I’m appearing on the airways a little more these days, so I thought it a good idea to collate them all here in this evergreen category for The Flavour Files!

Comfortably Hungry – S3 – DARK. E5 – Supplementary Episode: More Bloody Puddings

This discussion took place on Thursday 28th November.

A supplementary episode of Comfortably Hungry saw podcast host Sam Bilton introduce a delicious sounding recipe for Black Pudding Pancakes with Apple and Fennel Sauce.

Included was an additional short segment where Sam asks me about a particular blood pudding that is synonymous with Cork – the drisheen.

Read the recipe and click on the link to listen to more about the curious Cork delicacy, Drisheen…HERE!

Sam very kindly included links to three past articles written for The Echo about Drisheen, one of which was a thoroughly entertaining conversation about Joyce, Cork and Drisheen by the wonderful Dr Flick Small, who sadly passed away earlier this year.

‘I’m the last drisheen maker in all of Ireland’ on EchoLive.ie by Kate Ryan on 14 November 2022

‘A drisheen recipe that Joyce recommended!’ on EchoLive.ie by Kate Ryan on 21 November 2022

‘Recipes for drisheen, from Cork’s top chefs’ on EchoLive.ie by Kate Ryan on 28 November 2022

Comfortably Hungry – S3 – DARK. E5: Bleeding Cows and Black Puddings

This discussion took place on Thursday 21st November.

Season 3 of Sam Bilton’s brilliant Comfortably Hungry podcase is on the theme of Dark. Black Pudding being one of the darkest foods of all, and my niche area of academic interest, Sam asked me to take part in a discussion on the “most democratic of all puddings” Black Pudding, alongside food historian, Dr Neil Buttery.

This is how Sam introduced the episode:

“In Episode 5 I am joined by my fellow A is for Apple podcast co-host and the author of The Philosophy of Pudding, Dr Neil Buttery, and award winning food writer Kate Ryan to discuss the merits of blood as food and in particular, the most democratic of puddings, the black pudding.”

Listen via Substack HERE!

Useful Links
You can find more information about Kate’s work on her website flavour.ie including further details on her research into Ireland’s black pudding heritage.

You can find Kate as @flavour.ie on Instagram and X

Do check out Neil’s British Food History podcast as well his books on A Dark History of Sugar and Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald England’s Most Influential Housekeeper, and of course his latest releases Knead to Know: A History of Baking and The Philosophy of Pudding.

You can find Neil on Instagram @dr_neil_buttery and X @neilbuttery

Suggested Reading
Nose to Tail Eating: A Kind of British Cooking by Fergus Henderson

Cattle in Ancient Ireland (Studies in Irish Archaeology & History) by A T Lucas

Odd Bits: How to Cook the Rest of the Animal by Jennifer McLagan

‘I’m the last drisheen maker in all of Ireland’ on EchoLive.ie by Kate Ryan on 14 November 2022

‘A drisheen recipe that Joyce recommended!’ on EchoLive.ie by Kate Ryan on 21 November 2022

‘Recipes for drisheen, from Cork’s top chefs’ on EchoLive.ie by Kate Ryan on 28 November 2022

‘Great Scotch! Manchester’s take on the Scotch egg has become a snack sensation’ in The Independent by Paul Vallely, 19 November 2011

Blas Backyard 2024 – The Power of Learning

This discussion took place on Friday 4th October as part of the Blas Backyard panel discussions for Blas na hEireann, 2024.

I hosted an insightful discussion with four panelists who are champions for the power of learning at any stage in a food businesses life – or indeed to grow in personal development for the benefit of your business.

Dr Amy Jane Troy is the Manager of the Food Industry Training Unit at UCC, Ireland’s first and leading training provider for professional development in the food, agri-food and seafood sectors and has been working with collaborating with industry for over 30 years in the development, accreditation and delivery of part-time education for Ireland’s largest indigenous sector.of the Food Industry Training Unit at UCC.

Dr Joe Kelly lecturer in UCCs School of Food Science and Nutrition and instrumental in designing the sensory evaluation protocol that is used by every Blas na hEireann judge every year.

David McNally is one half of husband-and-wife team behind Cocoa By Judit based in Waterford. Originally café owners, David and Judit saw a gap in the market for premium handmade hand-painted Irish chocolates that elevate the sensory experience of consuming their luxury chocolates. David completed the Diploma in Speciality and Artisan Food Enterprises and has used his learnings to develop the business.

Santina Kennedy ran a successful café business in Wicklow for almost a decade before returning to learning achieving a First Class Honours in Food Science, followed by an MA in Food Studies, and achieving WSET qualifications. She went on to forge a successful career with Powerscourt Distillery in Co Wicklow including as brand ambassador for Fercullen Irish Whiskey and curating their food and drink pairing experiences which blended history and folklore with Irish food and drink culture. She is now working as an Independent Drinks Consultant and indulges her passion for the nexus where art and food collide with her innovative Art Plate events with her colleague, Blanca Valencia.

Watch on YouTube HERE or Listen via SoundCloud HERE!

Blas Backyard 2024 – Champion to Champion

This discussion took place on Friday 4th October to kick off the day’s programme of Blas Backyard panel discussions for Blas na hEireann, 2024.

It was a pleasure to host Conor Spacey for this deeply inspiring food chat. Conor was named the 2024 Irish Food Producers’ Champion – a title that is selected by the Blas network of food producers as someone who champions Irish food in many different ways. A very excellent suggestion! I was named the 2023 Champion, and in this half hour chat we talk the power of the single idea to make change, food waste, the value for chefs in making the most of the Blas “Index of Food Producers” and the support network for learning and sharing ideas, challenges and solutions. We also touch on the incredible work Conor is doing in Gambia, West Africa, which also started with the single idea – to build a well for a village – and how that has snowballed to include a school, farms, greater nutrition, excess for trade and empowerment.

Watch on YouTube HERE or Listen via SoundCloud HERE!

Best Possible Taste – From There to Here

Always a pleasure to speak with Sharon Noonan, host of The Best Possible Taste Podcast – Ireland’s longest running podcast. In this episode, I chat with Sharon about the road less travelled from a disgruntled career in Public Service to packing it all in to follow my dream as a Food Writer and my genuine grá for the work and delicious creations of Ireland’s vibrant and wonderful artisan food producer community. I also have a mini therapy session with Sharon on the mad but fulfilling decision to return to further education at UCC for a second time to recently complete a Masters in Irish Food Studies and Foodways.

Listen in full HERE!

Irish History Student’s Association – From Bewitched Butter to Butter Witches: The Gendering of Butter Through Folklore in Ireland

I was invited by the IHSA to discuss the gendering of butter through ancient butter folklore with Trinity Dublin PhD student, Keely Farrell. What followed was a conversation that journeyed through the changing perception of women during the once all-important domestic butter making season from a deity imbued with magical powers for turning milk into cream into butter, the excess of which was an important source of domestic income through trade, to the suspicion of women as hags, witches and changelings as the end of the dairying season and the specter of scarcity once again loomed on the horizon. We talk about the Concept of the Limited Good that fed into those suspicions, the many references to butter magic, piseogs, incantations and songs in the Irish Folklore Collection; benevolent and malevolent magic, butter roads, bog butter, and the precarious position of women in old Irish societal as a direct result of their position as domestic purveyors of the all-important winter food stocks.

I enjoyed this conversation enormously which draws significantly on my Postgraduate research on this topic for the UCC Postgraduate Diploma in Irish Food Studies (read that essay here). I would like to dedicate all this work to the late and very wonderful Dr Flicka Small.

Listen to in full on Spotify HERE.

PodBLASt – Christmas Edition 2023

Fallon Moore of Blas na hEireann asked me to share my most cherished memories of Christmases past, which festive food traditions I have brought with me from the UK and which I have adapted and adopted from my home here in Ireland.

I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to share some very personal memories from childhood; of special times spent with my Gran, Grandad, Mum and Dad, and how I carry those with me whenever I host Christmas for my family now.

Listen to in full HERE on Sound Cloud.

Listen here: https://sharonnoonan.com/2023/05/11/9-may-2023-kate-ryan-2023-blas-na-heireann-producers-champion/

In this Best Possible Taste interview, Sharon Noonan talks to Kate Ryan, founder of Flavour.ie, to congratulate her on being named the 2023 Blas na hÉireann Producers’ Champion and to find out more about Kate’s amazing journey from Bristol to West Cork and how she took the plunge and gave up her safe, pensionable job to pursue her passion.

Pic by Joleen Cronin

P.S. The Best Possible Taste is celebrating 10 years on the airwaves in 2023!

Dave Mac’s Local Legends – RedFM

Published 9th May 2023

KATE RYAN CHATS ABOUT WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE BLAS NA HEIREANN PRODUCERS CHAMPION 2023

Listen here: https://redfm.ie/podcast/kate-ryan-chats-about-what-its-like-to-be-blas-na-heireann-producers-champion-2023/?pod_id=145646

Kate who is originally from Bristol but moved to Cork in 2005 because of love, is a Food writer and founder of Flavour.ie.
She is also Blas Na hEireann Producers Champion 2023.
This is awarded to those who support the best in Irish Independently produced Food.
Flavour.ie was originally set up as a food blog aimed at supporting local food producers, following this she went on to write for the Echo and Examiner while continuing to support local Chefs, Farmers and Growers any way she could.

NeighbourFood Podcast

Published 30th May 2022

Black Pudding, the story of Irish cuisine told through this ordinary and extraordinary food, with food writer Kate Ryan of flavour.ie

Listen here: https://shows.acast.com/the-neighbourfood-podcast/episodes/blackpudding-kateryan

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 )

OpinionLine – 96FM

8th April, 2024 – 10 New Eateries in Cork – It’s Not All Closures

PJ talks to Kate Ryan of Flavour.ie about some of the best new places to eat around Cork, bucking the trend of food closures around the city and county.

13th February 2024: Alternative Food Dates

PJ gets some ideas from Kate Ryan of Flavour.ie for some alternative date nights for Valentine’s.

18th July 2023: Let’s Have Food Adventures This Summer

PJ talks to Kate Ryan of Flavour.ie who have some great ideas for the tastebuds this summer.

24th November 2023: Xmas Tips from Kate Ryan of Flavour.ie

PJ gets handy last minute tips from Kate.

22nd December 2022: Xmas Tips from Kate Ryan of Flavour.ie

PJ gets handy last minute tips from Kate Ryan of Flavour.ie.

21st April 2022: Foraging For Food, How Do I Learn What’s Safe?

PJ talks to Kate Ryan of flavour.ie about the best ways to learn including guided walks and trails.

15th December 2021: Make Your Own Eats for Gifts

The greenest gift is also the one that shows you care, Kate Ryan of flavour.ie has edible gift ideas for PJ to make!

29th October 2021: Hallowe’en Food

I talk to PJ about rituals of Hallowe’en food.

26th July 2021: Becoming an Irish Citizen Was An Easy Decision

Kate from @flavour.ie explains how it feels to become an Irish Citizen after living in Cork for 16 years.

Best Possible Taste Podcast, from Sharon Noonan

21st June 2022: Best Possible Taste

I talk to Sharon Noonan about the best Food Tours to take in West Cork this summer! The accompanying blog post can be found here.

5th April 2022: Best Possible Taste

I talk to Sharon Noonan about the winners of the the 2022 Irish Food Writers’ Guild Awards.

21st December 2017: Best Possible Taste

I’m among the guests this week talking to Sharon about great festive gift ideas!

2nd August 2017: Best Possible Taste

I extol the virtues of the West Cork culinary scene following the publication of my Artisan Food Guide.

Anna Healy Coaching – West Cork Women in Business Podcast

13th May 2020: For the Love of Food

An interview with Kate Ryan