A working class vegetarian is something to be...

Had the radio (RTE 1) on in the background and my attention was drawn to a debate about vegetable consumption in Ireland. One person on a panel discussion felt that the consumption of vegetables was a class issue and I would certainly agree. Obviously costs and education are big factors. One of my favourite past times is taking the taking the escalator from the top floor of the Jervis centre in Dublin. This gives me a birds-eye view of the little cafe at the bottom of the stairs. You can be certain that about 90% of the finished plates will have the serving of side salad left untouched.

A tale of two books

Eamonn O Cathain's book, Around Ireland with a Pan: Food, Tales and Recipes is a somewhat humorous and honest examination of (or lack of!) the culinary tradition in Ireland. The book looks at how food is produced, prepared, sold and eaten in Ireland, north and south and makes the outrageous statement, 'When I was a wee boy, the only thing that seemed to come from Tyrone was a sausage - from Cookstown'

Another interesting read that I came across recently was Back Through the Fields: Memories of a Rural Life by Maurice McAleese (2005).

Food glorious food

Following my earlier posting on agritourism I came across this article on culinary tourism on the Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog. It discusses the differences and linkages between the two but at the end of the day I believe that the linkages are greater than what they admit to. There is absoultely no reason why a gourment culinary experience cannot be part of a rural restaurant linked to a farming enterprise.

Just read the comments from their blog on an author's culinary experiences on a recent visit to Ireland. There would seem to be much scope for improvement and innovation bringing to life Irish food in a rural setting.