Selfpublishbooks.ie have printed Goodall’s latest compilation of Irish cooking by (and for) Irish cooks.
As outlined on Goodall’s website, this book contains a great variety of recipes — from light bites such as Spiced Beef Blinis to heartier meals like Tagliatelle & Smoked Trout — not to mention delicious desserts like Trifle Cake. The recipes are chosen by the Goodall’s team from a selection submitted by Ireland’s Food Blogging Community, about whom you will find out more in the book.
I spoke to editor, contributor and foodie blogger, Margaret Smith, about the book. I asked her first where the idea came from. “It came out of a conversation I was having with Roisin, the marketing manager for Goodall’s, on how would you describe modern Irish food or cuisine to someone from outside of Ireland?”
What did they come up with? “We had a healthy debate,” Margaret says, “and from that sprung the idea that maybe we should include other people in the conversation. We decided to put it out to the food bloggers of Ireland to see what their take on it would be. We also thought it would be a lovely idea to capture these recipes and some lovely photos and put it into a book. We thought of it as being a snapshot of what people are cooking in their homes all over Ireland.”
Judging by the product, they certainly achieved their ends! Margaret was delighted to contribute two of her own recipes to the book: “My own fail safe way of cooking a roast chicken with lemon, herbs and white wine and a canapé dish of blinis with spiced beef and a horseradish cream.” Delicious!
Margaret is a regular food blogger and cooking class leader herself — just take a look at her website: Umnumnum is an apt name!
She’s been a regular aficionado of the kitchen since she was in her twenties: “I have to say I became a little obsessed with it. I love to eat and entertain and experiment and have been happy do that for twenty years or more now.”
I ask Margaret what meal she enjoys cooking the most: “My favourite meal to cook changes quite often as I like to try new things. At the moment a Thai green chicken curry is top of the list for flavour and it’s so easy and can be put together in 15 mins. A beef stew is my ultimate comfort food though for days when I feel I have been put through the mill!”
What caught her interest in self-publishing? “We wanted to self-publish the book as a way to control the content and we also wanted to do it in a very tight time frame. The finished product was great and I think everyone was very proud of the book.”
The other positive about this new publication is that all profits from it go to Cork Penny Dinners and Dublin Food Bank.
So what’s next for Margaret & Goodall’s? Her answer is tempting. “There are a few more exciting projects in the pipeline for Goodall’s but they are a bit hush hush at the moment so watch this space!!”
http://umnumnum.ie/
http://www.goodalls.ie/a-modern-irish-cook-book/
