If I am feeling a little naughty at the weekend I might cook up a full Irish breakfast on a Sunday morning. Now I don't know about you, but for me a full Irish is not a full Irish without a couple of slices of black pudding. I have in many various locations around the world sampled their version of our beloved breakfast but for me they always lack in one department. The black pudding is just never quite up to the standard of the offerings available on Irish soil. It would seem I am not alone in thinking this as very recently Irish producers have been honoured and celebrated by the prestigious Brotherhood of the Knights of the Black Pudding (La Confrérie des Chevaliers du Goûte Boudin) - one of the world’s greatest authorities on black pudding. Over three days from September 20th – 22nd, some 30+ Knights of the fraternity visited McCarthy’s of Kanturk, Caherbeg Free Range Pork Rosscarbery and Mayo’s Seán Kelly to award gold, silver and bronze medals. Street festivities were organised and three great days of celebration were held in honour of all that is exciting and special about Irish black pudding.
"Arise Sir Jack, Knight of the Black Pudding
Kanturk gave the Brotherhood of the Knights of the Black Pudding a warm welcome last night. The French Food fraternity visited the town in celebration of the Gold Medal Winning Black Pudding by McCarthy's of Kanturk.
The brotherhood paraded up Strand Street accompanied by local ilen pipe players to arrive at the Gourmet food festival outside McCarthy's premises on Main Street.
Representing Good Food Ireland, Peter Ward of Country Choice is no stranger to the finest Irish food. Indeed, he was declared Good Food Ireland Person of the Year in 2009. He said, “I say to people, don't make anything exotic at all, just make something really really good that will bring people to your door. Here Jack McCarthy has, with a bucket of blood in either hand, made something really really really good.” He went on to say that, “It is great that our authorities are coming round to realise that the expertise of the producer is the greatest safe guard we can have in the production of food in Ireland.”
Jean Claude, chair of the fraternity spoke, “The Black pudding fraternity has been in existence for nearly fifty years and in that time we have seen over 30,000 different sorts of black pudding. We are very happy to know, and to see, how much the Irish people enjoy black pudding and how the Irish pork butcher made a really good black pudding.”
The food festival included stalls from local businesses such as IRD Duhallow Community Food Services, Cork City's On the Pigs Back and new local enterprise www.easyentertaining.ie, and also drew gourmet emporiums from further afield, Sheridan's Cheese Mongers, Mannings Emporium, Soul Bakery and Gubbeen Farmhouse to name just some of the stall holders.
There is still excitement to be had with the French Food Festival at On the Pig's Back in Douglas all through the next few days see www.onthepigsback.ie for more information."
