Retail sector – the
newfound Holy Grail for Pakistan
Published:
March 27
KARACHI: Pakistani
businesses have traditionally been export-oriented and they have done a great
public service by bringing in precious dollars for our economy. The textile sector
tops the list of these exporters, followed by the distinguished rice exporters.
However, in recent times, our exporters are finding it increasingly
difficult to compete internationally, leading to a decline in their margins. At
the same time, retail businesses in Pakistan are making a killing in profits.
Eight months into the current fiscal year, textile exports have already
declined by 2%, with the drop not only occurring in volumes but margins as
well. Additionally, exporters are too eager to sell. Hence, they are taking
greater risks to get orders.
For example, they are currently exporting against firm contracts (not
against the letter of credit which is relatively more secure) – that too with
credit periods ranging up to 180 days. Due to such long credit periods, these
exporters are compelled to utilise bank loans that come with a financial cost.
There is always an inherent risk of default with credit sales.
Alternatively, retail businesses have relatively lower risks as they sell
from one hand and receive payment from the other. Therefore, there is no risk
of bad debts. Furthermore, since these businesses don’t have to sell on credit,
their utilisation of banking loans is also very low, almost nil in most cases,
which results in financial savings. The icing on the top is that these
retailers have net margins which are several multiples above the net margins of
the exporters. In a nutshell, retailers are making more profits with much less
risk.
The case of rice is not so different either. Decades ago, Pakistani rice
exporters used to export in bulk. The business used to be profitable, but with
multiple yields and effective marketing by Indian exporters, the trade for
Pakistan is becoming more and more difficult. It has already declined by 15% in
the eight months during the current fiscal year.
This should raise some red flags in policy-making avenues. Since we are
losing established markets to other international players, our rice exporters
are eager to export to troubled areas like Yemen. They, like Oskar Schindler,
believe that war brings opportunities. These exports, even though declining,
are done at historically minimum margins.
A distinguished rice exporter Kazim Khandwala recently revealed: “Margins
in rice exports have declined to almost 1%; however, the retail market is
offering margins up to 10%.”
Just like textile, selling rice in retail doesn’t have the risk of bad
debts. Hence, we are witnessing an increasing wave of locally branded rice in
our supermarkets. Furthermore, most business personnel are pooling their money
to invest in retail and real estate nowadays. Malls and luxurious residential
projects offer returns which can’t be matched by the traditional export
business models.
The real magic behind the Holy Grail of retail business in Pakistan is
the exponentially growing population. According to some, the country offers the
largest untapped, homogenous and middle-class consumer market of the world. And
our population is becoming increasingly spend thrift. The longing for comfort
is beating the price consideration these days. Hence, retail is gaining
prominence. This untapped market and huge potential in our retail market may
have lured Royal FrieslandCampina to acquire Engro Foods for around $500
million and Arselik to acquire Dawlance Pakistan for $250 million.
Although this retail frenzy is attractive for businesses, it has some
negative implications for the consumers and policy makers. Brands come with a
premium. For example, when packaged milk hit the Pakistani market, the price
differences in loose milk and branded milk was not so much. Since brands have
gained prominence in recent times, the price difference has increased to about
40% – most of which is the brand premium.
The other and more challenging situation presents itself on the front of
economic policy making. This retail boom would encourage exporters to move to
the retail business as it offers higher returns with lower risks. This would
lead to a sharp decline in exports which would mean more current account
deficit in the backdrop of falling remittances. This ballooning deficit would
bring our policy makers to their knees in front of the International Monetary
Fund and World Bank.
The writer is a corporate banker and teaches economics
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1366354/retail-sector-newfound-holy-grail-pakistan/
Research
report explores the rice starch market analysis by food grade and industry
grade type 2016
WhaTech
Channel: Food & Beverage Market Research
Published:
27 March 2017
Submitted
by RNR Market Research.
Global Rice Starch Market report analyze the top manufacturers
of Rice Starch, with sales, revenue, and price of Rice Starch, in 2015 and
2016, and also displays the competitive situation among the top manufacturers,
with sales, revenue and market share in 2015 and 2016. Global Rice Starch Market 2016 report spread across 111
pages gives Market Segment Analysis by Key Manufacturers, Regions, Types and
Applications.
Rice starch is characterized by very small granules in the range
of 2-8 µm, being much smaller than those of other cereals, tubers and roots,
such as corn and potato. Its granule size is comparable to the size of fat
globules, therefore ideally suited to mimic a full bodied fatty mouthfeel.
It provides creamy textures and can serve as natural fat
replacer.
- Agency -.
It can be widely used in food industry, pharmaceutical industry,
chemical industry and cosmetic industry.
Complete report is available at
www.reportsnreports.com/reports/788773-global-rice-starch-market-by-manufacturers-regions-type-and-application-forecast-to-2021.html.
Scope of the Report:
This report focuses on the Global Rice Starch market, especially
in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and
Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions,
type and application.
Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report covers: BENEO,
Ingredion, Bangkok starch, Thai Flour, AGRANA, WFM Wholesome Foods, Golden
Agriculture, Anhui Lianhe, Anhui Le Huan Tian Biotechnology
Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers: North
America (USA, Canada and Mexico); Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and
Italy); Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia); South
America, Middle East and Africa
Market Segment by Type, covers: Food Grade, Industry Grade
Market Segment by Applications, can be divided into: Food
Industry, Pharmaceutical Industry, Cosmetic Industry
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There are 13 Chapters to deeply display the global Rice Starch
market.
Chapter 1 to describe Rice Starch Introduction, product scope,
market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;
Chapter 2 to analyze the top manufacturers of Rice Starch, with
sales, revenue, and price of Rice Starch, in 2015 and 2016;
Chapter 3 to display the competitive situation among the top
manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2015 and 2016;Chapter 4
to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of
Rice Starch, for each region, from 2011 to 2016;Chapter 5, 6, 7 and 8 to
analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries
in these regions;
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Chapter 9 and 10 to show the market by type and application,
with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2011 to
2016;
Chapter 11 Rice Starch market forecast, by regions, type and
application, with sales and revenue, from 2016 to 2021;
Chapter 12 and 13 to describe Rice Starch sales channel,
distributors, traders, dealers, appendix and data source.
ReportsnReports
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No one to investigate millers poisoning rice in
storage
By Kasum Warakapitiya
Food safety and health officials,
the consumer watchdog and the pesticide regulator are toothless in the face of
the danger posed by pesticides that are freely being used in warehouses storing
paddy
A highly toxic fumigant
that can cause liver and kidney damage as well as damage to the lungs, nervous
system and circulatory system, is allegedly being used in warehouses storing
Sri Lanka’s staple food, rice. 
But food safety and health
officials, the consumer watchdog and the pesticide regulator are toothless in
the face of the danger posed by pesticides that should not be used on raw
agricultural produce.
A public health official says
aluminium phosphide is being used to fumigate warehouses.
It reacts with the moisture in
the air and produces phosphine gas which is the substance that is active as a
pesticide, the US Environmental Protection Agency says. There are many products
containing aluminium phosphide and they all poses an inhalation hazard to
humans as well. It is categorised as having the highest toxicity and use is
restricted.
The Pesticide Action Network says
highly acutely toxic pesticides can be lethal at very low doses.
The alarm over the well-known use
of the deadly pesticide by rice millers in warehouses was raised last week by a
physician in Polonnaruwa.
Chief Medical Officer of
Polonnaruwa Dr. Malin Methsuriya, said millers are using the pesticide to stock
rice for extended periods.
Dr Methsuriya told the Sunday
Times that he brought the practice to the notice of an agricultural committee
meeting at the District Secretariat after being alerted by workers employed by
millers. 
Dr Channa Jayasumana
“Some mills store paddy for a
couple of years although usually stocks can be retained only for one year,’’ he
said.The head of the Department of Pharmacology at the Rajarata University, Dr
Channa Jayasumana, said rice millers can stock the grain for years because of
the use of chemicals against insects and fungal growth.Dr Jayasumana, who is
also a senior lecturer at the Rajarata University, said organophosphates are
being used by rice millers.
He said studies in rural areas
have shown up chemical components in hair and urine samples collected from 50
adults. Chronic exposure to pesticides are higher than in foreign countries and
there has been an increase in risks such as birth defects and still birth,
cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular illnesses, respiratory as well as neurological
diseases.
“Last year, over 28,000 cancer
cases and 300 chronic kidney disease cases were found in the Rajarata area,’’
he said.
He said research is being done to
establish how these chemicals which contribute to chronic illnesses were found
in human hair of persons who have had no contact with pesticides.
“We spray poison directly onto
our staple food. This is a crime,’’ he said. 
Dr. Malin Methsuriya
He claimed that despite repeated
warnings, the Pesticides Registrar, Consumer Affairs Authority, and health
officials have not investigated the danger.The vice president of the Public
Health Inspectors Union, H R S S P Herath, said that aluminium phosphide is
used widely against insects.He said that such chemicals are illegal as well as
red listed. But these are also imported.Herath said detection of their use by
millers is difficult.
“It will take several months to
get the results if samples of rice we collect during raids are provided to the
government analyst or the Industrial Technology Institute,’’ he said.
He said at least Rs 30,000 is
spent to check chemicals in grains.
Herath said testing equipment was
badly needed.
While inspectors try to check
rice storages every month, there are only 2,200 staff across the island to do
the job. In Colombo and the suburbs one PHI has to be responsible for over 35,000
citizens.
Inspectors do not have protective
gear either to enter warehouses that have been fumigated.
The Pesticide Registrar Dr Sumith
Jayakody, said only registered pesticides are approved for use in warehouses.
“We take legal action against
millers who spray pesticides directly onto rice, fines between Rs 50,000 to
500,000 are enforced, while a two-year jail term can also be imposed,’’ he
said.
He explained that fumigation with
chemicals is recommended before rice is stored. If used in gunny bags, the
chemicals should dry off before rice is packed.
Dr Jayakody said complaints have
been received about millers and rice storage owners illegally using chemicals
on rice and other grains.
The director of the Consumer
Affairs Authority, Chandrika Thilakatne, said the authority has no mandate to
check rice mills and warehouses. “We only raid shops that sell poisoned, or
expired rice.’’
All-Island Farmers Federation,
general secretary, T B Sarath said the government is not able to investigate
the chemical danger.
He said millers have imported
rice and use chemicals to hold the stocks for longer
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/170326/news/no-one-to-investigate-millers-poisoning-rice-in-storage-234200.html
Only super fine rice for hostels: Etela Rajender
The Civil Supplies Corporation was supplying rice directly from
its mandal-level stock points and not through the fair price shops, said Civil
Supplies Minister, Etela Rajender.
File Photo: Civil Supplies Minister, Etela
Rajender.
Open
Hyderabad: For the first time, super fine rice
was being supplied to State-run Social Welfare Residential Schools and Hostels
in Telangana. The Civil Supplies Corporation was supplying rice directly from
its mandal-level stock points and not through the fair price shops, said Civil
Supplies Minister, Etela Rajender.
He
informed members in the Council that only super fine rice (sanna biyyam) was
being supplied to social welfare hostels. It was procured as per prescribed
specifications and accepted only after testing the cooked rice. Fine rice had
many varieties but only four specific varieties as indicated in the GO were
being procured. Farmers were provided MSP of Rs 1,800.
He
denied the allegation that coarse rice, turned into fine rice through
polishing, was being supplied. There was no such technology, Rajender said and
added that periodical checks were carried out at the hostels to check the
quality of rice.
He
admitted that some rice millers from Telangana were acquiring paddy from Bihar
and UP at Rs 2,000 per quintal and selling the same at Rs 3,000 per quintal.
The corporation had taken action against illegal transport of rice and seized
paddy worth Rs 5 crore.
To
a question, Rajender said now food security cards were meant only for drawing
ration and for no other purpose. After the TRS government launched a drive to
weed out bogus ration cards and linked them to Aadhaar, the number of cards had
come down from 3.05 crore to 2.70 crore. The government had introduced e-pass
to check diversion of rice and PD Act was being applied to those who indulge in
misuse, the Minister said.
http://telanganatoday.news/only-super-fine-rice-for-hostels-etela
Thai rice prices
firm but fall in Vietnam and India
Rice prices firmed in Thailand on a stronger baht while prices
dipped in Vietnam and India, traders said on Thursday. The price range for
benchmark 5 percent broken rice widened to $350-$362 a tonne free on board
(FOB) Bangkok, from $350-$355 last week, with traders citing the Thai baht's
appreciation against the US dollar to 34.66 baht from 35.33 baht last week.
"The baht has strengthened, but demand is still weak," one trader in Bangkok said. The Thai government held a state auction to offload spoiled rice for industrial use on Thursday, but results have yet to be announced. The world's second-biggest rice exporter sold 3.6 million tonnes of rice abroad between the start of the year and March 21, up 2.7 percent from the same period last year, the commerce ministry said. In India, meanwhile, 5 percent broken parboiled rice fell by $1 to $371-$376 a tonne this week amid sluggish demand. "At the current price level, we are not competitive. Due to the appreciating rupee, we couldn't reduce prices," said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. The Indian rupee was trading close to its the highest level in nearly 17 months, reducing returns for exporters. The country's 2016/17 rice production is likely to rise by 4.3 percent to a record 108.86 million tonnes, the government has said.
India, the world's biggest rice exporter, mainly exports non-basmati rice to African countries and premier basmati rice to the Middle East. "Paddy prices are more or less stable despite a drop in rice prices. This will cut exports in coming months," another Kakinada-based exporter said. Vietnam's 5 percent broken rice fell to $350-$355 a tonne FOB Saigon, from $355-$360 last week, as supply increased during the main harvest season.
"Global demand is not so strong as Thailand is still selling their inventory," said a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam rice shipments fell 26.5 percent last year to 4.8 million tonnes, while exports of the grain in the first two months of 2017 decreased 23.5 percent year on year to 738,000 tonnes, customs data showed.
"The baht has strengthened, but demand is still weak," one trader in Bangkok said. The Thai government held a state auction to offload spoiled rice for industrial use on Thursday, but results have yet to be announced. The world's second-biggest rice exporter sold 3.6 million tonnes of rice abroad between the start of the year and March 21, up 2.7 percent from the same period last year, the commerce ministry said. In India, meanwhile, 5 percent broken parboiled rice fell by $1 to $371-$376 a tonne this week amid sluggish demand. "At the current price level, we are not competitive. Due to the appreciating rupee, we couldn't reduce prices," said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. The Indian rupee was trading close to its the highest level in nearly 17 months, reducing returns for exporters. The country's 2016/17 rice production is likely to rise by 4.3 percent to a record 108.86 million tonnes, the government has said.
India, the world's biggest rice exporter, mainly exports non-basmati rice to African countries and premier basmati rice to the Middle East. "Paddy prices are more or less stable despite a drop in rice prices. This will cut exports in coming months," another Kakinada-based exporter said. Vietnam's 5 percent broken rice fell to $350-$355 a tonne FOB Saigon, from $355-$360 last week, as supply increased during the main harvest season.
"Global demand is not so strong as Thailand is still selling their inventory," said a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam rice shipments fell 26.5 percent last year to 4.8 million tonnes, while exports of the grain in the first two months of 2017 decreased 23.5 percent year on year to 738,000 tonnes, customs data showed.
http://fp.brecorder.com/2017/03/20170326158146/
Protect rice farmers before QR Expires–PCC
MARCH
26, 2017
It
will surely benefit the consumers, but lifting the quantitative restriction
(QR) on rice, without providing the agriculture sector with the appropriate
protection, will burden rice farmers, an official of the Philippine Competition
Commission (PCC) said.In an interview with the BusinessMirror last Friday, PCC
Economics Director Benjamin E. Radoc Jr. said the government, particularly the
Department of Agriculture (DA), should provide rice farmers the proper
safeguards before it allows the entry of more rice imports.
“The
DA must prepare the sector first before we open the market [to foreign
entities],” Radoc said.As the state’s antitrust agency, the PCC perceives the
lifting of the QR presents opportunities to consumers. Without the constraint,
buyers can now choose between local rice and foreign rice, which is expected to
be cheaper due to low production cost.Once the QR expires, Radoc said the
country will be flooded with Thai and Vietnamese rice, which he described as
not only cheaper, but also of better quality.
“Filipino
rice farmers are not the best producers of [the staple] for these reasons:
because of technology, the culture of land that we have. So, if you are the DA,
help them identify where they are better at,” he said.
The
PCC official said the DA must examine the comparative advantage of Filipino
farmers, and to look into opportunities it can offer to farming households.Radoc
urged the DA to cooperate with local government units in assisting farming
households develop a “more diversified set of income”.
As
an alternative, the government can offer regular jobs and entrepreneurship
opportunities to members of farming household, while preparing the rice sector.
Radoc
said imposing tariffs on rice imports is not the “proper way” to address the
problem. “If you lift the QR and replace it
with tariffs, what difference will that make?”
with tariffs, what difference will that make?”
For
instance, imposing a high tariff on imported rice that are on a par with those
produced locally would not benefit consumers as this would not result in lower
prices.
“At
the end of the day, we want to have a healthy competition for the consumers to
benefit, and we do that because we force the producers to be more efficient,”
Radoc said
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/protect-rice-farmers-before-qr-expires-pcc/
Learn to make Paramount Fine Food’s chicken
and rice
Aromatic rice with toasted nuts,
veggies and poached chicken makes this a healthy and flavourful meal for the
week.
Paramount
Fine Foods' head chef William El Dbaissy shared his recipe for riz a’djaj,
Lebanese-style chicken and rice. (RICK MADONIK / TORONTO
STAR) |ORDER THIS PHOTO
Fri.,
March 24, 2017
Paramount Fine Foods, the popular
Middle Eastern quick service restaurant chain, is known for the meat tornado
that is the shawarma skewer. But, in asking head chef William El Dbaissy for a
recipe home cooks could replicate, I knew that wasn’t a realistic option. So I
simply asked for something more challenging than hummus. In return, the
Lebanon-born and raised chef sent me his recipe for a comforting meal that’s
also grand enough for a banquet: riz a’djaj, or Lebanese chicken
and rice.
“This dish is all over Lebanon,
not just in one area or province,” he says. “You can compare it to the turkey
at Thanksgiving. At any celebration, the family will make it.”
Think of a big platter of
cinnamon and ginger-scented rice tossed with caramelized ground beef. To
finish, shredded poached chicken and toasted pistachios, almonds and cashews
are sprinkled on top. It’s a dish that every Lebanese household knows how to
make, says El Dbaissy, who learned to cook by helping out his dad at his
restaurant back in Lebanon.
While riz a’djaj is
considered a celebratory dish, it’s easy enough to make on a Sunday and feed
the family for the next few lunches.
Riz A’Djaj (Lebanese Chicken and
Rice)
Use boneless, skinless chicken
breasts in place of a whole chicken to save time (though you’ll miss out on the
flavourful dark meat). Conversely, if you have time, after removing the meat
from the carcass, simmer the bones in the poaching liquid to make your own
chicken broth for the rice. El Dbaissy says some families serve it with yogurt
and cucumber, while others make gravy from the chicken. For his version, which
is available on Paramount’s catering menu, he adds peas and carrots for colour
and nutrition.
For the chicken:
3 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
6 whole green cardamom pods
1 tsp (5 mL) black peppercorns
1 tsp (5 mL) kosher salt
3 fresh ginger slices
2 lb (1.1 kg) whole chicken
water
For the rice:
1/2 cup (125 mL) each unsalted shelled
pistachios, blanched slivered almonds and unsalted cashews
3 tbsp (45 mL) unsalted butter
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1-inch(2.5 cm) knob ginger, freshly grated
300 g (11 oz) ground beef or lamb
1 tsp (5 mL) each ground cinnamon and ground
allspice
Kosher salt and freshly ground
black pepper
2 cups (500 mL) basmati or any long grain
white rice, rinsed
900 mLbox (3 1/2 cups) no-salt-added chicken broth
1 cup (250 mL) frozen green peas
In a large pot, add spices,
ginger and chicken. Pour in enough water to completely submerge chicken. Over
medium-high heat, bring water to a rapid boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and
cook for 45 minutes, or until chicken is completely cooked. Remove chicken from
pot and let rest until cool enough to handle. Remove skin and bones. Shred meat
into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
In a medium-sized skillet over
medium heat, toast nuts until fragrant and starting to brown, about 1 to 2
minutes. Remove from heat. Set aside.
In a large pot over medium heat,
melt butter. Sauté onion, carrots, garlic and ginger until onions begin to turn
translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add ground meat and sauté until browned,
about 5 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Add rice and stir to absorb some
of cooking liquid. Add broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover
and let simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is fluffy and tender. Add peas and
stir till defrosted. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Transfer rice mixture to a large
serving platter. Top with shredded chicken and toasted nuts.
Serve immediately.
Makes 6 to 8 servings.
https://www.thestar.com/life/food_wine/2017/03/24/learn-to-make-paramount-fine-foods-chicken-and-rice.html
Luncheonette: 'The food is not just
cheap, it is also good'
Luncheonette,
NCAD, Thomas Street, Dublin 8. Facebook: LuncheonetteDublin
1Democratic
canteen food: Luncheonette on Thomas Street. Photo: Tony Gavin
Katy McGuinness
January 15 2017 2:30 AM
Years ago, when I lived in New York, there was
a restaurant called La Lunchonette (sic) on Essex Street between Rivington and
Stanton on the Lower East Side. The chef was Jean-Francois Fraysse and he was
good, bringing a punk sensibility to classic French bistro dishes.
For a few years, it was my favourite restaurant
- I ate there at least once a week - and then it closed and I left the city,
and that was that. I only recently realised that Fraysse reopened the
restaurant in Chelsea a couple of years later and that I could have eaten there
again. But now La Lunchonette is gone for good; the building owner got an offer
that he couldn't refuse and Fraysse's lease was not renewed.
Everyone
should have a restaurant in which they are a regular, where they feel at home,
not least because it is good to have somewhere that will find you a table at
short notice, and will save the last order of côte de boeuf for you because
they know that's what you like. In all the column inches about AA Gill that
were written last month, the details that I enjoyed the most were about his
relationship with an Italian restaurant called Riva in Barnes, where he ate a
couple of times a week, marking special occasions such as the christening of
his twins there, dispensing with the menu, and telling the kitchen to bring
"everything".
It's clear that Luncheonette in NCAD on Thomas
Street has a loyal regular clientèle. A friend who works nearby, in The Digital
Hub, tells me that she eats lunch there every day of the week. She says that we
should meet at 12.15pm to avoid the queue. This sounds a tad over-anxious to me
but, sure enough, we are by no means first and, by the time that we are leaving
at 1.30pm, there are a couple of dozen people waiting patiently to be served.
So what
is it about a modest café in an art college that attracts 350 customers a day?
It would be disingenuous to say that the prices
- as unassuming as the premises - don't contribute to Luncheonette's
popularity. We ordered just about everything on the menu and our lunch for two
came to €18.50, which we rounded up to €20 for friendly counter service. (At
Luncheonette you eat at big communal tables and clear up after yourself.)
But the
food is not just cheap, it's also good. Luncheonette offers the kind of
democratic canteen food that every schoolchild, student and worker in the
country should be able to access. The menu changes every day, and the lunch
offering always includes a soup, salad and sandwich. Today, the soup was If
Burrito was a Soup with basmati rice and smoky yoghurt, so there's a little
more to it than your average café soup and it comes in a huge bowl. It would
make a sustaining lunch on its own: rustic, nourishing and well-seasoned, full
of beans and rice and flavour, and it costs just €3.
The salad features shaved Brussels sprouts with
dates, lemon, hazelnut, and pomegranate topped with grilled halloumi cheese.
The dressing could do with more citrus, as the dates and pomegranate make the
salad over-sweet, but really this is nitpicking. It's a fine portion of fresh
food and the price is €4. A huge ham sandwich, made with ham that Luncheonette
bakes itself, comes on rye bread and features dill-pickled cucumber, lettuce,
and "our mayonnaise". It's €3.50.
By way
of dessert, we take away a slice of densely damp orange and rosemary poundcake,
and a chocolate brownie topped with sticky coffee caramel that's rather
delicious. Each costs €2. Gingery probiotic soda is better than all the
commercial versions that I've tried, and mint tea (€1) is literally overflowing
with handfuls of fresh mint. Protein balls - mysteriously called Chokladbollar
- are €1 apiece and they too are damn fine; the consistency dense and properly
chocolatey.
I call Jennie Moran, the woman behind
Luncheonette, to find out a little more. I'm curious about the café, how it
came about, and the secret to its singular charm. Jennie graduated from NCAD
with a degree in sculpture in 2005, and worked as a full-time artist for a
number of years in and around Dublin. She says she was always fascinated by the
concept of hospitality, the mysterious alchemy of a thousand different things
that come together to make somewhere a place that people want to be, and the
sneaky ways there are to encourage people to delay there, how food can be used
to get people to spend more time together in an unselfconscious way.
NCAD's
café closed back in 2012, and Jennie said she hated to think of the students
having nothing to nourish them through long studio sessions, so she started to
bring hot soup in one day a week. After a while - and with no formal training
in food - she asked if she could reopen the canteen and, to her surprise, she
ended up with the keys. She spent the summer making furniture and light
fittings.
THE RATING
8/10
food
8/10 ambience
9/10
value for money
25/30
ON A
BUDGET
Everything
at Luncheonette is pocket-friendly, but a breakfast bowl of porridge with
cream, roasted hazelnuts and honey is just €2.
ON A BLOW-OUT
Soup and
a sandwich, followed by brioche pudding and coffee will set you back €10.40.
THE HIGH
POINT
High-quality, nourishing food at prices that
make it affordable for everyone. And the protein balls are delicious, which is
not a sentence I ever thought I would write.
THE LOW
POINT
Luncheonette is only open during NCAD's
term-time.
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