Some of Ireland’s most celebrated food producers
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What makes Ireland's food producers unique?
The Clare Burns Show on Newstalk with Aviva Insurance.
listeners will know that we love talking all things food on this show. And in Ireland, we're absolutely spoiled with amazing food producers. So this summer, we're going to be meeting some of Ireland's most celebrated food producers, from fish smokers to cheesemakers and chocolatiers. They'll all be joining us here to tell us about making delicious Irish food. And to kick us off, I'm joined now by Blána HÉireann producers, champion Graeme Hertrich, and cookbook author and food and wine writer Aoife Carraghy. Good morning to you both.
Good morning.
Thank you. So we're going to be talking all things food on the programme.
How is the food production landscape in Ireland evolving?
Graeme, are we in a good place when it comes to food production in Ireland?
I think we are. We have some amazing food producers in Ireland at the moment, like large and small, especially the small guys. There's so many just amazing producers out there doing amazing work and just using the land and using nature to its best and showing it off.
And are they being treated well, Aoife, by consumers? Firstly, do we appreciate them?
I think there's a growing appreciation and there has been over the last kind of 20, 30 years. And that's part of what makes our food scene so exciting is that we as Irish people, we've kind of fallen in love with food. We've, you know, become gastronomes. And so, yeah, I think I think that there is a really strong connection.
Are consumers appreciating Irish food producers?
And I think that there can be more awareness of like just how hard these guys work and just how important it is to kind of to support them because they only exist with our support.
It's like we've got two food economies, though, because we want some things for very, very cheap and the producers are really struggling in that regard. And then people will pay a premium for certain things.
Where, in fact, even just the basics, the good quality basics cost more and more money. So and but you you know, you get the benefit when you when you eat really good food, you get the benefit of of paying that good money for that good food.
We talk, don't we, Graeme, about other countries and what they produce, you know, whether it's parmesan or champagne and all of these lovely things. But actually in Ireland, we have a great climate and environment for really good food.
Yeah. And we also have our POCs. Is that what it is?
What challenges do Irish food producers face in pricing?
PDOs. PDOs, which is like the parmesan and champagne. We have ours as well. We have the Blas and Waterford. Is there any others?
Yeah, there's lamb, there's Connemara Hill lamb, for example. We don't actually have as much because our food tends not to have been so regional because of our food history. And our producers tend to be more, it's more about individual producers who drive something. But yeah, we do have a number of them.
But we have, we do have amazing land.
How does Ireland's climate influence food quality?
Like our, like, okay, we had a wet couple of weeks there, but like everything is so green and lush at the moment, which in turn is going to make beautiful cheese, beautiful beef, beautiful lamb. Yeah, we have a perfect environment for it, yeah.
What did you bring with you there now, Aoife? I see two lovely things in front of you. I brought a couple of examples of just things that just for me, I always have in my kitchen and bring a little magic when I want it. So, for example, this first thing I'm going to give it to you to smell, Clare. It's Ballyhora mountain mushrooms from down in Cork. And they are foragers of wild mushrooms and then producers of mushrooms as well. And this, I think, is umami powder, it seems. Yeah. So it's dried mushrooms, porcini mushrooms. It's some dried seaweed in there and some sea salt. And I just put that on my scrambled eggs and it just I feel like I'm I'm out for for brunch. You know, does that smell mushroomy?
I don't think it smells mushroomy. I get the umami.
It's very umami.
It's the umami. Yeah, it is just so beautiful.
If you hadn't told me about the mushrooms, I probably wouldn't have picked it out there.
What innovative products are Irish food producers creating?
But they're an example of a producer who just have, like they have beautiful, we were just discussing, they have beautiful sep mushroom vinegars.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What makes Ireland's food producers unique?
0:00–0:42
2
How is the food production landscape in Ireland evolving?
0:42–1:22
3
Are consumers appreciating Irish food producers?
1:22–2:10
4
What challenges do Irish food producers face in pricing?
2:10–2:33
5
How does Ireland's climate influence food quality?
2:33–3:30
6
What innovative products are Irish food producers creating?
3:30–4:27
7
What support systems exist for Irish food producers?
4:27–5:22
8
How do personal stories shape the Irish food production industry?
5:22–9:29
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from The Claire Byrne Show
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