Articles

For all its challenges, many interesting projects came out of 2020 and creating a group cookery book, as Visit Kilkenny have done with their online Kilkenny Christmas Traditions collection of festive recipes, was one of the best for morale.
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A simple statement on the back cover of The Joy of Food says, ‘This is the book that Rory O’Connell was born to write.’ And it is no overstatement. If ever there was a cookbook that expresses the author’s life philosophy, this is it...
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A new book from Ireland’s best-loved chef, Neven Maguire, is always welcome - and, once again, he’s right on the money with Neven Maguire’s Midweek Meals (Gill, hardback. €22.99).
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There’s never been a better time to make the case for organic food production and its potential in Ireland is massive. With Green issues including climate change at the top of the political agenda, plus concerns about the possible fall-out if there’s a no-deal Brexit and WTO rules are introduced, there’s a unique opportunity to do the right thing by the environment and build on Ireland’s reputation as a quality food producer at the same time. And perhaps we could even bite the bullet and go for the ultimate prize: Ireland as an organic food island…?
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Thanks to this year’s travel restrictions, 2020 will go down as the year of the great Irish staycation. And that’s proving to be a silver lining of this challenging time as - just as we did in the recession, when foreign holidays were put on hold for different reasons - many of us have found ourselves exploring some of the quieter areas of Ireland, spending more time close to nature and enjoying the opportunity to forage for the plentiful free food that is to be found everywhere at this time of year...
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It’s all about the ingredients again this month - and why wouldn’t it be. High summer has brought an abundance of terrific Irish produce, so there’s no better time to keep it simple and spend less time in the kitchen - let seasonal foods do the talking on the plate...
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When it comes to good food it’s all about the ingredients, and quality ingredients are all about great producers - so, as savvy chefs always tell us, the trick is to shop well, support local producers, and then treat their ingredients with respect.
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While home baking seems to have become the new national sport during the lockdown, all home cooking is seeing a welcome revival and it’s good to see so many producers upping their game to offer online shopping with collection and/or delivery services in their locality or, in many cases, nationwide.
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Hardly into Q2 of this extraordinary year, we have another book by an exceptional figure in Irish food. In February, Jp McMahon’s The Irish Cookbook hit the culinary headlines with its well researched and passionate celebration of this bountiful island and the cooking traditions that are so often dismissed; a wonderful gift to a new generation of cooks by one who revels in exploring the good things in our food culture.
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Eileen and Stefano Crescenzi have been housebound in Rome for weeks. But, true to form, they are not letting that get them down. Food is a tonic as ever and the evening meal has become the focus of the day - they alternate who cooks dinner, and each dinner has become a special occasion.
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