Articles

With St Patrick’s Day being the main event in March, it’s a natural time for Irish people to think about our traditional foods – and there’s nothing more traditional than pork and bacon. The pig was probably the first domestic animal to be brought to this country and, while it may seem a long way from post-tiger Ireland, it’s not all that long since “the gentleman who pays the rent” played an important role in rural households.
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In the first of a new monthly column written refreshingly (and sometimes controversially) from the perspective of those who offer hospitality rather than enjoy it – in her case, in a wonderful 18th century mansion, Hilton Park, in County Monaghan – LUCY MADDEN ponders one of the great culinary questions posed to modern restaurateurs: how do you satisfy a part-time vegetarian?
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Every February the Irish Food Writers Guild (IFWG) announce their unique Awards of Excellence, which are presented to just three or four carefully selected top food producers at a special awards ceremony in Dublin. The recipes in this article are based around the products that won the awards in 2009.
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Although it may not feel like it with the seriously wintry weather we always seem to get at this time of year, St Bridget’s Day officially marks the beginning of our Irish spring – and, as Tennyson said, this is ‘when a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love’. .
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