It’s interesting to see the amount of buzz food is generating within Ireland again, in particular people taking an interest in cooking again. I’ve always found cooking to be something very relaxing and as it turns out it’s a great way to get a sense of being home again after travel (I’m over and back to Lebanon quite a bit at the moment). What’s inspiring is how many people are taking it on as a casual interest and sharing the experience. You just have to look at the number of blog and twitter posts to see this. Not to mention how much attention the likes of lookandtaste.com is getting. Are we going to see a return to dinner parties as people move away from hitting the pubs? They’re certainly a great option for the dark economic times we face, a way to socialise and be creative rolled into one without the unfulfilling expense of hitting the town. We’re also very fortunate with a lot of very accessible and high quality ingredients. In the way that Open Coffee Clubs have taken off here I wonder if Open Dinner Parties might become another event?

We’ve also seen sites like Lidl Treats, (unfortunately gone quiet?) and Spicendipity coming along who bring home what’s available to us in Ireland. Who else should we be tracking?