An Irish Food Story: 100 Foods That Made Us
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Both a historical survey and a contemporary meditation, this thoughtful examination of foods central to Irish cultural identity comes from Michelin-starred chef Jp McMahon (Aniar, Galway).
As McMahon writes, “This book is about the story of Irish food and food in Ireland. They may seem like the same thing, but they’re not. The high and the low, the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly: all our history is present in the food system that makes and unmakes us.”
In short essays, he discusses the likes of apples and barmbrack, cabbage and Dingle pie, puffin and Ribena, watercress, and whiskey. He never shies away from asking whether something like packet soup or lasagna might be considered truly Irish—and what qualifies it as such.
And he writes evocatively: “Before the potato, there was milk. If we had to find a key to unlock Irish cuisine over the centuries, it would revolve around dairy.”
Thoughtfully eye-opening.
Hardcover.
