Co Kerry & The Puffins
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So we left early Saturday and drove to Killarney via Limerick (aka "Stab City"). We had lunch there, then drove the 1st half of the Ring of Kerry to Portmagee (photos still to come), finding Ballycarbery Castle on the way.
We spent two nights in Portmagee - mostly coz Vincent (who I used to work with)'s sister owns the pub and hotel there - and a great setup it was too with award winning pub food and not a bad pint.
On Sunday we took one of the ferries (converted fishing boats seating 12 max) for the 1 hour journey to Skelling Micheal. You can read the Wikipedia entry for yourself, but it is a 6th century monastic site and now a UNESCO World Heritage site - definitely a must see if you're in Kerry and if you go in May through July you'll see the delightful Atlantic puffin - very cute, especially on take off and landing (flaps down).
Monday saw us drive the 2nd half of the Ring on some really really uncomfortable roads before hoofing it back to Limerick where we dropped Emily off for her trip to Galway. By 9pm we were home having stopped at M&S in Naas for some ready meals.
As Gordon Ramsay would say on the F-Word, "Kerry & The Puffins. Done."
(slideshow here)
Labels: david, photos, Travelling
Barbequed puffin with cucumber salad. Done. But not to my taste.
From the NZ Herald:
Gordon Ramsay fried over 'puffin killing'
Thursday July 31, 2008
Prickly culinary guru Gordon Ramsay has been blasted by viewers after he ate the raw heart of a dead puffin on his F Word television show.
Footage of the fiery chef hunting the cute bird in Iceland's Westman Islands was broadcast on British TV earlier this week.
On the programme, Ramsay was seen catching a puffin in a net, while a companion in hunter-gatherer mode proceeded to snap the neck of another of the birds and "pulled out the dead animal's heart, which he ate raw," says the Daily Mail.
Ramsay was then seen eating the heart of another bird after it was tossed to him.
The chef was not seen killing any birds on camera, but was filmed rustling up a dish of barbecued puffin with cucumber salad during the programme.
On the schnoz
And in an act best described as karma, one of the pottymouth chef's angry prey took umbrage at being strangled and proceeded to bite him on the nose. He needed three stitches.
Ramsay tells Britain's Sun newspaper: "They put make-up on my nose and Jesus Christ it looks bad. I keep saying one of my kids punched me. I'm too embarrassed to say it was a puffin."
Media watchdog Ofcom is apparently investigating the programme after receiving seven complaints from viewers.
A spokesperson said: "I can confirm that there have been seven complaints from viewers about the treatment of puffins on last night's episode of The F Word."
One viewer wrote on the F Word forum: "I caught the last few minutes where to my horror Gordon Ramsay took part in catching and killing puffins. And then he made silly remarks when the terrified bird he caught defended itself and bit him.
"These birds are declining in the UK and to show their killing in another country where it is allowed is irresponsible.
"A very bad move on Gordon's part to be seen to condone practices in another country that would definitely not be tolerated here."
Ramsay says that he was granted a licence to cull 1,000 puffins, and "didn't realise how difficult they are to cook, but they're very tasty!"
Oh, and as a final insult to those puffins who corked it, the TV show's official website even features a recipe for marinated puffin, served with a special 'volcanic bread'.
Lip-smackingly delicious with a nice Chianti? I think not.
Hi Emily! We actually saw the show and had to flick to a different channel during the neck-snapping. I like GR, but he has a vile streak.