Sundays were made for a piece of roast beef. In the old days, those lucky enough to have beef to eat, may have found themselves running to the local baker to cook it, because often there wasn’t an oven to speak of in the house! The meat would cook for hours in the baker’s hot stone oven, after the morning’s bread had been baked. That’s going back a bit now – a couple of centuries at least. These days, ovens abound in every home kitchen, but beef is still somewhat of a treat on Sunday, given the nature of busy lives and lack of time to cook an old fashioned Sunday Roast dinner.  That’s why so many families choose to go out and enjoy a relaxed get together on Sunday with someone else doing the cooking,  every once in a while.  At our award winning Sage Restaurant in Midleton, Co. Cork, the tradition of Sunday lunch is upheld in the highest order! Kevin Aherne is the young dynamic owner/chef at Sage restaurant  – which won Best Newcomer of the Year 2012 for the southern region at the annual GFI awards ceremony in November 2012. His commitment to local and passion for seasonal,  is the driving force behind the Sage ethos. Kevin firmly believes in the ‘now’ for his ingredients, taking inspiration from what’s available in his local farmer’s market each weekend,  and from farmers and growers within a 12 mile radius of the town of Midleton.  As he knows only too well, the best Irish beef is well hung in the time honoured way –  dry aged on the bone for a minimum of 21 days, to allow the meat to become tender and develop flavour.  On his Sunday Lunch menu, the dry aged sirloin comes from a nearby farmer, roasted and served in typical Aherne style. Very popular it is too!  We think you might like it!