FOOD AND CULTURE

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FOOD AND CULTURE

• The enigma of Irelands food culture coming to
  grips with the notion of traditional food

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There are movements to try to preserve out
traditional food culture, which are worthy too,
but there is so little there and what is there is
a scrappy collection of dishes, some delicious
but others only historically interesting, that
they hardly add up to a national culture. The
opportunity that exists is, I believe, to accept
that we have an almost blank page and to cook as
we see fit from the finest produce we can
muster. Denis Cotter The Café Paradiso Cookbook,
1995
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Why have the Spanish such an exotic and vibrant
culinary culture, and we have little enough to
sustain a regular magazine? Why have we not
turned offal into delicacies? In Ireland we have
not one single policy of policing traditional
foods, simply because we have almost no such
traditional foods. Why does no-one in Ireland eat
eel, though our rivers teem with it? Kevin Myers
An Irishmans Diary The Irish Times
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while Irish diet and cooking are simple compared
with French (which is hardly a fair comparison as
the same would apply to a comparison between
French and all north European cuisines), it is
one of the most interesting culinary traditions
in Europe. Louis Cullen, An economic history
of Ireland since 1660 London, 1987
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But while Irish people like to depict
themselves as gregarious gourmands living amid
bucolic bliss, there are many critics of
Irelands carvery culture who find this
portrayal difficult to digest. We consume more
baked beans than anyone else, points out Trevor
White, journalist and author of newly published
Kitchen Con. McDonalds on Grafton Street in
Dublin is our busiest restaurant and from
Rathmines to Ringaskiddy, Abrakebabra has become
the national eatery. Unlike most European
countries we have contributed little or nothing
to the global cookbook, and for an island nation
we are remarkably ambiguous about fish. Put
simply, we cant cook. Darina Allen of
Ballymaloe hotel says Ireland is full of
ghastly restaurants, despite being heartened by
the growth of farmers markets, and the slow-food
movement. Too many people are still reheating,
rather than cooking, and restaurants are still
overpriced, largely because of excessive Vat on
food and wine, and high labour costs, she said.
But there is much to be hopeful about. Colin
Coyle The Sunday Times August 27, 2006
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Amhlaoidh Ui Shuileabhanin, 1783 - 1838 Callan,
Co. Kilkenny
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• Traditional
• 1. Region
• 2. History
• 3. Knowledge
• 4. Extinct traditions
• 5. Emerging traditions