Irish Times Food Month Tour- part 2

Having left Chapter One, we then marched our way down to Brother Hubbard North to meet Garrett & James, fellow Ballymaloe Alumni! Firstly we had a tour of their coffee roasting room and then to a table set with lots of samples. Garrett told us of the courage it took to open a Restaurant in Capel Street in the downturn! he explained how they discussed the night before they opened if they would even have one customer! That customer is now a regular.

The food here is hugely influenced by Middle Eastern themes, they do breakfast, brunch, lunch and now dinners. I have tried many dishes from the cookbook, Turkish eggs menemen being one of my favourite brunch dishes!

Last week on the tour, we received eggs menemen, polenta cakes with a chickpea puree, pancakes with mascarpone, poached pear and chocolate sauce and homemade turkish delight, a selection of pastries together with their own coffee blend and a rosewater drink. The pancakes were my favourite, delicious small bites with so much flavour. They were served with roast white chocolate and mascarpone, topped with poached pear, chocolate sauce and a sweet dukkah and were absolutely gorgeous!

As you walk into Brother Hubbard North there is a small table of plants for sale, a number of Middle Eastern Ingredients for you to buy to make their dishes at home and this table of cook books, all people in the industry that have influenced me! I can personally recommend all these books!

Part 1- Chapter one

Part 3- The seafood cafe by Klaw

Part 4- Bar Guiseppe

Part 5- The Shelbourne Hotel