Best Possible Taste with Sharon Noonan Sharon Noonan

In this Best Possible Taste interview, Sharon Noonan is joined by Dvir Nusery and Nicola Crowley from Mezze in Tramore, Co
Waterford who are celebrating 5 years in business.

Mezze has become a firm favourite with foodies from all over travelling to sample their Middle Eastern delights. The dynamic husband and wife duo, Chef Dvir Nusery and Food Entrepreneur Nicola Crowley have worked tirelessly over these last five years, to combine simple locally produced food with Middle Eastern flavours to create innovative and mouth-watering deli style offerings.

Believe it or not, it all started on a glacier in New Zealand! Nicola, from Ireland, met Dvir, from Israel and their love, life and culinary adventure started from there. Fast forward a few years, marriage and two kids later, Dvir and Nicola began working on their dream Mezze. From humble beginnings working in Nicola’s mother’s kitchen with Dvir cooking up a selection of his favourite dips, salads and breads usually served at the start of the meal in the Middle East they started to turn their dream into reality. With a small pop-up tent at the Harvest Festival in Waterford city in 2015 Mezze was born and the business grew from there.

In 2019, the couple made the leap of opening a bricks and mortar place in their hometown of Tramore. They’d been working at festivals, farmers markets, doing pop up dinners and cooking classes and wanted a place of their own to do all of that and more. Mezze HQ is a dynamic space for foodies with plenty of personality and great food. It runs as a deli, café and shop by day with cooking classes and events by night.

Speaking on the milestone Dvir said “As we celebrate 5 years in business we are filled with immense pride and gratitude for the incredible journey we've been on. Mezze has featured on TV, radio, print and digital, we’ve published a cookbook, opened an online store, journalists, celebrities and influencers come visit and so much more, it’s been truly amazing! None of this would have been possible without the support of our customers, the hard work of our team, and the partnerships we've forged along the way. We look forward to continuing to serve our community and delivering exceptional Middle Eastern food for years to come!”

Nicola commented “In honour of our 5th anniversary, Mezze will be hosting special events, promotions, and giveaways throughout the month of May. These celebrations serve as a token of appreciation for the continued support and patronage of its customers and the entire Mezze community so keep a close eye in-store, on our website and across our social media channels.”

Mezze is open Tuesday to Saturday from 9.30am till 3pm. To find out more about Mezze, purchase their cookbook or a delicious food hamper simply visit mezze.ie.

Food/drink/travel writer and curator Ali Dunworth is no stranger to the Best Possible Taste.

In this interview, Ali gives an insight into her first book “A Compendium of Irish Pints: The Culture, Customs and Craic” which is published by Nine Bean Rows Books with illustrations by Stephen Heffernan AKA Hephee.

In Ireland, a pint – having one, going for one, buying one – is a cultural institution. It’s so much more than 568ml of beer in a glass. But how did a simple pint become such a phenomenon? Like all great superheroes, the pint has its own origin story, a full-bodied narrative that explains how the beloved beverage came into being and part of everyday life.

In A Compendium of Irish Pints, journalist (and pint lover) Ali Dunworth delves into the culture, customs and craic surrounding pints in Ireland. Beginning with the birth of beer and traversing through Ireland’s unique drinking journey from the Brehon Laws to invasions, Ali shares why ‘going for a pint’ means so much more than just going for a pint. From the ubiquitous airport and after-work pints to the importance of beer mats, seeking out pints in snugs, discussing hangovers or eating crisps for dinner, Ali leaves no type of pint unturned (or undrunk!). Covering etiquette to expressions, pints for celebrations and pints for commiserations, festival pints, old man’s pubs and everything in between, A Compendium of Irish Pints shows why this popular beverage is integral to Irish society and why it has been migrating further afield.

With illustrations by Stephen Heffernan, aka Hephee, that perfectly captures the culture of pints in his iconic style, you’ll find yourself working up a thirst and sending that text we all love to get: ‘Fancy a pint?’

Ali's book is available to buy at the following link:
https://ninebeanrowsbooks.com/products/pints

In this Best Possible Taste interview we meet Cherie Denham, a cook, baker, preserver and author.

Originally from Northern Ireland, Cherie now lives in Hampshire in the UK and recently collaborated with Montgomery Press to publish “The Irish Bakery."

THE BEST POSSIBLE TASTE CELEBRATED 10 YEARS ON AIR IN 2023 MAKING IT IRELAND'S LONGEST-RUNNING FOOD & DRINK RADIO SHOW & PODCAST.

For more BPT interviews visit sharonnoonan.com

In this Best Possible Taste excerpt, Sharon Noonan meets Claire Crerand, Visitor Experience Operations Manager at J & J McConnell's Distillery and Visitor Experience.
Claire shared details about McConnell’s Distillery which is Belfast’s latest addition to the food and drink tourism scene.

THE BEST POSSIBLE TASTE CELEBRATED 10 YEARS ON AIR IN 2023 MAKING IT IRELAND'S LONGEST-RUNNING FOOD & DRINK RADIO SHOW & PODCAST.

For more Best Possible Taste interviews, visit www.sharonnoonan.com

Bord Bia Bloom returns to Phoenix Park on Thursday 30 May 2024 and continues over the bank holiday weekend until Monday 3 June 2024.
It is described as a world-class, uplifting, innovative horticulture, food, and drink experience with nature and sustainable living.
Ballymaloe Foods has been attending the event for several years and in this Best Possible Taste extract general manager Maxine Hyde shares the news that the company will be launching a new product at Bloom 2024.

THE BEST POSSIBLE TASTE IS IRELAND'S LONGEST-RUNNING FOOD AND DRINK RADIO SHOW AND CELEBRATED 10 YEARS ON AIR IN 2023.

For more Best Possible Taste interviews, visit www.sharonnoonan.com

In this Best Possible Taste extract, we return to the 2024 Balmoral Show to meet Alanna McKeever from Long Meadow Cider and Laura Short Murphy founder of Sliced the recently launched OatCo.

THE BEST POSSIBLE TASTE IS IRELAND'S LONGEST-RUNNING FOOD AND DRINK RADIO SHOW AND PODCAST AND CELEBRATED 10 YEARS ON AIR IN 2023.

For more Best Possible Taste interviews, visit www.sharonnoonan.com