Episode 11 of Beár Bia is live (episode 12 will be released on December 30th) – A travelling podcast celebrating the unison of Irish food & drinks.
The first season of Beár Bia has been “one hell of an adventure”. Hosts Dee Laffan and Oisin Davis have recorded in 12 different locations across 6 counties. Along the way they have showcased 24 different Irish food producers, 22 Irish drinks producers as well as 13 hospitality or retail businesses.
For the final two episodes of Season 1, Dee and Oisin called upon a few friends to see if they could share their favourite Irish Christmas and Irish New Year’s Day meals and they would pair some Irish drinks with them. Each pairing falls into a different episode, but they both feature the same guests and each episode was recorded in Row Wines on Coppinger Row in Dublin.
Their very special guests were social media star and musician Garron Noone (Episode 11) and freelance content creator and writer, Sian Conway (Episode 12).
Episode 11 – The Pepperpot Café Christmas Sandwich Paired with the “Holy Irish Trinity” Cocktail
Garron Noone has amassed an absolutely colossal social media following that is into the millions. The proud Mayo man is an incredibly talented musician and songwriter but is also hugely loved for his natural skills as a comedian.
His videos cover a multitude of Irish cultural topics – from mullets to Met Éireann! But he will very often talk all about Irish food, has professed his love for Irish Christmas dinners and his hatred of shrinkflation affecting Christmas sweets.
So, Bear Bia asked him if he would like to get stuck into one of the nation’s finest Christmas sandwiches and he kindly obliged.
It was made by The Pepperpot Cafe in Dublin city’s Powerscourt Centre and features their house baked focaccia bread, Irish turkey & ham, chestnut stuffing, brussel sprouts, cranberry sauce and mustard mayo.
They paired it with one of Oisin’s cocktails, the Holy Irish Trinity – so called as it features three Irish ingredients that go perfectly with each other, Irish whiskey, cider & elderflower. This particular one was mixed with 35 ml of Powers Irish Whiskey, 2 teaspoons of Richmount Elderflower Cordial and 120 ml of MacIvor’s Dry Irish Cider. It is the kind of pairing that is very complimentary as the cocktail is light but spicy and enhances the richness of the sandwich.
Their second guest Sian Conway was on hand to share the wonderful Yuletide bounty, which also included the house Connemara oysters from Row Wines that are dressed in a chilli & ginger vinaigrette and for a sweet finish, some stunning mince pies courtesy of The Cupcake Bloke, Graham Herterich.
Listen in on the episode here.
Episode 12 (Live from December 30th) – Sian Conway’s Ultimate New Year’s Day Comfort Sandwich Paired with an Irish Bloody Mary
New Year’s Eve revellers can quite often feel a little tender the next day and they might well be in need of some comfort the following morning. New Year’s Day is the perfect time to embrace your favourite hangover food and of course, everyone has their own special dish that they yearn for during those moments. Food writer and content creator Sian Conway has some strong views on this issue, born by all accounts from a wealth of experience…
When she wants to rustle up something at home after a New Year’s Eve party with friends, she reaches for the Gubbeen Cheese, slices it up and throws it onto a nice sourdough bread smothered with Dublin made smoky Harry’s Nut Butter and some Space Jaru kimchi.
This was a “surprising sandwich combination” for Dee and Oisin to try, but like intrepid explorers, they tucked into it with much excitement! It had “a multitude of flavours from spice to umami and smoke and made for a lovely pairing” to accompany their Irish Bloody Mary. To give it a proper local twist they mixed their Irish Bloody Mary with iStil 38 Irish vodka, sherry, fresh tomato, fresh celery & horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, lemon and for that all important heat – Scarlet For Yer Ma, Dublin Hot sauce.
This episode goes live on December 30th, which gives everyone plenty of time to pick up all the necessary ingredients for Sian’s Irish New Year’s Day sarnie & cocktail extravaganza!
