Strandhill Food & Craft Market

We're very excited to see a sparkling new food market has just begun in Sligo. Last Sunday May 9th, the first Strandhill Food &  Craft Market took place at Sligo Rugby Club.


The market will take place every second Sunday from 11-3pm at the Rugby Club, so make sure to make it to the next one to support local producers and enjoy great food and crafts. The next one takes place on Sunday May 23rd.


Strandhill Food & Craft Market on Facebook 

Bloom In the Park

We just spotted this great event in Dublin this June, hopefully we'll make it, it looks great!


Bloom, Ireland’s largest gardening, food and family event, returns to the Phoenix Park Dublin this June bank holiday weekend for 5 days (Thursday 3rd – Monday 7th June). This year’s event will include over 20 spectacular showgardens, 50 floral displays and a large scale artisan farmers market. With something for everyone, visitors to Bloom 2010 can also look forward to live cookery and craft demonstrations, free gardening advice / workshops and kids go free!

The Food Market is now firmly established as a key attraction at Bloom. With over 40 artisan food producers, the market highlights the very best that small artisan producers from around Ireland have to offer. The producers themselves will be on hand to provide tastings and give tips on how to prepare tasty dishes using their products.

The market will include a huge variety of foods from homemade jams, handmade chocolates and baked goods to farmhouse cheeses and the finest Irish honey. The Food market also allows producers to introduce new products such as speciality oils, tasty sauces, more traditional fare such as smoked fish and of course all the ingredients for a delicious bank holiday weekend fry-up… not to mention a bit of relish to go with it! This year’s Food Market will be Bloom’s biggest yet!

Find out more tasty treats and delights at Bloom

Daily Menu

Seaweed to go!

Since the launch of   Prannie Rhatigan’s book the 'Irish Seaweed Kitchen’ there has been a considerable increase in the popularity of some of the seaweed products we sell in the store. We thought it would be a good idea to share some of them with you, and perhaps if you are already using them you could leave a comment below and share how you use seaweed too!

About The Seaweed Industry 

(interesting facts about Seaweed from Michael Guiry’s Seaweed Site)

In 2003, the Irish seaweed industry employed nearly 500 people (full-time and part-time), exported 85-90% of its produce, and had a turnover of over €12 million. This somewhat unusual industry had a very high employment: export ratio, activity was mostly concentrated on the western seaboard, and most collection took place in areas that are – by European Union standards – severely disadvantaged

New additions to our daily menu

Over the past two weeks we have been very busy testing and sampling some new seasonal ideas for our daily menu. We're really pleased with the results and they've been getting great feedback from you guys in the shop. 

The Very Berry Breakfast Pot- little pots of homemade mixed berry compote , with greek yog & homemade gronola on top €2.95

Our fresh new salad range: these change daily just like our sandwiches. Our favourite salad at the moment is a broccoli, feta,cherry tomato & toasted hazelnuts, with a homemade french dressing!! Just delicious. Salads with no meat are €3, while with meat are €3.50. Make sure to pick up a complimentary tub of dressing, the perfect amount for your lunch.

We also have a beetroot & almond salad with a yogurt dressing, moroccan cous cous salad & the homemade sundried tomato hummus / spiced chick pea pate. Mouthwatering treats to keep you going during the day!

As well as the above, we have our sandwiches (€2.75) and soups(€2.50).

Let us know on facebook which is your favourite!

New to the store: Natasha's Living Food

We’re delighted to announce we’ve recently added Natasha’s Living Food products to the store. The chef behind these tasty and very dynamic products is none other than Natasha Czoper, who you will also find in the kitchen at the Ukiyo Bar on Exchequer Street in Dublin.


 The Raw and Living foods movement is a diet based on naturally grown wild or organically and sustainably raised fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and sprouted grains.

From Natasha:

My range of Raw and Living foods are completely free of animal products, and chemically processed or pasteurised ingredients. I use fair-traded ingredients wherever available, and I also use organic. I NEVER use flour, dairy, wheat, eggs, meat or fish, which is great for people with these allergies. I do use nuts, and I love to use superfoods.

Most importantly, during the preparation of raw food dishes, nothing is cooked, at least in the traditional sense. Raw foods contain live enzymes that aid digestion, which activate as they are consumed. Heating foods to temperatures beyond 118 F causes those enzymes to die, and destroys nutrients, minerals, amino acids and vitamins, and alters the natural metabolic structure of the food. 

The beauty of raw foods is that the ingredients are very simple. Because nothing is processed, everything comes in its raw, natural state.

In my kitchen in Stoneybatter, you'll find sacks of seeds and nuts, fantastic raw cacao nibs and Lucama powder from Peru, hand-pressed coconut butter from the Philippines, agave nectar from Mexico, and with fruits and vegetables grown as locally as I can get them. 

This week you’ll find Natasha's products on display on the table in front of the coffee machine. Please make sure to ask us any questions you have about the products, we're all ears!

Kooky Dough now in stock!

We're delighted to announce we know have a selection of the delicious Kooky Dough in store. We've already had some customers in to try them out, and they've confirmed they are so easy to bake... and eat of course. Have a look below as Sophie from Kooky Dough explains how simple it is to bake them, as well as some tempting chocolate ways to play around with the 
dough.

Mama Mio: If you FEEL great, you will LOOK great!

In February Jane our Beauty Advisor spent a training day with the fab folks at Mama Mio Skin Care. You will now find a wide range of Mama Mio skincare in our toiletries department, so make sure to Ask Jane for her advise and recommendations. 

Mama Mio is high performance body-care & spa ingredients using facial skincare technology and ingredients to ensure every inch of you looks and feels its very best. Founded 4 years ago in London by 4 beauty experts, their range addresses all the needs of every woman in every stage of her life. Mama Mio's heritage is in pregnancy skincare and that knowledge has given them huge experience in creating products that are safe, whilst being extremely effective giving you strong, elastic, healthy well-toned fit skin. Knowing how to thelp skin cope with a 30 inch strech in 40 weeks is invaluable when working on forumaltions for anti-aging, cellulite, crepeyness or just dry skin!

Mama Mio's mantra is: Real beauty is about confidence- if you feel great, you will look great!

Some of out best-selling Mama Mio products

Boob Tube- Bust & Neck firming cream- Mama Mio's bestselling push-up bra in acream

Aim north not south with our anti-oxident and Omega-rich bust and neck firmer that defies gravity and takes years off your neck and chest. 

Get Waisted- Body Shaper- 9 Active ingredients to fight your flab and increase lipolysis

Shrink your fat cells and get a sleep silhouette. The holy grail of sliming potions, Get Waisted works by increasing lipolysis, the breakdown of stored fat, in the fat cells within your skin. Packed with 7 clinically proven waisted-whittling activies with the added bonus of two anti-aging skin tighteners for a drum-tight tum.

Wonder-full Balm

You'll find a million different ways to use Wonder-full Balm - on lips, cuticles, elbows or as an intensive treatment for dry hands and feed. You'll pull it out of your bag five times a day to help rescue dry skin patchs, little burns and cuts -you will never travel without it. Ingredients include: Meadowfoam oil, AVocado Oil, Carrot Seed Oil, Sweet Almond & Evening Primose oil, Manuka Oil, beeswax and carnuba wax

Goodbye Stretch Marks

Clinically proven ingredients help repair and minimize the appearance of stretch marks by up to 70%. Goodbye Stretch Marks minimizes old or new stretch marks from pregnancy, teenage growth, weight gain, weight lifting or cosmetic surgery. This product is also safe to use during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

• Mama Mio got a nice write up on Vogue's Style.com blog
• Check out the ladies from TV3's Xposé talking about Mama Mio's skincare range. 
• And plenty of coverage in your favourite fashion and beauty mags!

SÓ Sligo Food & Cultural Festival

The SÓ Sligo Food & Cultural festival is taking place next weekend, March 19th-21st in restaurants, shops and venues all across Sligo town and county. As keen advocates of local produce we are more than delighted to be participating in the first year of this festival which aims to celebrate all the great produce and tasty offerings that Sligo has to offer.  

The weekend will definitely leave mouths watering with lots of tasty events such as the Seaweed gathering trip in Strandhill, the World Irish Stew Championships, Artisan Food Market, Cookery Demos and lots more! 

We'll be announcing our plans for the weekend during the week, so stay tuned! In the meantime, take a look at what's on across the weekend. Click on the image to view in full. 

Treat your mum this weekend at Kate's ♥

This Sunday March 14th marks Mother's Day so we'd like to share some of the great treats in store at Kate's Kitchen to surprise your Mum with!

• Bring the seaweed experience in to her home direct from the Atlantic with 'Lazy Days' Seaweed bath kit from Voya at the lovely price of €16. Seavite also have a great range of revitalising organic seaweed body gels and moisturisers. 
• We have the latest Essie Spring 2010 Collection in stock to adorn her nails with the freshest and most fashionable colours of the moment. 
• The  L'Occitane Amande Collection including the yummy body cream and fab exfoliator.
• Try the Ren Morrocan Rose body range at €23, or the lush Crabtree and Evelyn Lavendar collection of hand and body creams. 
• We also stock a wide range of Mama Mio products, aka moisturizers to the supermamas (such as Rachel Weisz, Victoria Beckham and Stella McCartney!)

If you're looking for something a little tastier we have a wide selection of delicious chocolates, all shapes and sizes in ahead of the Easter rush, as well as our fab wine selection. 

Happy Mother's Day ♥

Chia Seeds: The new super-food

Sligo native and current Australian resident, nutritionist Alan Gaule recently recommended 'Chia Seeds' to us during his visit home to Sligo in February. Chia seeds are no stranger to the food-chain as they were used by the Aztec warriors thousands and thousands of years ago but are not that  well known in Europe. That is until now! They are known for their Omega 3 fatty acids and were mentioned in the book 'Born To Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen'.

Chia seeds, when mixed with water create a gel that can be used as an energy supplement. Some nutrional websites also suggest that you can use them to replace oils and butter. Over the past few weeks we have noticed a major demand for the seeds as they become more popular.

To Make:

• 1 tbsp of Chia Seeds
• 9 tbsps of water
• Leave to stand for 10-15 minutes

We have a selection of Chia Seeds available in the store in 100g packets. If you'd like to know more or have any questions just ask Kate. If you've tried them, let us know what you think.

Also - Check out the Top 3 Reasons to eat Chia Seeds.


Always consult with your doctor before changing your diet. 

Fair Trade Fortnight- The Big Swap

Sligo is a participating town in Fair Trade Ireland. Our shop is also a participating business and we sell a wide range of fair trade coffees and teas. Why not pop into the shop this week and swap your coffee for a Fair Trade coffee.

Jamie Oliver's TED award speech

At Kate's Kitchen, we care about good food and good ingredients. The Good Mood Food blog linked to this earlier today and we definitely think it's worth twenty minutes of your sunday to watch.

"I wish for a everyone to help create a strong sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again, and empower people everywhere to fight obesity."

To cake or not cake, that is the question!

Last week one of our customers tweeted that they had picked up some cake decorations in the store, we mentioned we'd love to see a pic of the cake, but we weren't expecting anything! So last night, Magnum Lady shared some pics from cakes she has made with decorations from our shop.

Head over to Magnum Lady's blog, she has a great selection of photos, and treats!

♥ Valentine's Weekend at Kate's ♥

The most romantic day of the year is upon us once again and thankfully this year it falls on the weekend! If you are staying around Sligo this weekend for Valentines Day, we have the perfect ideas for you to surprise your loved one with.

♥Great selection of chocolates, all shapes and sizes and flavours too. 

♥Fresh organic vegetables to prepare a delicious dinner for two at home

♥Beautiful fresh cupcakes baked by the lovely McHugh sisters

♥A wide range of fresh cakes and tarts

♥Tempting bottles of vino on our wine shelves

♥Wide range of beauty products in our toiletries store

All our products are available to put into a special hamper, or gift wrapped. Make sure to ask us if you need some help in choosing the right items!

Something fab to do this weekend in Sligo- Miss Honey's Burlesque Night in Tobergal Lane on Saturday night.

Make sure to join us on Facebook for our daily updates.

Lunch at Kate's Kitchen

On the 31st January we just celebrated two years of business at Kate's Kitchen. It's been a very busy time for us, and we have made some minor, but good changes in the shop. Over the past year our lunch menu has expanded to include a wide range of truly delicious fair trade coffees and teas, tasty soups and gourmet sandwiches. Our lunches are freshly made in the shop every morning by the lovely Beth. Some time we'll manage to get a photo of her dolled up in the kitchen! Here's a teaser from our menu as to what you can expect daily in the shop. We make one soup per day, but it's different every day. Popular favourites always make a return!

Soups €2.50
-Ginger & lime thai noodle soup
-tomato soup with pasta
-Winter warmer vegetable soup
-Potato ,turnip & nutmeg
-Roast red pepper and carrot
-Indian spiced vegetable
-pea and garlic soup

Homemade gourmet sandwiches €2.75

-wide variety including gourmet sauces and dressings- ham, chicken, tuna and salad (veggie options)

Find out more by staying connected with us on our facebook and twitter accounts. We update them daily(well most days!) with the soup of the day and any extra treats or new stock.

First post!

Good Evening and welcome to Kate's Kitchen! We've arrived in the blogosphere and aim to update you with the latest news from the shop including tasty treats and the odd surprise. We would like to share with you our love for all things nice….especially delicious food from around the world coupled with tasty local produce.

And hopefully you are never too busy to be beautiful, as we house many luxurious beauty products to help you along the way.