The Menu: The best of this week's food events

RED HOT

As a keen chilli grower and equally keen consumer of all manner of fiery condiments, The Menu’s No 2 Son is deeply saddened that an age limit prevents him entering the Red Hot Meltdown, Cork’s First Chilli Eating Contest (Oct 6 @12pm) at Douglas Farmers’ Market, which takes place every Saturday on the concourse outside Douglas Village Shopping Centre, in Douglas Village, for he is an especially avid fan of Gary Barriscale’s Cork Chilli Company and his own locally-grown Irish chillies and associated condiments.

If you fancy you have the stomach to put away some seriously hot chillies at this charity fundraiser in aid of St Vincent De Paul, Gary is keen to hear from you. All competitors have to raise a minimum of €100 via an online funding page with a special prize of a Douglas Farmers Market hamper for the best fundraiser which is also being supported by media sponsor Red FM. Email info@corkchillicompany.com for details, or pick up a registration form from the Cork Chilli Company market stall at Douglas Farmers Market on Saturday mornings between 10-2 and for those ‘afeared of the burn’, yet still wishing to contribute, donations can be made at www.svp.ie/chillioveralleventdonation

EDIBLE ENTERTAINMENT

Taking place over this weekend, Macroom Food Festival 2018 (until Sept 23) sees the little West Cork town transformed once more into a smorgasbord of edible entertainment with events taking place throughout the town centre, including the Macroom Taste Trail, monster outdoor food market, schools cook-off competition, interactive children’s entertainment, live music, & more. (www.macroomfoodfestival.com)

APPLE FEST

The town of Clonmel, Ireland’s own Garden of Eden in terms of its association with the apple, hosts Clonmel Applefest (Sept 28-30), a weekend of events, both artistic and edible, and all built around a celebration of the very first ‘forbidden fruit’, including Apples, Milk & Honey: the Land of Plenty, an exhibition by Tipperary artists, the Apple & Heritage Fair, covering apples, trees, apple pressing, cider-making, bee-keeping, apple foods and flavours, craft workshops and demonstrations, children’s activity corner, fine foods and top local musical talent while the Heritage Food, Cider & Wine Musical Evening Soiree offers a fine evening of entertainment along with a selection of Tipp Tapas, Longways cider and Wine Buff wines, while community performers reenact local stories and history and the 40th Clonmel Honey Show is a chance to sample some of Ireland’s very finest honeys.

www.clonmelapplefest.ie

RAISE A GLASS

The very wonderful Bia Beag return to their Highbank Orchard home with an evening (Sept 29) talking about Irish whiskey, including labelling, provenance and barley terroir hosted by whiskey expert Seaneen Sullivan and with the very wonderful Jenn Nickerson (Tipperary Boutique Whiskey) attending as guest speaker, along with Ned Gahan (Head Distiller, Waterford Distillery), John O’Connell (Head Distiller, West Cork Distillers) and journalist Bill Linnane. (www.biabeag.com)

TODAY’S SPECIAL

Joe and Sandra Burns’ Joe’s Farm Crisps have acquired a well-deserved national reputation but this week The Menu sings the praises of their fresh corn, having recently procured a bag at Douglas Farmer’s Market. The Menu and progeny are exceedingly fond of fresh corn on the cob and over the years have acquired a surprising amount of recipes for same, yet, when time is of the essence, nothing can quite beat the elemental attraction of simplicity: popping a few cobs, protective leaves still intact, on to a trivet in a large pot over boiling water and steaming them vigorously for anywhere between eight to ten minutes before delivering them to the table, to be stripped of their leafy outer layers and then slathered in melting butter (on this occasion, from Bandon Co-op) to yield one of the finest food pairings ever to grace The Menu’s table. www.facebook.com/Joe’sFarmCrisps