skip to main content

NEVEN’S IRISH SEAFOOD TRAILS

Neven with Benny Scannell from Dromquinna Manor (prog 4, Neven's Irish Seafood Trails) (1) Image Name: Neven with Benny Scannell from Dromquinna Manor (prog 4, Neven's Irish Seafood Trails) (1)
Neven with Aileen O'Neill, Irish Atlantic Sea Salt (prog 4, Neven's Irish Seafood Trails) Image Name: Neven with Aileen O'Neill, Irish Atlantic Sea Salt (prog 4, Neven's Irish Seafood Trails)

Series 13, programme four

Series Overview:
Neven is back in the New Year with a brand new series of his popular Neven’s Irish Seafood Trails. This is the second seven part series Neven has dedicated to seafood, and his search for the finest and freshest produce takes him to East Cork and Ballycotton, Clare, Waterford, Kenmare and Castletownbere. He also visits Kilmacalogue and Kinsale, Donegal and Wexford.

Programme four: Castletownbere and Kenmare

This week, Neven’s Irish Seafood Trails take him to Cork and Kerry, and his first stop is Castletownbere Co. Cork, Ireland’s largest whitefish port, where he joins local skipper Sean O’Sullivan on his boat as it heads back to the Castletownbere Fishermen’s Co-op after two days at sea.

Arriving back at the quayside Neven meets John Nolan, Managing Director of the Castletownbere Fishermen’s Co-op. John tells Neven how the Co-op has gone from strength to strength after it was founded fifty years ago, from an original group of 6 fishermen to its current membership of 64 boats, with 120 employees on shore and a further 360 at sea. After processing, the fish is sold throughout Ireland and also worldwide. Daily catches include monkfish, hake, ray, black sole, whiting, cod, and pollock, and as 95% of the area’s economy depends on fishing, the Co-op is crucial to the community.

Neven then heads to Co. Kerry and the Boat House restaurant at Dromquinna Manor, where guests have the option of arriving by boat. Chef Benny Scannell shares his recipe for a delicious Green Curry made with Monkfish, and Prawns from Castletownbere.

Back on the Beara Peninsula, Neven travels to Garnish Harbour where he embarks on an exhilarating speedboat tour taking in the extraordinary Bull and Calf Rocks. On the return journey Neven’s high-speed tour also takes him underneath Ireland’s only cable car which connects  the mainland to Dursey Island.

In addition to seafood, the pristine waters around the Beara Peninsula also produce premium quality sea salt. Neven meets Aileen O’Neill, owner of the award winning Irish Atlantic Sea Salt to learn how this crystal, organic salt is made. Sea salt is a versatile product, and a short distance away in Kenmare, chocolatier Benoit Lorge uses it as a key ingredient in chocolate making. Benoit treats Neven to a tasting of delicious handmade chocolates and explains how even a sprinkling of sea salt can magically enhance the flavour of chocolate.

Neven’s own recipe this week is Roast Hake with a Smoked Bacon Mash and Red Wine Sauce.

Neven’s Irish Seafood Trails is produced and directed by David Hare for InproductionTV and is sponsored by BORD BIA.


Press enquiries:
Ann Coughlan 00 353 87 6778045
Pauline Cronin 00 353 87 2629967