Noshing in Northern Ireland

19-Jan-10 - Off to Belfast to speak to the Northern Ireland Wine & Spirit Institute. They're a very keen bunch, some trade, some enthusiasts and I've spoken to them before, albeit back in May-04. My host, Alastair Bell, picked me up from the airport and we had a very pleasant lunch at The Bay Tree Coffee Shop in Holywood, which was positively bustling, with everything from coffee and cake to local specialities (and quite a few very interesting wines by the glass - never had an Australian Nebbiolo before). It's an unpretentious place (2/10 in the Good Food Guide), run by chef-patronne Sue Farmer, and its proudest boast is that 'we make everything ourselves' - the cinnamon scones have been voted 'best in the UK' by the BMW guide. I can also vouch for the pork and scallion sausages and mash, but there are more ambitious dishes on the menu such as crab claws, guinea fowl and a Russian starter with smoked salmon, pickled mushrooms, beetroot salad and vodka. The clientèle is eclectic, from old dears having coffee and cake to whole families apparently having everything. I was particularly beguiled by a smart-looking young couple - late teens, maybe - having lunch at a table by the window. When they stood up to leave I saw that they were both wearing school uniform, and I thought how very civilised that was - out for a proper lunch and then back to school. And how very different from my own schooldays when a visit to the chip shop (strictly against the rules, of course) was considered the height of sophistication.

The tasting went well: wines of Castilla y León, for which I have a detailed PowerPoint presentation, and 12 wines, including some rarities which I'd discovered on my last couple of trips over there: the range from La Setera in Arribes (including their slightly-illegal Touriga Nacional) and also Otero in Benavente and finishing off with Pintia, the Vega Sicilia outpost in Toro. Interestingly, Sara Groves-Raines who, with her husband Patxi Martínez, runs La Setera, is originally from Northern Ireland, and one of the guests actually knew her family: a small world.

The event was held at Nick's Warehouse in Belfast old town. As the name implies it was formerly a whisky warehouse belonging to Bushmills, and had been virtually derelict for years. Today it's a very trendy eaterie run by Nick Price (who is the brother of Sue Farmer of the Bay Tree) and has 3/10 in the Good Food Guide. We had an early dinner before the event - the menu changes on a daily basis according to what's available - and I can vouch for the chicken with black pudding on chorizo and olive mash. The wine list is wide-ranging, and we had a bottle of Urban Merlot from Bodegas O.Fournier in Chile, a winery which we visited in 2008, thanks to the generosity of José-Manuel Ortega (12-Feb-08). All in all it was an excellent evening, topped off with a stay at the very comfortable La Mon Hotel and Country club. The service there is exemplary: I got back at around midnight and asked for a sandwich and a glass of house red. The receptionist brought them up to the room himself and I was delighted to note that the sandwiches were not only good and varied but also completely slime-free (no mayonnaise, pickle, mustard or other ghastly and unnecessary accoutrements)! I slept well and even had a light breakfast (something I seldom do) before getting an early-afternoon flight home. All in all it had been a very civilised and pleasant couple of days.

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