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 28, 2017
I can’t tell you how many times I have wanted to write this blog post. Well, since about mid-November 2016 to be correct. Ever since it properly sank in that I had just been commissioned to write a book. Well, a guide. A guide book. My first book! Having been sworn to a thinly veiled […]
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May 13, 2017
My love of a good bowl of soup is well known by now I should think. I have written a lot about it being the ultimate “bowl food” experience, and because of the myriad flavour combinations, textures and ability to adapt to the changing seasons it is a meal that knows no end to variation. I […]
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February 22, 2017
Writing about food is not an easy thing to do. If we can refer to it as a “scene” for a moment; it is peppered with people like the vague-verb-police – you know, the ones who insist that describing something as beautiful or nice is next to useless as a description. The over-reachers who think […]
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February 21, 2017
The beautiful and welcoming seaside town of Clonakilty has a reputation for firsts. The first Fair Trade town in Ireland; Ireland’s first EDEN destination of excellence; the first Cittaslow town in Ireland for celebrating the multiple benefits of slow living and slow food and recently voted the Greatest Town in Europe at the AOU Awards […]
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February 21, 2017
BT Wines of West Limerick have developed the world’s first Irish Peat Wine. A unique and innovative wine – and intriguing… Brendan and Trisha, the lifelong friends from West Limerick with a passion for good food and wine, have spent the past few years developing their product – Irish Peat Wine. It’s a first in […]
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February 11, 2017
For those who are regular visitors to my recipe blog, you’ll know that I have a soft spot for soup! To some people, soup is boring – something that comes out of a can and the last vestige of the time pressed. But to me, soup is the Ultimate Bowl Food delivering on all levels: […]
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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December 22, 2016
I hope I didn’t leave you waiting too long? Maybe you’re all set for the big day and you don’t need these for this year (2017 maybe?), or maybe you haven’t a notion and this is just the thing you are looking for! Either way, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting! Without further ado, […]
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December 6, 2016
A few days before I made this recipe, I had a little rant via Facebook Livestream on the vagaries of food labelling and packaging. It was a very successful broadcast which garnered a lot of interaction and reach – which was great because it’s a topic I feel very strongly about and raising awareness is […]
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November 23, 2016
A couple of weeks’ ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing Caitlin Ruth, head chef of Deasy’s Harbour Bar and Restaurant for our local radio station, Clonline Radio (listen to the interview here). This was the second time I had the chance to interview Caitlin, and as before it was a lot of fun – […]
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October 13, 2016
I couldn’t tell you how long I had waited and wanted to make this recipe. Mac n Cheese has seen a boom in popularity that, based on absolutely no fact-based proof at all, feels to me to be a result of the explosion of popularity of BBQ restaurants in Ireland. It’s not the BBQ restaurants […]
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August 28, 2016
It was exactly a week ago today that I was starting to experience a noticeable increase of the amount of butterflies in my tummy as I busied myself pulling together the final few bits and pieces before heading to the Celtic Ross Hotel to meet with Ireland’s finest Smoke & Fire chef: John Relihan and […]
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July 21, 2016
If you’ve been keeping a beady eye on the latest fresh food trends, you may notice that fresh turmeric root is starting to become more available. Most of us have grown up with turmeric as that deep yellow powder with an earthy aroma and an ability to stain anything it touches, forever! We all know […]
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July 21, 2016
Put up your hand if you’re running out of ideas of what to do with your glut of courgettes? It’s late July, courgettes are everywhere. They have been everywhere since about early June, and there’s still August to get through. You are finding it hard to even give the little buggers away for free. You’ve […]
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July 21, 2016
It’s SUMMER! It might be a bit unpredictable and prone to extreme swings of temperature, but when in Ireland the only thing to do is to roll with it and pretend you’re on the Costa del Blah doing well on gas mark 7. Summer equals ice cream. End of. I’ve never bothered to purchase an […]
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June 7, 2016
If there’s one downside to living in West Cork, it’s that I’m always last to the party when great places to eat in the City open up! Cork City may only be a 50 minute drive up the road, but when you’re laid back lifestyle in sleepy West Cork seems to never be that laid […]
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June 2, 2016
Late spring into early summer you’ll want to revel in two things. Firstly, our gloriously short asparagus season. Secondly, brown crab season. Frankly, these two ingredients when used at their peak are seductive bedfellows. Earthy versus sweet, the two taste profiles couldn’t be more different and yet opposites attract. But the Kitchener cannot be fooled […]
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May 13, 2016
The idea for this salad came one Sunday morning when I was out walking the dogs. A bright sunny and warm morning was reflected in the hedgerows showing off their display of colours and every shade of green imaginable. There’s a saying in food that goes “What grows together, goes together”, and this is never […]
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April 23, 2016
A couple of weeks ago, I placed an order with the Wild Irish Foragers and Preservers for some of their amazing syrups: Gorse Flower, Rosehip (excellent for everything including keeping away the sniffles) and Elderberry Syrups. As with many things like this that I buy, I am purchasing more out of curiosity than anything else! […]
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March 31, 2016
I may be slightly biased but I like to think that I do holidays really well (yes, that may be the sound of distant horns blowing). Recently Mr Flavour and I set sail to Barcelona for the first time and we had a really great time. Famed for its shopping and eating opportunities, Barcelona is […]
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March 22, 2016
Here’s a thing you should know about me. I LOVE custard, in any shape or form it may come in. Crème Anglaise; proper custard; custard slices, Portuguese custard tarts; banana’s and custard (favourite comfort food ever) or just simply a beautiful egg custard tart. Anyway it comes to me, I will happily devour. A good egg […]
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February 14, 2016
Does anyone actually know what the name of the song is that tells us she likes Piña Colada and getting caught in the rain? Much less who sings it? But we all know it, well the chorus anyway, majestically sung out when someone orders it at a bar. I actually am not all the gone […]
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