Beyond Sustenance: An Exploration of Food and Drink Culture in Ireland

«An important contribution to understanding our culinary journey in Ireland from a time when food was regarded merely as sustenance. As a nation, we have grown in confidence. Up to relatively recently in Ireland, we had a serious inferiority complex and not just about our food and food culture. Brian documents through various prisms the growing pride in our tradition, the quality of our produce and the growing skills of our chefs. At last, we appreciate what we have here in Ireland and serve our Irish food proudly.»

(Darina Allen, Ballymaloe Cookery School)

Through concepts such as place and story, this work considers the cultural importance of the foods we eat and the drinks we imbibe in Irish society. While providing us with the necessary sustenance to survive, they also have something to say in terms of how we relate to each other and the world around us. The book examines the products we associate with gastronomy in Ireland and the uniquely Irish places in which they are consumed. Places considered include the Irish pub, the traditional Irish butcher shop and the Irish whiskey distillery. Both products and places are explored through the lens of terroir, experience and the impact of Third Place and Fourth Space paradigms. Though much of what is discussed here is anchored in the past, the book also examines how that past has impacted on more contemporary phenomena such as Irish café culture and social gastronomy. While the work is primarily focused on Ireland, it draws insights from lessons learned in countries like France that possess a widely renowned gastronomic legacy. In addition to the obvious food connections, the chapters in this work are all linked by a common thread of personal engagement that stems from a lifetime spent working in and around the food and drink sector.