Category: blog

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in post production: trading secrets

I’m working on a six part series for Tyrone Productions with a working title of Trading Secrets loosely based on mentoring in the hospitality industry. Directed by Julian Hills, produced by Maya Derrington and developed by Ruán Magan for Fáilte Ireland

Each of the six programs tackles a different aspect of the industry – sommelier, chef, restaurant, hotel management, bar & events management – but not as a statement of hard facts, more an exploration of the relationship between someone at the top of their game and somebody entering the industry. Three are nearly complete and I think they make really good viewing.

I’m thoroughly enjoying working on the series with these folks & it should appear on RTÉ in April or May possibly under a different title. Check back here closer to the time and I’ll post details.

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Dublin Coastal Develoment viral campaign

53,800 views and counting …

We (The Farm) were involved in producing and post-producing this viral late last year – it turned out to be the most successful viral in the history of the state. A lot of fun to work on with an adventurous client and an energetic ad agency.

The film suggests that Ireland is now so wealthy and land is so scarce that building now should commence out in the Bay. A sanctuary for the rich, helicoptered types.

The reaction to the viral was superb, it garnered news coverage on RTE News and Morning Ireland radio and many websites. The team at the Farm had a blast making it and was a showcase for some of the great 3D work by Brian O’Durnin.

[There are some RealPlayer links to appropriate bulletins from RTE but I can’t figure out how to link to them from this page – if anyone knows how to do rtsp links from a blog, please let me know]

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iPhone

Desktop class applications


I wonder what Steve Jobs meant by this – he seemed to be a bit cagey (in yesterday’s keynote) and talking within the limiting confines of an an announced but as yet unavailable product. Can this thing write documents? On this jailbreak iPhone 4 website it looks clumsy to write more than a few words in an email. Portable computing? I’m not convinced yet. But there again it’ll be at least the end of the year before we see them over here.

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Seth Godin on how to be remarkable

Seth Godin, the ur-blogger had a piece in the Guardian on 6/1/07 on how to be remarkable. While I have a lot of respect for his musings in general, I think that in this instance he seems to have turned into Eddy from Ab Fab.

2. Remarkable doesn’t mean remarkable to you. It means remarkable to me. Am I going to make a remark about it? If not, then you’re average, and average is for losers.

Pass me a Bolli Stoli quick!

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SecondLife

A couple of months ago I signed up to SecondLife just to see what it was like and what all the fuss was about. It was a quiet time in work, I was between projects.

Because of the antiquity of my hardware and network congestion, I suppose my SecondLife experience was not great. It was slow, and I mean really s l o w . My machine could barely keep up with the animations and frequently the burden proved too much, it just sat down. Now I know my laptop isn’t exactly cutting edge, being four years old an’ all, but the SecondLife client is a relatively needy. And another thing, my connection both from home and from work (different suppliers) was seriously laggy.

On the positive side, it allows you explore sartorial diversification in guilt free mode. I’ll let you figure that one out yourselves.

I imagine that once I replace the old lapper with something from the C2D department later this Spring, then I’ll have a better chance to see if SecondLife will intrigue me as much as it’s infuriated me so far.

It’s an interesting concept, virtual money in a virtual world, being adopted by real world marketeers and advertisers.

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Sam’s slow shoulder of pork

 

I’m not sure of the provenance of this recipe, but I’m attributing it to my mate Sam, who has served it up at his and Eileen’s New Year’s Eve party for the last few years …

Feeds 20 and takes 24 hours to cook, not suitable for vegetarians or other anomalies on the gastro-continuum.

Method:

First, order up the shoulder of pork. You need a 10kg piece, and it may be called something different in your neck of the woods, possibly a forequarter of pork. Ask the butcher to score the fat. Let it come to room temperature while you make the rub. And turn on your oven full blast, as high as it’ll go within reason, say 250C.

Aye, there’s the rub:

You’ll have plenty of opportunity to sleep: perchance to dream with this recipe since it takes a full 24 hours to cook (note the literary reference for all you Shakespeareans out there). For the rub, mix some garlic (say about 8 cloves), a teaspoon or more of chilli flakes, a large knob of peeled fresh ginger, a tablespoon of wine vinegar and two of olive oil together. Chuck it all into your biggest, baddest mortar and pestle and pound to oblivion. The proportions are a little vague, but make enough paste to cover the meat, rub it into the scored fat especially. Use your hands for this, since it’ll put you in touch with your animal self. Keep a little of the rub back for later.

Next, stick your smeared joint on a rack, skin side up, and slide into the blazing oven. It’s surprising how heavy 10 kilos feels while your arms are extended, so if you’re weak or faint of heart, get somebody stronger to do it for you.

After about half an hour to 40 minutes, by which time your kitchen will be smelling glorious, remove the beast and, using oven gloves or similar, turn the cut the other way, skin side down, and mash the remaining rub into the exposed side.

Turn your oven down very low, say 120C or gas mark 1/2, put the shoulder back into the oven and cook for a long time. About a day. The slow oven in your Aga would be perfect for this. You can’t overcook the meat at this temperature, so it doesn’t matter if it’s a bit longer.

Finishing:

About half an hour before you want to eat, crank the oven back up high again, turn the meat skin side up and blast with heat for perfect crackling. Then serve. It will probably fall apart on the platter, so carving isn’t really the operative word, more like pulling or rending. Pour off the fat and make a gravy with what’s left at the bottom of the roasting tin. Serve with red cabbage and a celeriac mash.

Thanks again, Sam.

Addendum:
After a modicum of googling, it would appear that this recipe is from the toothsome Nigella, who in turn borrowed it from the second River Café Cookbook, and God only knows where it came from before that. So I don’t feel lazy or guilty (just hungover) because neither Sam nor I will ever be as beautiful or rich as Nigella, and it wasn’t her idea anyway.

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food: Sam’s slow shoulder of pork

 

I’m not sure of the provenance of this recipe, but I’m attributing it to my mate Sam, who has served it up at his and Eileen’s New Year’s Eve party for the last few years …

Feeds 20 and takes 24 hours to cook, not suitable for vegetarians or other anomalies on the gastro-continuum.

Method:

First, order up the shoulder of pork. You need a 10kg piece, and it may be called something different in your neck of the woods, possibly a forequarter of pork. Ask the butcher to score the fat. Let it come to room temperature while you make the rub. And turn on your oven full blast, as high as it’ll go within reason, say 250C.

Aye, there’s the rub:

You’ll have plenty of opportunity to sleep: perchance to dream with this recipe since it takes a full 24 hours to cook (note the literary reference for all you Shakespeareans out there). For the rub, mix some garlic (say about 8 cloves), a teaspoon or more of chilli flakes, a large knob of peeled fresh ginger, a tablespoon of wine vinegar and two of olive oil together. Chuck it all into your biggest, baddest mortar and pestle and pound to oblivion. The proportions are a little vague, but make enough paste to cover the meat, rub it into the scored fat especially. Use your hands for this, since it’ll put you in touch with your animal self. Keep a little of the rub back for later.

Next, stick your smeared joint on a rack, skin side up, and slide into the blazing oven. It’s surprising how heavy 10 kilos feels while your arms are extended, so if you’re weak or faint of heart, get somebody stronger to do it for you.

After about half an hour to 40 minutes, by which time your kitchen will be smelling glorious, remove the beast and, using oven gloves or similar, turn the cut the other way, skin side down, and mash the remaining rub into the exposed side.

Turn your oven down very low, say 120C or gas mark 1/2, put the shoulder back into the oven and cook for a long time. About a day. The slow oven in your Aga would be perfect for this. You can’t overcook the meat at this temperature, so it doesn’t matter if it’s a bit longer.

Finishing:

About half an hour before you want to eat, crank the oven back up high again, turn the meat skin side up and blast with heat for perfect crackling. Then serve. It will probably fall apart on the platter, so carving isn’t really the operative word, more like pulling or rending. Pour off the fat and make a gravy with what’s left at the bottom of the roasting tin. Serve with red cabbage and a celeriac mash.

Thanks again, Sam.

Addendum:
After a modicum of googling, it would appear that this recipe is from the toothsome Nigella, who in turn borrowed it from the second River Café Cookbook, and God only knows where it came from before that. So I don’t feel lazy or guilty (just hungover) because neither Sam nor I will ever be as beautiful or rich as Nigella, and it wasn’t her idea anyway.

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boooks


Finding myself in a bit of a rut when it comes to reading, just at the moment. All I’ve read recently is high altitude literature (thanks to Touching the Void) or thrillers. Never did manage some of the loftier books in this image – Faulkner too slow – Lanchester too wordy – Kafka too complicated and too slow. Double whammy.

As regards the high altitude stuff, I find it fascinating that perfectly sane individuals will risk life and limb for the ultimate in highs – Messner, Mallory and Irvine, Jon Krakauer. I just can’t get enough of this stuff, anything written below 19,000 feet is for wimps.

I think maybe reading a discipline that I have to re-learn, although why reading should be anything other than pleasurable and slightly challenging (in these days when my disposable time is at a premium) is moot. I like books, but I also like an immediate hit.