentrates exclusively on its brown soda bread. It’s the largest user of buttermilk in the country and Neven meets Paul McCambridge to learn how the soda bread is made commercially. Neven prepares smoked salmon and brown bread timbale with pickled cucumber strips, red onion, cherry tomatoes and micro herbs, and makes a delicious dish of monkfish with curried mussels and wilted spinach. He then shows viewers how mussels can also be served as a soup.

John Flahavan is the 6th generation of his family to work at Flahavans, owning the company that bears his name. The company itself is thought to be the oldest privately owned company in Ireland – it’s certainly the oldest food company. Eighty years ago, there were seventy oat mills in Ireland, now there are just two. Neven meets John and visits the factory to see how oats are turned into porridge flakes, and other products. The Brady family started curing ham the old fashioned way in the 1970s and the company is now the largest producer of traditionally cured ham in the country. It’s a simple process, but requires great skill to get right, especially the butchery skills which are needed to bone and reshape the hams. It’s a world away from the mass produced ‘processed’ ham which is injected with water and ‘tumbled’ before being reformed. Neven meets the current owner, Tipperary farmer Bill O’Brien for a tour of the factory. Delicious dishes prepared by Neven in tonight’s programme include muesli (including a variation for granola) and MacNean porridge. Neven shows viewers how to make baked ham and leeks au gratin, and he also prepares a ham, Irish cheddar and pickled shallot platter.

Neven meets Mrs Myrtle Allen, an inspiration to him and to so many Irish chefs and widely regarded as the person responsible for the renaissance of Irish food. Now in her 80s, Mrs Allen tells Neven how Ballymaloe Country Relish started, and admits that the recipe remains a secret. The relish is made commercially by Mrs Allen’s daughter Yasmin and Neven visits the factory in Co Cork to learn just a little about how it’s made. Neven also heads to Co Kilkenny this week to see where Ireland’s best selling cheddar cheese is made. Kilmeaden has been made using the same recipe for over 40 years and Neven speaks to the production manager who’s made cheese with the company for all that time. The cheese is only made in the summer, to take advantage of the summer grass, and once made, it’s then stored for 12 to 18 months. Each batch is checked by the chief cheese taster, who has worked at Kilmeaden for 30 years, and Neven joins him to taste some cheese. This week Neven prepares Ryefield goat’s cheese and potato filo tartlets with Ballymaloe Relish as well as sausage and red onion soda farls with Ballymaloe Relish. Neven also makes a delicious roasted tomato and red pepper soup and a twice baked cheese soufflé.

Tea and cake is another natural combination, and in this final programme of series 3, Neven visits Barry’s Tea, the only tea blended in Ireland specifically for the Irish palate. The company has been in business since 1901 and Denis Daly the chief blender has been blending teas for 40 years. Neven joins Denis as he tastes teas sent in from all over the world. The tea in Barry’s Gold Blend comes from India, Rwanda and Kenya and comprises 10 different teas – the exact blend remains a secret. Neven’s second visit this week is to Broderick’s, a small company that has been making cakes for 30 years. Neven visits the factory to see where new recipes are tested and packaging designed – and where a special cake for Neven will be created. Neven makes a very tasty blade of beef and thyme hotpot, using tea, carrots, onions, celeriac, bay leaves, thyme, baby onions and smoked bacon and chervil root. And viewers with a sweet tooth will enjoy Neven’s Irish tea bread and French toast.