I started The Flavour Files in 2012 and have added recipes celebrating our wonderful Irish produce ever since. My recipes show great produce is as much at home on our kitchen tables as on a restaurant menu. It's not just recipes though - there is news, reviews & other writing too!
June 23, 2020
This post is a review in two parts which I hope to seamlessly merge together into one engaging whole. If you’re coming to this post thinking that there is actually a recipe at the end, prepare to be disappointed, but maybe stick with it anyway because this is a review about one very amazing book […]
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October 16, 2020
This is one from the archives that I had almost forgotten about, but it’s so hugely fun to look at and easy to make, I’ve decided to recycle it for the blog! If nothing else, it’ll make you giggle like a kid, plus it tastes pretty good too. And of course there is always the […]
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October 16, 2020
Bonfire Night in Ireland means something completely different to Bonfire Night in England. In Ireland, Bonfire Night is on 23rd June to celebrate St John’s Eve, and like most of Ireland’s feast days, the roots are in Celtic pagan times that cross over into religious celebrations. To burn bonfires on St John’s Eve is to […]
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October 16, 2020
When I say biscuit, its part that and partly scone. Bready and toothsome, deeply savoury and just about the perfect partner with a serving of Bangers & Colcannon or a hearty rooty soup to warm the cockles on a chilly day. Mr Flavour swears he can taste bacon in these biscuits but I assure him […]
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October 16, 2020
It’s autumn, which means that I usually overdose on Pumpkin Spice Latte’s. And I’m cool with that. I love those warming spices against comforting blanket of dairy goodness. But what I’m less cool about is why I have never tried to replicate the Pumpkin Spice flavour at home. This recipe remedies that! October through December […]
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August 19, 2020
Ever wondered if pea pods are any good for anything? Well, I asked friend, top chef and all round fab person Caitlin Ruth, and she said to blend them into a sauce. So I did… I can’t take full credit for this recipe because the original idea did come from Caitlin, but there’s no denying […]
Read morePlanning a visit to West Cork and want the low-down on the best artisan foods in the region? Or maybe just keen to support local food producers? A copy of the Artisan Food Guide will be your invaluable resource, and ideal for planning an independent food adventure of your own too!
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August 19, 2020
Mr Flavour and I have uncovered the holy grail of bread making: No Knead Bread. 4 ingredients, less time and cost resulting in a light and seriously tasty loaf that won’t test your fortitude as a normal rational human being. This article appeared in the May 2020 edition of The Opinion Magazine. It also included […]
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August 19, 2020
Not your everyday mix of ingredients, maybe, but trust me when I say that Pea and Anise are two flavours that are made to be together! I first came across the flavour pairing of prawn and pistachio many years back when I was running the Supper Club from Scannell’s Pub in Clonakilty. I was working […]
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August 19, 2020
Yet more things to do with Broad Beans – essential when one’s personal harvest has been (bean?) too successful! This is delish though, so do give it a whirl! Is it a dip? Is it a hummus? Is it a pesto? I’m not sure to be honest, but what I do know is that it […]
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August 18, 2020
Sometimes, I remember a dish from childhood and wonder if I could make it better. This dish is one of those, and yes, I really did make it better. It’s totally retro, and I’m totally cool with that… Mum was the queen of the diet pamphlet, and her favourite was for a “High Fibre Diet” […]
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August 18, 2020
In a departure from food, I decided there was another point of view about the ASAI banning THAT Tampax ad… This article was published in The Echo – read it online here. Have you heard of Michelle Wolf? She’s a US comedian who has a skit about periods that is probably one of the best […]
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August 18, 2020
Necessity is the mother of invention, and having a garden full of different peas and beans means the creative streak is at peak these days! Broad Beans, or Fava Beans, are top of the menu at the moment. Serve them up with a nice Chianti, or some Feta – like in this simple salad! I […]
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July 29, 2020
This article was published in the July 2020 edition of The Opinion Magazine. I just adore cooking and eating outside. The incredibly good weather of late has meant, here at Flavour HQ, that we are doing both a lot more and improving our low and slow cooking game, experimenting with different heat, charcoal and smoke […]
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July 28, 2020
Hooray for Blackcurrant season! It is REALLY difficult to get blackcurrants in Ireland … so imagine my delight when they appeared in a Fruit n Veg Box from Dunworley Cottage! Growing up, we had, what seemed to me, hundreds of Blackcurrant bushes in our fruit garden. I know because it was down to me to […]
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July 28, 2020
No matter what you think you know, there is always more to learn! This happened to me when a Greek friend responded to a photo of my Baby Broad Beans and said, I have a lovely recipe you can make with those… The recipe that followed was more a list of ingredients – a list […]
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July 28, 2020
This salad isn’t what you might be expecting. As much as a love a classic Greek Salad of juicy tomatoes, refreshing cucumbers, bitter olives and salty feta, this salad take the aniseed notes of tarragon and Ouzo for this salad packed full of summery flavours and crunchy textures! I’ve often said that my family tree […]
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July 28, 2020
A what? You might ask! Cobbler is better known in some parts of the UK but most popular in the US. They are distinct from a Crumble in the way the topping is put together, but essential Cobblers are a fruit base with a topping that is part biscuit, part crumble and part batter. That […]
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July 10, 2020
Earlier this year, I was interviewed by Anna Healy, business coach, for her podcast series on West Cork Women in Business. I love this interview – it really makes me realise how far I’ve come since starting Flavour.ie – both personally and professionally too! Pop the kettle on and access the Podcast here: https://anchor.fm/anna-healy/episodes/For-the-love-of-food–An-interview-with-Kate-Ryan-ee0972
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July 10, 2020
Earlier this year, I was interviewed by Katia Valadeau of ProperFood.ie for her brilliant series “Women of the Irish Food Industry” – thank you Katia for including me! Access the interview here: http://www.properfood.ie/kate-ryan/ Kate Ryan is a woman I admire.I first met Kate Ryan, just like I met Jennifer Opperman, around a table, on a […]
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June 3, 2020
Part of a collection of recipes I’m calling My Purple Passion I had been knocking around in my head the idea for this cocktail ever since I made the Cherry Brandy Brownie. There was something so heady about the combination of cherry and chocolate that sent me off in search of a cocktail that would make […]
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June 3, 2020
Part of a collection of recipes I’m calling My Purple Passion So, I hold a deep conflict when it comes to anything Goaty. If I ever have enough land to keep animals, the first thing on my list would be a goat. They are such lovely creatures – cantankerous but full of personality. When my parents […]
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