This week the team at Castle Grove Country House Hotel, Letterkenny, share insight into how their very own heritage Walled Garden plays in delighting diners with the freshest of ingredients for every dish:
The Garden is a team effort, it has been lovingly restored mainly by Aland D and his gardener David. They have carefully chosen all the Veg varieties to give as many options throughout the year.
Alan Sweeney and Chef Paul Brady in Castle Grove’s Walled Garden
The weather has been amazing this Summer and crop growers all over Donegal have been rejoicing in their abundant crops. This is also true at Castle Grove.
The flowers and plants around the grounds are in full bloom and the daily harvest from the Walled Garden offers our award-winning chefs a wide variety of fresh fruit, vegetables, herbs and even edible flowers!
Taking a walk through the Walled Garden is a journey of discovery and upon arriving at the fig tree, laden with ripening figs, one could be forgiven for thinking they are in the South of Italy.
The journey doesn’t end there. Purple varieties of mange tout, cauliflower and broccoli also greet you along the way and you will even find autumn and winter vegetables growing alongside the abundance of summer varieties being harvested daily.
Purple & Green Brocoli, Figs, Purple & Green Mangetout
Figs, Squash and Pea Flowers
The culture of using locally sourced ingredients is well established at Castle Grove, almost 30 years now, and diners expect the best in freshness and quality. So naturally, our award-winning chefs are in their creative element incorporating the Walled Garden fayre in our newly launched a la carte menu. It also offers a peaceful sanctuary for all our residents to explore (and feedback has been amazing on produce that they have never seen or tasted before) and then enjoy beautifully prepared on their plate in the restaurant.
All the while, we are using a variety of preservation techniques so that our guests can continue to enjoy these wonderful tastes, textures and smells of the summer as we move into autumn.
The dining experience at Castle Grove offers something for everyone, and you’ll be able to taste the freshness knowing that they were organically grown and picked just a few meters away earlier that day from the Walled Garden!
Call, email or DM us on Castle Grove Facebook today to book your table now!
+353 (0) 74-91-51118
Or reservations@castlegrove.com
