This weekend the seaside village of Dalkey is playing host to the great and the good of homegrown and international writing talent. The Dalkey Book Festival will be debating whether Ireland is ungovernable, discussing golden ages of literature and Giving Out Yards with Tara Flynn. Readers will get to hear and see global and local talent in literature, comedy, politics, novel writing and children’s books. A hectic schedule which will definitely make you hungry. This is where the Dalkey Book Feast comes in.
There as been an explosion in food writing over recent years, from the book accompanying the tv series to the ever increasing “diet books” range to the traditional “how-to” guides for the novice. From Heston to Hugh and Ramsay to Roux, cookery books consistently feature in best selling lists and not just at Christmas. In the last few years it is has been Irish food writers who’ve been gaining more of the share of their home market, with the mantra of fresh, local and healthy finding favour among readers and home cooks. Food plays a big part in festivals these days and Dalkey is no exception, with a focus on food writers and cookery demonstrations over the weekend. So whether you’ve just heard Yanis Varoufakis giving his take on global economics or Cecelia Ahern advising you on writing that winning manuscript, you might want to replenish the soul and tastebuds with some of the talks and demonstrations from some of Ireland’s best selling food writers. Here are just some of the events feeding creativity at the Dalkey Book Feast this weekend.
Cooking the Books at Dalkey – Food Writer Demos
Oliver Mc Cabe’s parents ran Select Stores, a fruit and veg shop in Dalkey, for many years. In recent times Oliver and his siblings developed it into a healthy food oasis, with a café and health store alongside the fresh produce. Mc Cabe’s own cookery book Fuel Food isn’t long out but is already into its second edition. He’s also become a regular on national television, cooking up his brand of healthy good food. On Saturday, Oliver will be joined in Dillon’s Park with Australian Ben Brown, for a cookery demo from 1.30.
Indy Power cooks with “natural, nutritious ingredients” and her dishes often include gluten, dairy free or vegan recipes. You needn’t panic as her repertoire also features some wonderful desserts which keep all the taste without the over-processed guilt. She also has meat based dishes to suit the carnivores among us. She’ll be doing a cookery demo on Saturday at 3pm. Power’s book The Little Green Spoon will be out later this year.
If it’s a 21st Century Food Revolution you’re after, then pop along on Sunday afternoon when Oliver Mc Cabe will host Domini Kemp and Ben Brown cooking and talking about how food affects our health, mental and physical. A food writer for the Irish Times and author of three cookbooks, Kemp will be cooking “tasty, nutritious food to get you well”.
So if you’re planning to get out to the Dalkey Book Festival this weekend and have a love of books and food, you can quite easily combine the two pursuits. Local restaurants will be holding readings. You can hear Rosanna Davison on how to “eat yourself beautiful” and you can even sample some of the recipes from a selection of Ireland’s leading healthy food cooks, at Dillon’s Park.
If you are thinking of creating your own cookery book, why not contact selfpublishbooks.ie to help you get started.
