Postgraduate Diploma in Irish Food Culture – 2019 – 2021

In 2019, I returned to third level education for the first time in nearly 20 years to study for a Postgraduate Diploma in Irish Food Culture at University College Cork.

In this category of The Flavour Files, I am publishing for the first time my research work, essays, and presentations completed as part of the assessments for the Postgraduate Diploma in Irish Food Culture. I hope to use my work to create a foundation for further writing on Irish food culture and its many facets and faces via long-form blog posts that are more in depth, spark conversation or challenge. Often times, this kind of food writing does not appear inside mainstream media publications or outside academic institutions, and I believe that it should be accessible and that this is where the true worth of food writing lies.

The Postgraduate Diploma in Irish Food Culture is the only course of its kind in Ireland. It is delivered by the Adult Continuing Education department of University College Cork, and the Programme Manager is Regina Sexton, Ireland’s leading Culinary Historian.

I was part of the first cohort of students to complete this course. I graduated in November 2021 with a First Class Honours. This is my work; I hope you find it interesting, engaging and informative.

The Postgraduate Diploma in Irish Food Culture is equivalent in standing to a Masters degree.

All my work is original. The work contained in this category can be referred to in other mediums and platforms, but must be respected as original work authored by Kate Ryan of Flavour.ie. Each entry in this category will be given a unique reference which must be included in any future work, academic or otherwise.