The NeighbourFood Podcast

Today's episode is all about fond food memories and Irish bakes with none other than Graham Herterich, aka the CupCake Bloke. He takes us on a nostalgic journey, exploring the power of food memories and the influence they have had on his life. From growing up in a butcher shop, to joining the priesthood, working with top chefs, to cooking with his grannies, Graham's journey is filled with fascinating stories that lead him to write his first book Bake, Traditional Irish Baking with modern twists. In this chat we talk about the history of Irish baking including the early forms of bread baking, the impact of soda on the Irish kitchen and traditional folklore stories and fables…. Don't forget to put a cross in the top of your soda loaf to let the fairies out!Graham has travelled extensively and with so much cultural diversity in Ireland's kitchen today, Graham brings an expertise into blending flavours and incorcoporating these international influences into his culinary creations. And of course, we get some baking tips and advice from Graham that even the most novice of bakers will appreciate. So without further ado, let's dive into the world of flavours, food memories and traditional Irish baking with that modern twist with Graham Herterich. Bake is available now through Nine Bean Row Publishers and can be bought through their website or through anywhere that sells good books.https://ninebeanrowsbooks.com/products/bake The Bakery by the Cupcake Bloke, Graham's flagship spot where you can pop by 6 days a week and sample his creations is on South Circular Road, Dublin. https://thecupcakebloke.com/https://www.instagram.com/thecupcakebloke/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the NeighbourFood Podcast, today we have a special replay episode for you as we gear up for Street Feast 2023. We're joined by the incredible Sam Bishop, a true force of nature in the realm of community activation. Sam is a remarkable individual—a community activist, an initiator, and a doer. He's the kind of person who not only has brilliant ideas but also brings them to life with unwavering dedication. Sam's extensive involvement in various endeavors is a testament to his boundless energy but what truly captivates us about Sam is his talent for inspiring others and getting things done in the most ingenious ways. And one of these large scale achievements is the annual nationwide day of community feasting, which is aptly called Street Feast. Without Sam's persistent efforts and commitment, Street Feast wouldn't be where it is today. It's truly impressive to witness the way he has nourished this event year after year.Street Feast is all about celebrating a lovely lunch with your neighbours. Food is not just a matter of sustenance; it's about connection and conviviality. Sharing a meal and fostering community bonds are just as vital as the nourishment on our plates.Mark your calendars, Street Feast 2023 will be held on Sunday June 25 this year. But remember, this is an annual event, so if you can't make it this time, keep an eye out for next year's edition or as we discuss in our chat, Street Feast has a way of unexpectedly happening and popping up at any time.We hope you enjoy this chat with Sam Bishop, founder of Street Feast, as he takes us on a journey through the heart and soul of this extraordinary community gathering.Find out more on StreetFeast.ie Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to another episode of the NeighbourFood Podcast! Today we have a treat in store for all the whiskey aficionados out there. Our guest is Eric Ryan, a true expert in the world of whiskey, a historian with an unrivaled knowledge of Irish whiskey's captivating past. He is going to take us on a deep dive into the treasures of our national spirit. Today Eric works with as the Powers Distiller, Maturation & Innovation Specialist at Midleton Distillery. He studied an Msc in Brewing and Distiling in Heriot-Watt University and then went head first into Irish whiskey distilling working a distillery operator since 2010 with Midleton and been working in the world famous distillery ever since. He is regular contributor to Irish Whiskey Magazine and was secretary of of Cork Whiskey Society for some time and also curated and ran the Cork Whiskey Walk before taking up his current role as the Powers Distiller.Get ready for a fascinating synopsis of the timeline of Irish whiskey, starting from the 6th century Irish monks who first distilled the "water of life." We are going to learn how this spirit has evolved over the centuries, from its humble beginnings to the thriving distilling scene we know and love today.We'll also tackle the question of whether whiskey was indeed invented in Ireland or if its origins lie elsewhere. ….and learn about key events and figures that shaped the industry, with captivating anecdotes and stories from the past.But it doesn't stop there! Because Eric also guides us through the evolution of Irish whiskey production techniques, highlighting the innovations and changes that have occurred over time. We'll also explore the impact of prohibition and other historical events on the Irish whiskey industry, understanding how these challenges shaped its trajectory and what it took to overcome them. And of course, this whole time we have some delightful and intriguing fun facts guaranteed to capture your attention and leave you thirsty for more knowledge about this beloved spirit.Lastly, we unravel what truly sets Irish whiskey apart from other renowned whiskies around the world. Is it a matter of historic roots, provenance, and ingredients? Or is it the result of techniques, methods, and good marketing? Eric will provide us with his expert insights on this.So stay tuned, as we embark on this incredible journey into the heart and soul of Irish whiskey, guided by the expertise of Eric Ryan.Find out more about Eric onInstagram @ericwilliamryanTwitter @ericwilliamryanPowers WhiskeyInstagram @Powers_Whiskeywww.powerswhiskey.comIrish Whiskey Magazinewww.irishwhiskeymagazine.comCork Whiskey Societyhttps://corkwhiskeysociety.wildapricot.org/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we have a shining star joining us to chat on the NeighbourFood podcast. Dr. Tara Shine is an Irish environmental scientist, policy advisor and science communicator. She spent 20 years as an international climate change negotiator and adviser to governments and world leaders on environmental policy. She was Special Adviser to the Mary Robinson Foundation-Climate Justice and The Elders before setting up “Change by Degrees” with co-founder Madeline Murray who partner with businesses and organisations to empower and educate people to deliver sustainable solutions.She is also the author of How to Save Your Planet One Object at a Time, a book written to help everyone how to change their daily habits and live more environmentally friendly in home and at work. Her book is all about starting small, making incremental changes in behavior to build momentum and foster discussions around sustainable actions. Tara emphasises the crucial role of personal action in combating climate change and reducing food waste. While systemic changes are necessary, she believes in the power of grassroots change to drive transformative shifts and throughout our chat offers practical guidance for us all to decrease our environmental footprints without overwhelm.We hope you enjoy these valuable insights from Tara , who has dedicated her career to catalyzing change at both the global and individual levels, and discover how we can all contribute to a more sustainable living and future. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our guest today on the NeighbourFood podcast is Mary Reynolds, one of Ireland's leading advocates for nature. She describes herself as a reformed landscape gardener who won the Chelsea Flower Show in 2002. Mary is also an author and public environmental activist, and in this conversation today, we focus on her present campaign of healing the earth and the natural world.Mary explains the importance of connecting with nature and learning from it, allowing it to teach us valuable life lessons. She talks about building an "ARK" (Act of Restorative Kindness) by donating part of your land or garden, creating sanctuary corridors, and restoring natural ecosystems and habitats.Throughout the conversation, Mary emphasises the crucial role of biodiversity and the need to take personal responsibility for our impact on the environment, encouraging us to listen and work with our natural world, making conscious choices in our daily lives to become true guardians of the earth and all life it carries.To learn more about Mary's work, visit her website at marymary.ie or find her on Instagram @wildmarymary. You can also visit wearetheark.org to learn more about building ARKs and the movement that Mary has started. And don't forget to pick up one of Mary's beautiful books, "The Garden Awakening" (2016), or "We are the Ark" (2022). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Artist Kari Cahill joins us in this edition of the NeighbourFood podcast. Kari is a site-responsive visual artist, natural paint smith, and an all-around great person. During our chat, she shares her unique methods of creating site-specific artwork using nature and how food can be used to make paint. Kari talks about her relationship with art and food and provides insights into her toolbox and current projects. Don't miss Jack's challenge to create an artwork inspired by his favourite meal! Not a mean feat. Kari's expertise, experiences and passion are a beautiful insight into her world, methods of working and the intersection of art, nature, and food. We hope you enjoy listening. Links:https://www.karicahill.com/https://www.instagram.com/karicahill.studio/https://www.layoftheland.ie/https://www.instagram.com/layofthelandproject/#NeighbourFoodPodcast #KariCahill #SiteSpecificArtwork #NaturalPaintSmith #ArtAndFood #FoodArt #NatureInspired #PodcastRecommendation #NewEpisodeAlert #ArtistInterview #CreativeProcess #ArtInspiration #ArtChallenge #FoodInspired #PaintMaking #ArtMaterials #ArtInNature #CreativeCommunity Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As spring arrives, the blooming flowers bring joy and colour to our surroundings, evoking emotions that words cannot express. Beyond their beauty, flowers have healing properties used in medicine and play a crucial role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem. In this episode of the NeighbourFood Podcast, we have a conversation with Anna Hogan, a flower farmer from Seekings Flower Farm in Ballymacoda, East Cork. Anna cultivates Irish cut flowers from bulbs or seeds, creating nature-inspired bouquets that include fragrant herbs like fennel, dill, and mint. Anna is also a member of the Flower Farmers of Ireland, a network of sustainable flower growers who redefine the global cut-flower industry by producing locally-grown, seasonal, and scented blooms. During our conversation, we explore the significance of flowers, the state of the Irish flower industry, and the growing sector's impact on education, public awareness, social farming, pollination, and green matters. Additionally, Anna shares tips for hobby gardeners looking to grow their garden of paradise.https://www.fromseekingsflowerfarm.com/https://www.instagram.com/fromseekings/https://flowerfarmersofireland.ie/https://www.instagram.com/flowerfarmersireland/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“You could eat your dinner out of the ditch” that's what Fiona Falconer of Wild About tells us in thisweek's podcast which is all about Wild Food.It's abundant, free, full of adventure, resourceful and sustainable and celebrates the beauty and bounty of our landscape. So we discuss why it's important to eat from our natural surroundings and what are the benefits of eating wild foods for our health. Fiona also tells us about the value of running a small business, as she and her husband Malcolm upped sticks from London, moved to a 5-acre farm in Co. Wexford and now run an environmentally sustainable food business, appropriate called Wild About, which along with countless awards has presented them with many creative opportunities. In December 2021, we first chatted to her, and this here podcast is a re-play of that conversation. So we touched based with Fiona this wee to get an update on things on the farm. And as it turns it out they are getting on great! They are still living their mantra of “small is beautiful”, they are developing a food tourism side to the business and along with VisitWexford are hosting farm tours for visitors. Dreams and plans are afoot for a custard apple farm in Maderia with a tourism offering. Sounds exciting. And if you want to meet this vivacious woman in person, you will be able to catch them at Bloom in the Park this coming June 2023.Further more, we decided to re-play this episode as Spring is a particularly great time to get out and about in search of wild goodies and Fiona gives us a delicious and tempting recipe and now is the perfect time to give it a shot. And what's more, that song you hear at the start of the podcast, well that's an original piece of music - made specifically for the NeighbourFood podcast. From blackberries to mushrooms, wild food is also a huge passion for musician Peter Broderick. Peter, a Maine man, now living in Galway loves to forage for wild, edible plants. Though we may be so bold as to suggest writing the theme music for our NeighbourFood podcast was one of his greatest musical feats, what may interest you more is his song “Wild Food” from his album Blackberry, which is all about gathering, foraging, hunting, and munching! It's catchy (see what we did there?). So later you will hear from Peter and what he finds inspiring about “Wild Food”. *******Wild About's Nettle Beer RecipeIdeal for brewing around St Patrick's Day (17 March) when the nettles are young2 carrier bags of nettles (approx 500grams)12 liters of water1.5 kg sugar60 grams cream of tartarYeastOptional - 2 oranges, 2 lemons, GingerBoil the water. Once it comes to the boil, take off the heat. Add the nettles. Cover and leave it to infuse for a minimum one hour, but preferably overnight. Strain the mixture through a muslin cloth. Heat this mixture only enough to dissolve the sugar and the cream of tartar.Add the juice of the orange, lemon, and ginger spice (these are optional)Leave cool at room temperature and then add yeast. Cover with a tea towel and leave in a dark, warm place for four to five days.After this time, remove the scum from the brew bucket and siphon it into plastic bottles. Leave to settle in a cool place such as a fridge.Ready to drink after seven days and we are told it tastes like a Breton cider!. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we are chatting to three different microbakers from different parts of Ireland, who bake real bread using only flour, water and salt, for local customers within their local communities. Our guests are Angela Nöthlings, Ryes & Shine, Cork; Laura O'Donovan So-Doh, Renvyle, Connemara and Gráinne McGough of Grá Arán, Wicklow These are three stories of three different solopreneurs who join us to talk about their experiences with starting and growing their individual business from their kitchen counter tops to repurposed studios and garden sheds. We also talk about about the network of microbakers both in Ireland and around the world who support, encourage, mentor and inspire each other, and of course we hear about the importance of real bread from a health perspective, with the simplicity of the most basic of ingredients ingredients in making a wholesome and nutritious loaf. We found it inspiring listening to their can-do attitudes, an insight into their microbaking world and perhaps even motivation for anyone who is thinking of going down the microbakery route themselves.*****List of links mentioned in the show:Real Bread IrelandRiot Rye Bake House and Bread SchoolOur previous NeighbourFood podcast with Joe Fitzmaurice of RiotRye on “The Parable of the Local Bakery”The Sourdough Podcast - https://www.thesourdoughpodcast.com/Plötzlich Bäcker, Lutz Geissler - https://www.ploetzblog.de/podcast/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pádraic Fogarty is an ecologist and environmental scientist, chairman of the Irish Wildlife Trust from 2009-2013, editor of 'Irish Wildlife' magazine from 2009 to 2017 and currently acts as their campaign officer. He is author of 'Whittled Away - Ireland's Vanishing Nature', published in 2017. In this episode of the NeighbourFood podcast, we chat with him about the ecological state of Ireland today; the EU's new “Nature Restoration Law”; marine protected zones; what's exciting about some new policies and movements and take a look at COP15, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). And while Ireland and the world may be in a catastrophic state biodiversity wise, we talk about the vision for bringing nature in all it's glory back into our lives, by changing mindsets and actions. Padraic's knowledge and passion for nature is a pleasure to listen to. A massive thanks to him for his time in joining us to chat and if you are motivated by any of these topics today and would like to find out more, check out the Irish Wildlife Trust website iwt.ie or for some nice listening after you finish this, why not check out Irish their podcast series “Shaping New Mountains”. https://twitter.com/whittledawayhttps://twitter.com/Irishwildlifehttps://www.facebook.com/IrishWildlifeTrust/https://www.youtube.com/user/irishwildlifetrust Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Revolution Farm and Kitchen are rethinking our food systems. This is science, flavour, community and environmental care all wrapped into one.Using spent coffee grounds collected from the University College Dublin campus, the team grows fresh oyster mushrooms in a customised, retrofitted shipping container on site. The mushrooms are then used to create ragu and chilli sauces, which are sold around Dublin. We speak to co-founder Paddy Arnold about how the project came about and where it is going. We learn how UCD have given them not just a place to work, but a stream of eager volunteers and research students, providing a science-based, data-driven approach, aiming to discover if this is a sustainable way of growing food here in Ireland. We learn how they have changed their approach several times and stayed flexible and how putting the environment first can have social and circular economic benefits for us all. Find out more on https://revolutionfarmkitchen.com/Video Explaining Process - https://youtu.be/_XuJi5j615g Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The vivacious Tracie Daly is our guest today. This lady is a whirlwind of enthusiasm. Her wealth of knowledge and extensive experience in the food and hospitality industry is sure to captivate you. Since a dot, food has always been a way of life for Tracie. In every area food were the connection, the glue, and the backbone. Today she is a Food-Business-Coach and this progression, as we learn, was always meant to be!We hear about Tracie's journey to get to this point, which included growing up in a B&B, running an award-winning Kilkenny Cafe, teaching students from around the globe in the world-famous Ballymaloe Cookery School, to recipe testing and mentoring fellow food business owners. ​This award-winning entrepreneur now consults, mentors, guides, teaches, writes recipes, designs menus, creates social media content, and looks at operational systems and waste among other things. This January 2023, she is has come together with other leaders of industry and academic expertise, to devise and launch a pair of low-cost online events called AtThePass.ie which is targeted towards the current needs of hospitality-related business owners, who, let's face it are having a tough time right now. We speak about the current climate and the challenges of working in the food and hospitality industry and Tracie gives some really practical survival tips for those struggling. We speak about the strength in numbers and the importance of support for small business owners. And though hospitality can be a great and rewarding place to work, how do we keep our momentum in tune and our focus on the positives? This is a really good chat for anyone who is already running a food business or looking to start one. But to be honest, Tracie is just so positive and uplifting, it's just a good chat in general, so listen up! Find Tracie online at www.traciedaly.cominstagram.com/tracie_daly_business_growth/tiktok.com/@tracie_dalyfacebook.com/FoodBusinessCoachtwitter.com/TracieDalyFBC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Daniel Lyons and Laura Jane Foley have been growing hemp in County Clare since 2018 under the name Wild Atlantic Hemp. The husband and wife team have trialed different varieties of hemp on their farm to see what suited the growing conditions on the aptly-named Wild Atlantic Way. They process the flower of the plant to make cannabidiol (CBD) oil from their own hemp and that of other Irish farmers. This is an exciting listen about a group of farmers who are blazing the trail for a crop that could massively contribute to a greener planet. We spoke about the many uses of hemp in our lives, the science, the processes, the challenges, and of course, the regulatory complications as this market and potential super crop explodes worldwide. We also chat about the Hemp4Soil project, a Regenerative Farming Experiment in Loop Head in conjunction with ten local farmers, who were encouraged to grow an acre of hemp to see how hemp not only improves the overall quality of the soil and benefits local biodiversity, but could also provide sustainable income streams to the farmers in the future.And in a very exciting turn for our podcast, we have a special offer! A Free 5ml bottle of CBD Oil shipped out to your door. No catch…. but you'll have to listen to find out how. Find out more on wildatlantichemp.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Imagine the job of copying, editing, proofreading, developing and testing recipes…. and collaborating with Ireland's best-known, award-winning food writers and chefs, including, Neven Maguire, Darina Allen, Rory O'Connell, The Happy Pear and many more.Imagine beavering away for many years as a freelancer, unknown behind the scenes, quietly testing, tasting, proofing, writing, editing hundreds of books and thousands of recipes and and then BOOM, at a notion, deciding to starting your own food publishing company?The Irish Examiner has called our guest today ‘Ireland's top cookbook editor' and that she is along with being a freelance editor, food writer, and project manager. We are talking about Kristen Jensen. Founder of Nine Bean Rows, Blasta Books, and Scoop magazine. These are all Irish food writing publications that are the voice of modern Irish cuisine. An emigrant herself, Kristen came from the States and has shaped her career in food writing. She talks to us about her publishing projects, and the international voices of Irish cuisine, and we ask, what is Irish food today? And get some tips for people who dream big and want to publish their own cookbooks. This is a fascinating chat for anyone who wants an insight into the writing world or just who has a passion for good cookbooks and great food stories. Just as a little note, we have to apologise, my internet speed wasn't quite up to scratch the day we were recording this online, as the audio does go a bit crackly in places. But, stick with it, this is an amazing conversation and the next hour is going to fly by. We promise!You can find out more about Blasta Books on blastabooks.com , Scoop Magazine on scoopfoodmag.com and Nine Bean Rows at ninebeanrowsbooks.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kwanghi Chan has many fingers in many pies. He is a Hong Kong born, Donegal man, arriving in Ireland at the young age of 8 and his first experience was cooking in his uncle's Chinese takeaway. From head chef at Michelin Star “House”, three bricks and mortar premises called “Bites by Kwanghi” to two food trucks of the same name, a spice and other Asian ingredients wholesale business called Chan Chan, recipe and tv appearances, Kwanghi is a busy man. Not just that Kwanghi was the first person to write the spice blend recipe for the infamous “Spice Bag” which has since been copied by McDonalds - An odd accolade. Kwanghi is a passionate voice for Irish food though and he represents Irish food in Asia on behalf of Bord Bia, with many visits to Hong Kong, promoting quality Irish Artisans to that massive market. Most recently Kwanghi penned his first cookbook, WOK - Book number 4 in the new exciting Blasta Books series that sees 4 Irish chefs release bitesize books throughout the year. We took the opportunity to grab Kwanghi for a quick chat about his life growing up in Donegal, his fusion of influences from China and Ireland, along with his fusion of experience from fine-dining to street food. Kwanghi is a fascinating man but most of all, he's just a pleasure to chat to. Enjoy our chat with Kwanghi Chan.https://twitter.com/kwanghi_https://www.instagram.com/kwanghic/https://www.facebook.com/chefkwanghichan/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our guest today is Micheal Kelly: founder of GIY “Grow It Yourself”. He is a social entrepreneur, author, TV presenter and grower and GIY is now a leading social enterprise, with its home, GROW HQ, in Waterford. Mick also co-presented and produced three series of Grow Cook Eat for RTÉ and will present the upcoming series Food Matters in 2023. In this episode, we speak about his new book The GIY Diaries, which invites you to join the food revolution with a beautifully illustrated diary of a year in the vegetable patch. Month by month readers learn how to create a space that gives you fresh, wholesome fruit and veg that tastes far better than anything you can find in the shops.We also discussed growing, soil health, seasonality, the importance of scale when sending your message, the state of commercial growing in Ireland, how growing affects your home kitchen, flavours and much, much more. Mick is at this a while and his calm, passionate, interested, informed take on sharing information has touched MILLIONS of people with the work Mick and the GIY team have done!! Find out more at www.GIY.ie Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our guests today are Anna and Orla Snook O'Carroll who are the wife-and-wife team proudly making Ireland's very first vermouth from 20 different botanicals on Valentia Island off the Kerry Coast!Inspired by the island, epic landscape, botanicals they could forage locally and a love of Vermouth, they set off on their own dream of creating a brand new product for the Irish shelves. And this was something that was born in their home kitchen and now they have even more bigger dreams and plans of building a distillery and visitors centre right there on Valentia Island. And Valentia Island is a special place, the birthplace of world wide day communications, as this was the location of the first transltanic communications cable connecting the Europe and America together, so we also speak to national tour guide Mary Murphy O'Donoghue who told us about this significant place in modern history. . In this chat, we learn how Anna and Orla are deeply committed to sustainable and cradle-to-cradle design principles in their foraging, packaging and environmental sustainability within their community. We hear about the early days of their business, the processes involved, the experience of drinking vermouth… i can tell you it's good! And what we can expect down the line from them down the line. Get your hands (responsibly) on a bottle of “Or” - Valentia Island Vermouth's - Ireland's first commercial vermouth in your local off licence or find out more on valentiaislandvermouth.ie Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Based on the far western reaches of the Island of Ireland, Ballinskelligs Co. Kerry, Fermoyle Pottery Studio bring an approach to pottery close to the process of modern chefs. Sourcing materials from around them, Stephen and Alexis create bespoke pieces for the best eateries across Ireland, Singapore, London, Paris, Greece and Holland. A truely out-of-this-world eating experience at a restaurant is only achieved by an attention to detail that goes beyond the food on your fork: It's the lighting and sounds in the room; the colours on the walls; the smells as you enter; the tone and pace of the servers. Chef's and restauranteurs explore deep details of your entire experience with them to create a harmonious moment that will resonate with you long after you have swallowed your final bite. This is theatre, and top class theatre at that. Why wouldn't the hands behind the plates, bowls and cups not view it in the same way? Stephen and Alexis have brought to their work this same attention to detail, philosophy and personalised approach to each of their commissions which is why you will eat off their works at most of Ireland's top restaurants such as Aimsir, Anair, Allta, Ichigo Ichie, Ox and many more. Today we chat to Alexis and Stephen of Fermoyle Pottery Studio about what inspires them the most, from the landscape to the people they work with, to the chefs tables where their plates are served. We heard about their background as fledgling potters and artists to where they are today and dig into what makes them and their ceramics business stand apart.Find out more on fermoylepottery.ie Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Ballymaloe Dessert trolley is probably one of the most famous dessert stations around. It even got global recognition at the world restaurant awards in Paris in 2019.For decades, visitors to Ballymaloe House have looked forward to finishing a delcious meal with something sweet from their tempting dessert trolley. JR Ryall, Head Pastry Chef and the man behind these sensational desserts, is our guest today.JR has been working on a cook book, simply titled “Ballymaloe Desserts” sharing the recipes used in the sweets kitchen over the years. He has been working in the kitchen there since his school days, and the idea came about almost 10 years ago when Hazel Allen asked if he'd be interested in writing a little book to sell from the hall table in Ballymaloe House. Fast forward a decade later and when the pandemic came, the time was right time for him to put pen to paper and the project took off. This little book has flourished intro an impressively large hardback book, published by Phaidon and features these iconic recipes and stories alongside stunning photography by Irish photographer Cliodhna Prendergast. It is being launched this month, September 2022 in Ireland and around the world. During our chat JR told us about his life in Ballymaloe and the great inspiration Mrs Allen was to him in his culinary career. We hear some of those great food and personal stories, along with his best loved recipes and kitchen tips. And of course, we get into the nitty gritty of book publishing; how he first met with his publisher, signing a book deal and the importance of a great mentor. We went into the whole process of writing and editing, recipe selecting and then the detail, time and craft involved in photographing each recipe. Now that the first book is off the press, JR told us about upcoming book tour and pop up dessert trolleys he is planning in London, Chicago, Toronto and New York. What a whirlwind.This is fascinating, fun conversation, full of wow! We hope you enjoy.https://www.instagram.com/jrryall/https://www.phaidon.com/store/food-cook/ballymaloe-desserts-iconic-recipes-and-stories-from-ireland-9781838665272/https://www.phaidon.com/store/food-cook/ballymaloe-desserts-iconic-recipes-and-stories-from-ireland-9781838665272/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Google defines Artisan as “made in a traditional or non-mechanized way using high-quality ingredients.” but we believe it's much more than just being a food maker. When you buy from an artisan, you also buy from a small business owner, who makes their own artisanal products. One great advantage of a strong culture of support for artisans is the opportunity it lends people to try out something new. Often they start out with very little investment and along the way gain a crash course in everything they need to know about running a business. The pandemic of 2020 provided the perfect motivations for such businesses to emerge and today's guest is one such business. Founded in June 2020, Foxglove Cocktails was formed by Tara Copplestone and her brother Rory. The goal was to create non-alcoholic cocktails to buy in retail environments and take home to finish with your alcohol of choice.We spoke to Tara about how “non-alcoholic” has always been a key part of their approach to their business, not just to circumvent the licensing laws, but also to consider the non-drinker in a group and allow them a delicious drink too while out with friends. We talk about her career so far and how her path in PR and working with Jameson in the US took her up the corporate ladder and inspired her to realise she was actually happiest behind a bar and in front of customers.Tara's knowledge of drinks, recipes, flavours, and the mechanics of how we have a drink is endless and we got lots of tips for great sips throughout this chat. Enjoy. https://foxglovecocktails.ie/https://www.instagram.com/foxglovecocktailco/https://www.facebook.com/foxglovecoccktails/https://twitter.com/FoxgloveCorkhttps://www.neighbourfood.ie/producers/foxglove-cocktails/84857 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yasmin Hyde is the founder of Ballymaloe Foods, an internationally known and much loved Irish family food company, and daughter of Irish food hero Myrtle Allen. In this fascinating conversation, she gives us an insight into her upbringing and the huge influence her parents have played in both her personal and business life. We speak about early memories at Ballymaloe House, what it is like working in a family businesses, the drive when setting up her own enterprise, and how she has moved this forward into a company employing over 30 people, with a product that is found worldwide. We hear who is inspiring her today, her guiding tips for young food entrepreneurs today and what her hopes are for the future of Ballymaloe Foods.This recording took place in front of a live audience and was kindly hosted by Crawford Art Gallery in Cork city centre as part of the first Cork on a Fork food festival, supported by Cork City Council. The 5 day celebration of food takes place from August 17 - 21 and features a long-table style street dinner, unique experiences, food trails, tasting masterclasses, street events, bite-size food talks, cooking demos, free events, Cork on a Fork specials, family fun, night-time food experiences and more. For events, experiences, participating venues and bookings, see corkcity.ie/corkonaforkfest or @corkonaforkfest on social media. #CorkonaForkFest. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Avril Allshire-Howe, along with her husband Willie and their two sons, William and Maurice, farms a herd of 100 crossbred pigs in Caherbeg, County Cork. It all started when Avril from West Cork and Willie from Carrigaline were looking for some land in the countryside and bought a house with running water on 3 acres. This expanded over time and since 1997 the farm has grown to a 58-acre enterprise containing forestry, agroforestry, free-range pigs, an on-site processing plant as well as an agritourism and wellness business. All of the produce is processed on-site and sold directly to customers under the ‘Caherbeg Free-Range Pork' or the ‘Rosscarbery Recipes' label. 50 acres of this 58acre farm is under forestry – a mix of Sitka Spruce and broadleaf woodland, along with eucalyptus groves planted around the farm.In this podcast, we hear their story and get some insight into how this family navigate such a diverse business and also hear of Avril's great passion for Forest Bathing.Find out more on www.rosscarberyrecipes.ie Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we are chatting to Kate Burns, founder, and CEO of Islander Rathlin Kelp. They are based on Rathlin Island, a small boot-shaped island between Ireland and Scotland, at the intersection of where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Irish Sea which as a result has some of the strongest tides in Ireland. In this conversation we learn about island life; the intricate process of how they farm their kelp and what products they make. We also learn about the nutritional benefits of seaweeds to all our diets and what other byproducts can be made from kelp. We discuss the environmental benefits of farmed and natural seaweed along our coasts. Kate also shares some of the challenges of small food producers and her hopes for the future of her industry. Find out more on www.islanderkelp.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the NeighbourFood podcast. Our guests this week are father and son duo Jerry and Conor O'Riordan, who along with their brother Diarmuid have formed a cooperative of Dexter Cattle farmers in Munster called The Brave Herders. We spoke to them about their own family farm, why and how Jerry transitioned from dairy farming into dry cattle, which are now exclusively Dexter. How his sons Conor and Diarmuid brought technology and a group of like minded small farmers together as a co-operative to support each other, produce and sell their quality meat collectively both online, in selected butcher shops and NeighbourFood markets. Conor is hands on in the farm and has a particular interest in animal welfare and environmental sustainability, so we spoke to him about what this means for him and the work they do on the farm. And how we, as consumers, can play a part in this too by choosing a flexitarian diet and meat as a special treat. And then of course, we learn of course about Dexter cattle, a Celtic cow, who are small in size, but big in flavour and hear the story of Jerry's first encounter with this traditional breed. Here are two Brave Herders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we decided to revisit a classic episode from the NeighbourFood podcast archives. As you may have heard, the World Potato Congress that was recently hosted in Dublin, we felt this was a topical and fun episode and a fun look at Ireland's love affair with the humble spud. Throughout this episode we have with lots of contributors who tell us why this is. We speak to food writer John McKenna of McKenna's Guides about Ireland's romantic connection to the food that let us down in our past and yet how we return time and time again, like a faithless lover to the spud we love so well. Did you know the process of flavouring crisps was invented here in Ireland? That's right and Tayto Crisps are responsible for the world-famous cheese and onion flavour! We tracked down Peter Murphy, son of Joe “Spud” Murphy, the founder of Tayto who told us about his entrepreneurial dad, his Peter Pan existence and that Ah-Ha moment when they stumbled across the much-loved Cheese and Onion flavour combination. There are small farmers throughout the country growing potatoes for their local market. We speak to Maria Flynn of Ballymackenny Farm Potatoes who taking over the family farm, realised they were never going to survive on glowing Roosters and Queens alone. So they took a chance on growing heritage and heirloom speciality potatoes and targeting chefs with their more unusual produce. When the pandemic hit, they lost 100% of their customers overnight, so we hear their story of survival. Now, do you think it's possible to live on Potatoes alone? We find a man in India who claims to do just that. The Aloo Baba lives in the mountains in Pushkar, India and eats 10kg potatoes a day!!!! That's some feat, but he claims it keeps him young and gives him clarity. Vikrant Naidu, chef at The Lodge, Myrtleville, Cork steps in to translate and also gives us an insight into the culture of potatoes in his home county of India. And finally, potatoes are far more than a carbohydrate on our plate, they also make an interesting ingredient in spirits, such as Poitin. Michael O'Boyle of Baoilleach Distillery in Donegal explains why spuds were sometimes used in the mashbill of poitín makers back in the day and when he chooses to continue this tradition in his own poitin collection “Mulroy Bay”. Enjoy this spudcast full of poppy love. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Honeybees are an integral part of our natural world. They pollinate the majority of our crops and trees, giving us the food we eat and the air we breathe. Not only important for our ecosystem, but also for our economy as bees and other pollinators are responsible for a third of our food and contribute billions to the global economy each year. It's important we look after them, because without bees we are nothing and we are all aware of the decline and threats to bees these days from habitat loss, pesticides and climate change.And this week's chat with beekepper Mark Riordan, founder of HiveMind.ieWhile Mark got into beekeeping about 10 years ago, in somewhat an accidental fashion, his work with bees has developed into a fascinating enterprise called HiveMind, allowing companies and individuals to sponsor a hive. We'll hear more of this journey, as well as his honey experiments into beer, fermenting and sometimes accidental kinds of vinegar. We also learn about what you find in typical Irish honey from hawthorn to blackberries and more.Mark of course also tells us of the importance of bees to every single one of us, how they are all key to our existence and the impact and threat that our environmental footprint is having on the bee population today. We mentioned during the course of this podcast a live beehive sound recording which you can download hereCheck out the Irish Beekeepers Association on www.irishbeekeeping.ie Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Black pudding, blood sausage, and for Irish and UK listeners this food will need no introduction. Loved on breakfast plates across the country, did you know that Black Pudding tells the story of modern Irish cuisine through its ingredients, history, recipe hand me downs and much more?We speak to food writer, Kate Ryan of flavour.ie who recently penned the article “The Aleph: The Story of Irish Food in One Pudding”. It is based on her studies in Irish Food Culture Post Graduate Course at University College Cork, where Kate did a research paper on the topic. We got stuck into the medieval process of making black pudding and how it's done today. We learned about the exchange of recipes and meitheal of preparing food in the community. We talked about the history of this quintessentially Irish ingredient of fresh blood (now Protected Geographical Indication Recognised in parts of Ireland) and the ingenuity that is shown by butchers around the country in their preparation of pudding today. We then tested and compared three different black puddings, local to Kate's hometown of Clonakilty. They were Rosscarberry Recipes, Clonakilty Black Pudding and Haulie O'Neil of MJ O Neils Artisan Butcher Shop in Clonakilty. She gave us some tips on to cook pudding at home and eat it at times, other than breakfast… who knew?!?!? Kate Ryan is a food writer and founder of Flavour.ie dedicated to championing Irish Food through writing and food adventures. Follow her on instagram ( @flavour.ie ) or facebook ( @flavourwestcork ) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are chatting to community hero Sam Bishop this week. As well as many other strings to his bow, Sam is the founder of Street Feast; Ireland's national day of community lunches which this year takes place on June 26, 2022. This is all about building community and tackling isolation, getting together with your neighbours to share food and enjoy conversation and camaraderie.We chat to Sam about the origins of Street Feast, all our experiences hosting events, how to go about hosting your own community Street Feast, the importance of community and we learn about the other things Sam is involved in such as the NeighbourHood Network, aswell as who is inspiring him at the moment. Head along to StreetFeast.ie to find out more. And for a Street Feast to happen, it doesn't matter if you live in an apartment or house, all you need is a space to bring people together. There have been feasts organised in front gardens, on streets and greens, in car parks, laneways, local parks and community centres and can't wait to see what you come up with! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Snail farming is a pretty unusual one, at least for Ireland. But not for Carlow based snail farmer Eva Milka who started her business Gaelic Escargot (@gaelic_escargot) back in 2013 after a visit to France and discovering the delicacy. Now running the business with her partner Eoin, she told us about all the great things that this clean, sustainable and environmentally friendly type of farming can offer. From a small site, you can produce huge yields, with a surprisingly high profit and healthy product, packed full of protein and adored on dining tables throughout Europe. We spoke about how Eva got started in the business; what a day in the life of a snail farmer looks like; the worldwide snail market and how Irish snail farmers are popping up all over the country and this is kind of thanks to Eva and her snail farming school, which we also learn about!And if you've never tried, or been brave enough to taste a snail, then Eva has got lots of ideas of how to cook them up. Or indeed restaurants where you can taste Gaelic Escargots including her top recommendation of The Legal Eagle in Dublin, who serve them with roasted bone marrow, braised oxtail and garlic butter. For home cooks and adventurous chefs, you can order their snails through their website GaelicEscargot.comThis is also the point of contact for anyone who would like to know more about snail farming, dip their toes in the field or get some mentoring on this unusual, but fruitful farming method. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we are chatting to Irish food champion Mark Murphy, a Carlow man based in Dingle, Co. Kerry who filled us in on all things happening on the Peninsula. No stranger to our ears, you will Mark on the Today FM with his weekly recipes and regular TV slots on RTÉ. So without doubt, this was a lively and fun chat about all things Dingle, from Fungi to Food Heros! Mark is also one of the key members of the Dingle Food Festival which happens in October each year, so we spoke about what it's like to run a festivalBut there are many other strings to Mark's bow, as he is also the owner of The Little Cheese Shop in town. It's a foodie emporium with over 90% Irish cheese, so we discussed the wonders of Irish cheeses.This was the conversation that kept on giving, because then we talked the joys of being out on the water and catching your own fish. Mark and the team at the Dingle Cookery School, which is his other enterprise, do a popular Catch and Cook session. So he filled us in on this and the other fun things they get up to during the year.https://dinglecookeryschool.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Don't you love a good crunchy apple? The sweetness of it never lets you down. Did you know that Ireland's commercial apple growing scene isn't really developed…. Or we should say, it was at one point and now it is not! Even though we have an ideal climate for growing apples amongst other great fruit. Apples are an integral part of Irish culinary culture and history. To prove this the first recorded pips date back to 5000 years ago, discovered at an archaeological dig in Co. Meath. These pips were almost certainly from the wild Irish crab apple Malus Sylvestris and although rare can still be found in the Irish landscape today.In the 7th and 8th centuries AD the ancient Irish Brehon Laws classed the Apple tree among the ‘seven nobles of the woods' and the fine for cutting down one of these trees was 5 milk cows and double that if the tree belonged to a chieftain!So today, you guessed it, the topic is all about Apples! We are going to find out all about these crunchy wonders of the world; from interesting history to today's growing scene. We speak to Con Traas from The Apple Farm in County Tipperary, one of Ireland's leading apple growers; We spoke to Dermot Callaghan find out about the research that's happening in the field from Teagasc; learn a little more about Ireland's craft cider industry from William O'Callaghan of Longueville House Beverages, who one of the first artisan cider producers and also speak to Elaine Garde of Future Orchard, an eco enterprise and community orchard founded in 2009. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following the chocolate fest of Easter, we got a craving for some goodness, so we reached out to organic fitness expert Colman Power. Colman is a fitness trainer as well as an organic grower, and he's a great advocate for combining healthy nutritious food with exercise and movement to provide an all-round balanced and healthy lifestyle. Colman has got more energy than a bunny rabbit munching on an organic carrot while jumping on a trampoline. He's full of the happy buzz. It must be the organic fitness lifestyle, which we read on the internet was consistent with our hunter-gatherer heritage and this is the point where we jump into this interview, but during our conversation, we asked him for a few tips on achieving a healthy and balanced approach to exercise and how this really is different for everyone. And as Coleman is a grower himself, How does all this relate to our food? Is food labelled "organic" ultimately more nutritious? What about Cooked versus raw foods? Different diets, sources of proteins, supplements and ultimately the motivation to keep on top of healthy food and healthy movement. But first, the organic fitness…. What is this all about? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Did you know that over 650 million chocolate Easter eggs are sold in Ireland each year to the tune of over €44million! That's a lot of sugary goodness, but why chocolate and why eggs after our traditional Lenten fast? In this easter special episode we find out these answers as well as learn that chocolate has many health benefits!And for this chocolate-filled story, we asked Niamh O'Reilly and the team at Hungry Crow Chocolates in West Cork, if we could get a glimpse into their busy chocolate lab at Easter time and gain some insight into why they love chocolate so much. Expecting a response of just being too busy to entertain us, the answer was quite the opposite and they opened the doors to their busy, laughter-filled kitchen with an invitation into the “madhouse” on what is surely their craziest week of the year. We hope when you sit down with your easter egg this weekend that you enjoy this episode of chocolatey goodness. https://hungrycrow.ie/www.instagram.com/hungry_crow_chocolates/https://www.facebook.com/HungryCrow/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The topic of our discussion today is Money for Jam and the importance of keeping your food business sustainable, profitable and competitive. Despite the fact that this discussion is focused on food businesses, anyone with a spark for entrepreneurship will find it helpful. Our guest today is food business professional and author Oonagh Monahan. She started her own career working in large food companies and eventually carved her own path as a food consultant and mentor through her own agency : Alpha Omega. Oonagh has a huge passion for artisan producers and during the pandemic, she decided to put her money where her mouth is (literally) and buy foods and drinks from a list she compiled of Irish artisan food producers. We chatted to her about her motivations for this project, who and what she discovered and the digital directory she still keeps updated today. You may have also come across her book “Money for Jam - an essential guide to starting a food business”. This book contains everything that someone who is new to the food business will need to get started, but more importantly, how to keep going. This came about after mentoring and helping hundreds of small food businesses over the course of 10 years to do the same and of course she also dispensed some golden nuggets of business advice for us too on this episode!We also discussed a number of other business support services in Ireland, such as the Local Enterprise Offices. We talked about the importance of sustainability, profitability, what does success look like and is growing your business just for the sake of growth a good thing or maybe not?Oonagh works from her base in Dromahair in North Leitrim so we started by asking her about the food scene in the West of Ireland. We hope you enjoy the conversation.Links:Money for Jam 2e: The Essential Guide to Starting Your Own Small Food Business (2017) by Oonagh MonahanISBN 1781192952, 9781781192955You can purchase directly from Oonagh here - https://alphaomega.ie/product/money-for-jam/ or through your local bookstore. There are multiple copies available for loan in the Irish library catalogue.Reach out to Oonagh online @OonaghEats via twitter, instagram, facebook, LinkedIn or her website alphaomega.ie Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we are chatting to Donal O' Leary, environmental consultant and composting king!. This is a super informative fun episode that smashes all myths and tricks about home composting! Donal is on a mission to get us all to composting, from complete beginners to people who need a bit of guidance on getting their composting formula right. Everyone can give it a go and it's a great way to reduce our food waste and play a part in creating a healthier ecosystem! It's a winner!!!Donal runs an environmental and food waste consultancy called Waste Down. So in his day to day work, he spends lots of time with school groups, community groups and so on, but he also works commercially with companies who want to compost. He's recently joined the team at CUSP; Cork Urban Soil Project, so he will give us an update on that. For regular listeners of our podcast, you may remember the chat we had with Virginia O'Gara, who told us all about that particular project, and how food waste is not waste at all, but an asset! It's a good listen.But for the majority of today's chat, Donal is going to give us the lowdown on how to get to grips with home composting. So think this podcast more as a workshop, because we are looking at how nature provides the blueprint for creating great compost; what are the reasons we should all be doing this in the first place; what are the mistakes that composting newbies make and how can we rectify them?; we look at a few different composting methods including traditional composting bins, wormeries and bokashi, great examples where these systems have been used and if composting became a more integrated part of all our lives, what would that mean for our future?Here are some useful links and resources to help you on your composting journey.compostingireland.ie https://stopfoodwaste.ie/resources/composting https://stopfoodwaste.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2017-Compost-Booklet-Web-Version.pdf https://www.antaisce.org/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=8f851b65-e334-4463-b89e-e302c0175ce9https://wastedown.com/https://www.instagram.com/waste_down/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you heard that European Farmers need to start growing wheat? If you hadn't, following the news of the war in Ukraine; food policy makers across the EU started to talk about shortages of certain crops, particularly wheat! This is due to the large volumes of wheat that Europe has been importing from Ukraine (and indeed Russia) and the inevitable disruption to their farming and exports. So we wanted to ask the question, is this even possible to do this in Ireland or is it even the answer? Turning immediately to someone with a mountain of grain knowledge, Andrew Workman of Dunany Organic Flour in Drogheda, Co. Louth laid bare the realities of growing and milling here in Ireland. It's not exactly a simple answer to a simple question! And this brings us to a real hot topic of food security and can Ireland feed itself? It seems like the answer should be yes, but the reality is very different. So perhaps the question should be worded - Could Ireland feed itself if national food policy considered it a priority? Then the answer would be yes!To get into the nuts and bolts of this, we looked no further than Ruth Hegarty who recently penned an article for The Irish Times of the same name as this episode which started us on this research. Ruth's business is Egg & Chicken, an agency with a focus on food, farming and sustainability. Ruth has dedicated her career to advocating for small food producers and farmers, a fairer cleaner food system, food education, and access to good food for all.We talked to her about Ireland's food systems and policies; Ireland's food culture, is it really thriving like everyone says it is or should it come down to the brass tacks of accessible healthy nutritious food for everyone? We look at below cost selling; industrial agriculture; where the hope and opportunity lies for Irish food and our people. But first, let's dive straight into the topic of Food Security and Food Sovereignty. What's the difference? Where should we be focusing our efforts? Where are the vulnerabilities in Ireland's food system at the moment and why is the war in Ukraine highlighting this, when it's a system that has been fragile for a long time. Links:Can Ireland feed itself? - Irish Times Article by Ruth Hegartyhttps://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/food-and-drink/can-ireland-feed-itself-yes-a-nutritious-diet-not-at-the-moment-1.4824313La Via Campesinahttps://viacampesina.orgFarming for Naturehttps://www.farmingfornature.ie Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Continuing on our theme of setting up a market garden, we find out what it takes from Erik Johnnason, who along with his wife Katrina took a blind leap of faith and set one up as the pandemic took hold and their business and income plans were suddenly put on the line. The couple run Cuskinny Court, a historic property, hosting lots of outdoor group-based activities for kids and adult teams, as well as immersive family theatrical experiences at Christmas and Halloween. The property has an old walled garden, which up until this point had been used for archery and kids' games. But everything changed, as they took up a shovel and began sketching plans, building raised beds and crop planning. We hear from Erik on how these plans emerged, how he went from a very limited personal knowledge on the subject to a successful garden growing over a dozen crops. He explains how setting up a NeighbourFood market introduced him to other growers and the mentoring and encouragement he received from them and finally how he sells his produce to local buyers and cafes. If you've been inspired by Erik's story, and want to learn more about setting up a market garden, then we highly recommend you tune into our previous episode with Richard Mee, head gardener at GIY - Grow It Yourself. This episode covers lots more technical and useful information in creating the foundation for a successful market garden. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One thing we are always asked is to get stuck into some growing info. So for this week and next, we are going to look into the nitty-gritty of setting up a market garden. If you've ever thought this might be a career or business choice for you, then this podcast will hopefully shed some light on lots of the questions and considerations you need to take in right at the start. Who better to get down and get dirty with than, GIY's Head Grower Richard Mee, who is based at Grow HQ in Waterford city. GIY are a non-profit, social enterprise, helping people grow food, learn about food sustainability and ultimately teaching the country to GROW IT YOURSELF- GIY!Richard is an expert in biodiversity and horticulture and believe it or not, started growing at only 3 years old with his dad and since then has accumulated over 40 years of growing experience!. He studied for a BSc in Horticulture at Reading University and an MSc in Organic Farming at the Scottish Agricultural College. In addition to the UK and Ireland, Richard has grown veg all over the world, including Central America and Africa.We talk about the type of research you need to do before you set up, the size and the location of the land. We explore sowing, growing and harvesting including Crop Planning and Production, Soil Preparation, Sourcing Seed, Planting your crops and the type of equipment you might need. The type of Maintenance you can expect during the year and finally Harvesting and storing your produceOf course, financial considerations are important too, so we get Richard's tips on selling your produce. What type of investment would you need to start off in terms of time, resources and equipment. What kind of ongoing financial costs should I expect, and ultimately, is it worth it financially to grow vegetables and how much money can I make?But growing is far more than a financial reward and Richard is clearly passionate about this topic. So get stuck in, notebook at the ready, there's lots to learn here! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's guest is a freelance food writer, photographer, and creator and has written extensively for publications such as The Irish Times, The Sunday Business Post, Easy Food Magazine, Image Interiors, and Living Magazine, and more, over the last 12 years. She is a TV chef and was the recent winner of the Cookery Writing Award from the newly launched Irish Food Writing Awards You may know our guest from her incredibly prolific Instagram account where she keeps everyone up to date with her personable and enjoyable kitchen creations.We are of course talking to Lilly Higgins and in this conversation, we talk about the art of food writing and what her job is all about and which books and writers are inspiring her at the moment. We got into feeding the family and how you build a good food culture at home. We found out what she loves about her job and the best thing about being a food writer?Lilly's Cook Book recommendationsOne: Pot, Pan, Planet: A Greener Way to Cook for You and Your Family: A Cookbookby Anna JonesMamushka: Recipes from Ukraine & beyondby Olia HerculesBlasta Books #1: Tacosby Lily Ramirez-ForanIn Bibi's Kitchen: The Recipes and Stories of Grandmothers from the Eight African Countries that Touch the Indian Oceanby Hawa Hassan and Julia TurshenPalestine on a Plate: Memories from My Mother's Kitchenby Joudie Kalla Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spring is in the air, and with the flowers blooming it's hard not to smile when you see these joyous bursts of colour. Not only do flowers brighten your day, but they are also super romantic and express emotions that sometimes words just cannot. We also love the creativity that comes with flowers from the colour, the shape, the textures and the beautiful fragrance which just heightens every sense. In many ways, flowers are even beyond beauty, with healing powers used in medicines and an integral part of a healthy ecosystem.In this week's NeighbourFood Podcast we speak to flower farmer Anna Hogan, from Seekings Flower Farm, in Ballymacoda. In the growing season, you will find row upon row of beautiful, Irish cut-flowers, all cultivated from bulbs or seed. Her nature-inspired bouquets are full of romance, colour and fragrance. Now it's not just flowers you'll find in her bunch, as she often compliments this with aromatic herbs such as lemon verbena, fennel, dill and mint, all of which further enhance their beautiful scent.Anna is also part of the Flower Farmers of Ireland who are a nationwide network of Irish sustainable flower growers. It's all part of the floral revolution, a movement mainly driven by female flower farmers who are connecting with nature, much like the farm to fork movement. And in many ways, this is redefining the global cut-flower industry, by producing much loved, locally-grown, seasonal, scented blooms and fresh cut foliage for people who love their flowers to look and smell as if they were picked from the garden this morning.And that was the focus of our conversation, where we hear about the significance of flowers and why we feel so connected to them. What the Irish flower industry is like, as well as how much is imported and how much is locally grown? We learn that Irish flower farming is a growing sector in more than the obvious sense, but in terms of education, public awareness, social farming, pollination and green matters. And as spring is the perfect time to get planting, we also get a few tips for hobby gardeners like ourselves in starting to grow our own little slices of garden heaven. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Food waste shouldn't be waste. The way we see it is a resource that is full of nutrients and it should be kept here for us to make it into something usable.” And that's what CUSP, the Cork Urban Soil Project is all about. It is a living laboratory for a strong, environmentally driven community made up of friends, creatives, workers and supporters and a small aerobic bio-digester. So today, we are chatting to Virginia O'Gara, who along with her husband Donal are My Goodness, the much-loved raw vegan food company based in Cork city, whose business are the founders and partners of this project.And what the team are hoping to do here is completely close the loop by composting all of their waste, turning it into healthy nutritious soil and build a small urban micro farm right between My Goodness HQ and the Marina Market, which for anyone who is familiar with this site, might think it's an impossibility. It's located on a dark, very steep slope in the Marina Commercial Park, which is grounds of the old Dunlop's factory. Sure it'll never work!So this is a story of hope, it's a story of community. It's the story of the challenge this group of ecologically driven people are taking up. A group who genuinely believe that it is always the right thing to challenge the status quo, to rethink the fate of waste and prove to us all that there is a healthier, ethical and more sustainable way to live. In this conversation with Virginia we talk about her rebel upbringing in Texas, her time in the Americas, her pilgrimage to permaculture, the hilarious suspiciousness people have about veganism and her motivations for a plant based diet. But ultimately, we are talking here about a great big circle which brings us back to the importance of soil health, eliminating food waste and the motivation behind the Cork Urban Soil project. Social Links:https://www.urbansoilproject.com/https://twitter.com/thecusp_iehttps://www.instagram.com/urbansoilproject/https://www.facebook.com/Cork-Urban-Soil-Project-624787484670448/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the NeighbourFood Podcast and we are your hosts Jack and Joleen and here we talk all-things-food with the people who make it, bake it, grow it and eat it. This is the podcast to learn more about our food; the history behind it; explore ways we can eat better; celebrate our artisan food community and understand the food issues that face us all. We explore stories of interest with interesting people and learn a bit along the way. And we are always trying to find ways to connect people with their local farmers and food producers. Because who doesn't love fresh local produce with ultra-low food miles and minimal packaging?But ultimately we are here to entertain with lively and interesting stories from people who are endlessly passionate about what they do. This is the NeighbourFood podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“You could say blessed are the cheese makers, but among ourselves we say mad are the cheese makers” jokes Siobhán Ní Ghairbhith, cheesemaker at St. Tola Irish Goat Cheese, who is also involved in CÁIS, Irish Farmhouse Cheesemaker Association and the Irish Raw Milk Cheese Presidia. Siobhán tells us all about the Irish farmhouse cheese industry, which is far from mad! Although in existence for centuries it was an enterprising group of dairy farmers in the 1970's who spearheaded the Irish Farmhouse Cheese evolution. Siobhán tells us how Irish cheese stands apart from our European counterparts where the quality of our land, pasture and milk along with Irish cheese makers' creativity, confidence and innovation has brought us to where we are today. We speak about the seasonality in cheesemaking, the cost of producing genuine food and what we should look out for with cheese labelling. We are encouraging everyone to cheese the day and try out some of the many wonderful flavours of the 200 different Irish farmhouse cheeses from 60 cheesemakers in 32 counties across Ireland. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who doesn't love a glass of creamy nutritious milk full of protein, vitamins, and minerals?In this week's episode, we explore raw milk. With the growing popularity of natural, local, farm-sourced foods many people are now consuming raw milk which is basically milk directly from the cow in its purest form, with minimal intervention. The most important thing to realise with raw milk is that it has not been pasteurised, which is the process of heating the milk to 71.7°C for at least 15 seconds to kill any pathogens or bacteria making it safe for human consumption while also extending its shelf life. However, there are countless advocates who argue that it is not only creamier and tastier, but has superior health and nutritional benefits that pasteurisation would have eliminated. So we ask, is Raw Milk a superfood or is it a dangerous fad? And to help us answer this, we speak to a number of experts on this topic including Dr. Wayne Anderson from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland; Elisabeth Ryan, one of the founders of Raw Milk Ireland; organic raw dairy milk farmer Sean Condon of Temple Roe Organic Dairy Farm and Deirdre MacMahon, host of NeighbourFood Limerick.***Links mentioned in show:See a list of raw milk producers who have registered with Department of Agriculture here Google Earth shows that cow and deer herds align like compass needles Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we are chatting to Dr. Colin Sage (@envirofood) about food and its impacts on the world around us.Colin is an academic strongly committed to public engagement; he co-founded and served as Chair (2013-19) for the Cork Food Policy Council. He retired as Senior Lecturer in the Department of Geography at UCC and now works as an independent scholar on food systems and sustainability from his base in Portugal. He is an author and book editor on environment and food and is preoccupied with the contemporary food system, its social and environmental consequences, and ways of developing healthier, more sustainable, and resilient food provisioning alternatives.In this conversation, we spoke about the way food and the environment interconnect. And while this is far more than just a climate issue we focus in on some of the discussions around food policy at COP 26 and other climate meetings. We look at some of the Irish agriculture policy in relation to climate issues and will food production and how we approach it to play a role in solving the trend of environmental harm we are seeing? Colin's other expertise include civic initiatives for social change, so we speak to him about his work with Cork Food Policy, in particular, the role of community gardens and how he believes that “the moment you put your hands into the soil, your relationship to food changes absolutely fundamentally” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we are chatting to young-urban-farmer, Marty, AKA one of The Gnomes.The Gnomes are brothers Raymo, Shane, Marty, and lifelong friend Jason. Together they are hosting a productive micro urban farm on a quarter of an acre, on the grounds of Dublin City University community garden. As you may know, this month we have been chatting to The Next Generations of Food producers. Marty, a ripe 29 years of age, came to good food for the taste and a break from computers and found a whole lot more. In this episode, he tells us his story of how the Gnomes came to be and how this micro urban farm has become such an integral part of community and DCU campus life. We hear about the people they meet, their methods of farming, and how “The Gnomes” success is ever-growing. Find out more on https://marketgnomes.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode, we are continuing our explorations of the next generations of people working in Irish Food and chatting to Brian McCarthy, co-founder of Cork Rooftop Farm. This is an urban farm, unlike others. It was set up by Brian McCarthy and his friend Thay Carlos as a lockdown project back in March 2020. He says himself they were only “trying to grow produce for ourselves, not with any commercial motivations, just purely for downtime during lockdown” and today it is fair to say, it has grown legs everywhere. This project began as a 7,000 square feet area on the rooftop of his family's business premises in the heart of Cork city just around the corner from where Brian lives. Before they knew it, Brian and Thay were assembling a polytunnel, planting seeds, receiving soil deliveries, building raised beds, and transplanting plants. Now fast forward a short 18 months, and this project has morphed into aeroponics, microgreens, pasture-raised hens, a no-dig market garden, and an army of people working with them. Cork Rooftop Farm has just opened a farm shop downstairs which sells of course their own produce, grow-it-yourself products, house plants, wholefoods, and supplies from other organic producers in the area. Brian is certainly the type of guy that sees an idea, gets inspired and goes for it. He's like in, 100% in. We hope you enjoy our chat with him which goes into detail of all the ins and outs of the farm, what his philosophies are, some of the issues facing young farmers today and lots more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To commence the new year, we are bringing you stories of the new generation and young people working in Irish food. But to kick things off, we are commencing this series with Darina Allen of Ballymaloe Cookery School, one of the most influential people in Irish food, who has inspired generations through her work in Ballymaloe Cookery School. She is of course a food writer, tv personality, teacher and activist. She is passionate about making change, acknowledges the need for things to be done and never has a problem diving in and sorting them out when she can.We spoke to her about her early days, who inspired her back then, who is inspiring her now, what are her hopes for the new generation of people working in food and what are her hopes for the future?We began our conversation by asking her to bring us back to day one of opening the cookery school in Ballymaloe Cookery School. What was that moment like and where was she at that time? But she invites us back even before then to her school-going days as this is where her journey in food really began. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the first in a series of podcasts where we focus on the next generation of makers, bakers and shakers in the Irish food community. In this week's episode, we speak to Katie Sanderson from her home in Connemara. Katie, who is in her early thirties, spent her youth between Hong Kong and Ireland. Already she has had a colourful and jam-packed career, self described as a "nomadic-chef" creating pop dinners, collaborations with other chefs, working in the Fumbally, catering at yoga workshops, dance residencies, and festivals, and forming Dillisk, a pop-up food project with her partner Jasper in a boat shed in the west of Ireland. These days she is working with Jasper on White Mausu, a range of Asian-inspired condiments. It's a far cry from periwinkles on the Irish seashore but is a reflection of her upbringing in Hong Kong and her love of taste explosions. She tells us about the challenges along the way, and equally the wins and how the progression from a business idea in 2017 has now grown to five full-time staff and is available in specialty food shops throughout Ireland and the UK. This is a lovely conversation that traces her journey, hopes, and inspirations. We hope you enjoy it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You know the drill….. the Irish Christmas involves visits from Santy, board games with the family, the 12 pubs, the race to catch up with as many people as you possibly know over Christmas week (not this year we know!). Then there's midnight mass, plunges in the baltic sea and enough food to eat until your side hurts. Mince pies, Christmas puddings, Turkeys, Ham, Spiced Beef and roast potatoes cooked in goose fat are just some of the delicacies you'll find on the Irish Christmas table. But what about festivities around the world and what is a traditional fayre in other countries? From Bethlehem to Burgundy, we speak to a host of international people who have an Irish connection, to tell us about the celebrations in their own country and more importantly what is for dinner? ‘Cause we are always hungry!Thank you to Takashi Miyazaki of Ichigo Ichie, who told us about Christmas in Japan, and gave us the most unexpected answer ever! Pascal Rossignol of Le Caveau Wines who told us about a traditional French Christmas in his home town of Burgundy. George Khan, from Bethlehem, the Palestinian city and birth place of Jesus who celebrate with a massive Christmas tree in the town square. Chef Norza of Malay Kitchen on a typical Malaysian Christmas and Luke Hickson on the twelve Polish dishes of Christmas eve in particular Śledzie, the Polish pickled herring delight. This has been a mouth watering journey around the world, and we hope you enjoy listening to these traditions and voices of our international Irish community. Have a wonderful Christmas everyone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's podcast we head on a little adventure to Ballyneety, Co. Limerick to meet Deirdre MacMahon, NeighbourFood Limerick host. Dee is keen for us to meet Kevin Wallace of New Leaf Urban Farmers. His produce she describes is second to none and his passion and enthusiasm for what he does has been a huge inspiration to her. But, it's a lot more than this because Kevin's techniques of farming are more on the unusual side for Ireland, as he implements a system called Korean Natural Farming. Gathering indigenious microbes from his natural environment, Kevin ferments and produces natural plant solutions to produce fertile soils that yield high output without the use of synthetic herbicides or pesticides.He explains how some of these practises work include a visit to a local forest to find an old tree in pristine condition that is south facing. He buries a sample of par cooked rice in a natural basket under the tree and collects the fungi and microbes which is then mixed with brown sugar cane and composted with compostable materials which he adds to the soil. As the name might suggest, Korean Natural Farming (KNF) was developed in South Korea in the 1960s by Dr Cho Han Ky, This was partially in response to increasing dependence on synthetic chemicals. He wanted to design a way for local farmers to generate all or most of a farm's own fertility needs out of waste products from the farm itself—egg shells, compost, wild plants, etc. Dr. Cho thus combined plant biology with a Korean love for fermentation and, through much testing, developed what is now referred to as Korean Natural Farming.This is a fascinating conversation about these ancient systems but we also discuss the importance of soil health, the value of nutrition of our food, and what is really local. We get a little insight into Kevin's ambition for the farm. We hope you are as inspired as we were after our visit to New Leaf Urban Farmers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.