Articles

A brace of books this month, all about the humble tuber that has become our national vegetable: the potato. Lucy Madden's The Potato Year, 300 Classic Recipes (Mercier Press, hardback; 350pp; €14.99) and Eveleen Coyle's The Irish Pocket Potato Recipe Book (G&M, hardback; colour photography throughout, 256pp; €4.99)
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A few months ago, I was giving a talk about growing things (as you do) to a GIY group and was discussing the growing of spuds when a woman put up her hand to comment. She told us about a tradition in her family when the first new spuds of the season were being harvested. Her grandmother would always take a small batch of new spuds and put them in a biscuit tin, throw in a small covering of soil, put a lid on top and then bury the tin in the garden.
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What it means to be an organic farmer in Ireland today … Jenny Young writes about life and work on an organic mixed farm in Co Kildare - and selling its produce
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The common Stinging Nettle, Urtica dioica, was for many generations an important traditional food in Ireland, providing a free and tasty ingredient for soups, purées and sauces in the spring.
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This is the Year of Irish Design and, continuing her fascinating series on the opportunities that good design can bring to Irish food and tourism businesses, Aileesh Carew focuses on a very famous - and illuminating - example.
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A double bill of festivals in April means you won’t be stuck for things to see and do and taste, writes Dee Laffan. Festival season well and truly ignited this month, with the fourth annual Galway Food Festival kicking things off last weekend, next on the calendar, we travel south east to the coastal town of Dungarvan and surrounding countryside for the West Waterford Festival of Food, taking place from Thursday 9th to Sunday 12th April and celebrating eight successive years. The final festival in April takes us back to the capital for the inaugural Dublin Wine Fest from Monday 20th to Sunday 25th April.
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This month Marilyn Bright talks to Ireland's most famous ambassador for fresh Irish seafood, Martin Shanahan of Fishy Fishy Restaurant in Kinsale, Co Cork- whose motto is “no skin, no bone, no fear”
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In common ownership with the boutique Brook Lane Hotel, Dermot and Una Brennan’s popular restaurant in the centre of Kenmare stands out for the pride that the owners and their head chef, Joe Ryan, take in showcasing the best of local produce - even in a town that has earned such a name for its food.
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Now in its 21st year, the annual Irish Food Writers’ Guild (IFWG) Food Awards recognise homegrown producers, organisations or individuals, whilst also celebrating the heroes who have devoted – and are continuing to devote – their lives to supporting and promoting Irish food
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It’s not as easy as it sounds to give visitors ‘a real taste of our Irish produce’ - but Darina has the answer to this common problem. I got a wonderful letter recently, beautifully hand-written by a woman who described herself as an octogenarian.
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