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Nohoval, Co. Cork
I felt like a wolf in sheep's clothing. I, a carnivore, had hunted them down. I, a non-vegetarian, was welcomed to their
table. I was lavished with hospitality
by a chef who had never touched meat in his life and who just so happened to
grow all the food himself. The deception
was killing me. When would they see
through my disguise?
At last, they raised the question: "Are you vegetarian?"
It was time for a confession.
I'd adopted my carnivorous status (strictly for journalistic
reasons) since coming to Ireland. Before
that, I was vegetarian. Yeah, yeah - all
the hard-core vegetarians can holler over this, but I don't care much for
strict adherences when traveling. They
surely inhibit exploration in life. When
in Ireland, I want to try black pudding and lamb stew. So I converted to being meat eater for a few
wee months. I can't say it was worth it
-
some of my best meals in Ireland were vegetarian, a couple
of them created by Lucy Stewart and Ultan Walsh at Gort-Na-Nain Vegetarian
Guesthouse and Organic Farm.
The setting is a new farmhouse. The couple built with their own hands. A nine-acre organic farm surrounds it. They are tucked away in Nohoval, a quiet,
forgotten pocket of East Cork. It is
paradise. Having been open for just two
months, the guesthouse is already attracting quite a bit of attention.
Their farm is the principle supplier of Café Paradiso, Cork
city's premier gourmet vegetarian restaurant.
Run by Denis Cotter, Café Paradiso creates spectacular organic cuisine,
maybe the best in Ireland.
Ireland impresses me with the quantity of organic, artisan
foods available. From cheese and yogurts
to juices to baked goods, there is one organic shop in every town. But it does not have a lot of locally grown
organic produce...yet. The Irish farmers
who grow organic are definitely the minority.
I wanted to meet them. That is
how I found Lucy and Ultan.
Ultan didn't start out to be a farmer. He got a PhD in Scotland, then came back to
Ireland to teach, but he soon grew bored.
He wanted to work entirely with plants.
So he stopped teaching and started organic farming. The land was bountiful, the space vast, and
he learned by making mistakes over the years how to do it right. The hardest parts now are getting the soil
right and not letting the bugs destroy the crops. Ten years later, he successfully grows
hundreds of vegetables and herbs, all in small quantities. "The vegetables are grown purely for taste,
not for huge yield," he says.
We take a tour of the mind-boggling array of growing
things. It is row upon row of Scottish
salad blue potatoes, leeks, brussel sprouts, fava beans, black kale, and
shallots. We compare the flavors of
golden-colored Sungold tomatoes (sweet and rich) with the red Gardener's
Delight (more tangy, with a punch). The
mustard Golden Streaks salad has a mind of its own - the flavor changes from
plain, roasted potatoes, to roasted potatoes with Dijon, then to pure
Dijon. They even grow peppers here --
Anaheim, jalapeno, you name it, they've got it.
It is a pretty amazing feat to grow peppers in Ireland, they certainly
are not native.
Our dinner is a creamy risotto with fresh peas, flat bread
encrusted with Sungold tomatoes and herbs, and a chili-chocolate cake with
Lucy's homemade vanilla ice cream. It is
divine. We drink wine and talk. I laugh harder than I have in a long
time. The night ends with Ultan playing
his eight-stringed, Greek instrument that buzzes a warm tremor, or maybe it's
the wine in my belly?
Time to hit the hay.
Our room, themed in burgundy poppy flowers, is a quiet field to
dreamland. The farm door to the bathroom
is a nice touch. The organic herbal teas
for a bedside nightcap delight me. The
bed is huge and cozy.
We wake up to Lucy's gourmet, home-cooked breakfast. Fresh squeezed orange juice, "Spotted Dog"
bread just out of the oven, muesli and fresh yogurt, preserves and honey and
tea. Mmmmm, hello heaven! I choose homemade spicy-chestnut-veggie
sausages with mango chutney and poached egg, fried tomatoes and courgette and
toasted focaccia bread. My travel
partner has drop scone pancakes with butter, lemon, and maple syrup. It is all superb. Fantastic vegetarian meal number two.
In Irish, Gort-Na-Nain means "the field of the birds." Ultan enjoys bird watching, and he noticed
the field was popular with a variety of birds.
Now they are planting lots of trees and hedgerows to encourage a
diversity of birds to keep visiting.
Eating at their farm has convinced me to become vegetarian
again. That is, strictly for
journalistic (and personal) reasons.
Gort-Na-Nain Vegetarian Guesthouse and Organic Farm,
Ballyherkin, Nohoval, Kinsale, Co. Cork, Ireland. Contact Lucy Stewart & Ultan Walsh, +353
(0)21 477 0647. www.gortnanain.com.
Written by Liz O'Malley - Summer of Travel 2007
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