[Competition] Win a pair of tickets to JN Wine Portfolio Tasting

I recently put together a listing of all upcoming wine events, featuring many "Meet the Makers" type tastings, which are a great way to try out lots of new wines and meet the people that make them. I was delighted to be contacted by one of the featured wine merchants, JN Wine, who generously offered me some tickets to give away to two of my readers!

JN Wine will hold their annual Portfolio tasting in the Merrion Hotel, Dublin on November 11th, and tickets cost €20. (For wine lovers in Northern Ireland, they will also hold a tasting on Friday November 12th in Andrews Gallery at the Titanic Building). However, two lucky readers will each receive a pair of tickets to the Dublin tasting where they can taste and sample their way around a room of fantastic wines. 

[Events] Irish Cocktail Festival 2016

The brainchild of master bartender Oisin Davis, the Dublin Cocktail Festival first appeared several years ago, and has now gone nationwide in 2016 as the Irish Cocktail Fest. This festival has simply gone from strength to strength and represents a great way to taste some of the very best Irish cocktails and spirits.

[Events] 2016 wine tastings

Here's a collection of the wine tastings and wine events of which I am aware. If there are events missing, please feel free to get in touch with me and share the details.

[Review] Two new Thai hotspots in Amsterdam

I've been out and about in Amsterdam recently, trying to get to some of the more newly opened restuarants. To help me keep track of all the latest openings, I like to refer to two great Dutch blogs Your Little Black Book and BySam. Both blogs are written mainly in Dutch, but it's easy enough to find your way around on both. 

I visited two new Thai restaurants lately, both of which were fun and modern. In the middle of town, you will find Adam & Siam on Rokin, while the more casual Soi74 Thai Food Cafe in de Pijp is a little bit more out of the city centre.

Interior at Adam & Siam

[Review] Charlotte Quay, Dublin 4

The restaurant space on the ground floor of the Millennium Tower on Charlotte Quay has seen several restaurants come and go. Firstly Ocean Bar & Restaurant and more recently, the delightful Mourne Seafood. It's a location with a gorgeous setting, overlooking Grand Canal Dock, but it has no street frontage. And that's surely a main contributor to the previous closures. After all, most restaurants rely on footfall and passing trade. 

So, can Marc and Conor Bereen buck the trend with their new Charlotte Quay restaurant? They do know what Dublin likes to eat, given the strong success of their other popular locations Coppinger Row and the South William. Under Conor and Marc, Charlotte Quay has received a significant overhaul. Gone is the light and bright interior of Mourne Seafood, replaced by marble countertops, chic fittings and moodier, darker lighting. There's a smart little cocktail bar where you can sip a drink while waiting, but where we struggled to hear each other due to the high ambient noise levels. My Flo and basy gin-based cocktail (€12) was light, tinged with elderflower and bright basil, but just a touch cloyingly sweet. 

Flo and basy cocktail

[Blogging] 8 years of blogging lessons

I only realised recently that I've been blogging as Stitch & Bear for over 8 years. That means it's been 8 years since I looked at the Blogger homepage and wondered "What will I call my blog?" Once I got over that major hurdle, then I was left with the question "What will I write about?"

To be very honest, I wrote a lot of crap at the start. Unlike many bloggers today, I didn't start blogging with a game plan in mind. I just started writing. A sense of purpose and clarity for Stitch & Bear didn't emerge for quite a while. I think it was 2011 when I finally said "Enough crap, Stitch & Bear is going to be about food only!"

Since then, I've gained weight, which is a natural consequence of being a voracious eater who wants to taste everything. I've also met many wonderful people who are involved in the production and service of food and drink. I've written approximately one blog post per week and I've learned a few things along the way...

[Competition] Win a pair of tickets to the BBC Good Food Show in Belfast

The BBC Good Food Show is making its first appearance in Northern Ireland this September, and to celebrate this first the promoters have given Stitch & Bear a free pair of tickets to give away to a lucky reader. 

The BBC Good Food Show

Some of Britain's most popular chefs, including handsome baker Paul Hollywood, James Martin, Emmett McCourt and the lovable Hairy Bikers, will share recipes and tips in the 1800 seater Supertheatre. In addition, over 100 culinary exhibitors will be in attendance,, giving visitors the chance to shop for local produces, enjoy taste testing and learn even more tips and tricks from the exhibitors. 

Standard tickets start from £18.50 and are available online. VIP packages with prime seating at the Supertheatre and VIP lounge access plus other benefits are also available 

The show runs from Friday October 14th to Sunday October 16th, at the Belfast Waterfront, with doors open 9am - 6pm daily.

The competition is now closed, and I am delighted to announce that Gemma Thompson of Belfast is the lucky winner. Congratulations Gemma, your tickets will be in the post shortly.

How to win?

I'm keeping this simple. You can enter by any one of the following methods:

(1) Liking and commenting on the Stitch & Bear Facebook page

(2) Emailing me with the subject BBC Good Food Show

(3) Following and tweeting me on Twitter with reference to the competition

The fine print

The competition will close on Sunday, September 11th. The winner will be contacted for their postal address details, and tickets will be posted to them by the promoters. Please note that the tickets are valid for Friday or Sunday only.