I'm up early tomorrow morning to appear on Ireland's only breakfast TV show, IrelandAM to cook up one of the dishes I have come up with for the Cork City Marathon which takes place in June and you can read about more of recipes and details of the event here: readysteadycork.com. I'm going to be doing one of my favourite little pasta dishes, the Avocado, Rocket and Parmesan Penne at 8.30am so tune in if you can! :)
The whole show went fantastically smooth but... disaster- I forgot my camera so no pics from the show unfortunately! But the video should be available on the RTE player tomorrow morning.
I cooked a few of my favourite recipes from the book and the blog, Chicken Thigh Supper, Med Veg with Bulgur Wheat, and one of the tastiest pastas, Sunblushed Tomato, Goats Cheese and Basil, Penne!
The pace on the Afternoon Show is quite relaxed and because you shop for your own ingredients it means you see the demo from start to finish and are a lot more hands on. I suppose, looking back, I was totally overwhelmed by the Market Kitchen experience, having never cooked on TV before and being surrounded by big names in the UK food world, whereas I have been interviewed on The Afternoon Show before when I was in Eurosong, so I knew the set up and I visited last week to watch another chef do their demonstration, which put me at ease!
After some late night cooking last night, I packed up my little car with all the ingredients and headed over to RTE, making a quick pit stop in Superquinn to grab some last minute items, a bottle of red wine, bulgur wheat and 2 aubergines! When I arrived it was just a case of setting up all the ingredients, choosing all the props, plates and bowls I needed from the prop room and just thinking through everything I needed.
We did a quick rehearsal and I met the lovely ladies, Maura and Sheana, who present the show and they were so nice, Sheana spent the afternoon telling me she loved the book and was definitely going to try some of the recipes! Before I knew it we were live and I was grinning like a fool down the lens of the camera and it turned out my old pal, Dustin The Turkey was on the show as well and he was a charming as ever, I gave him a few good turkey recipes before he left!
The funniest part of the whole experience was at the end of the show. I had been pre warned that the crew love getting stuck in to the food that's cooked on the show, but nothing prepared me for the eight people crowded around all the food like vultures digging in with forks! They all loved the food so happy days- empty plates are always the best form of a compliment for a cook!
On Wednesday, I was out in Blanchardstown IT to launch a new campaign to get students eating healthy, the lovely girls in the pic were students at the college and we had lots of fun, though one of them got an oily courgette dropped on her lovely new UGG boots.... I think she might hate me! The launch went great and in a few week colleges and schools around the country will be serving up some Good Mood Food! You can have a read of the press release below...
NEW CAMPAIGN TO PUT IRISH STUDENTS IN A GOOD MOOD WITH FOOD
Exciting new culinary campaign to boost mood, memory and concentration of students
Well-known food blogger and ‘Ireland’s answer to Jamie Oliver’, 23-year old Donal Skehan, has joined forces with the world’s biggest foodservice business, Unilever Food Solutions, to bring what he describes as “the power of good mood food” to students in secondary schools and IT colleges across Ireland.
Renowned for his love of good, simple, healthy, homecooked foods, Donal and Unilever Food Solutions are on a mission to show students and school chefs just how easy it is to make food that will lift spirits, naturally boost performance and generally put students in an all-round ‘good mood’, even in times of stress – perfect timing as Irish students face into their mid-term exams this month.
Donal has worked with Unilever Food Solutions’ culinary team to create five delicious and nutritious recipes that use a mix of readily-available ingredients that will appeal to even the fussiest of student palettes! The recipes range from fiery salsa chicken to vegetarian frittatas, which are packed with flavour and mood-enhancing goodness.
Speaking at the launch of the campaign in IT Blanchardstown, Aoife McGuigan, Channel Marketing Manager of Unilever Food Solutions said, “Good Mood Foods are foods and meals that have a positive impact on those eating them. They can be dishes that help you concentrate, an energy boost before a game, stimulation for the brain or just a dish made to share and lift the mood of all. We’re excited to have Donal on board – he’s a big believer in the power of food and how it effects our lives and is the perfect advocate for the campaign, appealing to all audiences in this exciting schools activation.”
The Good Mood Food campaign is open to all secondary schools and IT colleges in Ireland. To participate, teachers and school chefs can simply request an information pack and recipes when they place their order with their local Unilever sales representative. The information pack contains all the recipes along with colourful materials to promote the campaign in the school’s canteen including posters and Good Mood Food recipe cards that students can take home to try out for themselves.
All schools and IT colleges that participate will be entered into a competition to win a Good Mood Food masterclass with Donal where students and chefs can cook with the talented young chef and learn more about the foods that can help boost mood, memory and concentration powers.
The Unilever Food Solutions Good Mood Food campaign will commence in February, with the Good Mood Food masterclass held in April 2010.
Hey folks! Just to let you know I will be appearing on Nationwide on RTÉ 1 at 7pm tonight doing some shopping around Howth, and cooking up some mackerel! While over on Good Food Channel (Sky Digital 249) at the same time on Market Kitchen, I will be cooking up my Lime and Mint Mohito Chicken! Let me just warn you that this is my first outing on television cooking so fingers crossed it goes well, and if not... well I'll be hiding under a rock somewhere! :)
Below is a piece about cookclubs I wrote for the Irish Independent from the week before last. I know there are quite a few of you out there who are already running cook clubs quite successfully and if you are, I would love to hear from you. Starting next month the Irish Independent will be featuring different cookclubs with their stories and recipes from around Ireland. If you would like to get involved and potentially be featured in the Irish Independent Weekend Magazine email weekendcookclub@independent.ie telling them about your cookclub, new or old, the food you like to cook, your style of entertaining and any tips you have to share!
Cook clubs are fast becoming the hottest way to dine. With regular nights out becoming few and far between, people are looking for cost-effective ways of socialising. The cook club is an alternative to the book club and shakes up the regular home-cooked dinner party format. Although there are many home cooks out there who have started clubs with friends and family, I've discovered that they come in many different formats.
Generally, a guest list of six to eight people is agreed upon and, each week, a different person takes it upon themselves to cook a meal for their guests, but formats vary, with some clubs bringing different courses for each dinner.
"Come Dine With Me" has a lot to answer for in terms of introducing a competitive streak to the table. The show invites strangers to cook for each other over the period of a week and the person with the highest scoring meal walks away with a cash sum.
TV hype aside, cook clubs can be used to discover new ingredients. Myself and my friends ran one where we decided to try a different meat each. A lot of effort went into sourcing the likes of rabbit, ostrich and venison, not to mention the time it took to figure out how to cook them! But the result was a fantastic meal each week, which we all looked forward to.
Whatever you decide on for your cook club, make sure you keep things interesting. Some people like to plan a year in advance and commit to cooking certain dishes; some people mark each other out of 10. The most important things to remember, of course, are to enjoy the food, your company and yourself! I absolutely love entertaining at home and, although there may be a little extra pressure to ensure that you pull the whole night off, it is worth the effort.
No matter how adventurous you may be in the kitchen, cooking for guests is a whole different ball game. While you might want to wrestle a lobster, your guests will appreciate your company far more than any extravagant dish. Delicious recipes which can be made ahead of time will save your bacon, and you'll be able to enjoy the night far more than if you were stuck in the kitchen sweating! After all this is a social event, so keep it simple. Choose recipes that can be kept in the fridge the night before or even thrown in the freezer to be pulled out effortlessly when required.
Photos: Aoife Nathan
I had such an brilliant time on Thursday, as I mentioned here on the blog, I was appearing on Good Food Channel's, Market Kitchen! I was so nervous that I wasn't going to actually be able to fly as the whole of Ireland had come to a stand still due to the snowy weather. However the planets were aligned and even though Dublin airport had been closed the night before, Thursday morning our plane wasn't delayed and I was on my way to London!
I arrived at the Market Kitchen studios with my buddy Elaine who came along to take some pics and lend some moral support. As soon as we arrived I was whisked into makeup to get beautified, after which we were sat in the green room which had a great array of food magazines which kept me completely distracted as they had plonked the latest copy of Delicious on the table!
The lovely Faye then came to meet us to talk me through the process of recording. They had each step of the recipe planned out and what way they wanted it to flow. It was a lot to take in all at once but Faye kept telling me I would fine and to stay calm! While we were in the green room, I met the presenters Matt Terbutt and Amanda Lamb who were really lovely and very friendly.
Faye brought us up a very quiet stairs to the main studio and when she opened the door in, there was a rush of people running around, wires, cameramen, food stylists, and a lot hustle and bustle- all very exciting! We watched while another guest of the show, Simon Rimmer, demonstrated what looked like a really tasty egg dish. I have to say Simon is an expert at what he does and he certainly didn't put me at ease. An extremely tough act to follow! When Simon was finished I met the fantastic Home Economist who was in charge for setting up all the ingredients, equipment and generally making sure everything ran smoothly. She talked me through what I would be doing and made sure I had everything I needed before the filming started. I was making Mint and Lime Mohito Chicken so they had already marinated the chicken and everything was ready to go!
Before I did my cooking slot, I had a quick interview with Matt who was having awful trouble pronouncing my name, so much so that he had to hyphanate it on the autocue so that it read, Do-nal! Very funny altogether! After the interview we headed over to the kitchen space and got going on the dish. I wasn't sure if I was going to mention this but, as I was demonstrating butterflying a chicken breast, I sliced it wrong and ended up with a sad scraggly looking chicken breast and we had to cut! Let me just saw THIS DID NOT PUT ME AT EASE!
In fairness to all the crew, it was no bother to them and we just started again pretty quickly! The rest of the demo ran quite smoothly and hopefully it looks well when it's all edited together. When the demo was finished all the audience members got served mini portions of the dish to sample it and then gave their comments to camera! It was a little bit scary to hear what they were going to say but from what I could hear they were all extremely complimentary and no one got sick so it was all good! I had a ball doing the show and it was a fantastic experience, the first of many hopefully! It's going to air on the 21st of January on Good Food Channel so make sure to keep an eye out for it!
2009 has been a fairly spectacular year indeed, between the band, the book, and lots and lots of cooking I have never been so busy in my life, but it has been totally worth it! Here's my run down of 2009 highlights!
- Started the year flying high as Peter Pan in the Tivoli theatre's panto.
- Putting together plans for a mixed pop group.
- Forming Industry with Lee Hutton, Michele McGrath, and Morgan Deane!
Favourite Recipe: Roast Garlic Potatoes
- Going to Stockholm to record Industry's first single, "My Baby's Waiting".
- Received first draft of Good Mood Food, the book.
- Pancake season!
- Went to Stockholm to support my Swedish superstar buddy sing at the Swedish Eurovision selection.
- A name was finally chosen for Industry, thankfully 4DB was thrown out the window.
- Going to Stockholm again to record very first music video, for "In Your Arms".
- Doing first photoshoot as a band- very glamorous.
Favourite Recipe: Chocolate Chip Oreo Cupcakes
- Was busy working on what I thought were the final drafts of the book.
- Planned my very first attempt at a vegetable garden.
- Planted Dill, Fennel, Pak Choi, Broad Beans, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Red Cabbage, Cabbage, Cos Lettuce, Rosemary.
- Submitted last photos for the book.
- Made first public outing as Industry on the red carpet at the Meteor Irish Music Awards.
- Went for a walk on the cliffs every morning this month.
- Blog got 10,000 unique visitors in one day, was very excited.
Favourite Recipe: Bacon Avocado and Sundried Tomato Sandwich
- Got my very first blog/book press.
- Back to Stockholm to record more tracks with Industry.
- Flew to Spain to record music video for Industry's "My Baby's Waiting".
- Took a little break in Gothenberg with Sofie.
- Submitted what I thought was the last draft of the book.
- Fell in love with dried Mango... mmmm... mango.
Favourite Recipe: Red Onion and Garlic Focaccia
- Got the BBQ out early for Mays mini heat wave.
- Back to Stockholm again to record more tracks with Industry.
- Shot the final cover for the book with the help of Erica and Sofie.
- Performed with Industry at our press launch at The Sugar Club in Dublin.
- Industry's single got it's very first airplay on 2fm.
- Got a blackberry phone.
- Sang Kate Bush wuthering heights in falsetto on radio, not pleasant but very funny.
- Discovered Flahavans porridge pots which kept me alive and well on the road.
Favourite Recipe: BBQ Cajun Spatchcock Chicken
- Got to finally visit Cork's English Market.
- Went to Ireland's Eye with Morgan and Lee for my birthday.
- Found a brill table to shoot food on.
- My annoying but hilarious fight with the birds and the strawberries.
- Lee buying male Ugg boots.
- Got introduced to Dave Peelo, the toughest fitness trainer you ever did see.
- Industry's first single "My Baby's Waiting" went straight in at number one in the Irish charts.
- Performed at the Ms. Universe competition.
Favourite Recipe: Warm Chorizo, Red Onion and Baby Potato Salad
- Went to LA with James, Morgan and Sofie.
- Got upgraded on the flight over but had to slum it on the way back.
- Saw the massive amount of tributes to Michael Jackson at his house and his Hollywood star.
- Went surfing with my Uncle Niall on Santa Monica beach.
- Did a photo shoot for VIP magazine, blue steel was out in force.
- Went to outdoor yoga in Stephens Green in Dublin.
- Supported the Pussycat Dolls at the Killarney Summerfest.
- Sent off the final final final edits of the book.
- Visited the republics very first Ikea store.
- Recorded music video for Industry's second single "Burn" at the amazing Grouse Lodge studios.
Favourite Recipe: Sticky Mustard Chicken Drumsticks
- Went on a romantic little bank holiday break in a cottage near Carlingford.
- Co-hosted the South East Radio breakfast show with the brill Tony Scott and Industry.
- Became a regular contributor with Irish Tatler.
- Industry's second single "Burn" went to number one.
- Supported Tynchi Stryder in Tralee, as you do.
- Had a brill getaway anniversary weekend in Castle Leslie, massages all round.
Favourite Recipe: Asian Teriyaki Chicken Salad
- Started tweeting 140 character recipes on my twitter.
- Appeared on RTE's Ice with Industry.
- Performed at the Barretstown Charity Bandana launch.
- Went blackberry picking with Maisie the cupcake queen.
- Picked up my copy of Good Mood Food!
- Recorded 3 new tracks with Industry at the amazing Grouse Lodge recording studios.
Favourite Recipe: Oriental Steak Salad
- Picked up my brand new camera, the Canon 5d Mark ii.
- Saw the book in shops for the first time, rearranged the shelves.
- Appeared on the front page of the Irish Examiner.
- Did lots and lots of radio interviews about the book.
- Went mushroom hunting with Aoife.
- Went back to school to do a cupcake demonstration at my old school.
- Interview on Tubridy with Ryan Tubridy about the book.
- Got a text from Michele to tell me she nearly fell over when she saw a giant poster of me in the window of Dubray Books on Grafton Street in Dublin!
- Did the official launch of the book in Dubray Books on Grafton street in Dublin.
- Appeared on RTE's The Cafe with Industry.
- Went to Gothenburg and visited a Swedish bakery.
- Interview with Ian Dempsey on Today FM.
Favourite Recipe: Blackberry Vanilla Cupcakes
- Upgraded my old desk, for a new fancy one from IKEA.
- Wrote my very first food column for the Irish Independent Weekend Magazine.
- Finally made a vision board.
- Became obsessed with one of the kitchens in IKEA.
- Heard that The Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten has a copy of Good Mood Food.
- Did a cookery demonstration at an all girls school.
- Assistant food stylist on a Christmas food shoot.
Favourite Recipe: Crispy Hasselback Potatoes
- All the brill Christmas food press.
- Feature in the lovefood magazine with fellow Irish food bloggers, Italian Foodies, Cheap Eats, and Daily Spud.
- Visit to a free range turkey farm.
- Massive Christmas baking session with Erica and Maisie.
- Getting a video of the book launch from Darragh.
- Visit to Sheridans cheese, I am now hooked on cheese.
- Skiing with Sofie in Gothenburg.
- Jul pa Liseberg.
- Christmas in Sweden
Favourite Recipe: Avocado, Parmesan and Rocket Pasta
Thanks so much to all who read this blog for all the support, comments and emails this year, and I hope I'll be keeping you cooking all through 2010!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
The blog and the book got a great bit of press this month, check out some of the pieces below!
I got a message the other day from the lovely Darragh Doyle which linked me to two videos from the night of the book launch! One was an interview which Darragh did with me upstairs in Dubray Books on Grafton St just before the guests arrived, and the other was a video of all the speeches! I am really thrilled because I had forgot to get someone to take a video and I assumed that the whole night would just be a great memory, but now I have the real thing! You can check out both interview and video of speeches below, a huge thanks to Darragh for recording!
Interview with Donal Skehan of The Good Mood Food Blog from darraghdoyle on Vimeo.
The Good Mood Food Book Launch Speeches from darraghdoyle on Vimeo.
