Latest news with #Hooked
Irish Independent
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
After hugely successful first year, Taste of Sligo Food Festival is back with stellar line-up
Running from Friday 19th to Sunday 21st September, the annual celebration of food, which is the brainchild of local food hero Anthony Gray, brings top chefs and food producers to Queen Maeve Square in the heart of Sligo town. It's all about the atmosphere and a winning combination of cookery demonstrations, al fresco dining, live music and kids' entertainment as well as dozens of artisan food stalls and food trucks it adds up to a superb experience for foodies of all ages. It's an additional draw, bringing tourists to Sligo for a foodie weekend. 'The Taste of Sligo Food Festival highlights the rich food culture and incredible food tourism experience in Sligo', explains Anthony Gray of Eala Bhán and Hooked restaurants, Taste of Sligo Food Trails and a founding member of Sligo Food Trail, 'It showcases everything that's good about food in this county and brings in top chefs from around the country. Last year was amazing and it's going to be even better in 2025'. Professional cookery demonstrations include celebrity chefs Kevin Dundon, Shane Smith and Sham Hanifa with well-known MC Tracie Daly of Ballymaloe fame. Also starring on the demo stage are award winning local Sligo Food Trail members Alan Fitzmaurice (The Glasshouse Hotel), Becca Sweeney (Hooked), Rafal Chimiak (Eala Bhán), Anthony Gray (Wild Atlantic Way), Aisling Kelly (Sligo Oyster Experience), Afro Caribbean cooking sensation Funké Egberongbe (Funké Restaurant) and Dr Prannie Rhatigan as part of the Spanish Armada Ireland weekend. Sarah Browne (Oysome) is a new local face on the demonstration stage. Stands include a fabulous cross-section of producers with lots of artisan produce to bring home and enjoy on the day. Mammy Johnson's have all the home made ice-cream flavours you can imagine. Drinks are well represented too with Lough Gill Craft Beer catering for craft beer lovers and the Drumshanbo Gin Bar offering delicious options. New this year is the Cool Food School with cookery workshops for 5th and 6th class students. Presented by BTEC-qualified Health Coach Deirdre, the mission is to teach children of all ages about the joys of healthy eating. Workshops will be held before the festival opens on Friday in Eala Bhán. For 2025 a third day has been added due to popular demand and the festival begins this year on Friday 19th September with a tapas-style event running from 4.30 to 9pm. Festival hours on Saturday 20th September are 12-8pm and on Sunday 21st September 12-9pm. Large crowds are expected and advance booking is advised. The Taste of Sligo Food Festival is supported by Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Rural Innovation and Development Fund (RIDF), Sligo BID, Sligo Food Trail, Visit Sligo, Sligo County Council, Fáilte Ireland, Wild Atlantic Way and Sligo Chamber of Commerce, Whitesides SuperValu, Expert Electrical and Hawks Rock Distillery. The easiest way to get festival tickets is to book in advance through Eventbrite. The cost is €10 per day or €15 for an early bird three day-ticket (before 31st July). The standard three-day ticket price is €20. Under-12s get free admission with an adult.
South Wales Guardian
02-07-2025
- Health
- South Wales Guardian
New fund to get women and girls active in West Wales
The West Wales Sports Partnership, supported by funding from the National Lottery and Sport Wales, has launched an Innovation Fund aimed at reimagining how sport and physical activity are delivered across Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Swansea and Neath Port Talbot. A key focus of the fund is increasing participation among women and girls. Jamie Rewbridge, CEO of the West Wales Sports Partnership, said: "The Innovation Fund is not just about funding projects—it represents a new way of working, built on collaboration, co-creation, and shared learning." Six projects have been funded, involving more than 35 partners. One of the projects, Hooked, will use boxing-inspired activities to engage young women in areas of socioeconomic deprivation, while Tri Together: Your Time to Tri will deliver a triathlon-style programme co-designed by women, for women. Equity in Action will work with young women at a local mosque to co-create activities. Another project will see young women trained as peer researchers to identify barriers and opportunities for participation, with their findings informing future schemes. Dr Sue Barnes, chair of the West Wales Sports Partnership, said: "This is a huge milestone for West Wales, and the Sports Partnership. "We know that being physically active has significant benefits physically and mentally – yet we also know that, for many, becoming physically active has challenges. "For our first Innovation Funding Round we chose to prioritise women and girls – as we know this is an area where participation is highly variable and many are missing out on the opportunity to improve their health and wellbeing." The partnership extended thanks to the Centre for Health, Activity and Wellbeing Research (CAWR) at Cardiff Met for their guidance in shaping the programme, and to the Welsh Institute of Physical Activity, Health & Sport (WIPAHS), which is leading monitoring and evaluation. Mr Rewbridge said: "This collective effort lays the foundation for a more connected, inclusive, and responsive approach to sport and physical activity in our communities. "We look forward to learning and evolving alongside our partners as we bring these ambitious ideas to life."
Western Telegraph
06-06-2025
- Business
- Western Telegraph
Award-winning Fishguard chippie celebrates 10th birthday
Fishguard's Hooked@31 turns ten this week and to celebrate the award-winning chippies is offering two portions of fish and chips for a tenner, or one portion for £6. The take-away is also celebrating the fact that National Fish and Chip Day also turns 10 today (Friday, June 6). (Image: Hooked@31) The celebratory deal includes two five to six ounce saithe fillets cooked in Hooked's signature crispy batter along with a portion of chips for just £10. 'Saithe is from the cod family, has a stronger flavour and darker flesh. It's well worth a try,' said Hooked@31. If you don't want to do the double, you can have a single portion of Saithe and chips for just £6. Hooked has made a name for itself for producing quality fish and chips. In 2020 the Fishguard fryers were whittled down from 10,500 chippies across the UK to be named one of the top ten in the UK. The chippie was also ranked among the top two in Wales. They gained the accolade in the National Fish & Chip Awards, a UK-wide competition celebrating true excellence in the fish and chip industry. In the run up to the finals, Hooked@31 gave away free fish and chips, which saw hopeful locals queuing down the street for their portion. The business stayed open during the lockdown, providing delicious home deliveries to grateful locals. When restrictions eased, it was common to see long queues of customers all eager for Hooked's deep-fried fayre. The following year Hooked@31 was named as one of the best in Wales as part of the 2021 edition of the Official Guide to the UK's Quality Fish and Chip Shops. The chippie is also well known throughout Pembrokeshire for its famous homemade ice cream from local Morfa milk. It also produces vegan and dairy-free ice cream. In 2023 January owners Charlette and Gethin Rand said that the business would be taking a new direction and would not be opening its doors in the new year. However, the chippie was soon back in business, this time as a pop up venue opening on selected days rather than year-round. The pop-up concept has proved a hit with customers and Hooke@31 is open for three days a week throughout June with another gluten free evening planned as well as other special events. To celebrate its tenth birthday this week Hooked@31 is open from Wednesday through to Saturday from 12pm to 2pm and from 4.30pm to 8pm. Other tasty treats are on offer as well as the saithe two for £10 deal. You can order at the counter or pre-order at linked above.
South China Morning Post
01-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Drink in Focus: Oyster Shell at Socio
Where other concept menus often lead with esoteric ideas or atmospheres that contextualise their signatures, the front cover of Socio's new menu hits us with just facts: it introduces their community-driven bent, which focuses on reusing waste ingredients from other restaurants and bars in SoHo. Advertisement Upcycling spare/waste ingredients – usually by way of centrifuging, redistilling, using sous-vide or other means of processing – is not a new concept. The question is always whether a waste ingredient still yields enough flavour to produce a delicious drink. This is what we immediately wondered with Socio's Oyster Shell, which reuses about 4.4kg of oyster shells monthly from Caine Road fish eatery and market Hooked. The exterior of Socio at 17 Staunton Street, Central. Photo: Jocelyn Tam 'The shells don't have a lot of flavour,' says co-founder Amir Javaid, 'so we actually add vinegar to bump up the savoury and saline notes. We do a distillation to remove any of the shells and make it a cleaner spirit. You could just infuse the shells, but this is more hygienic.' The rest of the drink leverages those amplified saline and savoury notes. Taking inspiration from the porn star martini, the cocktail batches a mix of the oyster and vinegar – distilled in vodka – with Roku gin before fat-washing it in cocoa butter. The drink is completed with cardamom bitters, passion fruit and lemon juices, then topped with sparkling wine to serve. The result is an effervescent, refreshing reuse of what is usually associated with sea salt and brine. 'Just because we named the drink 'Oyster Shell', people expect a strong taste, but the idea is just that we're using ingredients and we build around them, so it's never going to be the main flavour,' Javaid explains. Advertisement It's taken time, but it's safe to say the group project approach to using oyster shells in drinks has been as successful as it is intriguing. You could start your evening with oysters at Hooked, then walk downhill to Socio to enjoy the rest of that dish in a drink. 'I used to go for fish and chips [at Hooked] and then I got to speaking to the owner,' says Javaid. 'At first he was a little unsure about why I wanted the oyster shells. As we developed the concept, it took some time to win people over.'
South China Morning Post
28-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Are zero-waste bars actually feasible?
For Amir Javaid , founder of Socio on Staunton Street, running out of stuff is kind of the whole point. Each cocktail on the bar's menu features waste products, or, more palatably, upcycled ingredients, from a nearby restaurant. There's Butter down the street, Hooked on Caine Road and Uncle Miguel on Peel Street. Advertisement Sustainability is a term often thrown around in haughty circles while Hong Kong bars like Socio have been implementing green practices with little fanfare all along. Javaid says he likes 'the idea of not being able to make a drink because there's not enough of something'. It's an idea that has seen Javaid build a community of F&B venues that, through his cocktails, reduce food waste in their neighbourhood. The furthest collection point is a five-minute walk, he says. Two months ago he launched an eight-drink menu, each tipple featuring an upcycled ingredient from a different SoHo establishment. Ezra Star, owner of Sheung Wan's Mostly Harmless. Photo: Mostly Harmless Ezra Star , owner of Sheung Wan's Mostly Harmless, thinks sustainability starts with community. 'A lot of times when people open bars, it affects the entire neighbourhood and puts smaller places out of business,' she says. Instead, she prefers to work with local businesses such as traditional Chinese medicine shops to source herbal ingredients for concoctions such as non-alcoholic versions of fernet and chartreuse. The bar also sources everything locally, as opposed to using imported products, thereby reducing their carbon footprint. Advertisement Mostly Harmless is testing the waters as Hong Kong's first bar to serve only mocktails , and Star leases the whole building, which enables the bar to develop most of its ingredients in-house. For many other Hong Kong bars, however, space is scarce.
