Jack McCarthy, Kanturk, Co.Cork. Black Pudding with baby leeks & gorgonzola at Coppinger Row

A couple of weeks ago I took a short trip to Ireland to attend the very first Lovin Dublin show which was a showcase of local talent and seven Lovin Dublin food and drink awards with categories such as The Best Brunch, Best Pub and Best Coffee Shop in Dublin. Plus there was a food start up prize of a whopping €25,000 which went to Nobó, who make the worlds first ice cream alternative made from avocado, coconut milk, and sweetened with pure honey. After seeing this ice cream I am hoping really hard that it makes it way over to the UK. All the winners of the awards can be found here.

The show was a great mixure of raw hard hitting chat from speakers such as Marco Pierre White, Niall Breslin and Mark Pollack plus motivating talks and a celebration of Dublin. This was followed by a double decker bus ride to the after party which then involved Jameson’s whisky, pizza and an incident involving a candle. Who says my life is boring?

Photo Credit: Lovin Dublin

It is clear that whilst Dublin has been through tough times positivity is on the up and food plays a large part. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of restaurants and cafés in Dublin and it appears to never sleep considering the number of people that were still milling about at midnight on a cold Monday night.

Coppinger Row is a Mediterranean restaurant specialising in using Irish ingredients, we had a delicious taster menu which included Barbequed Carlingford oysters with Merquez sausage, Co.Cork Black Pudding with baby leeks and Gorgonzola, Kilmore Quay Mackerel with Moroccan spices, fennel, olive & orange, and the most gorgeous Liscannor Bay Crab claws with garlic butter.

I just about managed a morsel of this delicious cheese with Irish biscuits

On my short Lovin Dublin trip I also ate at Marco Pierre White’s Steakhouse and Grill, in Dawson Street. I couldn’t resist the Irish beef fillet with a classic béarnaise sauce with sides of triple cooked chips and creamed spinach. Mmmmm, it was lovely.

The ambiance in the restaurant is great, I couldn’t believe how busy and buzzing it was for a Monday night. The decor of numerous photos of Marcus in various forms is ummm interesting but I’ll forgive him because the food was great.

I’ve just scratched the surface of this trip, watch out for my next installment when I take you on a visual tour with Dublin Tasting Trails and more…

Thank you to Lovin Dublin and Visit Dublin for the trip to Dublin and to Lovin Dublin’s sponsors:  obrienswine.ie, Heinz Ireland, SuperValu.