Tipperary might well be renowned the world over for its majestic castles and monuments, but here at Beár Bia HQ - the most important thing you need to know about it, is that it's Dee's home county! So it was obviously just a question of time before we made the "trip to Tipp" and tasted some of its best culinary offerings.

The Tipperary Food Producers network is a community of artisan producers working together to create quality, nourishing food and sustainability. We reached out to them to see what kinds of local food & drink pairings we could showcase and we were spoiled for choice. Their diverse community includes cheesemakers, beekeepers, fruit farmers, cider makers, butchers, bakers, and creators of various delightful products such as sauces, jams, ice cream, sorbet, vegetable oil, sweets, chocolates, crisps, corn tortillas and peanut butter.

Representing the Tipperary Food Producers Network on the day was Nuala Hickey, also of Hickey's Bakery in Clonmel whose amazing barm brack we sampled to start the day off nicely. We then hung out with James O'Donoghue, owner of Longways Cider who are based just outside of Carrick on Suir. He brought a few bottles of his Tipperary Cider with him as well some Con's Apple Cider from The Apple Farm.

James paired Con's Apple Cider with some excellent bacon ribs from Crowe's Farm & Butchers who are based in Dundrum, Tipperary and have been in operation since 1981. They were braised in the cider itself before being slow cooked with spices. The cool dryness of the cider cut through the rich meat and made for a beautiful autumnal all Tipperary food & drink combo.

For the second pairing, James cracked open a few of his own Longways Tipperary Cider. He then turned his attention to the golden fork winning Cashel Blue cheese and cut off small pieces to place on the Tipperary made Blanco Niño smoky chipotle corn tortilla chips. This totally surprised us and turned out to be a decadent, yet perfectly flavour filled tableside or bar room snack. Rich, unctuous blue cheese spread on a spicy, crunchy tortilla chip plays wonderfully against the crisp multi layered cider.

Up and down the 32 counties, there are vast amounts of bar, restaurant and hotel owners whose great work in celebrating the entire Irish culinary landscape needs to be showcased. They are Irish Hospitality Heroes and for our sixth episode, we wanted to shine a light on what the newly reopened Coppinger team are doing. So we sat down with co-owner and founder Marc Bereen and executive chef of the group, Daniel Hannigan.

Coppinger Row, as it was first called, opened in 2009 and its perfect mix of refined Mediterranean cuisine, relaxed atmosphere and the carefully curated & created drinks menu was an instant success. Over the years, the two brothers and founders Marc & Conor Bereen had developed a large and loyal fanbase. It was as common to see touring A-List celebrities dining there as it was a local. From an Irish hospitality perspective, Coppinger Row was the first restaurant in Dublin's city center to place their cocktails front and centre of their menu and they have always strongly featured Irish spirits. And even with a Mediterranean flavour focused food menu, Irish provenance was always of great importance to their team and very much continues to this day.

In 2021, Coppinger Row sadly had to close but through sheer grit and determination, they reopened in July of this year. More floor space has been added, the kitchen and bar areas have been enlarged and a beautiful refit of all the interiors has been meticulously carried out.

Now called Coppinger - the Bereen brothers have hit the ground running with it since.

For the two Irish food & drink pairings they did with us, we featured Redbreast 12 year old, single pot still Irish whiskey.

The first dish is now actually the most popular main course on the new Coppinger menu - Andarl pork chop from Andarl farm in Mayo, nduja hispi cabbage, burnt apple & hazelnut. The pork is brined then barbecued and dressed in a Granny Smith apple & hazelnut dressing alongside charred hispi cabbage, which is topped with nduja honey and finished with a burnt apple puree. All the incredible layers of flavour, smoke and textures found on this plate were perfectly matched by the Rooibos cocktail, made with Redbreast 12, rooibos tea, vanilla syrup and bitters.

That was then followed by a whiskey and apple cruller with vanilla ice cream. It's comprised of a beautiful choux pastry deep fried and coated in a spiced sugar that sits on salted caramel and filled with a Redbreast 12 year old whiskey & apple compote, topped with vanilla ice cream and a lovely tuile. As a special add on in the restaurant, they offer a serving of Redbreast 12 for just €10 to savour alongside the dessert. This pairing is an absolute joy as the rich spice of the whiskey harmonizes so well with the sweetness and sharpness of the food. It also is a fantastic example of how a restaurant can so easily bring a beautiful Irish whiskey into their food offering.

Showcasing hospitality heroes within the Irish food & drink scene was something that we always wanted to do on the Beár Bia podcast. All around the 32 counties, there are huge amounts of bar, restaurant and hotel owners who are game changers when it comes to pairing our native culinary offerings. None more so than Seáneen Sullivan from L Mulligan Grocer in Stoneybatter, Dublin.

The famous pub and restaurant has been a firm favourite of locals and visitors alike since they started trading in 2010. And from that moment onwards, Irish food & beverages have been at the forefront of their identity. As exemplified by the first sentence on the homepage of their website, which reads, "We believe that Irish produce is special, and worth celebrating."

Seáneen and her team were one of the first operators in Ireland to not just host whiskey and beer dinners, but they were also one of the first to have written suggestions of Irish drinks pairings next to their food items on the menu.

We gave Seáneen free reign when it came to the Irish food & drink pairings for the episode. She decided to serve two of her favourite pairings that she has created over the years, the now legendary L Mulligan Scotch Egg made with and paired with two beers from Trouble Brewing, who were the first brewery that they worked with - Ambush and Deoch Na gCloch, the latter is a beer that's name is linked to Stoneybatter.
This was followed by the black pudding toastie made with McCarthy's, Inch House and De Roiste puddings, Ardsallagh Goats Cheese and Blackcurrant Jam, made by Seaneen and made with blackcurrants from her garden, paired with their Irish Kir Royale - Stillgarden Berrissimo and Dan Kelly's Cider - as an alternative and bonus pairing to this toastie, we also tasted Tipperary Whiskey, a limited edition that had been made for L. Mulligan Grocer.

As stand alone items, these dishes are sublime and as comforting as gastropub food can possibly get! But when paired with Seáneen's selected beverages, not only do they compliment each other so well but you experience a beautiful representation of Irish food & drinks enjoyed side by side.