We may have to wait another few weeks before we can eat out at our favourite restaurants but thanks to Farmgate Café, you can bring the eating out experience to you with their new heat at-home meal service.
Remember way back in the early days of quarantine when we were all baking banana bread, tending to our sourdough starters, and learning how to use pantry staples in new and creative ways? Yeah, us neither. At this point, that all feels like another lifetime ago.
The global pandemic has prompted changes in nearly every aspect of our daily lives, and that, of course, includes our food habits. Way back in March of this year, many of turned to cooking and baking as a means to cope - but now, over eight months in and a second lockdown later, how many of us have stayed committed to that hobby? We mean, when was the last time you saw a picture of a freshly baked banana bread on your feed?
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When it comes to eating at home, many of us have returned to our pre-covid ways where the kitchen is once again just something that came with the house. Settling for boiled pasta and bland microwave meals, the thought of cooking a gourmet meal from scratch – like we did some months ago – doesn’t even cross our minds. Sure, there's always takeaway but although it's great for local businesses, daily ordering can get prohibitively expensive very quickly.
Cue Farmgate Café.
The Cork-based eatery, which last year celebrated 25 years at the English Market, has launched a click and collect lunch and dinner service. Like many restaurants across the country, Farmgate Café has made necessary changes due to the current phase of restrictions in order to bring its contemporary take on traditional classic dishes to its loyal customers.
[email protected] is a menu of ready meals created by the Café kitchen team that can be heated up at home, including a selection of individual items and firm Farmgate favourites to choose from, like homemade soda bread and duck liver pâté, fish pies, stews, desserts and cakes. With a three-course set menu weekend supper and a two-course midweek supper, eating at home has never tasted so good. Made from ingredients sourced in Cork's iconic English market, the menu changes slightly every week but continues to highlight the quality produce found at the market stalls. A sample weekend menu for two might include a mushroom risotto starter, slow-braised feather blade of beef with duck fat roast potatoes and cauliflower cheese, followed by apple and blackberry crumble with custard for €35, with the option to add a bottle of wine for €15. Check out what's on the menu this week, here.
But if it's going out for lunch that you're missing most in lockdown, Farmgate has you covered. FarmgateToGo is a grab and go lunch offering with soup, chowder, sandwiches, stew and a pie of the day. Simply order in advance online, choose a pick-up time, and your FarmgateToGo will be ready for collection or you can pop in and order at the counter if you’re passing.
Both FarmgateToGo and [email protected] available for collection from 11 am to 3 pm, Wednesday to Saturday. Go to farmgatecork.ie for more information or call 021 427 8134 to order now.
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