When I decided to move to Ireland at the age of 26, the first thing my mother asked was: And what are you going to eat there? And she didn’t know —nor did I—that I would break my initial plan to stay only a year on the Emerald Isle. In the end, it was nine. Nine years in which I went from fish & chips, burgers and potatoes cooked in countless ways to plunging myself into a culinary variety that remains unfamiliar to most travelers who choose to visit the country.
Cuisine is one of the most surprising draws of the Republic of Ireland. Not for nothing, today there are 23 Michelin-starred restaurants. Not bad, considering that the country’s total population is similar to that of the Community of Madrid, and that haute cuisine is a relatively recent phenomenon.
The revival of a forgotten cuisine
In recent decades, Irish cooking has undergone a genuine quiet revolution, returning to its origins, to local produce, the protagonist of so many inherited recipes that have been reinterpreted with contemporary sensitivity.
You understand this culinary revival when you travel through its marvelous geography. The Atlantic, bold and generous, provides seafood and fish of extraordinary quality; the endless pastures, dotted with sheep, offer meats and dairy with deep flavors; and the climate, often challenging, has shaped a comforting cuisine, crafted to warm body and soul.
Each region has its character, its products, its recipes and the places where you sit down to understand them.
